Purest Corruption - The Darkling [General Kirigan]

• Chapter 13 •

I made my way to the library to begin looking around for anything that might help me figure out more about the stag. Once I entered the large room, I stopped to take it all in.

There were at least two dozen bookshelves, each one filled with hundreds of books. Chairs to sit in and tables with busts and books on display were scattered around the room. There were even smaller bookshelves that could be used for placing books between the larger shelves. I marveled at everything in here, it was the grandest library I'd ever seen.

I didn't even know where to start looking, so I just wandered around, gazing at everything in awe. I made my way over to one of the bookshelves and began eyeing the books, pulling one out every so often until one title caught my eye.

It was a book I'd read before, and I knew it held some information about the stag, so I pulled it off the shelf and started flipping through the pages. Memories flashed before my eyes of reading this book in my room at the orphanage.

I found familiar words and began to read aloud, "The bone road ebbs and the bone road flows..." a smile grew on my lips as I was reminded of a much simpler time in my life.

"You like books?" A man's voice sounded from behind me and I slammed the book shut while I turned around in surprise.

The man had short, brown hair and he was dressed in something that wasn't a kefta. It looked like what monks wear, but I didn't think there were any monks here.

"You are well-read, aren't you? Educated?" He asked.

I slowly nodded, this man gave me a bad feeling but I couldn't explain why.

"The headmistress where I grew up said because I didn't possess any physical talent, I should possess knowledge," I said while putting the book back in its place.

The man gave me a smile that sent shivers down my spine, but not in a good way, "Isn't that lovely of her?" he paused, keeping that smile on his face the entire time, "I'm the King's spiritual advisor."

I mouthed an "oh," while slowly trying to back away. That only made him come closer though, "I wanted to be friends. It is important that we are friends."

I started looking around, wondering if anyone else was in here, or if anyone else would come in. I needed to get away from this man. Anyone else saying they wanted to be friends wouldn't have struck me the wrong way, but with this man it did.

"I was just researching," I said, trying to round the bookshelf so I could get away.

"Oh, you're curious about the lore of the Stag, are you?" That caught my attention and I suddenly stopped trying to rid myself of him.

"Well, let me curate some reading for you," he looked to the shelf below the one I'd found my book on, "Ah!" He said, signaling he found something.

The man took the book over to the small bookshelf in the middle of the aisle and set it down, opening it to the page he wanted me to see.

"Here, it all began with this man. One of the first Grisha in recorded history. The Bonesmith."

I slowly approached him as he spoke, making my way to the book. I saw writing, but on one of the pages there was a man drawn in the middle, and the writing flowed around him. My hands reached out and touched the pages, and I wondered how old this book was.

The man continued, "He knew the Grisha would always be persecuted and so he worked on a plan to magnify their power." As he spoke, he went back to the shelf and retrieved another book.

"Um, I'm sorry, did you say he was called the Bonesmith?" I was confused because I'd never heard of him before, and I wondered how he got that name.