Read Online (Skeleton Key) Into Elurien by Kate Sparkes - Free Book Online Page A

and cut their feet off if they tried to escape.”
    “That was a woman’s leg.”
    “Maybe it was his wife.”
    “And what did she do?”
    Auphel looked away. “Nothing.”
    “I see.” And I did. These humans had invited their fates with their actions or lack thereof. I couldn’t say they didn’t deserve to die. Even if I’d never suffered as these monsters had, I understood why “an eye for an eye” would be so appealing.
    And yet an old quote about that leaving the whole world blind wouldn’t leave my mind.
    I clutched the skeleton key tighter and walked faster. I didn’t want to see. Didn’t want to have to think about it.
    This has nothing to do with me. I’m going to find a way home. Soon.
    We continued on and entered the square where the angel had been executed—if, in fact, he’d been alive to begin with. I wanted to ask about that. Zinian said Verelle had created them. Did they think or feel? Or were they empty shells?
    I would have asked Auphel if my train of thought hadn’t crashed and derailed at the sight of the pile of books in the middle of the square, a mountain of paper and leather that rose higher than Auphel’s head. She urged me on, but I couldn’t stop watching—not only out of curiosity over the books, but out of fascination with the three giants who were dumping more onto the top of the pile as fast as the books slid down. The creatures stood at least twenty feet tall, clothed in rags that could have at one time been boat sails. The closest had one massive eye in the centre of his deeply lined forehead. The other beside him had two, in the same glacier blue shade. Their hair matched as well, fiery red from head to hairy toes. Behind them, a massive woman who sported impressively thick black hair turned toward me as she dropped more books onto the pile. She had three eyes, the third set in her forehead just above and between the other two.
    The ground shook under their footsteps.
    “What are they doing?” I asked Auphel.
    She looked around. “Clearing out the library. I’m guessing we’re to have another bonfire tonight.”
    “To celebrate again?”
    “General Grys has permitted the destruction of the human things.” Auphel moved toward the pile, gave a friendly wave to one of the giants, and picked up a book. I did the same, selecting a beautiful volume with a gilded blue cover. The pages inside had been hand-printed and gorgeously illuminated. I’d practiced my own handwriting plenty over the past few years—another calming exercise, one that filled dozens of notebooks and planners. These books put my work to shame.
    “They can’t destroy these,” I said.
    Auphel sighed. “I know. We’d do so much better to save some for winter, when we’ll actually need them.”
    “I mean that they’re irreplaceable. Once these burn, they’re gone. An entire culture. Right?” From the way Grys and his council had spoken of the villages, it sounded like there probably weren’t a lot of other libraries holding similar collections.
    “Not all cultures deserve to be saved,” Auphel said.
    “But what about their knowledge?” I climbed up the pile to reach a book that lay open to a picture of a tree. Each page held a similar image of a plant, all labelled and marked with medicinal or culinary uses. “What about the things they’ve learned that would be good for everyone else to know?”
    Auphel’s brow furrowed. “We’re fine on our own.” But she sounded doubtful.
    “What about magic?” I asked more quietly, and my chest tightened at the realization of what might be about to go up in flames. “What if my answer is in there, and they burn it?”
    Auphel didn’t answer.
    “Are you sure this is what Grys wanted?” I searched the faces around the square, as though someone in authority might suddenly appear. “Is he even in charge?”
    Auphel tossed her book onto the pile as another load skittered down, dumped from above by the giants. “He’s the leader we have.