Everything Is Eternal (Book Two)

XLVIII

Will wasn't blind to the distance growing in his marriage. He wasn't entirely certain the reason. Maybe he didn't want to know the reason.

But he did nothing to fight it.

Mostly because he was busy doing research for Ginny McIntyre. He didn't want Kate throwing a fit about it or the time he was spending in the Edges.

He needed to spend time there. The cold emptiness of the Dark almost took the pain away from his leg. The closer he got to the Dark, the less he felt.

He wanted to feel nothing.

He was also in the midst of tracking down Madeline's family. All the signs pointed towards them living in the Edges. Madeline's husband had some connections to Silver Paradise, and the Edges were the best place to disappear.

So Will spent the hot summer navigating his way through the Edges. It was so easy to lose track of time in the Edges, the world of constant darkness. Without meaning, he found himself getting home past two some nights. It didn't help that he was slower because of his leg. Sometimes when he left the invisible barrier between the Edges, his pain returned with full force. Sometimes it paralyzed him.

He didn't want to worry Kate. But it seemed like he wasn't going to worry her. She was either asleep when he returned or she wasn't there at all.

One night, he was returning home from the Edges and he stopped to watch a terrible scene. A book burning. The worst part was it wasn't even a sanctioned book burning. It seemed to be unofficial, organized by some Guards and a mob. He knew the book shop. The owner sold forbidden works, but no one could prove anything. It seemed like this was just an impromptu attack.

"Do you know what's going on?" Will asked a woman.

"Heard they found religious works from Before the Dark," the woman said. "They think she was trying to lead people to the Dark."

Will doubted it. This was just an act of hate. To make an example of those who tried to find the truth.

Someone broke away from the sick scene. In the light of the bonfire, Will could see a girl. She was clutching something to her chest; from the brief look Will got, it looked like books.

She was risking her life for books.

Of course a guard rushed after, one who was used to outrunning worse than a teenage girl. Will remembered how a perfect stranger had delayed a guard when he had escaped with Mitsuko. It had been just enough time for them to get away. On impulse, Will moved to stop the guard. He was close enough that he could delay the man. He could even claim that he lost his balance. It probably wouldn't be enough for Will to get away, but the girl would be gone into the night. Saving her book.

But he had forgotten his leg. He moved too fast, and the pain seized his leg. He missed the guard, who easily ran past him and ended up falling on his face. His cane clattered down next to him, punctuating his failure.

The woman from earlier helped him up. It was a struggle and Will's knee felt like Shin was still smashing those orbs on his knees. The pressure on his leg was excruciating.

But it was worse to see that the guard had apprehended the girl. He forced her back to the bonfire and made her throw her book into the flames.

"I don't know what that child was thinking. Who knows what possesses these children? How do they go so wrong?" the helpful woman said. "They never understand the consequences of their actions. There is always a price for defying the Eternal."

Will's knee howled in pain, echoing the woman's words.

He shook off the woman's attempts to find a ride for him. He couldn't afford it, anyway. He stayed, watching the travesty. It was stupid to care so much—he had seen people die. But the written word outlasted life. People could die, but their soul lived on in their words. Will could never believe in Matthew's paradise. And he was the last person who would join with the Eternal Light. But he knew words lasted. He had held the proof in his hands.