The Cornerstone (27 page)

Running back to the Hub, he saw that the Dwellers had finished draining the luckless Wordsmith. This was unfortunate, as Garrowain was outnumbered and up against enemies who now gave him their full attention. What’s more, they stood between him and The Cornerstone.

Assessing the odds and realising the value of a tactical withdrawal, he sprinted for the nearest open Library door, hoping the remarkable book could fend for itself. The Codex had been flung into a corner, so Garrowain had no idea where he’d end up, but anywhere was better than surrounded by Dwellers.

The monsters gave chase, smelling the opportunity for the best meal they’d come across since entering this world.

Garrowain ran through the Library and more of the creatures, who’d been wasting their time defacing books, joined in the hunt.

Before long, the custodian started to get short of breath and was beginning to think this whole gambit might have been a bad idea. This was the second time in as many hours he’d been forced into an unseemly sprint through the Library and it was becoming irritating in the extreme.

Unlike the Dweller hitching a ride in Borne’s mind, these ones didn’t have much knowledge of the Library and couldn’t keep up with the old custodian for long. Many got lost as they scrambled after him - and would remain so until well after the events of this story.

That still left too many for Garrowain to deal with at once though – more than twenty - all ravenously hungry for a taste of his mind.

The Guardian of the Stacks wouldn't be able to offer him any help. With the Codex damaged, the section of the library the invisible creature lived in was temporarily cut off – which was dreadfully inconvenient, as an angry, invisible monster would be just the thing to deal with the pack of ravening Dwellers that were  rapidly hunting him down.

Garrowain found himself heading towards the hub room that contained the Carvallen League Books and offered up a prayer of thanks to the Writer.

That was the answer:

Simply open a League Book of his choice and transport to some far-flung corner of the planet.

But that wouldn’t do, would it? He’d leave these monsters the run of his Library and virtually hand The Cornerstone over to Morodai.

He’d need to help Merelie when she came back and couldn’t render any assistance a thousand miles away, hidden under a convenient rock.

Maybe the League Books could still help, though.

Garrowain word shaped, throwing books in the way of his pursuers, slowing them down enough to give him a bit of time once he reached the hub room.

The League Books – eight in total – were on a book shelf sat in the centre of the circular room. The place each one went to was written on the cover.

Four connected with the other Chapter Houses - though all had been blocked by Morodai as a security measure during the invasion. The other four would transport you across the Carvallen owned Chapter Lands.

Garrowain sought out the League Book that went to Tamera Falls.

Six months prior, the League Book at the other end had been placed on a Carvallen ship, bound for its new home in Merving, a town in the Borderlands. The ship had struck trouble in the rough sea crossing from the Falls and had sunk off the coast.

At the time, Garrowain had been outraged that a League Book had been lost in such a fashion. Now though, that mistake could prove extremely useful.

He picked up the Tamera Falls book, spun around and held it open as the crowd of Dwellers pushed their way through the bottleneck created by the narrow doorway.

Garrowain muttered over the League Book and bright blue light flooded from its pages as the doorway opened.

The first three Dwellers were sucked through to a watery grave before they’d had chance to register what was happening.

The next couple realised something was wrong and tried to stop, but were tumbled into the doorway by the creatures behind them.

Garrowain walked forward, holding onto the book for dear life as it shook in his hands, trying to cope with the influx of bodies.

The last three Dwellers disappeared into the halo of blue light, catapulted across the miles to a fast and unpleasant drowning.

This was all the League Book could take. As soon as the last possessed creature had gone through, it tore itself apart in Garrowain’s hands.

 ‘No way to treat a book,’ he muttered, as the flakes of paper drifted to the floor.

Having dispatched the immediate threat, Garrowain took a short breather and considered his next move.

He knew his only real course of action was to make his way back to the Main Hub and secure The Cornerstone. It had measures of protection built into it, but he wasn’t sure how long those defences would stop the void creatures from tearing it to pieces.

Steeling himself for more unwanted exercise, the custodian crept back towards the Library entrance, trying not to attract the attention of any Dwellers left in the area.

This succeeded nearly all the way there, right up to the point he crossed the threshold back into the Main Hub.

