The Library of Shadows

29

Katherina threw herself over Jon's unconscious body. He had dropped like a rock with the blow, as if all his muscles had been loosed at once, leaving gravity to do its work. Blood was pouring from his forehead where the crowbar had struck and running down his cheek onto the carpet. He groaned faintly.

Katherina turned an angry face towards Pau. He stood there with a triumphant smile on his lips and his weapon raised, ready to deliver another blow.

'I don't think that's going to be necessary,' said Remer from the other end of the room.

Pau's smile vanished and he lowered the crowbar.

'I'm sure Katherina here realizes the game is up.' Remer came closer as he spoke and Katherina turned to look at him. He was wearing a black suit with a grey shirt but no tie. His gaze rested on her with no sign of emotion.

'Because youare Katherina, aren't you?' he said.

She didn't reply, just turned her attention back to Jon. She stroked his forehead without touching the blood.

'I hope you didn't hit him too hard,' said Remer behind her. 'We need him.'

'He'll live,' said Pau. 'Couldn't be more than a slight concussion.'

'That's exactly what we don't need,' said Remer angrily. 'I told you not to hurt him.'

'I didn't have a choice,' Pau protested.

Remer sighed loudly. 'Do you think you can manage to take care of the girl while the rest of us get ready?'

Pau muttered a reply and Katherina felt a hand on her shoulder.

'Come on, Princess. We've reserved a place for you.'

He pulled her to her feet with his left hand while he held the crowbar in his right. Katherina tried to twist out of his grip but couldn't do it. Two men came into the room and knelt down on the floor next to Jon. One of them was Kortmann's chauffeur, but not once did he look at Katherina. They each took hold of Jon's arms and dragged him out through the door they had just entered by.

Pau led Katherina into the office where he shoved her down onto a swivel chair. Jon was hauled further along the hall and the door closed behind them.

'Where are they taking him?' said Katherina, staring at Pau.

'Not far,' replied Pau and smiled.

Without taking his eyes off her, he reached into a cupboard and took out a roll of duct tape. He turned her round, and she heard him place the crowbar on the cement floor.

That was her chance.

She tensed all the muscles in her body but the instant she was about to leap up from the chair, Remer came into the room. He was holding a gun in his hand. It wasn't especially big, just a little black model with a dark wooden grip, but its very presence changed everything. Even though Katherina knew the Shadow Organization wouldn't stop at murder, up until now the killing had been done by less direct means, as far as she knew. It had been achieved by using the powers – a weapon appropriate to the context – and not with a cold revolver, which seemed strangely out of place in the world of the Lectors.

Pau grabbed Katherina's arms and taped them together, binding them to the back of the chair. Remer sat down at the desk in front of the window and placed the gun on a stack of papers, as naturally as if it were a paperweight. He leaned across the table towards a microphone and pressed a button to turn it on.

'You'd better tie him up properly,' he said, casting a swift glance at Pau. 'We wouldn't want him to get hurt.'

Pau turned Katherina around and taped her legs to the frame of the chair. She glared at him, but he avoided looking at her.

'So you were part of it all along?'

He laughed. 'Don't think I enjoyed it,' he said, sneering at her. 'All your naive piss about reading experiences, literature and "the Good Story". It drove me crazy.' He gave Remer a sidelong glance. 'But now it's over. I've done my job.'

'What about the bookshop?' asked Katherina. 'What about Iversen? And Luca?'

Pau stood up and leaned forward with his hands on the armrests of her chair. He put his face very near to hers. There was loathing in his eyes. He was so close Katherina could hear him grinding his teeth.

'As far as I'm concerned, you can all go to hell.'

Katherina spat in his face and then lurched forward in her chair, but Pau managed to jump back just in time. He straightened up with a grin, wiping his face on his sleeve. Then he took a piece of tape and pressed it hard over her mouth. He stepped back, crossed his arms and regarded his handiwork with a smile. Then he laughed and disappeared into the corridor.

