A Tempting Offer

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Photo by Steije Hillewaert on Unsplash

This was the second dead body that Simon had found. The first was his uncle, a few winters ago. The old man had drunk too much at the tavern and tried to wander home alone. Simon found him the next morning, hugging a tree, icicles hanging from his pale corpse. This morning the body he was crouching next to was still warm.

Like every day this summer he’d arrived at the library early, before the sun began to rise. He’d expected to find the Librarian hunched over his desk. Instead, he found his body sprawled at the foot of a ladder, a stack of books strewn nearby.

Simon held his hand under the Librarian’s nose. Nothing. It couldn’t have happened long ago, he didn’t feel any movement but he could still feel the warmth radiating from the man's flesh. Simon could guess what happened. The fool had tried to reach one of the higher shelves, fallen and snapped his neck in the attempt.

That was supposed to be his responsibility. The Librarian had hired him as an apprentice, to keep the library in order. He had been coming here every week since he was a boy, so when his father insisted he get a job this was the obvious choice. Without the Librarian to employ him he’d have to join his brothers, that meant working the mines or hunting in the forest. Or worse, joining his oldest brother in the army. They would be so smug, they already made fun of him for being the youngest.

He withdrew his hand with a heavy sigh. He knelt back weighing his options and caught a glimpse of something under one of the bookshelves. He reached under and withdrew a black box carved with intricate shapes and symbols. It was made of wood but felt as cold as metal left in the snow. The Librarian must have dropped it when he fell. But what was he doing trying to put a box like that on  one of the bookshelves? Simon's curiosity got the better of him and he unlatched the box.

A necklace, shining gold, sat inside. The red jewel in the centre was half the size of his fist. If he could sell a gem like that he wouldn’t need to work for a year. He glanced nervously around the room. No one would know. The Librarian was dead, and he had no family or friends. It wasn’t even a decision. He reached out and grabbed the necklace.

His fingers had barely touched the chain when his whole body locked up. Every muscle in his body tensed, and just when he thought his limbs would snap he went limp. A marionette with the strings cut. His eyes darted back and forth, the only thing he could move. Then they bulged wide with shock as his hands started to move. They slowly brought the necklace up and fastened it around his neck. As the necklace clasp closed blood rushed to his head and he could feel his limbs again. He was drenched in sweat. Then he heard the voice.

“You haven’t got time to be sitting about, boy. You have work to do.”

He looked around shocked. He recognized the voice, it was the Librarian. He glanced at the unmoving body. It couldn’t have been. He realized that he hadn’t heard the voice, he had felt it in his head.

He was getting ready to run when the voice returned,  “I haven’t got time for you to panic, so I'm going to have to make this quick.”

Simon darted up and sprinted for the door of the library. He took two strides before his legs locked up and he tumbled head first into the door.

“Listen,” the voice said, “I've only got so much time and we need to get moving. I’m going to take the reins and I’ll explain on the way.”

His body darted from the floor, threw open the door and ran out into the morning light. He wanted to run home, but his body was being dragged in the wrong direction. The streets were quiet, the sun only just cresting the horizon. Simon tried to say something but his jaw was shut tight. His body continued to run, chest heaving as he forced air into his lungs through his nose.

The voice spoke over his pounding heart, “I know you’ll have questions and I’ll try to answer them, but we have to keep moving.”

Simon felt his jaw release, his body was still running without his consent. He gulped in a lungful of air, trying to form questions between gasping breaths.

“What…the hell…” A deep breath, “Is going on?”

“You know me as The Librarian,” the voice replied, “And I am. At least, I was. I’m also a Mage, and for the last century it’s been my job to protect this village.”

Simon continued to pant, “But…I thought…magic…died.”

“Not dead, just dormant. Years ago a group of us imprisoned a clan of dark sorcerers who sought to use magic as a means for personal gain. If we hadn’t stopped them they would have turned civilization as you know it to ash. Each of us bound our lives to a seal, a lock that imprisoned those who attempted to defile magic.”

Simon’s head was spinning, not just from exhaustion. He was trying to process what he had heard when the voice chimed in again, “I can see the shape of your thoughts boy, I know this is confusing. But like I said, I don’t have time to waste so you’re going to have to catch up as we go. Speaking of which, we’re almost there.”

While the voice had been speaking Simon had barely noticed where his body had carried him. The library was near the edge of town so in the short time that he had been sprinting he had crossed the bridge out of town. He felt his body dart off the path, into the woods that covered the northern hills. He continued to sprint away from the main road, where the trees were dense, and loose branches whipped his face. The leaves rushed past, but the voice continued un interrupted.

“My life was the only thing that held the nearest seal in place. Thanks to that rickety ladder, and a broken neck, that seal is now broken and the place you call home could be on the verge of total destruction.”

His body slowed to a fast stride. His mind continued to whir, but the slower pace gave him a chance to catch his breath and speak without panting, “If you died how are you still talking?”

“Wizards and cats have a lot in common, boy. We have more than one life. Years ago I preserved my mind in that necklace. I can use it to occupy the minds of others. Unfortunately, doing so takes immense power and I can only hold it for a short time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?”

“I needed to test you. See if you had what it takes, or if you’d be corrupted like so many others before you.”

Simon realized they had long ago left any sign of civilization behind. He’d never ventured this deep into the woods.

