0:01

So I'm kind of on a mission. My

0:03

mission is to share a podcast with you

0:05

about some people who are actually

0:07

on a mission. That podcast is

0:10

Intraquest. And it follows three adventurers,

0:12

a smooth talking leader, a big hearted

0:14

brute, and an analytical servant in

0:17

a diss in future long after the apocalypse

0:19

was forgotten. If you're a fan of

0:21

adventure time, RPG's and

0:23

epic adventures, the Lord of the Rings, Indiana

0:25

Jones, or Star Wars, then you'll love this show

0:28

too. When I listened to the first episode,

0:30

I loved that it really doesn't take long to get

0:32

into the quest, and there are also plenty of

0:34

funny moments too, which I always appreciate

0:36

in an adventure story. Listen to

0:38

the end of today's episode to hear the trailer

0:40

for intro quest. Then find and subscribe

0:42

to Intraquest. That's two words

0:45

INTRA spacequest,

0:47

anywhere you listen to podcasts.

0:56

Hello. This is Max Gladstone. Author

0:59

of The Craftsequence and co author of

1:01

this is how you lose the Time War. I'm

1:03

so excited to introduce you to our

1:05

new Bookburners. Book

1:08

burners is a supernatural adventure of

1:10

survival investigation and transformation.

1:14

Our heroes are survivors of magical catastrophe

1:16

and the shadows of our world. And

1:18

together, they worked for the Vatican's black archive,

1:21

seeking out forbidden magical and monstrous

1:23

lore, guarding the edge of the firefight

1:26

against the darkness beyond. They

1:28

save lives and souls.

1:31

But can this knowledge be contained? Should

1:33

it be contained? And if it breaks loose,

1:36

What next? This project

1:39

was first presented in twenty fifteen,

1:41

but it feels more urgent than ever today.

1:43

We're excited to share it with you again.

1:46

You can listen to book burners wherever you get

1:48

your podcasts and learn more at

1:50

realm dot f n. But don't go

1:52

anywhere just yet. We have the

1:54

first episode of book burners here for

1:56

you right now. So just

1:58

sit tight and enjoy.

2:20

Realm presents Bookburners. Episode

2:23

one. One.

2:34

Sal Brooks would have described herself in a police

2:36

report as early thirties, female,

2:39

brown hair, five nine, exhausted,

2:43

borderline breakdown case, shaking

2:45

hands, haunted eyes,

2:47

Then she'd have deleted everything after nine

2:49

and continued with the details of the incident.

2:51

In this case, forensic

2:53

analysis of a museum theft yielded

2:55

an an Astoria address Arriving

2:58

on the scene with warrant in hand, detective

3:00

Collins and I were fired upon from the window

3:02

by a white male, late forties. After

3:05

brief exchange of fire, detective Collins

3:07

forced the door. Behind

3:09

the door, Cell

3:12

set her badge and gun on her bureau and gripped

3:14

the first two fingers of her left hand. Her

3:17

stomach ran a floor routine even the Russian

3:19

judge would give full marks. She'd

3:22

seen blood before and bodies.

3:25

The severed fingers in the ashtray on the coffee

3:27

table in Astoria that afternoon Those

3:29

were worse. They sealed

3:31

prints at least, which would not

3:33

help her sleep tonight. Her

3:36

cell phone rang. Harry,

3:39

she didn't pick up. The

3:41

ringing stopped before the call forwarded to voice

3:43

mail, then started again.

3:45

Still him?

3:47

Perry, this isn't a good time. It was

3:49

what she started to say, but she didn't get halfway

3:51

through her brother's name before hurricane Perry

3:54

struck

3:54

shore. So thank

3:56

you. Thank you. Thank you for picking up. I'm

3:58

so glad it's wonderful to hear your

4:00

voice. I missed you. How are

4:02

things? How long has it been anyway? Can

4:04

I come over like now?

4:06

It's been a month. She

4:09

found a gap in her blinds. The

4:11

sidewalk under her window was bare and

4:13

the street almost empty. Red

4:15

Toyota pickup on the Civic,

4:18

garbage, two young guys staggering

4:20

home after drinking off a Thursday night?

4:23

Thank god. The last time she'd

4:25

heard Perry talk like this, he was on the run

4:27

from some crazy scenester drama and hadn't

4:29

waited for her permission to come over, just

4:32

called her from the sidewalk in the rain and looked

4:34

up dripping. With that hang dog,

4:36

John Cusick, look, she knew he practiced in

4:38

the mirror. Since

4:40

the last time you were in trouble, It's

4:43

nothing big. So I promise nothing

4:45

you should worry about it.

4:47

Just, you know, Internet stuff. And then

4:49

then I started arguing with my roommates and,

4:51

you know, old people can get crazy sometimes

4:53

like

4:54

crazy. It's not the same

4:56

thing as last month that I swear. I

4:58

just need a place to be, you know.

