Two large columns rose on their left, and between them red curtains swept from ceiling to floor. He could just see the light between them. Another room.

“This way.”

“Careful,” Silvie whispered.

Johnis cautiously drew the drapes aside and looked into the second room. Tall bookcases lined the walls, filled with leather-bound books. It was a library. As far as he could see, vacant.

Johnis stepped in and stared at the spines. The Stories of History. These were similar to those he’d seen in the Black Forest! A staircase descended at the far end. His mother was at the bottom of those stairs. She had to be. He could nearly smell the gardenia perfume that usually wafted behind her as she busied herself around the house.

“I thought the Horde couldn’t read,” Silvie whispered. “Are these the missing books?”

“No, but they’re Books of History. The Horde has them.”

An obvious observation, but one that would interest Thomas and the Council. They were prohibited from telling the Council, because they’d sworn to tell no one anything they learned on their quest for the missing books. But Jackov could.

“Take one of them, Jackov,” Johnis said, spinning back. He had to find out if his mother was here. “Just one so they . . .”

Jackov wasn’t there.

“Where is he?”

Silvie ducked her head past the drapes and came back immediately. “Not there.”

“You can read the books?” a woman’s soft voice asked. Johnis jumped and jerked to his right. “Is that what you’re saying?”

A woman stood from a chair hidden by the shadows in the corner and stepped toward them. Her long, flowing gown swept the floor as she walked. It was made of a silky white material, not the crude gunnysacks that passed for robes on most Horde. Her face was white with the morst paste.

“Answer me, albino,” the woman said.

Albino? She knew they were Forest Dwellers! Johnis stood rooted to the floor. He thought about running before it was too late, but he knew that would only confirm guilt. He had to play along, to think with his heart, something he’d failed miserably at lately.

“Yes, I can read them,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

Silvie stepped up next to him. “We’re here to confess,” she said.

“Confess what, that you’re diseased?”

Silvie’s response was rushed. “Confess our sins and offer our allegiance to Qurong, the supreme commander of the Horde.”

“Of course you are,” the young woman said. “But can you teach me to read these books?”

A scream cut through the Thrall. Johnis jerked his head around, then started for the stairs. They had to get below. No matter what else happened, he had to know if his mother was where Karas had claimed.

“Running will get you nowhere,” the woman said.

The drapes flew back, and Jackov stumbled in before sprawling to the ground, bleeding from a gash in his ear.