Page 131 of The Cerulean Sister
"Golden and curly. Very curly. Blue eyes like her mother’s," he answers, ready to give us any information we ask.
Calliape looks at me, and her eyes tell me she knows the woman and child he speaks of. "She is well," she says.
The scholar has to lean against a desk while hearing Calliape's words, the update on his loved one. "That is wonderful news."
"She is on Frith, protected by the forest."
"Thank you."
"We do need your key," I admit.
"Ferren," Calliape warns again.
"You said you had no allegiance to the temple. Is that true?"
"I took Mary's job to find out what happened to my sister-in-law. I knew there had to be some kind of arrow pointing in the direction of what Mary was doing. I'll give you any book you need in there if you tell me more about her."
I look to Calliape, who nods in a single reluctant motion, and then I turn back to Edwin. "Deal."
He slowly sets the log down on his desk and opens the drawer on its side.
"Are you trying to get your sister to Frith as well?"
"Why would you ask her that?" Calliape's tone is fierce.
"I assumed. I saw you with the travel log, High Priestess. Did you truly not know Mary was smuggling people out of Cosima? You worked so close to her."
I do not want to answer him, give him any more details than I have to. For some reason, it hurts to hear what Mary was doing in secret. Even if she never in all the worlds would have told me about it.
"Can we trust you? If I open this door and borrow a book, will you tell no one?"
"You will bring it back eventually?" He smiles.
"Yes."
He hands me the key and sits at his desk, looking expectantly to Calliape to hold up her end of the bargain.
I don't hesitate to slip the key into the lock and open the heavy door, leaving the two of them on the other side.
The room inside is dark and dry. Dozens of bookcases line the windowless walls, filled to the top with ancient books. It doesn't take me long to find the aisle I am after. It’s set up in the same system as the library I have spent most of my life in.
I hold out my candle to the spines of the birthing and attendance logs from the Temple of Divine Mothers. Selene said they would be kept in here as there is only one entry per woman to be made, unlike the ones in the school which are updated continuously on the child's progress.
There is a book with significantly less damage and not a single speck of dust on it, like it has been recently removed and recorded in.
I pull it out and flip through it briefly, knowing it's exactly what Selene said we would need. I stack two more on top eventhough the entire bookcase is full of them. Three decades of logged births should be enough to establish some sort of pattern.
I use my back to push open the door again and find Calliape sitting across from the scholar, speaking softly to him. He looks emotional, the information she gives him on his loved one almost moving him to tears.
They both look up at me when I draw closer.
"I should get back to work." He sniffles and holds out his hand for the key. "I will expect those back soon, High Priestess."
"You have my word."
"You have mine as well." He smiles tightly.
Calliape touches my hand and folds the distance faster than any other time before, wanting to leave the Estate desperately. I cling to the stack of books and close my eyes until my feet are firmly planted on solid ground again.
