The Reader by Traci Chee

Author:Traci Chee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-08-31T09:30:33+00:00

Chapter 21

What the Stars Mean

Lon stood by the glass wall of the Library, looking out over the mountains. Gray fingers of moonlight parted the clouds, touching on blue ridges and black trees dusted with snow. Taking a deep breath, he blinked, allowing the Illuminated world to swim before his eyes.

Under the blanket of winter white, the boulders and trees glimmered with golden threads of light, swirling and shifting with the passage of time.

He watched the growth of the trees and felt wildfires burning across the landscape, experienced lightning strikes on the granite domes, and suffered the slow inevitable advancement of glacial ice. Entire lifetimes revolved before him while he stood there, dimly aware of the passing minutes, his breath fanning against the glass.

Erastis had always said he would need a referent, something in the physical world to anchor him in the seas of light that spanned all of history. But Lon was better than that. It had taken him months of training, but now he could absorb decades of information without falling ill or losing himself in the waves of light.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Lon blinked, and the Illuminated world drained away. He turned to find the Second standing beside him, smelling of metal. She was dressed in her black Assassin’s garb, with frost still clinging to her dark hair. Her curved sword hung at her side.

“You’re back,” he said. Even though he spoke softly, his voice still echoed faintly in the marble hall.

The Second didn’t look at him, but she nodded. There was something different about her now. After their encounter in the Library, they’d spent six months becoming friends—as she forged her bloodsword and he trained in the Sight—and then one day, over five weeks ago, she and her Master had disappeared. No one would say where they’d gone, and Erastis, when pressed, had only shaken his head and said, “I told you not to get too attached to her, Lon. Assassins don’t form ties they can’t break.”

And now, she seemed almost as distant as she had the day they’d met.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

“I was on another mission.” Her words were a thread of condensation, fading quickly against the glass.

“Oh.”

For a whole minute, nothing moved but the snowflakes outside.

“How long are you going to be back?”

“As long as I’m ordered to.”

“Oh.” Lon watched her intently. She’d been on missions before she’d gotten her bloodsword, before they became friends. But he didn’t remember her coming back like this, cold and remote as the frigid Northern Reach.

The Second slid her sword a hand-span out of its sheath, her gaze passing over the copper-colored steel, which had been inscribed with hundreds of words, swooping up and along the blade in perfect spirals. After forging the blade, she had spent another three months using Transformation to engrave the weapon, imbuing it with its magical properties. In the moonlight, the letters seemed to glow.

He tugged awkwardly at his huge sleeves. He didn’t like thinking about it, but Apprentices were assigned to their divisions for a reason.

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