Silver Hooves in the Darkness

Chapter Eight

Outside the building assigned to the Keeper of the Accounts, the dome orb burned brightly against the clear sky. But the single room inside was plunged into darkness once more.

The old librarian had Paola draw the drapes while she lit her candles again with words. Among the fleeting, flame-shaped shadows, Gemma stared hard at the equina, her face a corpulent mask of tension. "Are you absolutely certain, Paola Equina, that you will accept my Carry, knowing that there may be danger in that which is unknown?"

Paola nodded, but added nothing in reply. Instead, she ran her gaze over the black and white cat she had seen in the night. It now sat on the desk, its eyes closed in sleep. A whisker twitched sporadically, but often in synchronization with the sudden flickering of a flame.

Gemma stroked the feline. Sensing her interest, she said, "Cats, like equinii, can also travel in the Maze."

Was the little creature the librarian's spy!

"Few know this startling fact, for cats are rare possessions found only among the wealthy for the purpose of comfort and companionship. Unlike you, they cannot converse with humans. That is why I need you. Although she is capable of finding what I seek, I cannot trust my task to Miacarabella alone." She fingered the animal's crystal collar and smiled. The cat did not respond, remaining soundly asleep. "She was a gift to me for my many cycles of service; Petronella always hated that the Chief Librarian valued my skills over hers."

Gemma's hands settled across her belly as she leaned back on her chair. Like a storyteller focusing her strength on her tale, she rocked back and forth as she began to speak. "I have studied my dome map for a long time. I have plotted a route that I believe will take you to a lost dome. Miacarabella will be a guide; you will be an ambassador."

A lost dome. What she had witnessed the day before in the librarian's presence had been amazing. What Gemma wanted to accomplish matched it. But all the perplexed equina could manage to say was, "I do not understand this word, 'am-bas-sa-dor'."

The librarian did not answer her question, but instead, continued explaining her plan in a fervent voice. "I have keyed information into the crystals of my cat's collar in much the same way as I will prepare your gem for a Carry. However, her crystals are more complex, and they have an advantage over your gem: they will record everything you encounter on your journey. When Miacarabella returns to me, I can transfer that information into my orb." She flicked her hand. "There, that great sphere of quartz sitting on my bookshelf," she said indicating an object in the room that she had not noticed yesterday. "Then, I will be able to see everything that has transpired."

The existence of the orb explained much. Had the cat been in the Maze when she had encountered Cenere? Was that how the librarian's spy knew of her movements? Was the cat's secret trips into the Maze another source of the knowledge the librarian had gained?

The unconcerned cat slept on. Gemma rubbed her ruby ring. "This whole enterprise is a delicate balancing act. There may eventually be some investigation of my use of one equina so often, but a judicious lie, here and there, and some well-placed bribes, will help us in our quest. The fact that I will not involve your gem in an unusual way will guarantee your safety and mine, as you will soon understand." She tapped the desk with her index finger. "I will set your task as a Return Carry. You will go out from Dome Biblia to Dome Erba to make a delivery. You will return here with an item that I have specifically requested. Since two Domes are involved with this type of assignment, the standard statistics allow me to give you plenty of time to accomplish your task, for you can vary your speed and go very quickly or slowly across the Maze."

She grinned broadly, the pleasure of her well-conceived plan lighting up her features. "You will head out for Dome Erba, but you will not go there directly. You will instead follow Miacarabella to a lost dome, one that I have postulated must be on my map. Here is how it will work. Your gem will respond to the diversion from your assigned course as you follow my cat, and it will attempt to keep sending you back to the standard route that I have keyed into it."