The ship was just a speck on the horizon when Devi turned her feet back towards the city. The sea breeze blew her dark hair every which way, making her wish she had taken the time to tie it back. The image of the man on the table returned to her, and she shuddered. She couldn’t believe Uncle Jair had been a part of it. Could she? She couldn’t really trust her own memories of him from behind a young girl’s lens of innocence. Was this partly why her father had banned him from their house? What sort of sorcery was he involved in? It seemed like something from a child’s nightmare, and she couldn’t make sense of it.
When she reached the bottom of the stone steps that climbed up to the library entrance, she stopped and listened. She waited until she heard the clerk’s voice. He greeted a library patron and let them pass by into the library. Phew. It was Garick at the front today. She hurried up the stairs.
His red hair was messy, as usual. He looked up over a pile of books on the desk and shook his head at her. “It’s a good thing I work so much or you’d never get in here. Then how would you spend your days?”
“I know. I’ve been coming so often lately the other clerk has probably assumed I’m in love with you.” She gave him a grin.
Garick didn’t quite manage a smile. More of a grimace. “You’re lucky that I believe in education for all, not just the rich prats. Just don’t let it get around that I’m letting commoners into the King’s Library.”
Devi nodded her head in thanks and walked past him. She couldn’t stop herself from pausing as she walked past the stone stairway that led to the upper rooms. Her stomach twisted as the scene from last night flashed in her mind. She bit her lip and forced her feet forward.
Unsure of where to begin, she wandered around until she came to the religious section. Thick books and scrolls filled the shelves. She scanned titles and pulled out anything that looked promising.
Three hours later, she’d come up with nothing. Nothing about ceremonies involving diamonds. Or gems of any kind. She replaced the stack of books and hurried out.
As she walked towards the lower town, the quietness surrounding the library was replaced with the business of the common worker. Merchants called out to passersby, women haggled vegetable prices with each other, and children played in the streets. The sea breeze never seemed to make its way into town, and the sun shone warmly on her head.
Dust billowed up from a passing cart and Devi tried not to cough. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she ducked across the road and down to the tavern. She walked through the door and made her way to the back.
Olin was just beginning. No one noticed as he put his ear to his lute and tuned each string. He began to play, quietly at first, then gaining confidence as a few turned to listen. Devi watched his fingers fly over the strings and was the first to break into applause when the tune ended.
Olin caught her eye and flashed a quick smile as he continued on to the next tune. Once he finished his set, he stood and made his way over to her. “I’m glad you came.”
“I wouldn’t miss your debut performance!”
Olin smiled that ready smile of his, and Devi thought back to when she was twelve years old–when she had met him. She’d been wandering the streets, blind with grief at her mother’s passing. With her eyes on her feet, she had walked smack into him, tumbling them both over. Unfortunately, he had been carrying his lute at the time, and the instrument was crushed. He hadn’t been smiling then.
Olin set a mug down in front of her. “Here we are.”
“To your lute!” said Devi, holding up her mug.
“To my father’s continued ignorance of today’s events!” he replied, clinking his mug on hers.
Devi swallowed and set the drink down. “Olin, I have to tell you something. Last night at the library. I accidentally fell asleep there so I didn’t leave at closing time. I woke up around midnight and heard sounds from upstairs, so I went to check it out. What I saw — I . . . I don’t know.” The words tumbled out faster. “There was a group of people who had tied a man to a table. They were chanting. There was a blue diamond glowing on the man’s chest. It seemed to suck the life out of him. When they finished, he didn’t move. His eyes were bleeding. I—I think he was dead.”
Olin’s brow furrowed and he looked at her in confusion. “Slow down. Who died? How?”
She breathed in slowly and rubbed her arms like she was cold. “I don’t know who he was. And I don’t know how they killed him. But I know one person who was in the group. It was…” her voice trailed off for a moment before she continued. “It was my Uncle Jair. He was one of the people standing around the table. I don’t know how they did it. All I know is that it was unnatural. I’m trying to make sense of it but nothing about it makes sense.”
“Have you told anyone? Besides me, I mean?”
She shook her head. “No. I was going to tell my father, but I didn’t want to bring up Uncle Jair. I’ve told you how he despises him. I couldn’t do that this morning. Not right when he was trying to leave. He left today with another shipment. I spent all morning at the library trying to find out what happened.”
“You went back?!” he said too loudly, causing others to turn towards them. He lowered his voice again. “You went back to the place where this man was killed?”
“No, no, I just went to the main floor with the books. What could happen? Actually, I didn’t even think that would be something to worry about, although I did feel sick walking past the stairway just thinking about what happened upstairs.”
“Don’t you want to report this to the city guards?”
She frowned and raised one eyebrow. “Tell the city guards. First of all, what would I tell them? I don’t even know what happened. Some people killed a man with their words? And a magic diamond? Then there’s the fact that my uncle was involved. I want to figure out what he was doing before I get him arrested, or worse–assuming anyone would even believe my story. I know I don’t owe my uncle anything, but blood relatives shouldn’t betray each other without having a good reason.”
Olin took a slow breath. “That makes sense. I wouldn’t want to rat out my uncle either. But I can’t believe you went back to that place, even if it was during the daytime.”
“I’m going tonight, too. And I want you to come with me.”