As he did, a lone Dweller appeared from one of the other doorways. It was wearing the body of a tall, muscular Morodai Chapter Guard - though the armour had become ragged and dented in several places, and covered in a mixture of dirt and blood.

The creature was tearing out pages from a slim volume of poetry, eating them in a methodical manner. It saw Garrowain mid-creep and let out a hungry howl.

‘That is no way to treat a book!’ the custodian scolded and sent Wordcraft lashing out.

 The Dweller was used to attacks like this, having been in the vanguard of all Morodai’s assault formations, so it neatly side-stepped the blast of energy with practised ease and charged at Garrowain.

It was the old man’s turn to display some fast feet, dodging out of the way of the howling creature.

The Dweller slammed into the wall, breaking one of the long metal sconces. The orb of blue light toppled from its perch and smashed into a thousand pieces on the flagstones. In a rage, the creature grabbed at one of the intricate wrought iron bars the sconce was constructed with, prying it off.

Wonderful, now it has a weapon.

Garrowain dropped back to the opposite side of the room, trying to keep out of range. The monster ran at him, the bar held out like a lance.

This was when Max Bloom popped into existence, blasting the Dweller into the ether, taking the custodian completely by surprise.

- 2 -

 ‘A wonderful piece of dramatic timing, young man,’ Garrowain replied, ‘and some formidable Wordcraft, if I’m not mistaken.’

‘Yep. Turns out Merelie was right,’ Max conceded. He thrust his chin out and affected a heroic pose. ‘I’m a Wordsmith!’ He thought for a second. ‘I’m a mega-Wordsmith!’ He paused again. ‘…I’m a MEGA-SMITH!’

Oh dear.

 ‘How did this happen, Mr Bloom?’ Garrowain said, fearing the boy might explode any minute from sheer ego. ‘The last time I saw you, you wanted no part of this and referred to me as being
bloody bonkers
, if I recall.’

‘Things have changed a bit, chief.’ Max replied, once again proving a gift for understatement. ‘There’ll be time to explain later, but right now… is this gaff safe? Only there’s a load of people on the other side who have to leave my Grandad’s house before po-po shows up.’

Garrowain only understood about thirty percent of that sentence, but just about got Max’s meaning. ‘There are a few possessed unfortunates still milling about, but I’ve sealed the main doors to the outside world, so no-one else can threaten us for the time being.’

Max sucked in air through his teeth, digesting this.

‘Good enough,’ he said, sticking his head back in The Cornerstone and disappearing in the customary flare of silver light.

 ‘Looks like we’re alright,’ Max said as soon as he’d reappeared in Charlie’s lounge. ‘The old fella’s blocked off the Library from the rest of the Chapter House.’

‘Good!’ said Imelda with considerable relief.

‘What do we do with them?’ Merelie pointed at the five unconscious bodies they’d collected. ‘We can’t leave them here for the…
po-leese
to find.’ She seemed quite proud of her pronunciation.

‘I’ll tell The Cornerstone it’s got some heavy lifting to do,’ said Max.

He spoke to the book, marvelling at the fact he no longer felt like a complete moron talking to an inanimate object.

It didn’t seem to have any objections to the plan.

Nor did it mind when Imelda took hold and attempted to transport back to the Chapter Lands. It seemed the grudge The Cornerstone had against her had been forgotten - for the moment at least.

Imelda offered Charlie Pearce a polite goodbye and read the last few moments of her life as they wrote themselves across The Cornerstone’s pages.

Max’s grandfather had seen a lot in his sixty two years on the planet, but was entirely unprepared for seeing a tall, middle-aged woman blink out of existence.

‘Bloody hellfire!’ he exclaimed, as The Cornerstone stopped glowing and started to float to the floor. Merelie plucked it out of the air before it finished its descent.

‘Disconcerting, isn’t it?’ Max said, a bit shocked himself, having never seen the book used from this perspective.

Merelie walked up to Charlie and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. ‘Thank you for all your help, sir.’

‘Call me Charlie,’ he replied, in a trembling voice.

‘Thank you, Charlie,’ she smiled. ‘I hope I’ll see you again soon.’

‘And I you, my dear. Take good care of my errant grandson for me, won’t you?’

