Read Online Waywalkers: Number 1 in Series by Catherine Webb - Free Book Online
Authors: Catherine Webb
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crown, your weapons.’
‘He seemed very trusting,’ Sam murmured.
‘He was playing a big game. That much I could tell.’
‘What changed? What went wrong with security?’
‘He made a discovery. I don’t know what it was, but he seemed overjoyed. “I’ve found it,” he said. “I’ve found out what the whole game is.” A few weeks later and he announced that he was leaving. He was very scared. So was my librarian, for that matter. Both seemed terrified. ‘‘Tell the one who will come that it’s worse than we thought. Tell him that at least one of the keys has already been found, and they are foolish enough to be going for the fourth.”’
Sam said nothing. He’d acquired a stony expression and was sitting with his chin in his hands. His eyes were fixed on the flames as though he wasn’t even listening. In fact Sam was a good listener; the best.
‘They were to leave the same day. Andrew headed directly into the lowlands, and my librarian planned to follow a few hours later by a different route. I could not convince them to stay. Before my librarian could leave, a snowstorm began. It was so sudden I almost couldn’t believe it – there was no reason why it should have started. At this my librarian became even more fearful. “They’re coming,” he said. “They know I’m still here.” The next morning he was missing, and hasn’t been found since. No caravans left in the night. No furs were taken, nor any animals.’
‘Dead?’
‘No one could survive without either,’ he said calmly. ‘Unless they were a brother to Freya, that is. Yet now you tell me she is dead?’
‘Yes.’
‘I am very sorry. Freya was special.’
There was a long silence. Sam seemed frozen to the chair, staring into the fire. The crown still rested on his head, lop-sidedly, as though he’d forgotten about it. Finally the abbot spoke again. ‘What was Andrew looking for, that has already cost lives?’
‘I don’t know. I suspect, but I don’t know.’
‘The keys?’
‘Yes. The Pandora keys.’
‘Will you tell me about them?’
Sighing, Sam sat back. ‘A legend, little more. Four keys to unlock four forbidden doors behind which are imprisoned four spirits or people. Hate, Suspicion, Greed are the spirits. Forbidden from Heaven and locked away for all time from that world at least, though their siblings thrive in Earth and Hell.’
‘And the fourth door?’
‘The big granddaddy of them all. Cronus.’ Sam’s eyes became slightly misty as he murmured, ‘In the beginning was Cronus, and nothing changed. In the beginning was Cronus, and Cronus was the emptiness of life without death and time without seconds. Then came Time, who with his children imprisoned Cronus in a place of nothing for himself. But Cronus is hungry, and wants to add to his nothing the whole universe.’
Sam seemed to shudder, as though snapping out of a trance. ‘The truth is, Cronus is a vastly powerful entity who no one really believes in, who’s sworn to destroy Heaven, Hell, Earth and, most importantly of all, Time.’ He gave a discomforted smile.
‘It’s like the big bang theory, but in reverse. The universe began when Time took
over. You get your explosion, after which the universe will continue to move for ever because Time is giving it that nudge it needs, in the form of seconds, minutes, hours etc. But
before
the big bang, when everything was compressed down at a single point with no change, no movement, no
life
but still
existing –
that was Cronus. You have to be careful about defining him. He exists, sure. But I don’t think you can say Cronus lives.’
‘Locked away.’
‘Yes.’
‘How fortunate,’ murmured the abbot. ‘And what would happen if these spirits were freed?’
Sam smiled faintly. ‘Oh, I’d guess we’re talking minor apocalypse, fall of kings, death of princes. Whoever controlled the Pandora spirits, you see, would literally be able to destroy his or her enemies at
‘He seemed very trusting,’ Sam murmured.
‘He was playing a big game. That much I could tell.’
‘What changed? What went wrong with security?’
‘He made a discovery. I don’t know what it was, but he seemed overjoyed. “I’ve found it,” he said. “I’ve found out what the whole game is.” A few weeks later and he announced that he was leaving. He was very scared. So was my librarian, for that matter. Both seemed terrified. ‘‘Tell the one who will come that it’s worse than we thought. Tell him that at least one of the keys has already been found, and they are foolish enough to be going for the fourth.”’
Sam said nothing. He’d acquired a stony expression and was sitting with his chin in his hands. His eyes were fixed on the flames as though he wasn’t even listening. In fact Sam was a good listener; the best.
‘They were to leave the same day. Andrew headed directly into the lowlands, and my librarian planned to follow a few hours later by a different route. I could not convince them to stay. Before my librarian could leave, a snowstorm began. It was so sudden I almost couldn’t believe it – there was no reason why it should have started. At this my librarian became even more fearful. “They’re coming,” he said. “They know I’m still here.” The next morning he was missing, and hasn’t been found since. No caravans left in the night. No furs were taken, nor any animals.’
‘Dead?’
‘No one could survive without either,’ he said calmly. ‘Unless they were a brother to Freya, that is. Yet now you tell me she is dead?’
‘Yes.’
‘I am very sorry. Freya was special.’
There was a long silence. Sam seemed frozen to the chair, staring into the fire. The crown still rested on his head, lop-sidedly, as though he’d forgotten about it. Finally the abbot spoke again. ‘What was Andrew looking for, that has already cost lives?’
‘I don’t know. I suspect, but I don’t know.’
‘The keys?’
‘Yes. The Pandora keys.’
‘Will you tell me about them?’
Sighing, Sam sat back. ‘A legend, little more. Four keys to unlock four forbidden doors behind which are imprisoned four spirits or people. Hate, Suspicion, Greed are the spirits. Forbidden from Heaven and locked away for all time from that world at least, though their siblings thrive in Earth and Hell.’
‘And the fourth door?’
‘The big granddaddy of them all. Cronus.’ Sam’s eyes became slightly misty as he murmured, ‘In the beginning was Cronus, and nothing changed. In the beginning was Cronus, and Cronus was the emptiness of life without death and time without seconds. Then came Time, who with his children imprisoned Cronus in a place of nothing for himself. But Cronus is hungry, and wants to add to his nothing the whole universe.’
Sam seemed to shudder, as though snapping out of a trance. ‘The truth is, Cronus is a vastly powerful entity who no one really believes in, who’s sworn to destroy Heaven, Hell, Earth and, most importantly of all, Time.’ He gave a discomforted smile.
‘It’s like the big bang theory, but in reverse. The universe began when Time took
over. You get your explosion, after which the universe will continue to move for ever because Time is giving it that nudge it needs, in the form of seconds, minutes, hours etc. But
before
the big bang, when everything was compressed down at a single point with no change, no movement, no
life
but still
existing –
that was Cronus. You have to be careful about defining him. He exists, sure. But I don’t think you can say Cronus lives.’
‘Locked away.’
‘Yes.’
‘How fortunate,’ murmured the abbot. ‘And what would happen if these spirits were freed?’
Sam smiled faintly. ‘Oh, I’d guess we’re talking minor apocalypse, fall of kings, death of princes. Whoever controlled the Pandora spirits, you see, would literally be able to destroy his or her enemies at
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