Corvid's Pocket

“What is this racket!” Remhann shouted and stormed down the aisle between the bookshelves. A library was a place for solemn study and reflection, not wanton shouting or crying.

When the disturbance did not go quiet, Remhann shouted again. “Be quiet this instant!” He chided himself for disturbing the other visitors to the library, but he had his duties and they had to be carried out, for the sanctity of the library. So absorbed in his thoughts was Remhannn that he did not notice turning a corner that he had never before seen in the library.

He rounded the corner huffing and puffing, and his anger only gtrew when he saw the source of the cries; two young children, alone and unattended. Lennalt the library custodian had, in his grace, allowed children access to the library but only when attended by their parents or guardians. Two books had fallen on the ground, one of them open on an illustrated page.

“Young minds should be nurtured and cultured, but we should also understand that they might not appreciate the value of the lessons or the books that hold them, and so it is vital that they have guidance in these matters at all times when within the library walls.” The old man had said.

“What are two babies doing unattended in the lord’s library.” Remhann said without concealing the anger in his voice. 

“We’re 10, we’re not babies!” The girl shouted then returned to her sobbing. The boy, who bore an uncanny resemblance even for a sibling, was still crying his eyes out. This close, the sounds of children crying was like a hacksaw to Remhann’s patience.

“Then why are you acting like you are fresh from the nursery.” Remhann asked snidely. When the children did not respond, he continued. “Where are your parents? I cannot allow you to stay here without your guardians.”

“They were just here,” The girl said, on the brink of crying again, “But now we don’t know where they’ve gone.” 

“The Corvid took them.” The boy said between sobs.

“One of the guards took them? Serves them right, leaving children unattended in the library.” Remhann replied, arms crossed. “And pick up those books, don’t just leave them on the floor.” Intending to keep glaring at the children until they obeyed, he nevertheless glanced down at the open book. He did not immediately recognise the image that had been illustrated on the page. Some blotchy, dark shape. It made him intensely uncomfortable so he looked away.

“No, not one of the guards, you dumb man,” The girl said with anger in her eyes despite the tears, “The Corvid.”

Remhann bristled. “I will not be adressed in such a manner by children.” Remhann pointed down at the books on the floor. “Pick them up this instant. Every moment only makes your situation worse.”

“We have to go find our parents.” The girl said and reached over to pat her brother on the shoulder. He blinked away tears and wiped his nose on a dirty sleeve, then stood up. 

At least they’re not shouting and crying anymore. Remhann thought and glanced around the library. Time must have slipped away from him; the night must have fallen outside, for the inside of the library was dark. He could barely see five metres ahead of himself, nor could he hear any other patrons in the library. Had they all left because of the disturbance. If so, the children’s punishment must be more severe, to disturb the library so. The parents must take some of the blame as well, for leaving their spawn unattended like this.

Remhann looked towards the library’s double doors, or where he thought they were. The darkness was so deep inside the library that he could not see them. “Brall, Umbren, lock the doors and don’t let anyone through without my express permission.” He shouted. When the two guards did not respond, he shouted again, only to again be met by silence. Maybe they can’t hear me from this distance, now that they’ve closed those heavy doors. The librarian then turned back to the children.

“Now pick up those books and come with me, I’ll find your parents for you.” Remhann said, doing his best to appear friendly. It did not come naturally to him. 

The boy wiped his nose and eyes again with the same sleeve. “Aw, will you mister? Thank you!” He picked up the closed book and hugged it tight to his chest.

The girl said nothing, though her expression betrayed her suspicion. When her brother picked up one of the books, she followed suit, closing the illustrated book and holding it by the spine. Remhann felt more relaxed with that awful illustration out of sight. 

“Follow me.” Remhann said and turned back the way he had come, the two children following behind him. He would bring the children to his work-table and go back to the bookshelves to find their parents once he had his lantern. After a few moments of walking, he looked behind him to ensure that the children had not run off. They were still behind him, albeit at the edge of the nighttime darkness. Is the library always this dark at night?

