Marcus Sedgwick by The Dark Flight Down
Author:The Dark Flight Down
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-05-31T11:31:49+00:00
15
Boy struggled to believe what Bedrich was saying.
âYes, I know about the book. I thought it had been dealt with, long ago.â
âHow?â cried Boy. âHow can you know about it?â
âI know it!â Bedrich said, firmly. âI know the book. I once looked into it myself⦠.â
He stopped, took a deep breath.
âIt did me no good. It has done others much worse.â
That was true. Boy thought of Valerian. The book hadnât saved him after all, though it might have done at the cost of Boyâs life.
âBut how?â asked Boy. âWhen?â
Bedrich looked at Boy, held his eyes for a long time.
âWhat does a poor wretch like you know about it?â he asked. âA street child like you.â
Boy shook his head.
âI donât live on the streets, not anymore. I live with ⦠lived with a man. A great man, called Valerian.â
âThe magician?â asked Bedrich, raising an eyebrow.
âYou knew him?â Boy asked.
âNo. Only by reputation. Fifteen, maybe twenty years ago. He was a scholar at the Academy, but was disgraced.â
Boy ignored this.
âValerian wanted the book,â he said. âWe searched for it. In nasty places.â
âThe book is power. That much I know. But why exactly did he want it?â
âHe was in trouble. He â¦â
Boy stopped. It seemed impossible to explain everything that had happened in the last few weeks.
âYou speak of him as if he has gone,â Bedrich said. âHe is dead?â
Boy nodded.
âSo he didnât get the book, to save him from this trouble?â
Boy shook his head.
âNo, he did get it. He did, but â¦â
âBut? What happened?â
âTo save himself ⦠to save himself would have meant killing me⦠.â
âAnd he refused? What a noble gesture!â
Boy shrugged. It wasnât quite like that, but in the end Valerian had died instead of him. Bedrich sensed Boyâs hesitation.
âBut he must have been a great man, to die instead of you. Why else would he have done it?â
âHe was my father,â Boy said.
The words sounded strange on his lips. He knew he might be lying, that he didnât really know the truth. But it was easier to tell Bedrich that, than to have to explain it all to him.
âWhat a strange boy you are!â Bedrich declared.
Boy said nothing.
âSo you know about the book, about its power. And its danger.â
âWillow always said it was dangerous, right from the start, but I donât see why. Itâs full of knowledge, and knowledge is good. Valerian always said so, and he was never wrong.â
âBut the book is different. Maybe if it revealed the whole truth of a matter, it would be a good thing. But it does not. It is treacherous, and malevolent. It reveals only some of the truth. It shows something different to each person. Sometimes it shows nothing at all, but when it does reveal something, you have to be very careful to understand that what it is telling you is only part of the picture.â
âBut Willow looked into it. She looked over Valerianâs shoulder, and saw he was about to try to â¦â
He stopped. He didnât want to tell Bedrich that Valerian had tried to kill him.
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