Katherina twisted and turned her arms, trying to loosen the tape, but to no avail. It just bit into her skin, and she would have screamed in pain if Pau hadn't taped her mouth shut. In despair she slumped, noticing that tears were welling up in her eyes. How could they have been so naive? Pau's return should have aroused suspicion, at least enough to keep him out of their plans. But they'd been too concerned about Kortmann's death. She shook her head, as if to shake off the tears. She had to stop it; now was the time to focus all her energy on getting out of this situation. She let her eyes sweep over the room, looking for something she could use.

Remer was studying the computer monitor on the desk and not paying any attention to what was happening at the other end of the room. Katherina was able to pick up only scattered fragments of what he was reading, but it sounded like sheer nonsense. Technical terms, numbers and phrases she'd never heard before, all blended together. Every once in a while Remer peered through the window and signalled to someone in the adjacent room.

From her position Katherina couldn't see directly through the pane, but she sensed that a light had been turned on and that someone was moving around in the room behind the glass. She had no doubt about who had been tied up in there.

By bracing her feet against the base of the chair, she tried to stretch out the tape around her ankles. It gave ever so slightly, just enough to revive her courage.

'Okay,' said Remer into the microphone. 'You'd better leave the room. Now we just need to wait for him to regain consciousness.'

Pau and someone else came back into the office, going over to sit down on either side of Remer. Kortmann's chauffeur hadn't returned.

During the next fifteen minutes Remer apparently ran through a number of preparatory steps and tests on the computer. Pau followed along, occasionally casting a glance at Katherina. The other man looked through a stack of papers, giving brief, routine-sounding replies as Remer asked about 'RL values', tension levels, and 'IR-blockades' – concepts Katherina was unable to decode. In the meantime, she concentrated on working at the tape wrapped round her feet.

'He's back,' said Pau suddenly, and the three men turned their attention to the room behind the glass.

'Good morning, Campelli,' said Remer into the microphone. From a speaker they could hear Jon mutter something incomprehensible. 'I regret the rather hard-handed welcome, but it looked as if you were about to leave us before we had a chance to talk.'

'Pau,' they heard from the loudspeaker, spoken as if it were the answer to a puzzle.

Remer laughed. 'Pau, as you call him, has been in my service the whole time. A product of this place, you might say. He once attended this school and sat in the very chair where you're sitting now, wearing the same helmet.'

'Where's Katherina? What have you done to her?'

'Relax, Campelli,' said Remer. 'The young lady is right here.' He nodded to Pau, who went over to Katherina and rolled her chair over to the window.

On the other side of the glass Jon was sitting in one of the two chairs, tied up with plastic handcuff strips round his arms and ankles. The blood on his forehead had dried and a dark bruise had appeared where the crowbar had struck. When he saw Katherina, an expression of relief washed over his face.

'As you can see, she's unharmed,' Remer went on. 'So far.'

'What is it you want, Remer?' Jon asked, without taking his eyes off Katherina.

'Cooperation. That's really all,' replied Remer. 'A small demonstration to show us what you're capable of, and then an open-minded attitude with regard to my organization. There's a great deal we can offer a man of your talents.'

'What makes you think I want to be your guinea pig? Do you really expect me to participate voluntarily in your experiments?'

'As a matter of fact, I do,' said Remer confidently. 'Anything else would be unwise.' He patted Katherina on the shoulder, and she flinched at his touch. 'As I said, we have a use for her.'

Jon clenched his teeth. 'And if I agree to your experiments, will you let her go?'

'Naturally,' replied Remer. 'That's the deal.'

'It's no good,' said Jon, squeezing his eyes shut and obviously in pain. 'I'm incapable of reading anything right now. You can thank your lapdog for that.'

Remer leaned forward to give Jon an intent look.

'He's bluffing,' exclaimed Pau. 'I didn't hit him that hard.'

Remer shot Pau an annoyed glance and leaned back in his chair.

Jon opened his eyes and stared straight at Remer. 'If you let Katherina go, I promise to stay here until I'm able to do your test,' he offered.