5:01

I'd get a hotel if I could.

5:03

If he had money for a hotel. She

5:06

picked out her corner window just to be sure.

5:09

It wasn't down there

5:10

either. I've had

5:12

a very long day, Perry. I

5:14

know. I know. Every day is

5:16

a long day for you. I'm so sorry,

5:18

but I just kinda need a place to

5:20

rest for a little while. And I did apologize

5:23

for last month. And I said he

5:24

flowers. David still isn't returning

5:27

my calls.

5:28

You deserve better than a guy like that. A

5:30

guy who doesn't understand the importance

5:32

of family? David has a huge

5:34

family. He's a good guy. It just

5:36

doesn't like being kicked out of bed because my kid

5:38

brothers locked himself out of his apartment. That

5:41

was a good thing, emphasis on

5:43

the was, And the flowers you

5:45

sent were fake? Better that

5:47

way, they don't die. Right? And

5:49

it wasn't just that I locked myself out.

5:52

And anyway, I'm improving. I mean, you

5:54

don't have anyone over now? Yeah. Her

5:57

eyes narrowed. She glanced

5:59

out each window again. Where

6:02

are you? What do you

6:04

mean? She realized she could

6:06

hear his voice twice, once through

6:08

the phone and once from the hall.

6:11

Cell marched from her bedroom, past kitchen,

6:13

and living room to the door. Chan

6:15

vaulted the vault, unchained the chain,

6:17

and pulled door open. Perry

6:20

was less wet than she'd last seen him at

6:22

least. One hand pressed an

6:24

oversized Star Trek phone to his

6:26

ear. He wore a dirty tan trench coat

6:28

open over a ratty black shirt with

6:30

three pixelated hearts on the front and a

6:32

fourth half full, and jeans torn at

6:35

the knee from his nervous habit clawing them

6:37

while he worked on his computer rather than from

6:39

where. His other handheld a

6:41

large rectangular parcel wrapped in more

6:43

t shirts and duct tape which he waved at

6:45

her then stuck under his arm and waved

6:47

again with an empty hand. He

6:49

deployed John Cusack version one

6:52

point two. She clicked her

6:54

phone shut. We started

6:56

warming up John Kussak version one point

6:58

seven. She

7:00

sied and smiled and hugged

7:02

him. Come in, Dufus.

7:07

He set up in the living room and she put water

7:09

in the kettle. Do I wanna

7:11

know why you're here? Thank

7:13

you so, so, so much.

7:16

You set the parcel on her living room table and

7:18

undid the duct tape. It's not

7:20

dangerous. I mean, I'd tell you if it were,

7:22

you know. But I got into fight

7:24

with the roommates of our project we're working on

7:26

together. It's sort of and I wanna

7:28

make sure I'm right before I go home. I just

7:31

need some time to work on this thing myself. Bunch

7:33

of posers. Don't know Alta

7:35

from Aramek. You

7:37

unwrap the t shirts layer by layer. Each

7:40

silk screen video game reference worse than

7:42

the last. I get that

7:44

one. She said. It's the what?

7:46

The game with the dysentery? Why

7:49

are the t shirts? Sell. Do

7:51

you have any idea how old this thing is?

7:54

He folded a Mario shirt back to reveal

7:56

a thick comb bound in pale leather

7:58

with gold wire on the spine. The

8:01

pages' ragged edges were dyed blood

8:03

red. Sal remembered

8:06

severed fingers and an Astoria astray,

8:08

and her stomach made a second pass at the floor

8:10

routine. No.

8:14

Old. And I mean

8:16

old. I shouldn't

8:18

be handling it without gloves. The

8:21

Kettle cried and Sal followed its protest

8:23

to the kitchen. You should get

8:26

new roommates. You fight more with those guys

8:28

than I ever have with an ex, even

8:30

Jeremy. She returned

8:32

with two months of coffee. It's

8:34

just professional differences. I mean,

8:36

we're working on big problems, borderline

8:38

intractable, arguments get heated.

8:41

There are different strategies about how to approach

8:43

the artifact. Aiden, you know, roommate

8:45

Aiden with the crush on you. He wants to

8:47

scan the whole thing for word frequency analysis,

8:50

which just seems patently silly. The Kodak's

8:52

form factor suggests it's supposed to be read

8:54

like by people. And, anyway,

8:57

in security protocols are hella lack

8:59

which matters when you're under

9:00

surveillance. He took

9:02

a sip, made a face. Is

9:05

this instant?

9:06

Wait. Is surveillance? Todd

9:09

says it's the book burners. That's why they wanted

9:11

the book out of the house, which is just so dumb

9:13

if the book earners were after me how I even

9:15

made it here. He set his hand

9:17

on the books cover. Sal

9:20

hadn't noticed before how the leather was discolored.

