Shay realized they didn't know he was there. He pulled himself up from the muck, his fists clenched. "Y-you…," he growled as he stalked toward Bitterwood. "You… you… you!"
"Unclench your fists, boy," said Bitterwood, his eyes narrowing into slits. "I let you off easy. Swing at me and you'll never eat solid food again."
Shay couldn't open his fists if he wanted to. He couldn't move at all-rage paralyzed him. His voice came out in a low, hissing whisper: "How could you?"
Bitterwood shrugged. "I'm good at hitting things. If I can knock the teeth out of a sun-dragon, I reckon I can do the same to a skinny house-slave."
Jandra smirked. "I think he meant how could you set the library on fire."
"Oh," said the dragon-slayer. "That was nothing. I just broke a lantern."
"RRRaaah!" Shay snarled as he threw his arms up in the air in his frustration, shaking his fists at the stars. He hopped up and down, releasing guttural growls, his anger stripping him of all coherent thought. Within the barns, a horse whinnied.
"Calm down, Shay," said Jandra. "You're spooking the horses."
Shay stopped moving. He concentrated on the breath flowing in ragged gushes across his lips. He opened and closed his trembling hands as he tried to gain control of his rage. He whispered, "Th-there… there were over a m-million books in that Library. Do you have any idea what an evil thing you have done?"
"Books have never done the world any good, boy," said Bitterwood. "At least, no good for humans. Dragons have spent a thousand years writing books that justify why they rule the world. Good riddance, I say."
Shay was certain that he was going to vomit in his anger. He dropped to his hands and knees, shuddering, feeling as if his heart was going to burst. "I'm cursed," he moaned. "It's the only explanation. Every book I'm near bursts into flame. I've nothing left to live for."
Bitterwood shook his head in disgust. Jandra hopped off the barrel and crouched next to Shay. She put her hand on his shoulder. "There's no such thing as a curse," she said. "We've just had a run of bad luck. It's a time of war. Things get burnt."
"But-"
"Listen," she said. "Burke was right. Books are more than paper and ink. The information inside them is essentially immortal. Not all the books in the library are lost. I have images of thousands of them inside my head, complete editions. If I can get my genie back, I can recreate them molecule by molecule, the paper, the ink, everything."
"I don't understand," Shay said.
"I'm not following you either," Bitterwood said.
"I mean when I had my genie, I possessed total recall. Any book I'd ever read was still stored in my brain. They're still there, I just don't know how to access them."
"No," said Bitterwood. "I mean, you said you needed to get your genie back. I know you had changed it so that it no longer looked like a helmet, and were wearing it beneath your clothes. Are you saying you've lost it?"
"I guess quite a bit's happened since we last saw each other. Hex and I went from the Nest to Dragon Forge to learn more about the rebellion and see if there was anything we could do to help."
"But… Hex was a sun-dragon," said Shay. "Why would he help the rebels?"
Jandra stood up and turned away. She had her back to them as she said, "I mean we came to help Shandrazel put down the rebellion." She tensed as she said this, as if expecting Bitterwood to pounce on her. Bitterwood didn't appear to be surprised by this revelation, however.
"Why would you side with the dragons?" asked Shay.
"I was raised by a dragon. I'm afraid my loyalties have always been divided. I don't think that humans have gotten a fair shake in this world, but I also know from personal experience that most dragons are good, reasonable beings."
"Dragons hold slaves and hunt men for sport. We have different definitions of what comprises good and reasonable," said Shay.
Jandra's shoulders sagged at these words.
"I'm surprised Hex would side with his brother," said Bitterwood. "His philosophies leaned toward anarchy."
"I'm afraid you're a better judge of his character than I was," said Jandra. "I visited Dragon Forge as Shandrazel's ambassador. Pet accompanied me back to see Shandrazel, saying he was the one human who had a chance of peacefully negotiating a settlement between the warring sides. Unfortunately, he had a poisoned dagger hidden in his cloak. He murdered Shandrazel. Before I could neutralize the poison, Hex pounced on me and ripped my genie away, robbing me of my powers. I was left to watch both Shandrazel and Pet die, while Hex flew off with the most powerful weapon in the world."
"Hex is only alive because you made me promise not to kill him."
"I know," said Jandra.
"Hex is the only blood kin left of Albekizan," said Bitterwood.
"I know," Jandra said, biting her nails once more.
"Will you free me from my vow?"
Jandra wrung her hands. "Do what you have to do," she said. "But he may not have the genie. He's probably hidden it somewhere. If you find him… it… it's possible that…"
"I know how to bleed a dragon of his secrets," said Bitterwood.
"I… I don't think Hex is evil," she said, her voice trembling. "He… he thinks he's doing the right thing. He thinks he's making the world a better place."
Bitterwood looked toward the burning tower. "You'll sleep better after you give up that hope."
Shay rose up onto his knees. "Jandra, if you have books inside you, I'll do everything in my power to bring you back your genie."
"You have no power, boy," said Bitterwood. "Hex would eat you for supper."
Shay wished his shotgun were nearby. It hadn't been by his side when he woke up. He would gladly demonstrate this power for Bitterwood.
"I think we should go back to Jazz's underground kingdom," said Jandra.
"Why?" asked Bitterwood.
"Hex and I left in a hurry, since we wanted to get back to the Nest to help in the aftermath of Blasphet's atrocities. We didn't search her island. I might find another genie there."
"You wouldn't survive the journey," said Bitterwood. "That kingdom was held together by her will. Now that the goddess is dead, many of the beasts she cared for will be hungry."
"I can't believe they'd still be alive," said Jandra. "That whole ecosystem had to collapse once the artificial sunlight went out."
"I won't go with you," said Bitterwood. "I rescued you as a favor for Zeeky; I don't plan to make a career of it."
"So what will you do?"
Bitterwood pulled an arrow from his quiver. "The goddess gave me this bow and quiver. The quiver constantly refreshes itself, growing new arrows. The arrows are living things, twigs straight and true, with leaves for fletching and a thorn for a head. This bow, which is strung with a braid of the goddess's own hair, is the most perfectly balanced weapon I've ever used. It, too, constantly renews itself. When the bowstring frays in the heat of usage, it reweaves moments later. I've scuffed the bark of the bow and watched it heal itself. I don't know how long this magic will last, now that she's dead."
"It could last a long time," said Jandra. "Bio-nano is resilient stuff. As long as your quiver gets sunlight, it should function for years."
"How do plants grow with no water?" Shay asked. "Or no soil, for that matter."
"Orchids and other epiphytes don't need soil," said Jandra, "Bitterwood is probably supplying the quiver with all that it needs. The human body sheds moisture and nutrients, like dead skin cells. The quiver grabs those for fuel, I'm guessing. After you work for a while on the nano-scale, you get used to thinking of dust as a resource."