So You Might be Soulless

27|| Look

Diya flicked through the yellowed, worn pages, her gaze skimming over the faint words and barely discernible drawings. Her eyes watered and she blinked, tracing a strange line drawing with her finger. This looks like some sort of dance ritual... or a dangerous operation.

With a sigh, she pushed her chair back and tilted her head back, angling her gaze to the library's ornate, domed ceiling. Raising her hand, she traced the only flaw, a single fissure, down past the expressionless paintings until it disappeared behind the skirting board next to a bookshelf.

Diya frowned and turned her head to the side, trying to read the title of a particular book that caught her eye. Upon realising it was the long-awaited sequel of one of her favourite series, she crossed the room and tugged it out.

It swung down with a click.

Diya's eyes widened as the shelf shuddered back and another one dropped down. This one was covered with worn, leather books with their gilded titles fading into a dull yellow. She brushed her fingers against the spines and her fingers became covered with blackened dust.

She squinted, trying to spell out the words, but her tongue tripped over the clashing syllables. "Ahjhe jhu- something-se? No, that's a je. The next one is... Shuaji...je akrishi?"

"Hey Dee, I found the books I was looking for!" Sebastian called, emerging in the doorway with several heavy tomes in his arms. His smile faltered and he raised a brow as he saw what she was looking at. "What's that?"

Diya lifted her head and shrugged. "No idea. I was trying to pull out a book and found this. I don't know what language this is in, though."

He ducked his head closer to read the titles. His eyes widened. "I know what this is! It's the old language. But it hasn't been spoken for hundreds of years- especially after the time of the seventh Emperor."

"The seventh Emperor?" Diya's brows furrowed and she chewed the inside of her cheek. "He's the only Emperor who was never named in the records, right?"

"Correct. The main information about him was burned once he was betrayed by his, uh, trusted advisors."

Diya scowled and shoved him. "Don't ever sugarcoat anything with me, Prince. I detest pity more than anything in the world. I know that he was betrayed by his Necromancer advisor."

After all, that was how Necromancers became hated across the Empire.

"We know you're going to try and harm the Imperial family! Just like your ancestors."

She shook her head. Why am I thinking about that idiotic mermaid's words now?

"Duly noted." Sebastian nodded and gestured to the books. "These must be some of the missing records from the time of the traitor- maybe even before then! How did you find it?"

"I thought I saw the sequel to a really good book." Diya sighed and gestured mournfully. "But, alas, it seemed to be a trick. Can you translate what it says?"

"Oh yikes... I've only studied the later dialects, but I'll give it a shot." He pried open one with a crimson cover, coughing as clouds of dust and debris emitted from the pages.

Diya cleared the desk surface and the duo bent over the words. Although she only had extremely basic training- the Elshers had been of the firm belief that a young, marriageable girl did not waste time learning the dead language- she was able to pick out a few key phrases.

After determining that nothing useful could be gleaned, they moved onto the second book. This one was bound in a rough material that creased in the wrong places. Out of all the novels, this was the only one to not be infected with a thick, green mould that ate the paper like a ravenous beast.