Vellum and Green Vitriol
Copyright © 2007, S. Y. Affolee
The Final Conjuration
Seal XXXIX
The smoke drifting past the Grand Canal smelled of sweet hay and clover and shone silver in the night. A parade of gondolas and other small boats floated down the canal, propelled by rowing figures in gaudy costumes and outrageous masks. The largest boat held a pyre on which an effigy in the vague shape of a person burned--an orange and yellow blaze scraping towards the sky. Around it, men and women in white robes and white face paint danced and shouted. As the boat passed under the main bridge, revelers dangled over the sides, hollering wordlessly, popping champagne bottles, and shooting small cannons of confetti. More revelers on the streets on either side of the canal waved lanterns and handkerchiefs--the visible vapor of their breaths mingling with the smoking effigy.
All of this was merely the beginning of the Carnival.
The crowd jostled and I stepped back to avoid being trampled by a large person with wide shoes and a fake red nose. Rhys' hand pressed against the small of my back, steadying me from the churning tide of people. The festive air in Haven had been building all day. After a late lunch, we had gone back to the hotel to change into our black costumes and had emerged into a swelling throng. We had eventually made our way to the Grand Canal, only briefly sidetracked by a group of dancing gypsies, and had stood on the side street to watch the opening ceremonies.
Rhys bent his head, his mouth close to my ear. "Let's go," he murmured.
Making ones way through a horde was much like threading one's way through a moving maze. It was as if the entire city was out in the streets tonight and there was no one that we didn't brush by or bump into. At least no one seemed to mind--as if it were a matter of course that there would be feet stepped upon and the accidental crashing of bodies.
Eventually, Rhys and I made it to the edge of an alleyway and we paused to catch our breaths and to gather our bearings. Away from the canal, the air was clear of smoke, but the scent of burning things did not completely disappear. Rhys took my arm and drew me further into the alleyway. With our black costumes, we easily blended into the shadows. Several revelers passed by the mouth of the alley and completely ignored us.
"This way."
The alley funneled out into another street facing yet another canal that ran parallel to the Grand Canal. In the darkness, familiar buildings took on an odd sheen. But my sense of direction was still intact--I could tell in which direction the Northern Sea Hotel lay as well as our final destination--the city library.
We stopped again, this time in the middle of a narrow bridge as a large group of masked festival goers passed. We stood to the side to allow these people through.
"I don't understand why we have to come out at night at all. Wouldn't it be more productive to find some sort of spell to divert attention during the day?" I said as the last stragglers ambled after the main group and we finally started walking in the opposite direction.
"It's less risky at night."
"I'd rather stay in bed than wander about in the dark freezing my feet off."
There was a soft chuckle. "I'd rather as well, but I don't want to wait. I have a feeling that something is close by. Something big is going to happen soon."
"Well, there is the fact that it's All Hallow's Eve."
"Yes."
Across another street and yet another bridge, we finally stood at the foot the stairs leading up to the library. Few revelers were about in this part of town. None of them took any notice of us.
"We can't just stroll in there from the front doors," I remarked. "There must be an entrance elsewhere as well. A more discrete entrance."
"You may be right. We might as well take a walk around the place--we wouldn't be wasting that much time."
On the side, close to the back, Rhys first spotted a small service door that blended into the walls quite well, except for the metal hinges which caught the stray light from a nearby lamppost. Nothing shaded the side of the library from onlookers so I stood in front of Rhys keeping a watch as he fiddled with the lock.
I heard a quiet snick behind me.
"Ah. It's open. Come on."
We slipped into a long dark hall, the only light coming in from the windows on the outer side. Everything was gray-black. I could hardly make out the shelves lining the interior wall. I took off my mask.
"We need some light or we'll be wandering blind in here."
"That can be easily solved," Rhys replied. He took a book from a shelf and held it up to the window so that the moonlight hit the title. "What's your opinion on theological philosophy?"
"Tedious and useless."
"Well, no one's going to miss this if we take this with us." He took off his glove and something dark crawled from his skin to the hapless text. The cover began to glow with a greenish light. "I suppose this will be our makeshift lantern."
The light extended outward by a few feet, enough so that we would see any immediate obstacles. An archway at one end of the long hall led out into the rotunda. The darkness lent a sinister cave-like atmosphere to the place. However quietly we tried to traverse it, our heels would click on the stone floor and echo like a large slap. We passed close to the front desk which was unoccupied.
It was at the archway to the archives that something dark darted past me. My feet caught on something and with a muffled cry, I went head first to the floor.
"Ana!" Rhys voice was low and rough. "Are you all right?"
The cold stone floor stung my cheek, but I slowly sat up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
Rhys crouched beside me and lifted my chin with a palm to examine my face. "No apparent external injuries."
I batted his hand away. "I'm a little rattled, but I think all my parts are in order. It's about as bad as falling off a shelf."
Meow?
A small black shadow pounced to my side and began rubbing against my hip. In the eerie green light of the book lantern, I could make out a feline shape equipped with shining green eyes.
"Thor?" I said in disbelief.
"What is he doing here? Could it be possible that he followed us all the way from Greenglass without our notice?"
The cat pawed at me. And then climbed up my body to perch on a shoulder.
"You're nothing but a nuisance," I whispered.
Thor responded with an arch of his back and then lazily slumping onto my shoulder like a useless fur.
Rhys took my hands and drew me back up to my feet. "There's nothing we can do about it. We might as well continue in our search."
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