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| The Book of All Things: Chapter Thirteen
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Dame Lizbet was pacing the waiting room floor of the dean’s office as Katie and Widdershins arrived.
Widdershins ignored her as she crossed straight to the secretary’s desk.
“Have they arrived, Ms. Ragglemug?”
“The last Magi turned up a few minutes ago,” said Ragglemug. “Nice and punctual—just the way I like our visitors.” She gave Katie a smirk and jotted something in her register.
“See that no one disturbs us,” said Widdershins.
“As you wish.”
Lizbet took the lead as they marched down the hall toward Widdershins’ office.
“Have you ever stood in the presence of the council before, Agnitha?” she asked.
“I have not had the honor before now, no,” Widdershins answered tersely.
“Then here are a few tips to help you survive the encounter: first, let me do all the talking. And I strongly advise that you speak only when spoken to, and never out of turn. If one of the Magi addresses you, address her as ‘Honored Magi’ before you say anything else. Don’t slather them with annoying pleasantries; never sit in their presence, even if invited to; always keep a respectful distance; never faun over them and, whatever you do, never attempt to pull rank on them. They are Magi, which means they are older, wiser, and more important than you. Do I make myself clear?”
“Annoyingly so,” Widdershins replied.
Without breaking stride, Lizbet flung open the office door and stalked inside. The four women gathered within turned as one and stared daggers at them, like a murder of carrion crows sizing up a noontime meal.
“Well, Lizbet,” said the foremost of the Magi in an irritated tone. “Do you care to explain why you’ve summoned us here?”
“And why you’ve kept us waiting?” demanded another.
Lizbet gave both women a respectful curtsy before answering. “Honored Magi,” she said, “both of these questions share a common answer.” She turned and motioned Katie forward with a jerk of her head.
Katie gulped and willed her feet into motion, clutching the backpack against her chest as if it were capable of protecting her from the Magi’s glowering stares.
“This is Katie Frost,” Lizbet said bluntly. “She is the daughter of Aleta Frost, the hero who was found murdered in the Scuttlespine mountains eleven years ago.”
“Get to the point, Lizbet,” the foremost Magi barked.
“Of course, Honored Magi,” said Lizbet. “Show them what you’ve found, Katie.”
Katie opened the backpack and withdrew The Book of All Things. Without hesitation, she placed it in the center of Widdershins’ desk and stepped back.
The four Magi leaned over it, their dark eyes consuming it in quick, hungry flicks.
“Is this your idea of a joke?” one of them rasped as she turned her attention to Lizbet. “You’ve summoned us here to show us a book on earwax?”
Lizbet’s face paled slightly and she looked at Katie with murder in her eyes. “I told you to show them what you’ve really found,” she growled.
Katie leaned in and smacked the book on its cover. “Stop playing dumb and reveal yourself,” she said.
The book took to the air in a blur of fluttering covers.
“Not after the way I’ve been treated,” it objected. “Stuffing me in that horrible sack like I’m a common paperback, tossing me about without the slightest concern for my well-being….”
The Magi stared at the book in fascination, their heads bobbing as they tracked its erratic flight.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Katie muttered. “I promise.”
“And how do you propose to do that?”
“I’ll…I’ll have your covers oiled.”
“Temptress,” snarled the book. It made a circuit of the room, humming dramatically as it pretended to consider her offer. “Oh, all right,” it answered with a sigh. “But first, I wish to know who these women are. As a rule, I never expose myself to strangers unless I am acquainted with them.”
Lizbet stepped forward quickly. “Honored Magi, if you’ll allow me…?”
The Magi nodded almost in unison, half annoyed as before, but still annoyed. Katie studied them as Lizbet made the introductions.
Kurza, the first Magi to address them, was of middling height and had a face like a wrinkled autumn apple. Gheanne seemed perpetually shrouded in shadow, and her dark looks made her appear wraith-like. Leorge’s lack of teeth gave her face a comical, puckered appearance. Lucinia was fond of making a rather irritating thsking sound with her tongue and acting as though someone else was doing it.
The Book of All Things considered each woman in turn, and as Lizbet fell silent, it harrumphed loudly.
“Well,” it said, smacking its covers as though they were a pair of lips. “I’ve learned your names and read your faces, and all I have to say is that in my day the Council of Magi were proud and noble women. The four of you look as though you just crawled from the slug pits of Mythopotamia!”
