Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK
A Curse Marked Fate
46: Taking Cover
For a frozen moment that lasted an eternity, no one moved.
Kaito reacted first. Pivoting on his heels, he grabbed Shinichi's hand and bolted.
The man who had seen them (never mind how for now. All that mattered was that he had) immediately gave chase.
"Sound the intruder alert!" he barked at his companion. Though clearly confused and unable to see who exactly they were chasing, she was being every bit as quick on her feet in the pursuit. She apparently had no problems running at full tilt on three inch heels while simultaneously pulling a bright red cell phone from her purse.
By the time the boys reached the end of the corridor, a siren was wailing, and the lights in all the rooms were blazing, obliterating any deep shadows that might have served as cover. In the distance, they could hear the sound of metal security doors sliding down to block their exits.
Kaito cursed under his breath.
Instead of turning down the hall that he knew would take them closer to the doors they had originally come through, he swerved in the other direction—deeper into the hive.
"Where?" Shinichi managed to gasp out as he struggled to keep up with his taller friend's much longer stride.
"Archive," Kaito muttered back.
The footsteps behind them were getting closer.
Kaito grabbed the edge of the frame of an open door and used it as a pivot to slingshot himself and Shinichi into the next room—a massive one packed with books, as it turned out. He yanked the door shut behind them just as their pursuers rounded the corner behind them. Now the man who'd seen them and his lady friend would have to guess which door they were hiding behind. Though they would also know that the boys had to be hiding behind one of them because the hall itself was a dead end.
Their steps slowed. They knew they had their prey cornered. They could take their time.
Kaito dropped into a crouch in front of Shinichi, gripping the small boy's shoulders with both hands. "Shin-chan, the book. Did you bring it?"
Shinichi blinked, momentarily confused. But then understanding flicked on, and he was fumbling through his pockets. In a matter of moments, he had "My Little Library" held between them in hands that were only a little shaky.
"Let's go," Kaito said, taking the book and opening it.
"They can follow us," Shinichi objected.
"I made it to lock from the inside."
"So we'll be trapped."
"Only until they decide we're not here and leave. Besides, it's better than being caught."
There was no arguing with that.
The two boys looked at each other. Blue met indigo, and words and thoughts and feelings flickered through their gazes, passing like light and shadow and the dance of dreams and promises. Then they nodded and both spoke at once.
"My little library," they said in unison, and they were gone.
All that was left was a book lying shut on the floor next to the table in the middle of the Foundation's main archive room—one book among millions. Unremarkable except that no one remembered who had brought it in and left it where it was.
X
The instant the little library came into focus around him, Kaito turned and covered the distance to the door in one long step. The door was ornamental because it didn't actually lead anywhere, but it was a representation of the portal in and out of this space. The door shape was what he had chosen to make it easier to understand and to use.
He turned the lock. It made a satisfying click as the little golden icon embossed upon the door above it changed from that of an open book to that of a closed one. Now, if one of those people outside found their book and read its title, they would find it to be but an ordinary book.
Behind him, Shinichi had already run over to the wall of tall windows. The book's magic had the view through those windows defaulting on a sea of fluffy clouds beneath a flawless blue sky, but Kaito had explained to him during their first visit that each window correlated to one of the book's outer surfaces with the two largest being the front and back covers. By adjusting the switches along the bottom edges of the frames, they could choose instead to see what lay outside the book as viewed through the corresponding surface.
In moments, they were gazing up at a dark ceiling through one window, a carpeted floor through another, and across the floor at the feet of several shelves through all but one of the rest. That last showed them a door opening and two pairs of feet—one in standard men's dress shoes and the other in three-inch heels.
It was rather disorienting because most of the views were tilted sideways, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
"Is there any way we can hear them?" Shinichi asked in a whisper. Logically, he knew the people outside were in a separate space and therefore he had no reason to keep his voice down, but it still felt wrong to speak loudly.
"It's this switch here," Kaito said, darting to the far right of the wall of windows to where a little wooden sparrow stood on an ornamental stand at the corner of the windowsill. He hit a switch on the base of the sparrow's perch, and the bird's wooden beak opened.
"—door wasn't locked," the man who'd seen them said. "They could be hiding behind the shelves. Stay by the door while I check. Stand in the doorway or they might slip by you since you can't see them. And listen for any of the other doors opening."
"Right," a female voice responded, and the three-inch heels planted themselves right in the middle of the doorway. "You're sure you really saw intruders though?"
"Of course I am," the man retorted, sounding offended. "They weren't ours. And they must have been using some kind of concealment spell since you couldn't see them at all."
"No, but I did hear footsteps when they ran from you," the lady conceded. "Any idea who they were?"
Her companion frowned as he moved further into the room. "There were two of them. Teenage boys."
Kaito's eyebrows shot up, and he traded glances with an equally puzzled Shinichi. If the man had simply seen through Kaito's cloaking spell, he should have seen one teenage boy and one small child, not two teenagers.
"They looked like trouble," the man went on with a certainty that made his lady friend stiffen.
"What sort of trouble?"
"I'm not sure. I didn't exactly have time to study them."
The man's feet came to a stop mere inches from their hiding space. A moment later, they were looking up into his face as he picked up the book and held it before him, frowning.
