Silver Hooves in the Darkness

Chapter Sixteen

She had bought blossoms from every flower stall in the marketplace until her arms were full. When she had mentioned that they were meant to pay homage to Gemma, several merchants followed her to join her in paying their respects to the librarian.

In the darkened chamber, two candles as tall as she cast the only light. In the shadows, a woman softly read aloud the inscription on the decorative marble slab. "In Memory of All Our Sisters Who Practiced the Sacred Art of Librarianship."

The carved relief depicted a robed woman crowned with laurel leaves. She looked as if she were materializing through the slab from a hidden chamber. A pair of wings like those on her kirtle rose majestically up from her back.

After words of praise were spoken in Gemma's memory, the merchants quietly slipped out of the Room of Remembrance until only Paola remained. She approached the carved wall and caressed the cool marble. "I will continue to serve the librarians and do my best to honor you, Gemma, for you gave me the gift of my name. In this way, I will thwart the one responsible for your death." She would not voice the name of Petronella, but from her experience with the Chief Librarian and Annunciata, she surmised that the cruel woman was somehow responsible for Gemma's demise. Only the method remained hidden. Whatever action she took, she prayed that the woman's daughter would not suffer for her mother's evil, for Justyna possessed a kind heart. It was she who had bravely tried to quell her mother's rage that day they had met at the dome's edge.

Paola looked around the room hoping to see the shadow of a cat. But since their parting in the Maze, Miacarabella had not appeared, and Paola feared that she had somehow met with the same fate as Gemma. Although Annunciata had given her the bag of crystals, she had neither produced the missing quartz orb nor mentioned the cat and her collar. Perhaps, she had them in a safe place, but she had chosen not to reveal their whereabouts for reasons known only to her and the Chief Librarian. As an equina, she dared not question the young woman further.

It was difficult to consider that the visual record of her journey to Dome Pecora might be lost forever. Paola bowed before the wall. What had happened in the past was in the past. Those who lived on had to move forward. The fragrance of the daffodils sweetly filled the room and brought spring to banish Death's winter. "Goodbye, Gemma," she whispered.