“Hurry up, I don’t have all night.” Remhann said and turned back towards the kids. He grabbed them by the arm and forced them to walk faster, despite their protests.

“You’re hurting us!” The girl shouted and tried to pull away, but Remhann’s grip was too strong.

“Your punishment will be a lot worse for disturbing the library. Now move!” Remhann shouted.

Remhann stopped in his tracks. What was that? He had a sudden, intense feeling of being watched. He looked around but nothing was there, just the shouting kids and the gloom. On an impulse he looked up, up at the bookshelves around him. Did I see something move just now?

Remhann shook his head. The feeling was still present, but he would have to ignore it. It was just the stress of the situation getting to him. Steeling himself, he pushed on, dragging the kids by their arms as he moved through the library. There must still be other people in the library, for he could hear whispers. Good, at least some people respect the silence. 

“He’s here.” 

Remhann turned about. “What was that?”

The boy started and averted his eyes, saying nothing.

“Hey, don’t bully him, you meanie!” The girl shouted and tried to tear herself out of his grip, only succeeding in dropping the book on the floor.

“Hey, be careful with the books, you urchin.” Remhann shouted and glanced at the fallen book. It had opened on the same page as before. A legged creature with ragged bird-like wings was looking at him from the vellum with evil, beady eyes. Not since his childhood had he felt such fear over a book. A flash of light distracted him from the sight, showing his work-table further along the aisles of bookshelves.

The girl glared at him and picked the book back up, closing the illustrated page. Remhann continued walking, dragging the children along. The girl pulled at him and tried to escape his grip, but the boy walked along in silence, staring at the towering bookshelves around them with wide, frightful eyes. Remhann tried to focus on reaching his table, but the darkness had closed again, and all he could see were the bookshelves and cabinets immediately next to them.

“What are you staring at?” Remhann said angrily to the boy and tried to follow his eyes.

“We shouldn’t be in the darkness,” The boy said and snivelled, “The Corvid is here. I’m not lying.” 

“What is this Corvid? Some peasant superstition?” Remhann heard the whispers again, closer this time. Letting go of the boy for a moment, he pushed some books aside and looked through the gap in the bookshelf to the other side. But where he expected to see a group of people, all he found was an empty table. A gust of wind blew past him and he shuddered. He could still hear the whispers but the direction was ever-changing, and when he focused on the words, his head ached and he understood little. 

The boy began to speak, in the tones of a child trying to impress, or perhaps scare, playmates. 

“The Corvid is a monster that lives in the darkness and walks around at night, hunting naughty children and bad adults that mistreat books and hurt them. When he hunts, first he scares them real good and whispers evil things that makes your head hurt. You only see him when he lets you see him. And he only wants to be seen when he is ready to mete out his punishment.”

The darkness seemed to grow deeper as the boy spoke, and Remhann could swear he saw a shape above one of the bookshelves, but when he focused on it and approached, he found a wall-hanging that had come off one of its hooks and was dangling down. 

“If this ‘Corvid’,” The word dripped with his disbelief, “punishes mistreatment of books, then I should be perfectly safe.”

Remhann rounded and glared at the boy, intending to shout at him. His reprimand died on his lips. Behind the boy was a shape of such darkness that Remhann could make it out against the gloom around it. Two beady orbs stared at him with such loathing that every hair on his body stood on end and he nearly stumbled. When he blinked, it was gone. 

The boy looked at him with a mix of concern and fright. The girl’s expression was unchanged. Remhann took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. The darkness around them was so oppressive that he could not see where they were going. The phantasms that crowded the darkness must surely be works of his imagination and nothing else, but because of them he had lost all sense of direction. Even though he had seen a glimpse of his work-table just moments before, he was utterly lost. 

