preferably avoiding the parking lot that is the I-26.’
80
‘He asked about me?’ Gabriel was propped up in bed looking at Athanasius and Thomas, their faces serious after their strange meeting with Malachi.
‘Yes, and his questions appeared to have been prompted by whatever he had just read on the Starmap. He asked if you had ridden to the Citadel out of the wilderness.’
‘You think he knows what the symbols mean?’
‘Undoubtedly,’ Thomas replied. ‘Malachi knows more about early writing than any man alive. If there is anything in the library that will help decipher this text then it will already be in his head. He knows exactly what it says.’
‘So how do we get him to tell us?’
‘We don’t,’ Athanasius replied. ‘Malachi has never been a man who could be swayed. And he hates me. He thinks I have betrayed the brotherhood. There is no way he is going to share what he learned with us. I should have known better than to trust him, but I wasn’t counting on him being so – unhinged.’
‘Yes,’ Thomas agreed, ‘there was something desperate about him. He’s not going to help us. I fear he is already lost.’
‘So it seems we must take matters into our own hands,’ Athanasius said, rubbing his hands together as if, on some level, he was enjoying all this. ‘If we are going to interpret the rest of the stone we need to gain access to the ancient records. You helped me break into the library once before.’
Thomas smiled. ‘And that was when the lights were still working, the security protocols were in place, armed guards were on constant patrol and unauthorized access was punishable by death. This should be relatively easy in comparison.’
‘Can you do it tonight?’
‘I’ll need to hook into the library systems to see what is still running and what has been disabled, I don’t want you walking into a trap or tripping any alarms. The absence of the lights will be a big help, and I don’t suppose they’re availing themselves of the night-vision goggles, what with “the corrupting influence of modernity”, which means we can use them. They are kept in the control room by the main entrance.’
‘Could we gain access via the reading rooms? We could go via the restricted section to the one used by the Sancti?’
‘What’s that?’ Gabriel asked.
‘The Sanctus monks were kept strictly segregated from the rest of the population to preserve the secrets they kept. However they still had access to the library at certain times when no one else was there, and they had their own reading room. It’s reached by a staircase from the upper section of the mountain. There are other stairways too, one in the prelate’s quarters, one close to the cathedral cave and one just through there.’ He pointed to the door leading to the Abbot’s bed chamber. ‘They enabled the trusted senior members of the mountain to meet with the Sancti and partake in their ceremonies. Since there are no longer any of them left, the stairways and Sancti’s reading room have been unused.’ He looked back at the door leading to the bedchamber. ‘I have the Abbot’s key for that door. But not one for the door leading into the reading room. We’d have to force it.’
Father Thomas shook his head. ‘We would make far too much noise. It’s a heavy door with a solid lock and the reading rooms where Malachi and the black cloaks are residing is right next door. I’d rather break in using my own systems than bludgeon my way through a door. Once we are inside and have acquired the night-vision goggles it should be easy. We can find our way to the ancient texts and read anything we like in total darkness. Give me a couple of hours and I’ll have worked out how to get us in. That should also give everyone time to go to sleep. Shall we say midnight?’
Athanasius nodded. ‘Between Matins and Lauds.’
‘Can I come with you?’ Gabriel said, clearly meaning it.
‘You’re not going anywhere.’ Dr Kaplan appeared behind Thomas with something in his hand and a serious expression on his face. ‘You’re far too weak to do anything other than lie here and rest. However, if you really want to help …’
He opened his hand and Gabriel felt his stomach flip when he saw several empty test tubes lying in his palm. ‘This is the situation. So far we’ve taken eight hundred mils of your blood which would take your body about