She didn't really need sleep anymore, and often she couldn't, so it was a long night, staying up and chatting with Madge. Essentially she thought of their situation, thought of where they were, and thought of how to get them home. So far, she had nothing. No plan. No hope.

Then, in the middle of the night, there was a soft knock on the door. She went to the door, wondering what someone would want at this hour. It was Selosion, the person who had talked to them when they arrived. The one who was holding them here.

“If you please, I'd like to come in and speak with you. I will be talking to each of you individually, and you are first on my list. I have seen this spell done before, I know you don't sleep.” Her first instinct was to slam the door in her face, but something stopped her. instead, she held the door open and let her in.

“Why are there so many spell forged here? I mean, if reading is so wrong, then wouldn't that make people like me freaks?” Selosion made a pained face.

“I don't like that word. Freak. I mean, yes you are different, but that somehow feels like it also means lesser.” She tried to rest a hand on Gedra's shoulder, an attempt at comfort, but Gedra shrugged out of her way.

“You know what I don't like?” Gedra asked in a biting tone. “When people dodge direct questions. Why are there so many spellforged here?”

“Maybe because they want to be. Maybe they feel more comfortable with their own kind.” Selosion was right in her face now, and making Gedra uncomfortable. “Did you know that spellforged parents can pass down their differences, just like any other genetic traits? You people were once human. Were. And now you aren't. Maybe the people here just wanted to be around their own kind.”

Gedra didn't back off an inch. “My friends are my kind. And I'm not impressed by your little ploy. I won't turn on them like Darius and those others did.” Selosion smiled at that.

“Do you think Darius planned to betray you? The man was in our custody for 5 months. A lot of pressure can be applied in all that time.” Here she did take a small step back, giving ground for the first time. Gedra didn't even want to think of what she had in mind, but knew she might have to face it and overcome it. She would never turn on her friends, come what may.

But how long does that last after the cutting? She had never been tortured, but she imagined there was cutting involved.

“It doesn't matter what you do. I will never live in the world you want to make, so I can not let that world come to be.” She hoped she sounded stronger than she felt.

“It's not as if you could stop it. We've already sent a force to capture the library in your Bastion Cities.” Gedra hoped that no one was badly hurt, and she hated not knowing more than anything.

“You will be confined for a week, and then released on parole. You will have to work, and you should give up on the idea of ever reading or writing again. Still, you will be able to see what has become of the world.” Gedra felt as if her world were being destroyed before her eyes. For as long as she had been alive, her world was the bastion cities, and the library at its center.That world was now just a tiny speck on a much larger map.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“And what about the others?”

“Well, ultimately that's up to them. If they behave themselves, the same.” SHe turned back towards the door, and walked out of the room without another word.

Gerald

He had made the doorway open back in his room with Silas and the others filed after him. The girl and her monstrous friends followed after him, and before long the room was crowded.

The girl went to each of the others, and it seemed to Gerald that she was communicating with them, though he could not say how. He imagined it was similar to how blind Madge spoke.

The others were a mad assortment, seven in all. Two were improbably tall and identical, with wickedly sharp retractable claws and large, sharp teeth that stuck out even with the mouth closed. One was fairly small, a sharp toothed four legged thing like a dog with scales and six eyes , one was a strange creature with two arms, two legs, and two wings and a beak, then there was the one who stayed by Rin as she slept, and two short legged, beady eyed creatures with teeth that seemed to large for their mouths.

The group made their way carefully to the front room. Gerald told Rin to warn her friends away from the windows. It would be no good if they were seen. He still wasn't sure exactly how Rin spoke to them, but they heeded her word without complaint.

Gerald needed information, and sat with the others trying to think of a way to get it. The idea that he came up with was to send one of the two small, big toothed creatures out to scout. Rin relayed the message and the creature gave a toothy grin and a nod of its head. The little creature carefully climbed up on a high back chair set beneath a window. It jimmied the window open with quick hands, forced its way through after a quick glance to make sure no one saw, and was gone.

Baji

The little thing wasn't much for thinking, but he could get by on the mind it had. Once it had been a pet, some sort of small dog, but that was before the spell changed it. It was so long ago that that trying to remember before was impossible now, but in so much as it did think, it still thought of itself by the name its owner had given it, Baji

Baji moved silently on padded back paws, and kept to the shadows, avoiding being seen as best it could. The streets were mostly empty, with the exception of the occasional four armed guard pair walking on patrol. These Baji did his best to avoid.

Baji had only a vague idea of what he was looking for, but he knew the girl would be happy with him if he succeeded. Baji always did his best to be a good boy.He knew the direction to go in, and that he was looking for a very tall building, but all buildings looked tall to him. Still, he made his way in the direction he was told, and before long, he did see a building even taller than the others in the distance.

Sadly he could not approach it from the front because of two of the four-armed guards stood watch on either side of the door, and the guards did not look especially friendly. Instead he wound his way through the alleys between buildings to the back of the library. He was delighted to find the back door unguarded. There was little more he could do without thumbs to open the door, so he started back toward the others to report. He ran much of the way back, and was nearly seen by at least one guard but managed to stay unobserved.

At least, he did right up until the moment he climbed up to the open window, when a lucky guard turned on the street and saw him as he did. He rushed inside, yelping wildly.

He heard the guard who saw him shouting, and his friends were shouting, and he was very scared.

He looked for the girl and when he saw her he ran to her side to get her attention. She turned to him, and he felt the gentle presence of her mind as her consciousness reached out to his.

Rinoa Alodar

Friend Baji was back. She felt him before she saw, as she always did. She was very small, but that one simple spell, to speak from one mind to another, that one she memorized, and recited often. She had vague memories that someone very special to her had taught it to her, long ago.

Baji Sent his thoughts to her, and she hers to him, though for him it was more images, scents and impressions than words or sentences. He did not tell her that the rear entrance of the library was unguarded, he sent her a mental image of the unguarded rear entrance itself. It sent its anxiety and fear, the images of the guards who brought forth those feelings in him.

He also sent her his panic and fear, and images of guards rushing towards them. She had been sitting on the floor and immediately shot to her feet.

“Danger. We have to run.” Geralds face went through a quick cycle of emotions from confusion to panic. “Behind library. No guards. Go!” She ran to the front door followed by the group including Gerald.