The Circle Line by Ben Yallop

to have noticed Kya approach.
    Kya had the chance to study the strange new land and saw that behind the hut was a wide body of water, although it could not be water as it glowed with a faint phosphorescence that made it seem brighter than the grass that grew at its edges.
    ‘You’ve probably never seen anything like this place.’ said the green man as they approached the edge of the people. He pointed with an arm. ‘In that direction the land is in permanent sun. It's a harsh lifeless place of endless heat, a desert of shifting sands. To the other side the land is in perpetual darkness and it is a place of savage beasts. Little grows there but glowing mushrooms and plants that take their energy from the ground rather than the sun. We Green Men must guard constantly against those borders to keep our families safe. No-one has ever crossed either expanse and returned to tell of it.’
    They stopped at the edge of the group and now the people saw Kya and gasped in surprise. They parted for one of the warriors who had been at the centre of the group. This man was clearly quite old and particularly short. As he approached Kya's guide bowed low and Kya followed suit.
    “Welcome daughter.' said the man 'We have been expecting your arrival. I am afraid that you reach us at a time of grief and uncertainty. But, I presume you will not wish to delay. Please follow me.'
    Kya's guide bowed to her and set off back to his post, but the rest of the village followed her and the elderly man at a distance, whispering to each other.
    Kya's guide led her past some more huts toward a small wooded hill. As they approached two round stone columns appeared from between the trees, one at either side of a narrow path. As they passed between the worn pillars the whispering crowd fell back so that Kya and the elderly man continued alone, up the hill. It was not long before they came to a slope that led down and Kya was led along a path to a huge set of metallic doors set into the side of the hill and covered in an elaborate swirling filigree. They stopped before it and Kya looked up at the gates.
    'The lock has been designed in such a way that two people with presence are needed' said the green man. 'One person is not enough. I am the only one with presence in my village so therefore I always require a visitor to open this door. Similarly, a single visitor could not open it alone.'
    'How many times has it been opened?' asked Kya.
    'Once.' said the man. 'Come, place your hand here.'
    He indicated a space and Kya pressed her hand against the cold metal. The man did the same in another spot on the other door. Kya sent her mind into the internal workings of the door, feeling the green man do the same. She was amazed to find how complex the inner mechanism was and it took some minutes for them to work the lock open. They worked together, one holding a hidden section apart while the other pulled or pushed at some catch. Then with a final click the lock was open and the doors swung inwards.
    A domed brick tunnel led into the darkness of the inside of the hill. The green man produced a flint and had soon lit two torches that sat in a sconce on the wall. Together they walked down the passageway.
    It was not long before the tunnel ended and they faced a dark open space. The green man let go of the flaming torch he held and using his presence lifted it out into the darkness. Looking into its light Kya could not see anything beyond but then the flame caught something else and with a whoosh a line of fire suddenly spread around a system of chandeliers that hung overhead and then the room was illuminated.
    Before them lay the largest room Kya had ever seen. She could not see the sides or the ends. But that was partly because of the shelves. The room was full of rows upon rows of shelves and each shelf was full of thousands upon thousands of books. They stretched in every direction. Fascinated Kya walked towards the nearest row and touched the spine of the books