The Magi flinched as though an army of spiders had dropped from the ceiling onto their shoulders. Someone chuckled nervously, and Katie was intrigued to see Widdershins attempting to hide a smile behind a hand and failing miserably.
Kurza’s eyes narrowed to slits as she looked at Lizbet.
“What is this…monstrosity?” she whispered coolly, leveling a gnarled finger at the book.
In answer, a purple flash illuminated the chamber, and The Book of All Things revealed its true title in a blaze of fiery glory, laughing as the Magi stumbled back in awe.
It took the Magi several moments to recover from the shock, and even then they failed to recapture the haughty air of authority they had previously commanded. Katie thought they looked like a group of dreamy-eyed betweenagers shocked into silence by the sudden appearance of some dashing celebrity hero.
She found a chair and collapsed into it. Lizbet glared at her in apprehension, but Katie waved her off. Her fatigue had filled her with a sudden, overbearing confidence that overrode her sense of politeness—and she embraced it completely.
“The Book of All Things,” said Leorge with a wide, expectant grin.
“After all this time!” cried Lucinia.
“Come closer. Let us have a look at you,” said Gheanne.
The book drifted within range of the Magi’s hands and Kurza lunged for it. As her long, spindly fingers clamped over its cover, the same electric pulse that had shocked Lizbet an hour before sizzled through her. Kurza cried out, flinging the book high in the air as she recoiled from the attack.
“Looky, no touchy,” the book said with a deeply satisfied chuckle.
“Book,” Katie sighed, crooking a finger at it. “Come here.”
The book obeyed and settled into her lap like a bird coming to roost in its nest. Every eye in the room followed it. Katie glanced up at the Magi and gave them a polite, yet firm, smile.
“Now that we have your attention,” she said, “I wish to say a few things. Several minutes ago I barely escaped an encounter with a Shriek. I have no doubt that Notorcia Lellanni, the book’s original master, was behind it. Yesterday she made a previous attempt on my life by sending a horde of Ogrim against me. I know this raises a lot of questions for you, but there is ample evidence to support these claims, which Lizbet can tell you about after I leave. Right now, all I wish to discuss is what we’re going to do with the book.”
Widdershins gave her an amused look, and she smiled as though she were impressed with Katie’s forthrightness.
“There is nothing to discuss, Miss Frost,” said Leorge bluntly. “The Book of All Things, by law, belongs to this council. We will take it into our custody when we leave here.”
“Honored Magi, you may have a problem doing that,” warned Lizbet in a respectful tone. “The book has, er, bonded with Katie.”
“Bonded?” the Magi cried at once in the same tenor of astonishment.
“For what reason?” Kurza snapped.
“Does there need to be a reason?” asked the book, flipping onto its side to face them.
“When it comes to you, yes,” said Gheanna.
“Your history has been thoroughly documented,” said Lucinia. “As has your legendary contempt for this council.”
“Which began with the second Council of Magi, I believe,” said Leorge.
“Over a dispute concerning your supposed self-awareness,” added Kurza.
“You still believe I’m just another mundane magickal artifact, do you?” the book asked with a weary sigh.
“You were fashioned by the Elder Mages after all,” said Gheanna. “Fashioned, not born—hence: mundane.”
“Humph!” said the book. “The Elder Mages created Magick as well. And although you use it like a mindless tool, from time to time it gives birth to living, breathing creatures capable of independent thought, does it not?”
“This is true,” said Kurza. “However, you are not alive, nor do you breathe. And you most certainly do not give birth.”
“I beg to differ,” countered the book. “The Elder Mages imbued me with Reason—which allows me to give birth to Thought and Action and Expression! I challenge you to show me a magickal artifact capable of doing that! I challenge you to show me a magickal artifact that can sniff out Shi’ar and bond with them of its own free will!”
Lizbet gasped. She glanced, wide-eyed, at Katie, then back to the book.
“Is that why you’ve bonded with her?” she asked in a shallow whisper. “Because Katie is a Shi’ar?”
“Oh, very good!” trumpeted the book.
The Magi looked at Katie with eager faces.
“Prove it,” said Kurza.
“With pleasure.” The book flopped open on Katie’s lap, exposing a yellowed page. “Perform this spell, if you please, Katie.”