'I'm sure you'll do your best,' said Remer, picking up the gun from the table and showing it to Jon.

Katherina shook her head vigorously but she could see the dismay in Jon's face. The sight of that shabby little object underscored that this was a filthy hostage situation and not a negotiation.

'Okay,' said Jon. 'What do you want me to do?'

'What you're so good at doing,' replied Remer. 'Reading stories.' He nodded to Pau, who left the room.

'First let her go,' Jon demanded.

Remer laughed. 'Now you're being naive, Campelli. The girl stays until we get what we need.'

The door to the cell was pushed open, and Pau stepped inside with a book in one hand and a knife in the other.

'Bastard,' snarled Jon.

Pau laughed as he stepped closer, making sure that Jon saw the knife by holding it up with two fingers.

'Watch out, Jon,' he warned. 'You wouldn't want to get hurt again.' He fixed his gaze on a spot above Jon's left eyebrow. 'Ouch, that looks ugly. Does it hurt?' Pau smiled broadly.

Jon yanked at his arms but they were firmly strapped to the armrests of his chair. He sank back, fixing hostile eyes on Pau.

'So are you going to turn the pages for me?'

'Oh, no,' said Pau. 'I'll be out of here long before that.' He stuck the book in Jon's right hand.

Jon looked down at the cover.

'Frankenstein?' he exclaimed with surprise.

From her position near the table, Katherina could see that the book was a paperback edition, as worn as a copy someone had taken on summer holiday. She also noticed that she couldn't pick up anything from Jon's reading of the cover. As they had earlier discussed, the cell room must be shielded in some way.

With one hand Pau gripped Jon's left forearm, pressing it down against the armrest. He used his other hand to cut off the plastic strips holding Jon's arm. After cutting through the bands he swiftly stepped away, out of Jon's reach.

Jon shook his free arm. He grabbed the plastic strips on his other arm but couldn't pull them off.

Pau laughed. 'Forget it, Jon. You can't do it.' He turned round and went out of the cell, followed by Jon's scowling gaze.

'Go ahead and start,' said Remer.

Jon shifted his glance to the window and Katherina gave him a brief nod. Pau came back into the office and stood behind the others at the table.

'Do you have any favourite passages?' asked Jon scornfully.

Remer shook his head. 'It doesn't matter where you begin.' He pressed a couple of keys on the keyboard, and the image on the screen changed to show a number of oscillating curves that slowly rolled from right to left. There was no appreciable fluctuation.

Jon shifted his hold on the book so that he was gripping the spine with his bound right hand and was able to turn the pages with his left. He opened the book to the middle and began to read.

For Katherina it was a strange feeling to hear Jon reading aloud. Up until now she had always been with him when he read so that she could simultaneously receive, but now it was only his own voice she heard, while the book itself remained silent. It was like listening to audio books, which were also devoid of any of the energy with which a reader or a book itself might charge the text. Yet Jon was an excellent reader, and if the circumstances had been different, she would have enjoyed the story. Katherina tried with all her might to stretch the tape round her ankles even more. She felt a little jerk as the tape gave way, and she cast a frightened glance at the others. But they were all staring intently at the monitor on the table and hadn't noticed a thing.

The oscillations on the screen had begun to move. A green line at the very top of the monitor displayed sine-wave oscillations, an image of what Katherina surmised was the fluctuating pulse made by a transmitter's powers. Underneath was a red trace that rose steeply as Jon worked his way through the text.

'Five point one within three minutes,' said Remer, impressed.

Pau sniggered.

The red trace flattened out and stabilized at a level above the halfway mark on the screen.

'Seven,' declared Remer. 'Is he holding back?'

'Well, there aren't any fireworks yet,' said Pau.

Remer leaned towards the microphone, but just as he was about to say something the green sine wave changed shape. The fluctuations increased in tempo, like a metronome shifting gear. At the same time the red line made an almost vertical leap and was now close to the top of the scale.

'Ten,' exclaimed Remer in astonishment.

