Page 88 of The Book that Broke the World

“I always believed they were hunting someone,” Yute said.

“Hunting?” Arpix looked puzzled. “But you said they just stop where they are. For decades at a time from what Evar described. Longer maybe.”

“A hunt in the library is a hunt through time. You’re no more likely to find the person you’re looking for in one chamber than the next. So, the best policy might be just to stay where you are and wait for them to come to you.”

“But they chased us,” Evar said. “They chased me. Why would steel monsters in the shape of ganar have been hunting me for centuries? That makes no sense!”

Yute shrugged. “That I couldn’t tell you. But you used the Exchange and there are many, many dangers associated with that. It sounds as if you’ve made an enemy who has also had access to the Exchange and has seeded hunters across the years, all looking for some manner of revenge.”

Evar shook his head. “I went to Attamast. That’s the only time I’ve even seen ganar. But I was a ghost. I couldn’t have been there for more than a minute. I couldn’t touch anything and none of them saw me.”

“You would be surprised who can see who.” Yute’s pink eyes seemed focused on the space between Arpix and Evar, the angle suggesting a child might be standing there. “The most important thing if you ever see a ghost is never to speak to them. That can lead to a world of pain.” He made a dismissive motion with his fingers and turned away.

“Why would a ganar orb stop a ganar automaton?” Evar asked, remembering how hot the thing had got, how close—it felt—to breaking.

Yute shook his head. “That’s like saying why would a human defence stop a human attack? They’re not one people. Even if you consider a particular time, their kind will divide into nations, religions, races. And if there’s nothing else to fight, and sometimes even if there is, they will fight each other.”

Evar had to accept that. His study of various canith histories with Mayland had shown him that his own kind had fought endless bloody wars between different factions, often when the only real point of dispute was which leader should prevail over which.

“Livira, then! Wentworth can guide us. We don’t have to worry about skeer.” He looked around. “Is this all of you? I remember more...”

“There are more.” Yute became grave. “Several more patrols. But they’re out there to help us evade the larger group. I just spoke about how ganar will fall to fighting among themselves as humans will. The group I led from the fire has split into two factions. It turned out that King Oanold was among those who escaped the city into the library. When he first came to the Exchange he was disguised as a duchess. He unveiled his true identity later in my absence. There was... bloodshed.” The librarian shook his head in sorrow.

The red-haired older human who always seemed to be barking complaints looked up sharply at the mention of Oanold and moved in closer, but it was Neera, Livira’s friend from the Dust with the long, lustrous hair, who spoke up. Although she seemed to be following Yute’s side of the conversation, her words made little sense to Evar. He picked out a few here and there amid the flow. Yute supplied the young woman’s meaning.

“She’s saying that King Oanold refused to believe either the limits of my and Wentworth’s ability to supply food, or the facts of the defeat we had left behind us. Even the fire appeared to be something he’d minimised in his mind. He considered our departure precipitous. He demanded more food and a return to his city at the time he left it. Both those things were and are not possible. I showed him to the centre circle and explained how it could sustain us all, but he believed that to be a lie and declared himself ready to torture me and anyone he thought I might care about until what he wished to happen happened. It was only due to luck, and the sacrifice of several good people, that we escaped him.”

“And Wentworth,” Neera said. Evar understood that bit. He was sure the cat had played a role in Yute’s people being able to win free.

“We have been avoiding them for several weeks now,” Yute concluded. “They send out patrols and sadly several of our people have been captured, but they mainly stick to the centre. Morally, it would be right to offer them the chance to leave with us. Also, I can’t leave behind the people he took prisoner.”

Clovis huffed. “This king would demand the orb.” She slapped the bag holding it. “I might have to kill a lot of them to change his mind.”

“Is it so important which of us holds it?” Yute asked gently.

Clovis opened her mouth wide, displaying the full serrated array of her teeth. “Yes.”

“We can come back for them,” Evar said, anxious not to delay the search for Livira. “We can move faster with a smaller group. Scout the way for those who might be too weak for anything but the shortest route. We can’t leave the library by the canith door or the human door. If we go out into the world the skeer can beat the orb. At least the fliers can. We need to find an exit far from here.”

Arpix finished translating him for the others. Some of those from Livira’s settlement spoke of a friend called Gevin and another named Katrin. One city man was very animated when talking about Katrin. None of them were happy about leaving them behind. It seemed they didn’t trust their king to treat his prisoners well.

Yute nodded and listened. “I understand, my friends. But if we go to the centre with the canith there will be a battle. We’ve seen what happens when the king’s soldiers meet canith. Many will die. Katrin and Gevin might well be casualties too. And if we go without the canith, Oanold will take us into his custody. If we don’t have the orb to give him he will likely just repeat his original, impossible demands. Though it’s possible that these weeks spent surviving on the centre circle’s gift will have softened their resolve. In any event, I do not think Mistress Clovis will hand us the orb to take to him by ourselves. Something I cannot fault her for.”

The decision required some toing and froing, with Arpix working to smooth fears and deal with complaints. However, within the hour, the group was ready to leave. They were to search for an exit from the library. One that lay sufficiently distant from any skeer nests. Also, they were to look for Livira.

Yute knew of an exit that humans could open, but it lay more than two hundred miles away. Arpix and several others seemed surprised by the existence of any such door, though most were just daunted by the length of the journey. Since Yute could navigate to this remote entrance it was agreed that they start by asking Wentworth to find Livira. If the route the cat led them on diverged too much from Yute’s path they would have to choose between them, and an exit seemed the most popular choice—though Evar already knew that if Wentworth continued to lead, he would continue to follow.

“Of course,” said Yute, “if Livira is in the future, Wentworth will lead us to the nearest door into the Exchange. And even if one has been left unattended by an assistant, it would be highly inadvisable to go through it.”

“You led hundreds of people through the Exchange,” Evar countered.

“The alternative was that they suffocate or burn alive,” Yute said. “It was not a wise decision. It was a... human one.” He went to one knee and held out a hand as if it might contain some morsel of food. “Wentworth!”

The cat did not appear.

Yute looked up. “Volente is much more obliging.” He called again, “Wentworth!”

Salamonda came forward. She had around her waist a torn sheet as a kind of apron. Evar had noticed it before and always wondered if it was an example of fashion. The older woman made a clucking noise and stamped her foot. “Wentworth, you come here right now if you know what’s good for you!”

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