“When are we going to go look for our parents?” The boy asked, though Remhann barely heard him. The flapping of black wings took up his attention. Wherever he turned, it was as if the wings were behind him. A shriek escaped from him as he felt a gust of wind at their passing, but as he whirled around, pulling the shouting girl with him, he just saw darkness. 

His fear turned to anger at himself for being afraid of a child’s fairy-tale. “We’re going now.” He stated and grabbed the boy’s arm again. The children cried out and protested as he dragged them along the aisle, trying in his mind to remember the layout of the library. Even with the darkness pressing all around them, he felt they had walked far enough to cross the space several times, yet they had not seen any walls or even a hint of his work-table. 

As they came up to a crossing amongst the bookshelves, Remhann stopped. It was no conscious decision but rather an impulse, sparked by a deeper part of his mind. His very soul sensed the danger and invoked in him a fear he had never felt before. His mind recalled the image from the fallen book in vivid, extraordinary detail. Gangly legs carried the creature when it walked the ground, and when it drifted through the air amongst the bookshelves, it did so on wings as black as the deepest abyss. The shadow of its passing was not merely the absence of light, it was an imprinting of its evil. Its victims would feel the bite of its cruel beak even as the crimson eyes stared at them. With a certainty beyond the memory of the illustration, Remhann knew that it was old, older than the library or the castle it resided within, and it would still visit its evils on the world when Man had passed into legend. So engrossed was he in his own revelations that he ignored the shadow he saw coming around the corner. It was gangly and horrid, with the suggestion of wings pressed close to its body. Even in the gloom that pervaded the library, this shadow was darker still, a black of such purity that it seemed to erase even the memory of light from where it touched the floor. 

The children tried to pull him back, but Remhann stood stock still, his beady eyes focused on the horror that approached him. When he finally let go, either out of mercy or of his mind letting go of the world around him, the children ran screaming and crying, the books they had carried falling to the floor with dull thumps. They ran together while holding hands, escaping the bone-chilling screams that echoed through the dark library.

The double-doors to the library flew open with such force that the oak cracked against Brall’s knee. The man cursed and ducked away. On the other side, the door only stopped when it hit the stone wall.

“What in the blasted–” He began, then restrained his tongue when he saw the two children run through the open doorway.

Umbren lowered his spear, blocking their escape. When they stopped short, the man quickly dropped his weapon and grabbed the kids, keeping them from running away. They struggled and kicked and punched, but Umbren had children of his own, and Brall knew that the man’s own sons were far more of a handful than these two.

“Woah woah, what’s the hurry?” Brall said and stepped in front of them. With a start he noticed that the girl had a splash of blood across her face. 

“You can stop struggling, you’re not getting out of here without an explanation.” Umbren said, even as the girl tried to elbow him in the nose. 

“Are you injured?” Brall asked. Some of the blood was on her dress, but beyond that he saw no injuries.

The girl glared at him, then took a deep breath. “We’re fine, it didn’t catch us.” 

Brall and Umbren shared a knowing look. The assistant librarian did not take well to children, and vice versa. “Did you anger Remhann? We can’t just let you go if you damaged a book.” 

The girl shook her head. “It’s not like that. Please, you have to hurry. Something attacked our parents and the librarian.” As she spoke, the boy began crying again. Umbren gently let go of them and the boy sank to his knees. 

Normally Brall would not heed the words of a child, but the look in the girl’s eyes, coupled with the splash of blood, showed him the seriousness of the situation.

“Umbren, grab your spear and your lantern,” Brall said and kneeled down to look the girl in the eye, “What’s your name?”

“Enid, Weise is my brother.” The girl said. Tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

“Enid, you’re a brave girl. Can you take your brother and go down the hall to the quartermaster’s office? Tell him we need more men at the library. If they doubt you, tell them that it’s on Brall’s word. Can you do that?” 

Enid nodded and wiped her tears away with a sleeve. Brall stood up and grabbed his spear. Enid and Weise began running down the stone corridor as the two guards entered the darkened library and into the pocket of the Corvid.