Even before Leah saw who had appeared out of the portal, she felt sick, certain there was something she'd grossly misunderstood.
The books that'd be stacked by the bed were S.I.S diaries. If the person who was living here had them, that only meant one of two things. Either, someone from the S.I.S had stolen them and ran; or, the S.I.S had been destroyed and the library ransacked.
Neither of which were good.
She peaked her head out from behind the portal, waiting for the gasp of shock, the exclamation as whoever had entered the room noticed her. But it didn't come.
She managed to get her eyes far enough from behind the portal to see the mattress and who was sprawled across it.
The person was cloaked in a long, multi-coloured shawl, their hair tied up in complicated loops and curls, and Leah's heart gave a sickening thud.
It was Maud Malum.
Leah pulled back, her eyes wide when they met Jared's. He shot her a questioning look, but his expression was already darkening, the shock on her face telling enough.
"Maud," Leah mouthed, and she saw the information hit him.
Questions travelled across his face, echoing those roaring through Leah's mind.
Maud wasn't part of the S.I.S, but she'd been a source of information for it, one the S.I.S relied on reluctantly. One Brenton had too.
Jared looked back down at the book in his hands again, his eyes flying across the pages, scanning the words. Leah craned her neck so she could see too, and she realised the diary was old. Very old. The text was written with a quill and ink, not even in the roman alphabet.
She glanced up at Jared, wondering if he could actually read it, but sensing her question, he shook his head. He flipped the book to the inside cover, pointing to a block of text he'd already skimmed past.
Thankfully, that bit was in English. It'd clearly been written as a form of indexing, of helping current members understand if the book contained anything relevant to whatever they were looking for.
Leah took the book and flipped it to face her.
"This journal holds the last written records of the tribe presumed to have invented the Mors Mortis Device. The text covers a ritual gone wrong and curse placed on the tribal members, punishing them for life. Many translations are incomplete or indecipherable."
Leah read it quickly, trying to make sense of it. Why would Maud take this book? What could it possibly mean to her?
"What are you two doing here?"
Leah jumped and Jared spun around, his gun coming up fast and landing right between Maud's brows.
She'd snuck up behind him, going unnoticed as Leah scanned the pages. Her eyes flicked to the book in Leah's hands, and then came back to Jared, her face carefully expressionless.
She'd changed since Leah last saw her. Her eyes still held that dark wisdom and timelessness, one that drew you in as much as it unsettled you, but some of the kindness had been stripped away. Leah knew Maud was out for herself and no one else. They all did. But this was the first time she'd really felt it; like Maud didn't think it was worth pretending anymore.
"I think it'd be more appropriate if we were asking you that," Jared said, his gaze narrowed. "Its not every day you see someone coming out of a portal intact."
Maud didn't take her eyes off him, and Leah could tell she was scanning his face for something.
The fact she wasn't doing the same to Leah was only more worrying. Everyone knew Maud gave information to the highest bidders, and Jared had been on Brenton's side for a long time. What information might Maud have given Brenton that she thought Jared might know too?
Whatever she was looking for, she clearly didn't find it though, because her face relaxed. The difference was only marginal, but it was enough to know she felt safer than she had two seconds before.
"You're right," she said. "But I've always known more about the way the worlds interact than anyone else. I'm sure you're not surprised I used that to my advantage."
"But why?" Jared asked, his voice hard. "Why come through to this world? It's collapsing too."
Maud just smiled.
"I know," she said. "It's going more slowly though. More gently. I wanted to spend my last days here. I've never made it to this world after all. I wanted to see it at least once."
Leah felt a well of confusion rise in her. The longing in Maud's voice was strong, leaking through even though she clearly didn't want it to.
"What's this?" Leah asked, stepping forward so she stood beside Jared and holding the book up beside her head, still safely out of Maud's reach. "Why do you have it?"
All the dreaminess vanished from Maud's face and her eyes fixed on the book, and Leah knew instantly that it was even more important than they could've guessed.
"It's a diary," Maud said. "I stole it from the S.I.S's library, but I'm sure you've figured that out by now already."
A small smile kinked up the corner of her lip.
"The S.I.S is not very well protected these days, after all."
Leah fought the urge to ask after the S.I.S like she knew Maud wanted her too — to take the bait and change the conversation.
"Why did you take it?" Jared asked. "What's so important about it?"
"For the same reason I'm sure you two came here," Maud said. "To try and figure out if there's a way to stop all of this. That book holds an account of how the Mors Mortis Device was originally created and what happened to the tribe who made it. I thought it might hold answers."
"You didn't think to mention your suspicions to the S.I.S? Or get help translating it?"
"There weren't many of them left to mention it too."
Leah flinched, the satisfaction in Maud's voice more triggering than she'd imagined, and Jared's mouth curled up.
"Bullshit," Jared said. "You brought it to the basement of an abandoned house in a world where no one expect it to be. You were trying to hide it."
Jared's words were echoing Leah's thoughts, each reverberation making her more and more sick. Maud was hiding the book. Maud, who knew more about the worlds than anyone else.
Leah looked up at her, the truth of things hitting her fast and true.
"What have you done?" she asked, her voice ragged.
Maud laughed, and the sound was horrible; a cackling happiness.
"Nothing," she said. "I didn't have to, did I? You did it all for me. Well, you and Brenton. I really can't thank you the both enough, Leah."
"What—"
"Just accept what's happening, hon," she said. "The worlds are coming apart. Finally, they're coming apart. And there's not long left now. Enjoy your last few days while you can."
And before either of them could do anything, Maud launched herself sideways and back into the portal, the darkness eating her up quick.
...
Next chapter out in two weeks!
- Skylar xx