He was middle aged, Shinichi thought, with a face that was set in its ways. The soul behind his black eyes were sharp but cold—distrusting. If not for that look in his eyes and the hardness of his expression, however, he would have resembled an ordinary office worker.
"I don't think I've seen this one before," he said, turning to show the book to his companion. "Do you recognize it?"
The woman shook her head. "I don't. What is it?"
There was a rustling as both large windows shifted to views of feet and carpet, and Shinichi realized that they were listening to the pages of the book being turned.
"Looks like a history of libraries around the world," the man said, clearly puzzled. "Why would anyone add this to the archive?"
"Could it belong to the intruders?" the woman asked.
The man hesitated in the act of placing the book on the table in the middle of the room. "I suppose. But why would anyone carry a book about libraries with them?"
His companion shrugged. "I don't know. But maybe there's more to it. We should get it examined."
"You're right." The man pocketed the book, and all their windows went dark.
Kaito scowled. "Damn. That's not good. If they'd left it, we could have just waited for the coast to clear."
"At least they don't know what it is," Shinichi said with a sigh. "Why a history of libraries?"
Kaito shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to mind that at least sort of fit the title."
"Did you write it?"
That question elicited a bark of laughter from the Sky Mage. "Absolutely not. I just collected a bunch of articles from people at the institute. There're at least a few research papers in there from this guy Dad knows who studies the history of recorded history. He was so excited when I asked if I could use his articles that I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't actually planning to read them. So I ended up reading them anyway just in case he asked. They weren't as boring as I'd expected though, so all's well that ends well. I also included some stuff from travel websites about famous libraries and the like. Lots of random stuff."
New voices joined those of the man who'd blown their cover and his companion. Though muffled by their book's current location, the boys could make out enough to understand that the people outside were still searching for them and having no luck. Unfortunately, no one was giving up.
"Looks like we'd better make ourselves comfortable," Kaito observed. "You know, I installed the sparrow because Mom got tired of having to come all the way into the library to tell me that dinner was ready while I was working in here. Remind me to thank her when we get home."
"Me too," Shinichi agreed, silently praying that they would get home. Sighing, he wandered over to one of the armchairs and clambered onto it. "I hope he puts us down soon. Since he's the only person who can see us, we can leave as soon as he's gone."
"Question is, how did he see us? My cloaking spell was perfect."
He sounded so indignant that Shinichi had to laugh. "I'm sure it was. If I had to guess, I'd say he must have a Curse Mark. A Mark like that came up in A Curse Marked History. If I remember correctly, it belonged to a judge. She could see the truth about people. If that man has a Mark like hers, it would explain both how he saw us and why he saw two teenagers."
Dropping into the second armchair, Kaito frowned, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees and his chin on his interlaced fingers. "I see. I remember that story, and you're right. That would make sense. But that would mean he should know who we are—or will know as soon as he sees a picture of either of us. If he looks at any of the security footage they have of our family visit…"
He let the uncomfortable thought hang, but Shinichi was already shaking his head.
"I can't say for sure since I'm not sure if his Mark is the same as the one the book talked about, but the judge actually had a hard time seeing people the way they looked to most people. She always saw people sort of cloaked in signs and representations, and their features were often distorted by reflections of their characters."
"I always thought that meant a change of expressions or something, but I guess it could be more literal."
"I found an excerpt from her journal where she mentioned how her mother's face changed when her Mark manifested. It was the thing she had the hardest time adjusting to."
"That's…interesting," Kaito mused. "Though not very helpful for us. It means everyone's going to take him seriously when he tells them that we're trouble that's got to be found."
"I'm sure they realized that already when they realized we snuck in here and somehow managed to disappear," Shinichi replied dryly. "But, providing that his Mark really does work like the judge's, the bright side is that they may very likely have no idea who we are."
"Which would be good because then they won't know that they have someone with a Curse Mark they want right here in their clutches far away from watchful eyes," Kaito said grimly. "Shinichi."
Startled by the sudden solemnity in Kaito's voice and the use of his full name, Shinichi turned to find Kaito watching him with a look of fierce, protective determination that made him feel strange—breathless and a little nervous.
"Shinichi," Kaito said again, eyes catching and holding Shinichi's. "When we get the chance to leg it, I want you to promise me you'll stay in here."
"What?!" Shinichi exclaimed. His tone alone conveyed his objections better than any words could have.
"Hear me out," Kaito said before Shinichi could formulate a more sophisticated response. "We're making a lot of assumptions about what that guy might or might not be able to see. So it simply makes more sense for us to make sure he sees as little of us as possible. I'd have a much better chance of getting us out of here undetected carrying a book than we would if we were both out moving around together. And though I'll admit you can hide in smaller spaces, I can move a lot faster. And frankly I've had a lot of practice sneaking around. I promise I'll get us both out of here unscathed. Just do this for me."
Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again. He wanted to argue, but he also knew that it was true that, if he insisted on going out there, he would most likely only slow Kaito down. That was the last thing he wanted, but it still pained him to imagine sitting here while Kaito went out there to face whatever it was they ended up having to face to get out of here.
It was with an effort that Shinichi inclined his head. "Fine. I promise I won't go running out there—unless I am certain that it would serve a beneficial purpose."
Kaito frowned but, after some consideration, nodded. "All right. Deal." And suddenly he was all cheerful smiles again. "Well then, can't plan on an empty stomach. Lucky for us, I stocked the snack cabinet."
TBC