“Where are you taking me? There’s nothing out here but empty woodland.”

“That’s what you think.”

His hands pushed aside a dense thicket to reveal a clearing. A field of thick grass stretched away, densely packed trees created an almost perfect wall around the edges. At the far side a small stream flowed gently into the surrounding woods.

Now that his body had stopped he could feel a wave of exhaustion creeping up. His legs felt heavy and his chest still heaved, but the force that had kept him standing this far was still holding him upright.

“There’s nothing here,” He panted.

Ignoring the remark he felt the wizard, at least the part of the wizard that controlled his body, raise an arm towards the empty field ahead. Simon’s tongue suddenly felt as heavy as a stone, and words began to leave his mouth in a language he didn’t understand. A blue light pulsed from his hand, which twisted and turned into odd shapes. The shimmering light grew and stretched out into the empty field ahead.

Only the field was no longer empty. The light had become a gentle mist that swirled and drifted, as it did a building began to come into view. Grey stones mottled with lichen appeared on the ground, huge sections of wall had rotted away leaving rubble scattered around the base of the castle that now occupied the field ahead.

He stared open mouthed at the structure before him, eventually realising that his arms had dropped down by his sides. Before he could ask, the Librarian's voice cut in.

“Before the sorcerers turned against us this castle stood watch over this valley, long before your town was ever built. I couldn’t leave it visible without risking some fool stumbling inside and finding something they shouldn’t,” He explained.

Simon’s body carried him up the steps of the castle. He passed under the arch that had once held two great doors that had rotted away leaving only rusty hinges hanging useless against the crumbling walls. The shadow of the arch sent a shiver up his spine, his fingertips felt tipped with ice.

He entered what could once have been a grand courtyard, surrounded by decay walls that still held discoloured banners, made unreadable through years of neglect. Cracked stone slabs lined the floor, all centred around a central ring of smooth metal. The ring sat, ten strides across, pristine and untouched by the surrounding decay. A green glow swirled around the edge of the ring.

“It is as I feared,” The Librarian spoke, for the first time Simon could hear panic in the voice, “It has already begun to break, we have to–”

The voice broke off, replaced by a crackling like fire burning through kindling.

A breath later Simon fell to the ground. He reached up and rubbed his face, he had control of his body again. He was still panting, exhaustion kept him on the floor. Looking up he saw the green light twisting, forming a shape as he stared on, mouth agape. As with the blue light outside something was revealing itself, a shimmering blur that began to take the shape of a person. Among the crackling that filled his head a new voice echoed.

“Nice to see you old friend, how long has it been?”

The crackling died down momentarily and the Librarian's voice returned, “Not long enough. Listen, Simon whatever he says ignore him, you must –”

The crackling returned, silencing the Librarians' panicked attempt to be heard. The new voice was deep and commanding, “How about we talk alone, boy. You don’t need him whispering in your ear.”

Simon's head twitched slightly as if in agreement, but he knew he had no control over how this situation was unfolding.

“I’m guessing the wizard lied to you, tricked you into helping him on his crusade. What did he tell you?”

Simon took a breath, trying to turn his thoughts into speech. “He said…that he was the one who imprisoned you and has to stop you from escaping.”

“You’re half right. He is responsible for my current situation.”

The shape took a step closer to where Simon sat on the floor. As it moved the light shifted and it became more solid, looking more like the outline of a human figure, huge and looming over Simon.

“He has kept me here for a century, now is my chance to escape. But I need you…boy.”

“Why? What do you need me for?”

A pressure built in his head, he could feel the Librarian pushing against the force that was keeping him subdued. The two were battling in Simon's head, he felt as if it would crack any second. Over the pain and the crackling he could hear a faint whisper, the sound of the Librarian trying to break through and speak, “Don’t trust him…Don’t…”

“Wizard, be quiet!” He felt the figure in front of him grow warm, temper flaring, “Ignore him. Listen to me. I can give you the power that you crave. All you have to do is release me. As long as his spirit is connected to your body you can use his magic. Use it to help me escape.”

Simon flexed his fingers. This person or thing was right, he could feel the power he now held, the blue light still lingered around his hand.

“That’s it.” The voice encouraged him, “You can use that power, use it to free me and I can give you more power than you ever dreamed of.”

“What kind of power?” Simon asked, hesitantly.

“The kind that the wizard would keep locked away.”

The shape before him flickered. Simon could feel it growing stronger, it was almost solid now, he could just make out features. Angry, hungry features, staring at him.

The voice continued, “I want to see that power out in the world. Not locked away, I want the whole world to have access to it.”

“The whole world? Anyone could use this magic?”

“Yes, free me and the world will never have to bow to the likes of the wizard again.”

Simon felt the energy building in him. He clenched his fists, raised one arm at the ring on the floor. He opened his hand, releasing a wave of power that filled the courtyard with blinding blue light.

In the end the choice had been easy for Simon. The Librarian had prattled the whole way back to the Library, saying that Simon had made the right choice and done the right thing. Clearly he couldn’t see all of Simon’s thoughts. If he had, he would have known the real reason he had sealed the creature away. It had promised to send power out into the world, where anyone could use it. That would mean his brothers could one day learn magic, and there was no way he was sharing this kind of power. Finally he’d be the better brother. He entered the library and gently touched the necklace. He just had to wait. Let the Librarian teach him everything he could, then the power would be his and his alone.

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