‘I will,’ she promised, giving Max an indecipherable look, before leaving the lounge in a flash.

Max grabbed The Cornerstone and looked over at the unconscious bodies, propped up on the sofa.

‘Right then. Let’s get this lot sorted,’ he said, looking down at the book. ‘You up for this, Corny?’

The book did nothing for a moment, unsure of what to make of this new nickname. It then glowed briefly in assent.

‘Cracking.’

Max turned the book away and opened it towards the sofa.

On the other side of the doorway, Garrowain was having a joyful reunion with Merelie when they were both forced to get out of the way as a floral patterned sofa from the 1970s appeared in mid-air and crashed to the flagstones, unceremoniously dumping all five of its passengers onto the ground. The toilet on Elijah’s head finally gave way as it connected with the hard stone floor, sending shards of white porcelain everywhere.

The Main Hub was definitely going to need a good vacuum when all this was over.

Max looked at the space where the sofa used to be with horror, and gave his grandfather a deeply apologetic look.

‘Never mind boy,’ Charlie said, a wry smile on his face. ‘I probably needed a new one anyway. The ratty thing was more Nugget’s than mine these days.’

Nugget gave Max a disgruntled look - not happy about having his favourite sleeping place transported to another dimension.

‘Sorry Nuggie,’ Max apologised.

The sound of far off police sirens drifted into the lounge.

‘Better be off, Max,’ Charlie warned.

‘Will you be ok?’

‘Oh yes. I’m sure I’ll be able to render a believable explanation for all this carnage in the minute or so I have before they come bursting in through the door.’

‘I should be back soon, with any luck. But if I’m not, can you tell mum - ‘ He stopped, not knowing what to say.

Charlie patted his shoulder. ‘I’ll think of something, lad. Just make sure you do come back safe. Don’t try anything stupid - and ensure that beautiful young lady comes to no harm.’ He smiled. ‘I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with the last part.’

Max went bright red and tickled Nugget behind the ear.

‘Bye, Nuggie,’ he said, grimacing as the dog ran a sticky tongue over the back of his hand. ‘Grandad… when I’m gone, just stick The Cornerstone in the bookshelf. No one will know what it is.’

The sirens got louder.

‘Go my boy!’ Charlie repeated.

Max looked down into The Cornerstone, read the last few seconds of his life and followed the others over to the Chapter Lands.

His grandfather then awkwardly took hold of the glowing book and slid it into the nearest book shelf. He sat down in the armchair and let out a deep sigh. Nugget, now bereft of a decent place to rest, flopped his head into Charlie’s lap.

‘Well Nuggie, this has been a day we won’t forget for quite some time. About as exciting as it gets… a story worth recounting to the best of acquaintances, don’t you think?’

In response, Nugget let out a long, sonorous fart.

Everyone’s a critic.

- 3 -

Imelda Warrington looked around the Carvallen Library for the first time in over twenty years and had to fight back the tears. She’d become accustomed to the idea of never seeing her homeland again.

‘As I live and breathe… Emerelda Carvallen.’ Garrowain said. ‘It’s good to see you again, my lady.’

 ‘Hello, old man,’ she replied, shaking off the wave of emotion. ‘To tell the truth, I’m surprised you’re happy I’ve come back.’

‘It was never my idea to exile you, Emerelda. Your brother’s temper was always short, especially as a young man.’

‘No reason to banish your sister,’ Imelda said, her eyes flashing, ‘simply due to a difference of opinion!’

Garrowain sighed. ‘Slightly more than a difference of opinion, Emerelda. You threatened centuries of tradition and custom.’

‘Yes I know… and I hear Bethan Falion’s doing the same thing now, with a much higher cost to her people.’

‘Indeed.’

‘I’m amazed Jacob hasn’t sided with Morodai.’

Garrowain looked genuinely angered by this. ‘Your brother is nothing like Lucas Morodai. He put his own feelings aside to act as negotiator - trying to prevent more bloodshed. He would never take part in atrocities like this!’

Imelda was suitably chastened. ‘I’m sorry, Garrowain. You’re right. My brother can be a stubborn fool, but he’s no murderer.’

Merelie popped into existence next to them.

‘Merelie!’ Garrowain cried and threw his arms round her.