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I hesitated, looking down at the mirror. Half of the glass was missing. "This is it?"
"Communicator's Glass is best if portable," Mallo said.
"We broke this piece in half and sent it to Nalhalla; it will allow us to communicate for some weeks through the two pieces, until the power fades. Then the glass must be reforged and broken again. It's not the easiest way to talk across a distance, but we were desperate, particularly after sending away our last Oculator to maintain my disguise."
"Librarian agents destroyed our other means of communication," one of the soldiers added. "The Transporter's Glass station, the soundrunners, even the city's stockpile of Messenger's Glass."
I frowned. "How'd they do that?"
"They continue to dig tunnels into the city,” Mallo said with a sigh. "And send strike teams up to harry us. We just caught one earlier today. We captured them before they could do any permanent damage, then collapsed the tunnel. There will be more, however."
I nodded, raising the hand mirror. They all looked at me expectantly, as if they figured that - being an Oculator - I'd immediately know how to use the glass. "Um," I said, turning it sideways. "Er. Mirror, mirror, in my hand, my food is tasty, but often bland.”
"Alcatraz?" Kaz asked. "What are you doing? You just have to touch the glass to make it work.”
"Oh," I said, tapping the mirror. It shimmered, like I'd disturbed the surface of a crystal-clear pool of water. A moment later, the image changed from a reflection of my face to show an image of a stone room. One of the castles in Nalhalla.
A small Mokian boy sat in front of the mirror. He grew alert the moment the image changed, then ran off, yelling. "Lord Smedry, Lord Smedry!”
Within seconds, my grandfather was there. He looked somewhat frazzled, his hair sticking out at odd angles, his bow tie on sideways. “Ah, Alcatraz, my lad! You did it!"
"I'm here, Grandpa," I said, nodding. “Inside Tuki Tuki. But things are bad here."
“Of course they are!" Grandpa said. “That's why we sent you in the first place, eh? Stay there for a moment. I need to get some knights!"
He rushed away. It looked like their half of the mirror had been hung on the wall in some kind of entryway or foyer.
I stood awkwardly for some time. The others crowded around me, looking through the mirror, waiting. Finally, Grandpa returned with several people dressed in full plate armor. One was Draulin, Bastille's mother. The other two were older-looking men.
"Alcatraz, tell them where you are," Grandpa Smedry said from somewhere to the side.
"I'm in Tuki Tuki," I said.
"You should leave there immediately,” Draulin said sternly. "It is not safe, Lord Smedry."
"Yes, I know" I said. "But you know us Smedrys. Crazy, without any regard for our own safety!"
One of the knights frowned. "This does indeed offer the proof the elder Lord Smedry promised,” he said.
"I sense we are being manipulated,” the other said, shaking his head. "I do not like the feel of it."
Draulin remained quiet during the conversation. She seemed to be studying me carefully with those dark eyes of hers.
A thought occurred to me. They needed motivation to come help. Making a snap judgment, I turned the hand mirror around, shining it on Mallo. "Guess who's here with me?" I said to the knights.
Mallo looked shocked. "Alcatraz! What are you doing?"
"Trust me,” I said.
"It's a Mokian warrior," one of the knights said. "I feel for his plight, but the rules of our order are -"
"Wait," Draulin's' voice said suddenly. There was a silence, followed by her saying, "Your . . . Majesty?"
Mallo sighed visibly, shooting me a glare. "Yes, it is I."
"You are supposed to be safe!"
"I will not abandon my people," Mallo said.
I spun the mirror around. "So, it's not just a couple of foolish Smedrys, but the Mokian royal line who are in danger here. You should . . ."
The image of the glass started to grow turbulent, ripples moving through it. I frowned, shaking the mirror.
". . . can't . . . what . . . doing . . ." Draulin's voice said. "What . . . ?"
"I can't see you either," I said to them.
The others in the room crowded around. I lowered the mirror so all could see.
"That doesn't look good," Kaz said, rubbing his chin.
"This was supposed to last at least twenty days," Mallo said. "We –”
"General Mallo!" a voice cried. We turned as a young Mokian girl ran up the front steps to the palace and entered the main chamber.
"What is it?" Mallo asked, turning sharply.
"The Librarian army,” the girl said. "They're doing something, something big. You should come see."
CHAPTER 1010
0kay, I can't help myself. I've written three and a half books. I held my tongue. (Figuratively, unlike that guy back in Act V.) But I'm about to burst.
It is time to talk about religion in the Hushlands. You Free Kingdomers may be confused by Hushlander religions. After all, they are all so very different, and their followers are all so very good at yelling at one another loudly that it's hard to tell what any of them are saying. However, should you infiltrate Librarian nations and need to imitate a Hushlander, you'll probably need to join one of their religions to blend in. Therefore, I’ve prepared this handy guide.
Religions, in the Hushlands, are basically about food.
That's right, food. In following one religion or another, you end up boycotting certain foods. If you become Hindu, for instance, you give up beef. Mormons give up alcohol and coffee. Catholics can eat pretty much whatever they want, but have to give up the stuff they like the most for one month a year, while Muslims give up all food during the daytime hours of Ramadan.
So which religion is the best? Well, it depends. In my cultivated opinion, I'd suggest Judaism.
But that's because I prefer the path of yeast resistance.
We stood atop the wooden palisade wall of Tuki Tuki watching the gigantic Librarian robots drive large, glowing rods into the ground. They shone blue in the night and were as tall as buildings. They illuminated the Librarian war camp, which was far more active now. Men and women had been awakened and were collecting their weapons and forming up battle lines.
"What are they?" Angola asked.
"They look like some kind of glass device," Aydee said.
"No,” Kaz said. He stood atop a step stool and looked out at the Librarian camp, rubbing his chin. "This war is being led by the Order of the Shattered Lens."
"Who?" I asked.
Bastille rolled her eyes at my ignorance.
"The Shattered Lens is a Librarian sect, Al," Kaz said. He was a scholar of Talents, Oculatory Distortions, and – by extension - Librarians. "You've met the Dark Oculators, the Scrivener's Bones, and the Wardens of the Standard. Well, the shattered Lens is the last of them. And probably the largest. The other orders accept, even use, silimatic technology and Oculatory Lenses. These guys, though . . .”
"They don't?" I asked.
"They hate all forms of glass,” Kaz said. “They take Biblioden's teachings very literally. He didn't like anything 'strange' like magic or silimatics. Most of the orders interpret his teachings as meaning ‘Lenses and glasses need to be controlled very carefully, so only the important can use them.' Those Librarians hide the truth from most Hushlanders, but have no qualms about using Free Kingdomer technology and ideas when they can benefit from them.
"The order of the Shattered Lens is different. Very different. They feel that Lenses and silimatic glasses should never be used, not even by Librarians. They think Free Kingdom technology is evil and disgusting.”
I nodded slowly. "So those piles of glass we passed while running into the city?”
"They hold glass-breakings,” Angola said softly. “They gather together in groups and smash pieces of glass. Even regular glass, with no kind of Oculatory or silimatic abilities. It's symbolic to them."
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"The other Librarians let them run the wars," Kaz added.
"Partially, I suspect, to keep them away. There will be trouble within the Librarian ranks if the Free Kingdoms ever do fall. The Order of the Shattered Lens works with the Dark Oculators and the Scrivener's Bones for now. There's a bigger enemy to fight. But once we're gone, there will likely be civil war as the orders struggle for dominance."
