teaching Analiese to read.”
“How wonderful,” says Elizabeth with a smile so sincere, it’s almost frightening. “Is he a good teacher, Analiese?”
“Very good, miss. No one ever taught me my letters, and he’s very patient with me.”
“Nonsense, you’re learning splendidly,” Konrad says. “And it passes the time. It seems an age since you were last here.”
Swiftly my eyes move about the room, and I see his saber resting atop a shelf of books.
“You’ve been safe?” I ask him.
He nods and adds quietly, “But the sounds are getting more frequent.”
“Sounds?” asks Henry, looking at me. “You didn’t mention anything about strange sounds.” His expression is somewhat accusing, though nowhere near as alarmed as I’d expected.
“Just a rather noisy houseguest,” I say lightly.
“Where?” he asks.
“No one knows, sir,” says Analiese.
“Look, butterflies!” Elizabeth says, head tilted up.
I turn and see three of them. They flit among us expectantly. Henry inhales sharply when one lands upon his arm, and watches, enthralled, as the creature’s wings begin to radiate color.
“Incredible,” he murmurs as it flutters away.
One grazes Elizabeth’s hair, glowing amber, and then moves on.
The third one circles over me and then settles on my shoulder. At the exact moment of contact, I feel my mind sharpen.
“Yours doesn’t fly away,” Henry says, with what I think is a hint of envy.
“I’m naturally attractive,” I say, and then turn to my brother. “I was hoping I might enlist your help.”
Konrad squints over at me, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Even separated by death, my twin knows me well. “What is it you’re planning, Victor?”
I take a breath. The butterfly still sits on my shoulder, and somehow its mere presence speeds my mind, as though I can see deeper into the future. “I’m planning on bringing you back to us.”
A small gasp comes from Analiese. Konrad sinks back down in his chair, head bent.
“Victor, don’t—”
“Please, just listen—”
“Victor!” he shouts, looking up angrily. “This isn’t fair. I was resigned to my fate. And then, seeing you…” His gaze strays to Elizabeth and remains so long that he winces, a hand flying up to cover his eyes. “I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse. I see your lives, blazing from you like you’re gods! But I can’t share that light. I can’t even touch you!”
“Soon,” I tell him.
“No. This is like dangling a rope to a drowning man who can’t quite reach it. It’s too cruel. We’ve chased after miragesbefore, Victor. Don’t make me any more promises.”
“I have nothing to promise,” I tell him. “But you have nothing to lose.”
This silences him for a moment, and once more I see his eyes stray to Elizabeth, his heart’s desire.
“So what exactly is this plan of yours?” he asks.
“It begins,” I tell him, “in the Dark Library.”
* * *
Elizabeth, Henry, and I sit at the same table where we once pored over alchemical tomes, trying to find a miraculous cure for Konrad. Only, this time he is with us, at a far table where our heat and light will not blind and sear him.
Analiese is not here. She said she’d be of no help to us, as she can’t read. But I sense she’s afraid, and perhaps disapproving. When I opened the secret panel to the staircase, she drew back and said she never knew such a place existed. She is even more pious than Elizabeth.
Within the Dark Library the shelves sag under the weight of books. Every volume that ever resided here is now present, though not all are visible at first. The very oldest ones—those that weren’t here in my time, or perhaps even my father’s—are hidden at first. But stare long and hard at the shelves, and phantom tomes shimmer before your eyes. Touch them, and they gain substance. I show Elizabeth and Henry how to see through layers of time, and together we gather armloads of books and
“How wonderful,” says Elizabeth with a smile so sincere, it’s almost frightening. “Is he a good teacher, Analiese?”
“Very good, miss. No one ever taught me my letters, and he’s very patient with me.”
“Nonsense, you’re learning splendidly,” Konrad says. “And it passes the time. It seems an age since you were last here.”
Swiftly my eyes move about the room, and I see his saber resting atop a shelf of books.
“You’ve been safe?” I ask him.
He nods and adds quietly, “But the sounds are getting more frequent.”
“Sounds?” asks Henry, looking at me. “You didn’t mention anything about strange sounds.” His expression is somewhat accusing, though nowhere near as alarmed as I’d expected.
“Just a rather noisy houseguest,” I say lightly.
“Where?” he asks.
“No one knows, sir,” says Analiese.
“Look, butterflies!” Elizabeth says, head tilted up.
I turn and see three of them. They flit among us expectantly. Henry inhales sharply when one lands upon his arm, and watches, enthralled, as the creature’s wings begin to radiate color.
“Incredible,” he murmurs as it flutters away.
One grazes Elizabeth’s hair, glowing amber, and then moves on.
The third one circles over me and then settles on my shoulder. At the exact moment of contact, I feel my mind sharpen.
“Yours doesn’t fly away,” Henry says, with what I think is a hint of envy.
“I’m naturally attractive,” I say, and then turn to my brother. “I was hoping I might enlist your help.”
Konrad squints over at me, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Even separated by death, my twin knows me well. “What is it you’re planning, Victor?”
I take a breath. The butterfly still sits on my shoulder, and somehow its mere presence speeds my mind, as though I can see deeper into the future. “I’m planning on bringing you back to us.”
A small gasp comes from Analiese. Konrad sinks back down in his chair, head bent.
“Victor, don’t—”
“Please, just listen—”
“Victor!” he shouts, looking up angrily. “This isn’t fair. I was resigned to my fate. And then, seeing you…” His gaze strays to Elizabeth and remains so long that he winces, a hand flying up to cover his eyes. “I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse. I see your lives, blazing from you like you’re gods! But I can’t share that light. I can’t even touch you!”
“Soon,” I tell him.
“No. This is like dangling a rope to a drowning man who can’t quite reach it. It’s too cruel. We’ve chased after miragesbefore, Victor. Don’t make me any more promises.”
“I have nothing to promise,” I tell him. “But you have nothing to lose.”
This silences him for a moment, and once more I see his eyes stray to Elizabeth, his heart’s desire.
“So what exactly is this plan of yours?” he asks.
“It begins,” I tell him, “in the Dark Library.”
* * *
Elizabeth, Henry, and I sit at the same table where we once pored over alchemical tomes, trying to find a miraculous cure for Konrad. Only, this time he is with us, at a far table where our heat and light will not blind and sear him.
Analiese is not here. She said she’d be of no help to us, as she can’t read. But I sense she’s afraid, and perhaps disapproving. When I opened the secret panel to the staircase, she drew back and said she never knew such a place existed. She is even more pious than Elizabeth.
Within the Dark Library the shelves sag under the weight of books. Every volume that ever resided here is now present, though not all are visible at first. The very oldest ones—those that weren’t here in my time, or perhaps even my father’s—are hidden at first. But stare long and hard at the shelves, and phantom tomes shimmer before your eyes. Touch them, and they gain substance. I show Elizabeth and Henry how to see through layers of time, and together we gather armloads of books and
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