The next morning, he left for Rodemhaul Castle first thing. He hoped that if he arranged everything in advance, he would be on time for both the first and second meetings. He had to get back to the library tower; the quotas did not allow him to keep borrowed books for too long.
He had spent the whole of the previous evening reading and analysing the contents of the scholarly works he had acquired, instead of doing what his father had ordered.
The library was guarded by a single kammerdiener; he served Renas as quickly as he could and then left. His odd behaviour was suspicious. The duke stole a glance at the register, driven by a disturbing premonition that something was amiss. And he was right.
He remembered well how Diyako had torn off a piece of the newly written page with the records of who had been in the library and for how long. The damage was gone. Not by magic, but because someone had replaced the page with a new one and copied the data from the previous one… but wrongly. Renas had been deliberately taking advantage of the fact that the library’s main time limit was for staying in the library, and that you could borrow books for up to a whole day, so he usually went in for a very short time to make the most of his quota. Now someone had entered half an hour instead of the few minutes he had spent in the library yesterday. A quick glance at the previous notes showed that the process had been going on for weeks and that many pages had been replaced.
Ah, that’s why he didn’t want to get the book and told me to put it in its place myself. Well, if they want to play a game, I’ll play it with them. After all, I’m the one who’s right, not them, he thought.
* * *
The pages rustled as if in panic. The cover of the book slammed shut and the volume fell on top of another like a boulder rolled down a slope. Renas walked along the bookshelf and turned into another corridor of the library wing. The wooden steps creaked as he ran up to the upper floor. The crystal chandelier illuminated all four terraces of the library; he was aware that climbing up would not make him any safer.
He stopped on the third floor and pulled a book out of what appeared to be a random section. He leaned casually against the railing and opened the volume on the table of contents.
The screeching of the wooden door told him that the only way out of the library had just been cut off. Servants in tailcoats similar to the ducal ones, ran into the semicircular space under the chandelier. From there they spotted Renas, who might have resembled a typical duke visiting the library had he not been wearing a winged helmet with an open visor.
“Well, I was just about to leave.”
“Duke Ariyan has reported a violation. Your basic quota for the month has been used up,” one of the kammerdieners explained, while the other two ran upstairs as if they were chasing a dangerous criminal.
“This is an item from my quota.” Renas closed the book and waved it from above. “Imaginary Space by Chiman Mukriyani.”
Meanwhile, the kammerdieners reached the second floor.
“The source quota has been exhausted, which means your grace has no right to be here,” said the one downstairs.
Renas walked away, pretending to put the book back on the shelf. Servants ran towards him.
“You know, of course, that Ariyan falsified the data in the register?”
“We also know that you replaced books with forgeries to have more time to read them. And this was added to your account.”
“Aha, so he reads them too! I thought he wouldn’t notice,” he sneered.
“Put it down, please,” one of the servants ordered, pointing a loaded petronel at the duke.
The book hit the floor. Seizing the opportunity, Renas cautiously took two steps back before he heard another order.
“Stop!” exclaimed the second kammerdiener and carefully picked it up. “Now tell me where the real book is.”
“Here.” Renas pointed to the same book as before.
The servant holding the gun stopped his companion from opening the volume at the last moment.
“Wait! It’s a trap, don’t open it. Put it down,” he said.
Renas took advantage of the fact that they were not aiming at him for a moment, and rushed to the stairs. He managed to run up another floor before the servants caught up with him and stopped him between the topmost bookcases. On this library floor, there were no more stairs up, but only sizeable Gothic windows, reaching from the floor to the cross-ribbed ceiling –
Well, actually he did not; he only thought he had run up. He was still on the third floor, and the moment when he had seemingly got higher existed only in his mind. He immediately realised that someone had penetrated his mind deeply enough to create the impression of a time loop, and if he tried to escape, he would only lose precious seconds. But he wasn’t going to give up. The only thing he was about to give up on was trying to respond to the mental attack. Since the enemy wasn’t pushing any deeper himself, he shouldn’t be encouraged to do so.
Renas didn’t want to fight with spells, let alone with his mind, because he knew that would immediately attract more people who could sense the unusual flow of particulates from afar.
He raised his hands and dropped the void.
The book, still lying beside the kammerdieners, opened and the dry crack of an idiotically simple push spell was heard. The gunholder fell down and fired, distracting his companion.
The mental assault faded for a moment as Renas fled to the floor above, this time in reality.
What a shame that he sent a mental one as well! How does Ariyan know that this kind of magic is not my thing? Or am I wrong and it isn’t him?
Something flashed past him. He fell to the floor between the bookcases. The shelves bent and leaned over him. Books fell on his head, each one opening to reveal teeth and spikes. He felt several blows.
As things stood, he could no longer pretend that there was a trap in the book and thus hide how his spell really worked. He would simply let his magic fall into the void, and it would reappear a moment later at its destination, as if it had travelled there… by a different route.
The pain disappeared, along with the illusion and the uncomfortable feeling of pressure on his mind. Renas rose quickly and moved forward. He heard his spell hit a second time. The two servants fell against the bookshelves. This time real books fell on them, not imaginary ones.
He opened one of the windows, made his way to the outside sill and carefully closed it behind him. He clung to the castle wall, oblivious to the abyss below, and whistled as if calling a dog.
Something whirred vigorously and slid off the roof. Renas jumped as the metal frame fell past him. He grabbed the curved steering wheel and the vehicle adjusted itself so that he could sit comfortably.
The engine spat out its first exhaust with a heavy rattle. The two propellers at the rear began to turn slowly. Since they were too weak to stop the fall, two veiny, translucent orange wings extended from the vehicle. When they swung for the first time, the flight stabilised.
The propellers and engine were just for show and would never be able to lift the scooter on their own. But nobody cared. It flew, and that was it. And that’s where Renas’ approach stood out. He didn’t like this state of affairs. He wanted to understand how the world really worked, not how to simplify it by reducing it to magic.
