Page 41 of Darkening Truth
Rival nods, “It is, but it’s more common than you think for books to have half-truths in them. It gets quite complicated trying to extract the right information out of them.”
I love listening to Rival talk about things like this. His whole expression lights up, and some of those shadows that seem to darken his expression regularly get chased away.
“What was the realm called?” Khaos asks curiously.
Zev frowns, “He didn’t manage to tell us what the realm was called before Farren got pulled into her nightmare. So, we really need to find that book and hope that it has the name of it in it as well. I don’t think it’s smart to go to a realm to save a group of supernaturals, the kinds of which I have never seenbefore, without at least knowing the name of the realm so that we can do some research on it before we leave.”
Rival nods, “Absolutely. It just makes sense to look into the realm before we go, but we may not have the time if we can’t locate the book easily.”
“Do either of you recognise the name of the book?” I ask Khaos and Hades.
They’ve both been around for a lot longer than any of us have, and I know that Hades has a fondness for rare books, so if anyone is going to know, then it should be them.
My hope is dashed as they both shake their heads.
“I have never heard of it before, I’m not even sure what language it is, which is strange because I’ve come across most languages by this point,” Hades says. He looks at Khaos, “What about you?”
Khaos shakes his head, “It doesn’t even vaguely ring a bell, neither the name of the book nor the language.”
“We could ask Xerxes?” Kill suggests.
“Good idea,” Mayhem says as he stands up. “Is everyone finished?”
I shove one last piece of bacon in my mouth and then nod as I get up. It doesn’t take us long to get to the library.
“X?” I call out as soon as we enter.
I feel bad that I haven’t checked in on him since we got back. I mean, Zev said that he said he was being called back to the library here, but what if he got it wrong and he was summoned somewhere else? After everything that we’ve been through, and how he stayed with me when he didn’t technically need to, I would hate it if something happened to him.
We share a bond of trauma.
My panic is short-lived as Xerxes flaps into view.
“Farren!” He greets me happily. “I must say you look a lot better.”
“Thanks, X,” I reply with a smile, “Did you get back okay?”
His pages flap before he settles down on the table next to us.
“Yes, I got back fine,” he replies. “Now, I’m sensing that you have something to ask?”
I nod, “Yeah, we were wondering if you have ever heard of a book called Leabhar Nam Marbh, and if you have, where we could find it?”
Xerxes hums, his pages turning as he thinks about my questions.
His voice is perplexed as he eventually replies, “I do know of it, I know that it was in the Fae Realm, and I know that it is a work of fiction. That is all I know about it.”
“Do you know what the name translates into?” Rival asks. “Or even what language it’s in?”
Xerxes’ pages flap, “I’m afraid I do not know, that’s not information that I have been granted. My knowledge is limited to what I have already shared with you. Not to inflate my importance, but there is very little that I don’t know about, and so it is curious that I know so little about it.”
“No one seems to know anything about it,” Rival says with a heavy frown.
“It does seem to be a running theme,” Khaos mutters.
“Thank you, X,” I say.
“You’re welcome, I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of more help,” he replies, sounding unhappy that he didn’t know.
