The Templar Chronicles: Freedom's Price

Solomon looked up from the end of the book, and suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He rubbed his stiff neck and looked at the clock on the wall and grimaced, he had actually sat there and read the whole thing through in one sitting. It was already close to the early shift’s time to begin work, and he was due in school in less than an hour. He sighed, set the heavy volume down in front of him, and rubbed at his eyes.

The library was open twenty-four hours a day, every day, and the librarian who had been on duty when he first arrived there almost… he paused and thought about that… when he had first arrived there almost fifteen hours before was still on duty. She had steadily brought him water and had even went out to buy him a sandwich when it became clear that he was in it for the long haul. She had smiled and fretted over him, making sure to come by every hour to make sure he was okay, did not need anything, or had not fallen asleep. Sure enough, she had spotted that he was finally done with the book.

She walked over and placed her hand on top of the book and said, “Good book, isn’t it?” Solomon looked up at her with bleary eyes and nodded his agreement. She smiled and chided, “Well, I suppose you best be getting on. I am sure you have other things to do today besides reading.” When he did not respond, she collected the book and walked away. He stood up slowly and collected the few things that he had brought with him from school the day before this. He stretched and moaned as his stiff body complained.

Solomon went to the exit and placed his hand on the door to push it open, but paused. He thought a moment of something the librarian had mentioned hours ago. He turned and went back to the circulation desk to await the librarian who was perhaps the only other person in the library at that early hour. He did not have to wait overlong.

She returned and saw him standing at the desk and approached with a bemused and questioning frown set on her face, “Yes, young Solomon? Is there something more I can do for you?”

He nodded and asked, “You mentioned before that there are more of these right? More parts of the Templar Chronicles?”

Her frown melted away, replaced by a small smile, “I did, yes,” she readily agreed. “Why do you ask?”

It was Solomon’s turn to smile, “Is there any way I could borrow them?”

She nodded and returned to the desk. Without saying a word, she entered his name and identification number into the library’s net uplink. As she did, the space around the desk lit up, displaying dozens of virtual filing cabinets organized by thematic category. She pulled a portable e-reader from one of the desk’s drawers. She flicked her eyes over the virtual cabinets and selected fiction, history, and then finally, The Templar Chronicles. There were several books in the list that appeared once she had opened the source folder. She made a sweeping motion and dumped all the titles towards the e-reader. When she had finished she waved her hand once again and the glowing constellations of books upon books faded away.

She handed him the e-reader and said, “Here you are, Solomon. That is the whole collection, everything that was written in connection to that tale. However, I recommend reading them in more than one sitting this time around. The reader is registered to your name, and you may have it for three full cycles before having to return here with the device.”

He smiled, clutching the reader to his side, “Thanks. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.” She smiled, and he turned and exited into the corridor. As he walked, he thought about Jericho and Gawain and whether or not the knight survived. He got the sense that the school day was going to seem much longer today than it actually was. However, he expected it would have less to do with fatigue than with a desire to return home and begin reading once more. He smiled broadly, as he thought of that evening, walking with the early morning travelers on their ways to their jobs and their schools. He had a pretty good idea why the Civic Council had assigned the Chronicles now, and he was eager to see what would come next.