Katie scowled at the elegant writing filling the page and saw that it was a spell for revealing the full essence of a Shi’ar. Her hands trembled with the powerful burst of magick required to create it.
Suddenly, she felt the same curious shifting of energy that she had experienced during the battle with the Ogrim, and once again a power unlike any she had ever felt engulfed her. It coursed through her body, soothing her fatigued muscles and renewing her strength. But unlike before, this time her hands and arms became luminous, and they began to pulse steadily like the glow sacks of lightning toads.
She levitated from the chair and hovered above the heads of the women encircling her. The Magi seemed star-struck. Lizbet looked fascinated. Widdershins appeared taken aback.
“I think that is proof enough for you,” said the book to the Magi. It snapped itself shut and asked Katie to release her hold upon the Source. With great reluctance, Katie severed the connection and dropped lightly to the floor as the magick winked out of existence.
“Well, well,” said Kurza with a sniff. “This is a surprise. You were right, of course, Lizbet, for bringing these discoveries to our attention.”
“What shall we do with them, I wonder?” said Lucinia with great interest.
“Them?” said Lizbet with a start. “Don’t you mean it? As in The Book of All Things?”
“Shi’ar fall under the same law that grants us the authority to confiscate ancient and potentially dangerous magickal artifacts, like the book, here,” said Gheanna. “Miss Frost will have to come with us.”
“Katie is not a magickal artifact!” protested Widdershins, placing herself between Katie and the Magi. “She’s a free citizen of Odyssey, the same as the rest of us. You can’t just waltz in here and confiscate her.”
“Yes, we can,” Leorge corrected sternly.
Sudden fear shook Katie’s body like a Necromantrix’s rattle as the realization struck her: these women intended to take her away from everything she knew, to isolate her from the world, to hide her so that no one would learn of her existence. Alone and forgotten! Azareth had warned this would be her doom, and she had stepped straight into it!
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she protested. “I’m staying right here, where I belong.”
“You are now a ward of this Council, dear girl, and you will do as we command,” said Kurza, unkindly.
“I will not!” said Katie.
“Dear girl, see reason!” said Lucinia. “Think of what you and The Book of All Things can do for Odyssey!”
“Like divide it into four equal shares for each of you to rule?” the book chided. “No thanks. We’ll pass.”
“That was a terribly uncharitable thing to say,” sniffed Gheanna. “We have no desire to rule Odyssey! We are its champions! Its defenders! Its guiding hands!”
“Funny, but I believe that’s exactly what the fifth Council of Magi said just before they attacked Capital City,” said the book. “Oh yes, I’ve learned to see you Magi for the back-stabbing changelings that you are!”
“Don’t believe what you hear, Katie!” snapped Leorge. “You and the book are just the miracles Odyssey has been waiting for! With your powers you can give us a fresh understanding of the Source. You can enrich the lives of our citizens by creating new spells. You can enlighten our historians by discovering ancient and forgotten relics.”
“I wish to serve Odyssey in my own way,” Katie protested.
“How? As a hero?” sneered Gheanne. “Don’t make us laugh! Your powers would be wasted on such a trivial and ridiculous profession.”
“It is not a ridiculous profession,” said Katie. “And I don’t intend to use my powers at all. I’m no sorceress, nor do I wish to be.”
The Magi gaped at her as if she had smacked every one of them across the face.
“Ladies, please. This bickering is pointless,” said Lizbet, seizing the moment to step in and stop the argument before it spiraled out of control. “Honored Magi forgive me, but I had expected you to handle this situation in a more delicate and thoughtful manner than this.”
“How dare you!” Kurza sputtered indignantly.
“And how dare you overlook the Seventh Exception!” The Book of All Things replied in a thunderous voice. “A Shi’ar falls under the jurisdiction of the Council of Magi only when she permanently adopts her pure-magick form!”
“And as you can see,” Lizbet quickly pointed out, “Katie has done no such thing. Which means she remains a free citizen of Odyssey until that time.”
“And since Katie shares a bond with me, it is not unreasonable to conclude that I am her rightful property,” said The Book of All Things. “Which means you harridans have no jurisdiction over me, either.”
“So it would seem,” Lucinia said sourly, as though she had inadvertently swallowed a slug.
“It appears we stand corrected,” said Kurza. Of all the Magi she seemed the most offended, and when she met Katie’s gaze she made no attempt to disguise her contempt for being trumped so soundly.
