Lacuna - N.R. Walker Page 0,86
all. There are rows upon rows of stacks in the library. We hid amongst the books, too scared to make a sound.”
“Maghdlm was there,” Aelfflaed added. “She gave orders in a language I’ve never heard. She spoke to them in their tongue. They took to the stairs and we thought you might have been killed. We were so worried.” She shook her head, teary again. “We thought we’d failed the four kingdoms. We thought for sure . . .”
“We noticed everyone was gone,” Tancho said. “And after finding Maghdlm, we left without delay.”
Crow frowned at the three remaining elders. “Hmm. Forgive my scepticism but I’m finding your story unlikely.”
They stared back at him, fearful and almost desperate. “Which part?” Adelais asked.
“All of it.” He shrugged. “And I’m trying to think of any good reason why we shouldn’t kill you here and now.”
Tancho reached out and grabbed Crow’s hand, bringing everything and everyone around them to a near stop. “I’m not sure what to make of it either,” he said quickly. “But killing them won’t help us. We can use them. If they are innocent, they deserve a chance to prove it. If they are not, they may give us some information, whether intentionally or not. But we need to be patient. Hear them out.”
Crow bit back his anger, because he knew Tancho was right. But something wasn’t adding up. There was too much treachery, too many lies. “I don’t like it.”
Tancho nodded. “Nor do I. If they side with Maghdlm and their ploy is to lead us into a trap, I will help you kill them.”
Crow sighed. He looked at the three elders, their faces frozen masks of horror at his threat to kill them. “Fine. But I still don’t trust them.”
“And I trust your judgement,” Tancho said. “But let us see where they decide to lead us first.”
Tancho let go of Crow’s hand, and the speed of time returned to normal. “What Crow means to say is,” Tancho said, “the waters of truth are muddied when we are tired and under threat. We hope that none of our questions have upset you.”
Adelais raised her hand, waving him off. “We, too, understand, the ordeal you have been through. But what we say is the truth.”
“If you have been down here for a week, what have you eaten?” Crow asked.
“Scraps discarded by the . . . creatures,” Gabel replied. “They don’t appear to care for human food. They threw away what they didn’t eat. Though they drink the wine from our kitchens and sleep when they’re supposed to watch the compass.”
Aelfflaed’s nostrils flared. “They are loud and crude, and they laugh the most hideous sound. They are . . .”
“They are what?”
“The things of nightmares.” She shuddered. “They are monsters and I don’t blame you for your doubts about us, but I’m so grateful you returned. We’ll do whatever we can to help you.”
“I have searched the archīvum,” Gabel said. “What I could search, anyway. I’ve spent many years studying these books and there are books here older than I can explain.” He made a face.
“What did you find?” Crow demanded.
“A book written in the old tongue. A language long forgotten. I’ve tried to translate, but it is something that makes no sense.”
“Nothing of this makes sense,” Crow shot back at him. “What did you find? Where did these creatures come from?”
“A land not of this world,” Gabel whispered. “A reality that is not our own.”
“Not our reality?” Samiel repeated.
“How is that possible?” Elmwood demanded.
Gabel shrugged. “I do not know. How are the doorways possible? How is any of it possible?”
“Then why did they arrive at the Westlands first?” Tancho asked.
“I have no answer for that,” Gabel replied.
“Maybe they couldn’t access this doorway first,” Adelais suggested. “Maybe they had to choose another doorway in this world first so they could access this one. We don’t know.”
Crow glared at her. “What do you know?”
“They are called Ascii,” Gabel said, intervening. “It means to be without a shadow.”
“Without a shadow?” Crow replied sharply. What in the . . . ?
Gabel threw his hands up. “I said it made no sense! How does one not have a shadow?”
“Because they come from a world lit by two suns,” Tancho replied. “It is the same in that book of fiction I read as a boy. How can one cast a shadow when the suns shine at all angles?”
“That book,” Crow said. “What else do you remember?”
Tancho shook his head. “I, uh . . . The Ascii