The only other member of my clan not in hiding looked like school agreed with him. He was heavier than when we’d first met, and most of the new mass was wiry muscle. The fear in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cool confidence that I wished I’d felt at his age.
“What’s up?” I asked. “I was on my way to the library.”
“Good!” Byron said. “On both counts. Librarian Tanoki asked me to fetch you.”
“Perfect timing.” I threw an arm over Byron’s shoulders and steered him out of the dorm tower. “You look like you’ve adjusted to life here.”
“It’s been good,” Byron said. “Especially the food. I don’t know how I’ll ever choke down another algae block.”
We both grimaced at the memory of the only food most laborers ever ate. The algae cubes were gelatinous and flavored with chemicals that never tasted the way they were supposed to. The first time I’d had lasagna at the School had been an eye-opener.
“Good,” I said. “My first year was pretty rough. If you need anything, let me know.”
“Well...” Byron’s hands fidgeted as we made our way through the School. “It’s kind of lonely over in the freshman dorm. I’m the only one from our clan there. Niddhogg hangs out with me when he can, it’s just—”
Memories of my time locked up in the Stacks emerged. The time down there had given me opportunities to improve, but the loneliness had nearly crushed me. Hahen was a good friend, but the lack of human contact had been brutal.
“You’ve got friends in other clans, though?” I asked. “I’ve seen you hanging out in the cafeteria with some first years.”
Byron’s face brightened when I mentioned his friends. “Yeah, they’ve all been great.”
“I’ll get you moved to another dorm,” I said. We’d reached the library, and I bowed to Byron. “Headmistress Cruzal owes me one. Thanks for bringing me Tanoki’s message.”
“Of course!” Byron returned my bow, then took off with a wave. A few steps away, he turned back and said, “Thanks!”
I watched the kid until he disappeared from sight, then knocked on the librarian’s office door. Tanoki answered it after the first knock and ushered me inside. He glanced left and right, as if looking for tails, then closed and sealed the door behind us.
“Thank you for coming. This was far more difficult than I’d anticipated,” the librarian explained, running his fingers along the edge of a thin envelope in his left hand. “But I think you’ll find this worth the wait.”
“Thank you,” I said with a deep, sincere bow. I accepted the envelope and tucked it under my arm. “This means a lot. If there’s anything I can ever do for you, you have but to ask.”
The librarian rested a hand on my shoulder. As I straightened up, he focused a piercing blue gaze on me. In that moment, the years faded away from him. His eyes were clear and sharp, like a raptor’s.
“You’re doing more for me, more for everyone, than any of us has a right to ask of you, Jace.” He returned my bow with a shallow nod of his own. “And I thank you for that. I’ve highlighted some items of interest for you in that packet. But I can’t choose your path, no one can. Every step you take from this day forward will be fraught with peril. I wish you well, my young friend.”
The librarian’s words were ominous to my ears. There was something coming that I didn’t want to hear.
“You’ll see me again,” I said. “I’ll be here after the break.”
“It’s not so simple as that,” Tanoki said. “I’ve served my purpose. My time here has come to an end. I’ve done what I can for the cause, Jace. It’s time for me to rest.”
That did not sound good at all. The idea of losing the librarian filled me with dread. I needed more allies, not fewer. If he left, all this rested on the shoulders of my three friends and me.
“No,” I said. “You can’t go. What if there are more documents we need translated? I’ll be lost without your help.”
The years returned to the librarian’s face, one sad new wrinkle at a time. His lower lip trembled and a gauzy haze settled over his eyes.
“My time is almost gone, Jace,” he said in a firm voice. “It was my privilege to help you. But my assistance had a cost, and I can no longer pay it. Don’t argue, just listen. Before I go, you must understand that we’ve given as much help as we can. Don’t ask this librarian to translate anything else. Don’t trust him with your secrets. There are other allies in your future. But many of those you have known must exit the stage to make room for what is yet to come.”
“I’ll do anything,” I pleaded. “I have jinsei, I can use that to pay the price. Please.”
“Brother,” a young woman’s familiar voice whispered from Tanoki’s lips. The smell of eucalyptus drifted through the library, and the librarian reached out to rest his hand on my shoulder. “Do not ask more of the spirits who help you. The threads of destiny are already dangerously tangled. To do more risks sundering what is to come.”
“Maps?” I grabbed her hand, but she’d already fled from Tanoki.
The librarian flinched away from me and pulled his hand out of my grasp. He glared at me with muddy brown eyes, his face twisted into an angry frown.
“What’s gotten into you, boy?” he barked. “You know better than to lay hands on me. I’m fine. Take that list of tasks I’ve given to you and make sure they’re completed before the end of the day. I’ve had just about enough of your foolishness.”
The librarian’s words stung like lashes. I nodded mutely, tucked the envelope under my arm, and retreated from his angry tirade. The librarian wasn’t gone, but the man I’d known certainly was. I pushed the pain away. It was better to remember the help