“Then shall we return to the matter at hand?” Lizbet suggested brusquely.
“State your thoughts,” said Leorge with an impatient wave.
Lizbet sighed as she began to pace the floor. “I am deeply concerned for the book’s safety,” she said. “In choosing to bond with Katie it has placed the two of them in considerable danger. Notorcia has made two attempts on Katie’s life in as many days. I fear she may double her efforts once she learns that Katie has discovered The Book of All Things.”
“Why are you so convinced it is Notorcia who is after Katie?” said Kurza. “She is long dead.”
Lizbet quickly outlined her theories, and as she finished, the Magi’s faces twisted into grim masks.
“Your presumptions are disturbingly sound,” Lucinia acknowledged. “If Notorcia has managed to survive all these centuries, even without The Book of All Things her return could spell disaster for Odyssey. A dark Shi’ar is quite a force to contend with.”
Leorge turned to Katie. “Do you have any idea why Notorcia is so intent on killing you?”
“Spooked if I know,” Katie said with a shrug. “Personally, I think it’s because she wants to keep me from finding the book.”
“But that would suggest she had prior knowledge of the book’s whereabouts,” said Lucinia. “If she knew where the book was hidden, why would she bother going after you when she could just slip into the library and take it?”
“Yes,” said Kurza, “And how could she know you would be the student most likely to discover it?”
“Notorcia is a Shi’ar,” said Katie. “Maybe she sensed my powers.”
“Can you sense hers?” asked Lucinia.
“Well…no.”
“Then it’s unlikely she can sense you,” said Kurza.
“Whatever Notorcia’s reasons,” said Leorge, “the solution to this problem is most elementary.”
“And that solution would be…?” asked Lizbet.
“Convince The Book of All Things to sever its bond with Katie, and then hide it again,” replied Gheanna. “Given the choice, I suspect Notorcia would rather go after it than waste her time with Katie.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Widdershins reflected.
“I refuse,” said the book.
“On what grounds?” snapped Leorge.
“On the grounds that I don’t care for the idea at all.”
“That’s hardly a reason,” growled Kurza.
Katie shot a glance at the book. “Maybe they’re right,” she said. “Maybe you should sever the bond, and then you can bond with someone else—someone who can look after you better than I could.”
“Who better to look after me than a Shi’ar?” the book replied. “And who better to look after a Shi’ar than The Book of All Things?”
“Katie is a fledgling Shi’ar!” Kurza pointed out. “Untrained and untried. It would be reckless of you to burden her with the responsibility of protecting you.”
“I can bring her up to speed in no time at all,” the book said with bravado. “And you hags know it.”
“All too well,” snapped Gheanne. “The last Shi’ar you ‘brought up to speed’ is now the sorceress who is attempting to kill Katie!”
“Notorcia made a poor student,” the book said flippantly. “All she cared about was learning new ways to take life. But I sense in Katie the desire to preserve life, and that convinces me she’ll embrace what I teach her.”
“The point we’re trying to make, book,” said Kurza flat out, “is that Katie would be safer with you out of her hair.”
“And the point I’m trying to make is that Katie is the only person who can protect me from Notorcia! And in protecting me, she protects herself.”
“At least permit someone to oversee Katie’s, er, education,” Kurza implored.
“As long as that ‘someone’ isn’t any of you four,” said the book.
“Let it be me, then,” said Lizbet, hurrying forward.
Widdershins gasped. “Honored Magi, I must protest!” she cried. “Lizbet is an Archeomagi with a less-than-sterling reputation. She collects grimoires and incunabula and other forbidden books. She is the last person I’d want poking around in The Book of All Things.”
Lizbet looked uncharacteristically stunned by Widdershins’ accusation. “And how would you know what I collect?” she asked suspiciously. “My collection is open to no one.”
“Like you, I am not without my connections,” Widdershins replied.
“Rumor is worth its weight in air, Dean Widdershins,” Gheanna said. “Lizbet has proved herself an invaluable resource on more than one occasion. And while we agree that she has a rather dubious reputation, her qualifications as an Archaeomagi far outweigh her faults as an individual.”
“The book is all she cares about,” Widdershins said, leveling an accusing finger at Lizbet. “She said so herself only a few minutes ago. At the very least you should consider giving the task to someone who has Katie’s best interests at heart!”
“Someone such as you, perhaps?” asked Kurza.
