The Book That Wouldn't Burn

Livira and her fellow trainees head into the library to find the book for Master Logaris. As they enter, Livira is struck by the library’s sheer scale, but Carlotte says that this is only the first chamber of the hundreds known. Livira snaps that this is all a pretense to get her kicked out. When she questions the other trainees about it, they say that the books on the king’s lists uphold the social biases that marginalize “dusters” (those who come from the Dust).

Livira hopes that an organized system will guide them to the right book, but Arpix explains that the library is a labyrinth of overlapping indexes, codes, and cataloging systems that vary depending on their location, and even these systems only apply to the cataloged areas. When Livira asks how there can be uncatalogued sections, she is told that the books were already there when the library was rediscovered.

In frustration, she asks how the librarians would even know that the book exists. Arpix explains that an assistant would, but the automatons created by librarians in the ancient past are mostly broken and unsafe to use. Ignoring his warning, Livira escapes the group and goes to find an assistant on her own.

Upon pondering the cryptic instructions in his book, Evar goes to the pool, which he realizes is the only thing that has a “bottom.” Against his better judgment, he collects an assortment of metal book hinges and other items to weigh himself down for the dive, then steps into the pool.

Livira ventures deeper into the library. In a section of red books, she finds a metal claw that she takes with her. She then passes through a door into yet another chamber. This one is built into a deliberate labyrinth. Here, she finds a winged automaton that doesn’t respond to her. She tries to use books to mark her way, but they all return to the shelves. In desperation, she tears a page from a book and uses it to map the maze. However, before she can use it to escape, a construct Raven steals it, and she gives chase.

The Raven leads Livira deeper into the library’s mysterious sections. It pauses by the book from which she tore the page. When she reluctantly replaces the page, the Raven surprises her by attacking her pocket and pulling out the scrap of paper that she found in the Dust. Livira follows the Raven to a new chamber filled with older shelves. She then passes into an area of complete darkness and has to follow the Raven’s cries. Eventually, she discovers that the source of the darkness is a small black book on the floor. She takes the book with her as she continues to follow the bird.

Evar sinks deep into the pool, and just as he is on the brink of drowning, he emerges into a completely different place surrounded by grass, trees, and countless pools laid out in a grid. As he ponders which pool to try, he experiences fleeting memories of a woman whom he saw during his lost years inside the Mechanism. Suddenly, he finds a pool that holds a pitch-black void instead of a reflection. A hand emerges from the darkness but struggles against an invisible barrier. Although hesitant at first, Evar reaches for the hand.

The Raven finally stops before a large, ancient book sporting a locked cover that matches the script on Livira’s scrap. Because she cannot open the book or leave her scrap without the Raven protesting, Livira takes the heavy tome with her as she continues to follow the Raven. Eventually, they reach a stone figure of a woman lying on the floor. The woman has a wound on her head, and one hand is outstretched toward a shimmering circle of light set against a nearby shelf. Livira opens the black book for protection, and when she reaches toward the light, an unseen force grabs her hand and pulls her forward.

Evar pulls Livira from the black pool. Although disappointed not to find the woman he was expecting, he strikes up a cautious conversation with her. Evar confesses that he is searching for a mysterious woman who was a part of him since childhood, though he doesn’t know who she is. Livira explains that she too came from the library but is searching for a book.

Their talk is interrupted when Evar spots the Assistant in the distance. He tries to catch her, but the Assistant vanishes, leaving behind the book that Livira was searching for. As Livira and Evar head back to the pool, Livira promises to help him search for the woman. When they reach the pool’s edge, a grey hand reaches up and grabs Livira’s ankle, pulling her under before Evar can react.

Livira is pulled back into the library by the assistant on the floor, who now tells her that the place she was in, the Exchange, is forbidden. When Livira is unable to reenter the pool, she gathers her belongings, including the now-lifeless Raven, and begins her long journey back through the library. While placing the Raven atop a high shelf to rest, Livira spots a white assistant below. Calling out to him, she inadvertently drops a half-eaten apple from her supplies. The assistant destroys the apple, leaving only the seeds behind, and reprimands her for breaking the library’s no-food rule. As she is about to protest, Livira loses her balance on the shelf and falls.

Livira regains consciousness after her fall, feeling sore but miraculously alive. She discovers that the assistant saved her by taking her to the chamber’s center, which nourishes and heals injuries. The assistant, now holding Livira’s book, explains that there are two copies of the book, which is a rarity in the library. When he tries to take it, she says that a different assistant gave it to her and convinces him to return the other copy instead.

Livira follows the assistant’s directions to the library’s exit. Once she returns to her quarters, she collapses into bed. Upon awakening the next day, she finds that she still has the book. In Master Logaris’s class, her friends are shocked and relieved to see her. Livira passes the book to Arpix, who presents it to Logaris just as the teacher demands to know the results of their search. Impressed by their teamwork and endurance, Logaris commends them all.

Evar tries to follow Livira through her pool. When he fails, he decides to investigate the other pools instead. He selects one and jumps in, only to find himself back in a version of his own library, but with drastic differences. The crop fields around the pool are much larger, the perimeter wall that Clovis built is gone, and there are more people. Evar realizes that he is a ghost to them and can observe everything without being seen or heard.

Evar stumbles upon a family with a young daughter named Clovis and realizes that the child might be a younger version of his own sister. The peaceful scene shatters as humans attack, slaughtering many of the people. The father is shot, but the mother manages to kill one attacker and pull Clovis to safety. Evar realizes in terror that the attackers came through the pool.

Livira, who is now 13, is allowed outside the library for the first time in two years. Although she is focused on her studies and her friendships with fellow trainees, Livira still thinks about her meeting with Evar in the Exchange. Despite her attempts to return to that forbidden place, she was unable to reopen the portal. During her search, however, she did find stories about the library’s origin, and about Irad and Jaspeth—two brothers who clashed over the issue of knowledge.

Now outside the library, Livira goes to Master Yute’s home. While Salamonda gets Arpix some food, Livira goes to speak with the librarian. Yute says that he knows she accessed Chamber 7, one of the library’s forbidden chambers, with the Raven; this is something that none of the other librarians believed. He also gives her an assignment, telling her to uncover “the library’s greatest curse” (227). When she questions him, he cryptically responds by asking her to consider if the city has progressed and if it has been the same before. He warns her that they are all trapped.

Livira and Arpix leave Yute’s home and deliver books to the city’s laboratory. Livira staves off questions about the “curse” by telling Arpix that Yute encouraged them to explore fiction, a topic that baffles Arpix. As they walk through the city, the pair hear rumors of canith attacking nearby towns. When Arpix comments that the canith are practically animals, Livira counters that the ones she met spoke and wielded weapons, which he insists must have been stolen.

While passing through an alley, they are ambushed by a knife-wielding stranger but are saved by Malar, who reveals that he is being paid to protect her. When she says that she has been saving money to give to the other children from her village, he tells her that she should be more concerned about the refugees who are fleeing the canith and are trapped outside the walls of Crath.

The soldier escorts Livira and Arpix to the laboratory. The two trainees discuss the fact that the library’s knowledge serves the king’s political agenda, and Arpix mentions the possibility of “quill search,” a theory suggesting that people write books to confirm desired truths rather than just finding the books within the library. When they reach the laboratory, a man runs out, and suddenly, an explosion engulfs them all in yellow gas.