She licked the spoon, dug for more. “But, damn, theyre really good.”
Refreshed, she changed into sweats, brewed a pot of coffee, then settled into her favorite chair with the new book on Celtic lore.
She couldnt count the number of books on the subject shed read in the last month. But then again, to Dana, reading was every bit as pleasurable as Ben and Jerrys and as essential to life as the next breath of air.
She surrounded herself with books at work and at home. Her living space was a testament to her first and abiding love, with shelves jammed with books, tables crowded with them. She saw them not only as knowledge, entertainment, comfort, even sanity, but as a kind of artful decoration. To the casual eye, the books that streamed and flowed over shelves in nooks, on tabletops, might look like a haphazard, even disordered, jumble. But the Librarian in Dana insisted on a system.
She could, on her whim or on request, put her hand on any title in any room in the apartment.
She couldnt live without books, without the stories, the information, the worlds that lived inside them. Even now, with the task ahead of her and the clock already ticking, she fell into the words on the pages in her hands, and into the lives, the loves, the wars, the petty grievances of the gods.
Absorbed, she jumped at the knock on her door. Blinking, she came back to reality, noted that the sun had set while shed been visiting withDagda ,Epona , and Lug.
Book in hand, she went to answer, then lifted her eyebrows at Malory. “Whats up?”
“I thought Id swing by and see what you were up to before I headed home. Ive spent the day talking to some local artists and craftspeople. I think Ive got a good start on pieces for my gallery.”
“Cool. Got any food on you? Im starved.”
“A tin ofAltoids and half a roll of Life Savers.”
“Thats not going to work,” Dana decided. “Im going to forage. You hungry?”
“No, go ahead. Any brilliant ideas? Anything you wantZoe and me to do?” Malory asked as she followed Dana into the kitchen.
“I dont know how brilliant. Spaghetti! Hot damn.” Dana came out of the refrigerator with a bowl of leftover pasta. “You want?”
“Nope.”
“Got some Cabernet to go with it.”
“That Ill have. One glass.” At home in Danas kitchen, Malory got out wineglasses. “Whats the idea, brilliant or not?”
“Books. You know, the whole knowledge thing. And the past, present, future. If were talking about mine, its all about the books.”- She dug out a fork and began to eat the pasta straight out of the bowl. “The trick is which book, or what kind of book.”
“Dont you want to heat that up?”
“What?” Baffled, Dana looked d
own at the spaghetti in the bowl. “Why?” “No reason.” Malory handed Dana a glass of wine, then took her own and wandered out to sit at the table. “A book or books makes sense, at least in part. And it gives you a path to take. But…”
She scanned Danas apartment. “What you yourself personally own would take weeks to get through. Then theres what everyone else in the Valley owns, the library, the bookstore at the mall, and so on.”
“And the fact that even if Im right, it doesnt mean the keys literally in a book. Could be figuratively. Or it could mean something in a book points the way to the key.” Dana shrugged and shoveled in more cold spaghetti. “I said it fell short of brilliant.”
“Its a good starting point. Past, present, future.” Malory pursed her lips. “Covers a lot of ground.”
“Historical, contemporary, futuristic. And thats just novels.”
“What if its more personal?” Malory leaned forward, kept her attention on Danas face. “It was with me. My path to the key included Flynn, my feelings for him—and my feelings about myself, where I would end up, where I wanted to go. The experiences I had—we cant call them dreams—were very personal.”
“And scary.” Briefly, Dana laid a hand over Malorys. “I know. But you got through it. So will I. Maybe it is personal. A book that has some specific and personal meaning for me.”
Thoughtfully she scanned the room as she picked up her fork again. “Thats something else that covers a lot of ground.”
“I was thinking of something else. I was thinking of Jordan.”
“I dont see how hes in the mix. Look,” she continued even as Malory opened her mouth, “he was part of the first round, sure. The paintings by Rowena that both he and Brad bought. He came back to town with that painting because Flynn asked him to. That played into it, although his part should have ended with your quest. And his connection to Flynn, which connected him to you.”