“A fighter’s always prepared,” he said. “Want some help with that?”
I accepted the supplies and shook my head. The pain was tolerable, but I wasn’t sure it would stay that way if someone else started poking at the hole. I unscrewed the ointment’s cap and squirted a little of it into the wound until cool relief spread through my side. I tore a long strip of gauze from the roll, folded it into a square, then secured the bandage with too many strips of medical tape.
“If they’re scrying, they’d need something close to you to get a lock,” Clem said.
“Like hair or toenail clippings?” Eric asked.
“Or blood,” Clem said. “Clothes might work, too.”
I thought about that and realized how simple it would be for my mother to find me no matter where I went in the world.
“My core,” I said. “My mother built the Machina I grafted during the challenge. Plus, she’s my closest relative. She’d be a perfect focus for a seer.”
A pained frown crossed Clem’s face. She nodded and chewed on the inside of her lip.
“There’s nothing I can do about that now,” I said. “We have to assume she can track me wherever I go outside the School.”
“Then we’re done,” Eric said.
No matter where I went in the world, it was only a matter of time before my mother found me and set more heretic attack dogs on my trail. The good news was it had taken her time to get a fix. That gave us an edge I thought we could exploit.
“We are far from done,” I corrected him. “My mother thinks she has the upper hand. That mistake will cost her.”
It didn’t take long to explain what I meant to my friends, and their glum looks melted away as they listened. Soon, we were all grinning ear to ear.
“That’s how we’ll beat them,” I said. “But I need to rest, and so do all of you. We have a lot of work still ahead of us, and we can’t do it if we’re wiped out. Clem, can I get that rubbing?”
“Sure,” she said. “If you can make a copy of it, that would be great. I hate to think of losing it.”
“Thank you.” I took the paper from her and held it carefully. “I’ll catch up to you guys tomorrow.”
My friends gathered their things, wished me well, and headed to their own rooms. I was glad to be alone, not because I disliked their company, but because I needed to meditate. Restoring my jinsei would heal the wound in my side, and it would help me find my way to the next level of advancement. I also had to clean myself up, change my clothes, and complete one last mission for the day.
After a quick shower, I put on a fresh bandage and headed down to the library. It was empty at that hour, but a warm light shone through the window of the librarian’s office. I rapped my knuckles on the door, then waited, my laptop under my arm.
“Jace?” Tanoki seemed surprised to see me when he answered my knock. “You missed your intern hours for today. It’s a bit late to start work. Just come back in the morning.”
“I’m sorry, honored Librarian,” I said from the bottom of a deep bow. “Something had me tied up. I’m not here to make up hours. I need a favor.”
Tanoki frowned, then looked out over the empty room and nodded. He stepped back and gestured for me to enter his office. After I’d squeezed passed him into the office, he pulled the door closed and activated a pair of scrivenings that surrounded the frame in sizzling silver light. Satisfied with his precautions, the librarian made his way around the desk and took a seat.
“I can’t promise I’ll be able to help you,” he said. “But I will do what I can.”
“I know you’ll be discreet,” I said. “If the wrong people find out I’m looking into it, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
Librarian Tanoki considered that for a moment. He clasped his hands in front of him, looked past me at the door he’d just sealed, and let out a long sigh.
“Before you go any further,” he started, “you should know I was warned you might come to me for help with important matters this year. No, I won’t say who or why. But anything you tell me while those wards are in place is safe in this room. You may speak freely, and you are not as alone in your mission as you think.”
The urge to question Tanoki about what he knew was hard to quell. Though he’d tried to put my mind at ease, I was tired of helpful watchers who didn’t come forward unless I tracked them down.
“Just once,” I grumbled, “it would be nice to know who was on my side.”
“Jace,” he said, “it isn’t that simple. I’m a librarian, not a fighter. If I could tell you more, believe me, I would.”
As frustrated as I was, Tanoki was right. In my short life I’d done and seen more than people three times my age. The horrors and wonders had hardened me, and it wasn’t fair to expect others to feel the same.
“We found this inscribed in the bottom of a coffin,” I explained as I handed the rubbing to Tanoki. “It’s not much, but I need to know what it means. If you can dig up anything on a cultivator named Meriwa, that would be a huge help, too.”
“The name doesn’t ring a bell,” Tanoki said. He carefully unfolded the rubbing and furrowed his brow when he peered at it. “And I don’t recognize this at all. Is there anything else?”
I wanted to ask Tanoki about the Heart of Eternity, but worried that was too much information. I couldn’t risk it.
“That’s it,” I said. “I need everything you can find about those two things.”
“I will do what I