Behind the glass, Jon seemed apparently unaffected. Only the beads of sweat that were slowly trickling down his forehead revealed the effort he was making.

The fluorescent lights on the ceiling above him flickered erratically a couple of times until one of them suddenly went out, while the two others shone even brighter. Even though the cell room was bathed in light, the glare seemed to be diminishing around Jon. Gradually a sphere formed around him, creating a darker space than in the rest of the room, and sparks and tiny flashes seemed to be racing over the surface of the sphere. Soon they could no longer see him because of the darkness and the increasing energy discharges.

'Shit,' cried Pau. 'He's gone off the scale.'

Katherina cast a glance at the computer screen. The sine wave was still fluctuating regularly but at a faster frequency than before. The red line had disappeared. She twisted her feet free from the tape and set them on the floor.

The now pitch-black sphere seemed to be drawing in the light behind the windowpane, as if it were a black hole. Lightning and sparks slid over the surface in fiery patterns and several leaped from the sphere into the room, where they landed on the objects and wiring surrounding Jon. The sparks danced in the air until all the light seemed to have been sucked inside the sphere with one great inhalation.

Katherina kicked at the floor, sending herself and the chair flying towards the other end of the room, away from the window. As she moved, she made sure to turn her back and lean forwards. Behind her she heard shouting and a great commotion.

Then came the explosion.

The force flung her sideways against the wall and the breath was knocked right out of her. A fierce heat followed and her lungs burned as she gasped for air. After the roar of the explosion came the sound of glass shattering and falling to the floor, and a hissing sound from sparks flying. She heard a whimpering from the other end of the room but all the lights had gone out, and the only remaining light was from the flames that had ignited the papers on the table and floor.

Katherina felt a pain in her arms, on the skin that was unprotected from the heat. The tape round her wrists had started to melt and she could easily slip out of it. She ripped the tape off her mouth and fumbled her way to the door, which she tore open. Before leaving the room, she took one last look at the desk where Remer and Pau had been. She glimpsed people lying on the floor, but she wasn't able to see whether they were still alive.

Out in the corridor a single fluorescent light was flickering, and the strobe effect turned the hall into a nightmarish scene. The metal door to the cell room was bowed outward; the peephole had been blown away and smoke was pouring out of it, as if from a chimney. On the floor in front of the door lay Kortmann's chauffeur. One of his eyes was a deep, gaping crater, and blood was gushing from the wound and down his face into a growing pool on the floor.

Katherina had to push his body aside before she could pull the cell door open. Smoke billowed out towards her. Coughing, she plunged into the room, holding out her hands in front of her. The first of the two chairs was crumpled up like some sort of abstract sculpture; half the upholstery was gone, half was in flames. In the other chair sat Jon.

He was sitting with his head bowed, but otherwise he was completely untouched by the forces that had ravaged the room. He was still holding the book in his hand. Slowly Katherina approached the chair and placed her hand on Jon's shoulder. He raised his head and gave her a strained smile.

'How'd it go?'

Katherina pressed her body close to his and began to sob.

'I'm so tired,' Jon said. He was having difficulty holding his head up.

Katherina released him from the helmet and stroked his forehead.

'We have to get out of here,' she said. 'Think you can manage it?'

'So tired,' Jon repeated.

Katherina tried to haul him to his feet but he was still bound to the right armrest. The explosion had spared the chair he was sitting in, including the plastic strips that held him captive.

'Campelli,' Remer's voice suddenly thundered. Through the hole where the windowpane had been, they could see a figure in tattered clothes, his face covered with blood. 'Welcome. You're mine now.'

'Run,' whispered Jon to Katherina.

She tugged at his bonds, but they refused to give.

With a great effort Jon heaved himself upright in the chair.

'You've got to go,' he croaked, groggy with exhaustion. 'You can't let them take you.'

His words were practically drowned out by a loud explosion. Katherina flinched. She'd never heard gunshot in real life before, but she had no doubt what it was, and the stance that Remer had taken also made it clear enough.

He was holding the gun in his hand, and it was aimed at her.