Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

the hall that led past Miss Camilla’s and Master Darius’ classrooms. Loryn nodded in reply, never taking her eyes from the hall where the footsteps could still be heard. Crossing the intersection, Cooper could see that the dust on the floor had been disturbed by the passing of a multitude of patrols. They could move without fear of their passing being discovered. They quickly passed Miss Camilla’s classrooms and paused only for a moment as they passed Master Darius’ room.

Cooper stepped into the alcove that concealed the entrance to the Library and pulled Loryn in behind him, “Keep an eye down the halls. I’ll need a moment to find the latch in the dark.” Loryn leaned out to observe, pulling a little tension on her bowstring. Cooper stepped along the edge of the alcove, pressing on the tile that he knew would activate the counterweight and reveal the staircase leading down to the Library. There was no answering click, and no movement in the wall. He cursed, almost silently, and added in a voice just loud enough to be heard, “It isn’t working. It’s broken, or deliberately disabled.” Loryn pulled her head back to look at him, “I’ll assume there’s no other way in? Or if there is, it’s a secret even from you?” Cooper nodded, a gesture almost lost in the near pitch darkness, “I don’t think there’s anoth-” He paused and Loryn asked, “What is it? Have you thought of something?” Cooper shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “Maybe. We need to retrace our steps slightly. We need to get into Miss Camilla’s herbarium.” As he stepped to listen down the hall, Loryn couldn’t resist asking, “Did you say herbarium? What are you talking about?” Cooper answered, “Yes. Just follow me. I’ll explain more once we’re there. I’d rather not spend any more time in the hallways.”

The door to Miss Camilla’s classroom wasn’t even locked. Stepping through it revealed that several shelves of glassware had been shattered, though the tables were empty. They looked around the room, neither knowing what exactly to say. Loryn was the first to break the silence, “It looks like they broke everything that had contents, and took away all the empty glassware.” Cooper didn’t reply, he simply stepped carefully through the room, avoiding shards of broken glass and entered the herbarium. Once inside, Cooper spoke, “During the day, light coming through this room gets directed through some kind of windows that end as skylights in the Library below us. We need to find those windows and see if they’re big enough for us to fit through.” Loryn looked a little apprehensive, “And if they’re not?” Cooper shrugged, “Then we’ll just have to think of something else.”

Though the plants had wilted, it still took several minutes to locate the first of the skylights. It was no bigger around than a coffee pot. Loryn joked, “Unless you’ve got some special Talent that lets you change your size…” Cooper smiled grimly and replied in a chiding tone, “There's more than one. Keep looking.” A few minutes later they located another. This one was larger, but not exactly the opening he’d been hoping for. He turned and looked at Loryn, estimating her size. She noted his attention, “You’ve got to be joking.” He shrugged, “With one arm extended, and one arm lowered, you can shift your shoulders. Then the greatest limiting factor will be your hips.” He raised an eyebrow, “And face it, you’ve not got hips that would be described as ‘voluptuous’.” She eyed the opening, “And if I get stuck?” Cooper replied, “We’ll tie a rope to your ankle. You’ll want a rope anyway, to lower yourself to the floor once you get through.” Loryn was still gauging the opening, “IF I get through, you mean.” Cooper shrugged, “If you feel like you truly can’t squeeze any further, stop, and I’ll help pull you back.” She appeared both uncertain and apprehensive, he added, “I’m not going to leave you trapped in there!” She still looked a little uncertain as she uncoiled the rope she had wrapped around her waist. She handed the end to him, “Tie it off to one of those garden bed supports or something.” He did, as she tied the other end around her ankle. They removed the glass cover from the opening. It revealed what looked like a small tunnel that dropped a few feet then went sideways. There was a mirror angled in the corner to catch light and direct it further along the channel. Loryn observed, “It doesn’t look like there’ll be any easy way to bend around that corner. Are you certain all this is that important?” Cooper nodded in a very definitive way, “The Library is the most valuable asset the Guild possessed, aside from its members. The knowledge of who owned what, and who-owed-what-to-whom?… priceless. Not to mention entire dossiers of political officials and noble families. It might never be possible to recreate that collected information.” Loryn was still looking down the narrow hole, “And would that be such a terrible thing?” Cooper let his shoulders sag, “It c ould completely throw off our timeline, and we have friends in the prison and work camps. If I thought I could smuggle one of the tiny beggar kids in here, I would. But I think we both know how that would play out.” The thought brought a slight smile to Loryn’s face, “At least it’s good to know that you’ve considered other options.” She took a deep breath, “Alright, just pay out rope as I go. If I stop needing rope for more than twenty seconds, I’m stuck. Pull me out.” She slid her cloak off her shoulders and slipped into the hole, head and right hand first. She quickly disappeared around the corner, cursing as she went. He paid out rope, marking her progress. It took only a few seconds and her progress stopped. He began to count. He reached