Page 38 of Cast in Atonement

The library doors opened. Killian turned to Bellusdeo and said, “The librarians will see you now. I ask that you remember that books are flammable.”

“Given the way Androsse and Kavallac fight, those books must be indestructible,” Kaylin said.

“They are part of the library itself; Lord Bellusdeo is not.”

Kaylin hoped to see Starrante. He was present and waiting.

Sadly so were the warring librarians; Androsse was to the left of the Wevaran, and Kavallac to the right. The Dragon librarian offered Bellusdeo and the chancellor a nod, the type that would pass between equals.

“Corporal,” she said, skipping that gesture of respect as she addressed Kaylin. “We have spent the past mortal day researching the tomes that might contain information.”

“What she is failing to say,” Androsse added, “is that we were forced—for the first time in some decades—to shift the passage of time between the Academia and the library. More time has passed within the confines of the library. Serralyn is on her way now. She has been helping us as she can; she doesn’t yet have the proper range of languages to access some of the older works, but we are arranging for a broader range of languages in future. We have been pleased by her intuition, even in the absence of concrete linguistic skills.”

Bellusdeo stepped forward. “Have you discovered any salient information?”

“Serralyn says maybe.” Terrano delivered her opinion before she had arrived to do it herself.

Androsse was ill-pleased to have his work so easily dismissed or reduced. Kaylin, however, thought that was for the best—Bellusdeo was hovering at the edge of her limited supply of patience.

To no one’s surprise, it was Starrante who began the research progress report. “We have uncovered different accounts of both ghosts—as we will call them, with the understanding that the term is not entirely technical—and those who might exorcise them. We have also found two separate accounts of what would be referred to as shamanism, where those accounts overlap exorcism and ghosts.

“What we have not found—and we did warn you—is a better account of what constitutes shamanism. Much of the learning that passed between master and student was not consigned to written words. Shamans themselves seemed to be mortal in nature; we could uncover no knowledge of a similar discipline among the Immortals. The closest we have come involves the tending of the green in the West March, and those who study and serve the Warden there—but such endeavors do not touch upon the dead.

“Kaylin? You have questions.”

Kaylin exhaled. “Yes, but it’s not going to decrease your workload.”

“It is very seldom that intelligent questions have that effect.” Starrante gave her the benefit of the doubt; Androsse clearly considered the questions of a mere mortal irrelevant for the most part. Kavallac’s expression was neutral enough Kaylin couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“You know about the Keeper?”

Half of Starrante’s eyes blinked. “We are aware of the position, yes.”

“Did you ever meet any of the people who held that position?”

“I did not, no. Some of my distant kin did—but they are gone now.” Starrante turned eyes in the direction of the other two Arbiters.

“I met the Keeper before I was chosen as Arbiter,” Androsse said, sounding slightly less bored. “The current Keeper is not the same individual.”

“No. The current Keeper is mortal. Or was mortal, before he became the Keeper. He’s old now.”

Kavallac rumbled. “Why are you asking this question? I perceive there is a reason for it.”

Bellusdeo didn’t consider that reason to be as urgent as her own, but she didn’t interrupt the older Dragon.

“I spoke with the current Keeper while on my regular patrol for the Halls of Law.” Kaylin hesitated, which was what she should have done before she’d asked the first question. But anything that unsettled the Keeper—or, to be fair, the elementals for whom he had responsibility—could cause problems on a worldwide scale.

Kaylin understood why Bellusdeo was frantic. In the gold Dragon’s position, she’d’ve felt the same way. But her sisters were already dead; their lives couldn’t be saved. Kavallac cleared her throat. Loudly.

“The Keeper has noticed a disturbance in the garden he tends; the elementals have been unsettled for half of the past month.”

“And you feel this is relevant to our research.”

Kaylin sucked in stale air. She didn’t like to talk about Mrs. Erickson, and in specific the current difficulties her abilities had brought to Helen. But Mrs. Erickson was at the heart of the research, the very strange ghosts, and Bellusdeo’s pain and guilt. They were entwined.

“Mrs. Erickson found ghosts in the heart of the Imperial Palace. She managed to talk those ghosts into coming home with her—with us. Those ghosts were capable of possessing the current Arkon. I mean, that’s already dangerous, but I think Mrs. Erickson has those ghosts under control for now.”

“Ghosts of which race?” Kavallac asked.

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