“That’s right,” said Widdershins. “I was her mother’s partner. I’m family. Katie knows me, trusts me. And I’m not without qualifications of my own. I was a teacher for ten years before I became dean. And before that I was a hero.”
“Dean Widdershins,” Leorge said in a frank tone, “you may be qualified to teach Katie in the ways of Heroics, but it is obvious that you lack the knowledge and skills to help sharpen her Shi’ar skills. Lizbet alone is best suited for that task.”
Widdershins seemed beside herself with fury. Katie’s heart went out to the woman. Enduring the Magi’s patronizing stares, let alone Lizbet’s triumphant smirk, had to be absolutely galling.
“This can end only in disaster,” Widdershins warned, her words hissing through clenched teeth.
The Magi ignored her reply and faced The Book of All Things without further ado.
“Is this an acceptable compromise, book?” asked Lucinia. “Do you agree to allow Dame Lizbet to oversee Katie’s instruction?”
“Well,” sighed the book. “She’s a bit too interrogative for my tastes, and she reeks of swamp gas and wet cats, but I suppose I can tolerate her—provided she minds her place and doesn’t attempt to overstep her authority.”
“Agreed,” said Lizbet. A triumphant expression scurried across her face as she turned to the Magi. “I will, of course, expect to reside here for the remainder of the school year,” she said.
The Magi deferred to Widdershins.
“I will allow it,” Widdershins said tersely. “But she will have to find quarters down in The Warren. School regulations prohibit non-students from residing on campus. I’m sorry, Lizbet, but there’s no exception to that rule.”
It was Lizbet’s turn to look galled. But before she could protest, the Magi nodded their assent.
“That sounds equitable,” Kurza said smugly.
“Then I insist on having Katie’s dorm warded against unauthorized intrusion,” said Lizbet. “For the…her protection.”
The slight but meaningful skip in Lizbet’s voice was not lost on Katie. Lizbet had intended to say “for the book’s protection” but had caught herself just in time. If Widdershins’ accusations regarding Lizbet’s true intentions had planted a seed of doubt in Katie’s mind, the Archaeomagi’s slip had made it sprout. Katie resolved to limit her time with the woman as much as possible—Notorcia or no Notorcia.
“That can be arranged,” said Widdershins.
“And I want a chaperone assigned to Katie at all times,” said Lizbet.
No!” said Katie, shooting from her chair. “I won’t allow it! I won’t have a babysitter following me everywhere I go. I can take care of myself.”
“Dear girl,” said Kurza with a false smile. “It’s for your own protection.”
“I’ll take my chances,” said Katie. “I won’t have the other students laughing at me behind my back.”
“There’s more at stake here than your reputation,” Lucinia admonished. “If Notorcia captures The Book of All Things, Odyssey will be in grave danger. Keeping you sufficiently protected until you can come into your powers is our chief concern—and it should be yours as well, young lady.”
Katie stood firm. “I said I can take care of myself,” she growled.
“Then you leave us no choice,” Kurza said grimly. “We will be your chaperones.”
Widdershins stiffened almost imperceptibly. “Honored Magi,” she blurted. “Do you have any idea what sort of stir that would cause? For the four of you to follow Katie everywhere she goes…”
“You mistake us,” Gheanna interrupted. “We will not follow her as a group, but as individuals. And I assure you we will be most discreet in our roles as guardians. We will blend in, disappear. No one will suspect a thing, not even the students.”
Katie hung her head and shook it, feeling the sudden urge to bolt from the room and run as far away from these women as she could. To that end she walked to the office door and locked it. “Since my wishes mean nothing to you,” she said without bothering to turn around. “I’ll leave you kind ladies to plot and plan as you desire. Cahernan House.”
The locked clicked, and the door opened to reveal Cahernan House’s front hallway. Katie summoned The Book of All Things to her side with a jerk of her head. The book humphed at the Magi, snorted at Lizbet, and then turned and hurried after Katie as she stepped over the threshold.
“We’re not finished with you, young lady!” Lizbet called after her.
Katie relished the Archaeomagi’s gasp of indignation as the door slammed resoundingly behind her.
Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Scott Munnings
“The Book of All Things” ISBN-13: 978-1-4276-1874-0
All Rights Reserved
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Posted by FantasyWriter on 2008-05-21 11:06:06 | Rating: | Views: 62
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