9:23

Most of it matched Perry's skin, but a

9:25

crimson bloom spread beneath his

9:27

fingers. She

9:29

heard a sound she couldn't name. A

9:32

footfall, maybe, or a

9:34

whisper, very soft. Goosebumps

9:37

chased goosebumps up her arms. Harry,

9:41

who are the book burners? Do you think someone's

9:44

following you? I thought you didn't wanna

9:46

know. She leaned over the

9:48

couch over his shoulder and checked through the blinds.

9:51

Street still bare. Red Toyota

9:53

pickup, Honda Civic, garbage,

9:56

easy carpet cleaner van? Please,

9:59

so they would have napped me on the way.

10:02

They did not. Here go, I wasn't

10:04

followed. What the hell is

10:06

going on? Someone knocked

10:08

on her door. Shit. Perry

10:11

said. Jesus Christ, Perry.

10:13

She grabbed her phone off the living room table.

10:16

Who is that? Aiden,

10:18

probably. Mister

10:21

Brooks? The man on the

10:23

other side of the door was unquestionably not

10:25

Eitan, too old, too sure,

10:28

too calm. An accident,

10:30

Sal couldn't place twined through his

10:32

words. Mister

10:34

Brooks, we are not here

10:35

to hurt you. We want to talk.

10:39

Shit. Perry repeated for emphasis.

10:41

Sal ran to her bedroom

10:43

and returned with her gun. Who

10:45

are you? I'm looking for

10:47

mister Brooks. I know he's in

10:49

there.

10:50

If he is, I doubt he'd wanna see you.

10:52

I must talk with him.

10:54

Sir, I'm a police officer and I'm

10:56

armed. Please step away from the door.

10:59

Has he opened the book? What?

11:02

She looked into the living room. Perry

11:05

was standing now holding the book, fingers

11:07

clenched around the cover like she'd seen men

11:09

at bay clutch the handles of knives. Sarah,

11:13

please leave. I'm calling nine eleven now.

11:16

She pressed the auto dial. The line

11:18

clicked. Stop him from

11:20

opening the book. The man

11:22

said, please,

11:23

if he means anything to you, stop him.

11:25

Hello. This is

11:27

detective Sally Brooks, and she rattled

11:30

off her badge number and address. I have a

11:32

man outside my apartment who is refusing to leave.

11:34

Something heavy struck the door. Door

11:37

jam timber splintered. Sally

11:39

stumbled back, dropped the phone, both

11:41

hands on the pistol. She

11:43

took aim. The

11:45

door burst free of the jam and struck the

11:47

wall. A human wind

11:49

blew through. Later,

11:52

Sal remembered slippers, a stinging

11:54

blow to her wrist, her gun knocked

11:56

back against the wall, A

11:59

woman's face, Chinese, she

12:01

thought, Bob haircut. Her

12:04

niece slammed into cell solar plexus

12:06

and she fell gasping to the splinter

12:08

string carpet. The

12:10

woman turned in slow motion almost

12:13

to the living room where Perry stood. He

12:16

held the open book. His

12:19

eyes with tears of blood, and

12:21

his smile bears sharp teeth. You

12:24

spoke word that was too big for her mind.

12:27

She heard the woman roar and glass brake.

12:30

And darkness closed

12:32

around her like a mouth.

12:36

Summer sun, baked her skin,

12:39

Sallie, fourteen years old, on

12:42

a raft that topped the pond, out back of her

12:44

grandparents, Carolina homestead, while

12:46

Perry read aloud unsure. Her

12:49

hand trailed into the Stillwater. The

12:51

water was still, but

12:54

moving too. Her

12:56

ass rocked her head back and forth,

12:59

and her body wasn't fourteen anymore.

13:02

And, Tamish, she was dreaming. Isn't

13:04

she? Is

13:07

she strange she could hear voices on the

13:09

other side of the dream? You

13:12

lost him. A man's voice,

13:14

little thing, close, a different

13:16

voice from before. How did that happen?

13:19

He opened the book as how. A

13:21

woman's voice. Do you need a picture?

13:24

I

13:24

have crayons in the truck if you'd like to draw

13:26

one. He tried to

13:28

hit me. She replied, got

13:30

her instead.

13:31

I pulled her out, but he made the window

13:33

before I could catch him. So all the boys

13:36

off grid with a rider and his head, and I said

13:38

here, eight million people. Wonderful.

13:40

I think we'll call that. A double

13:43

plus

13:43

effort. CYREN's.

13:46

Christ, the man said. I

13:48

asked her calls quickly here. Come

13:51

on. Miss she, fine.

13:53

Are you sure? Don't

13:56

open your eyes while lying on your back.

13:58

Bad for them. You'll see you too

14:01

much of the sun. She

14:03

forced them open. The man

14:05

kneeling over her was red haired and

14:07

beautiful. Sorry,

14:10

have to run, have a nice rest.

14:12

It feel better in the morning. They

14:14

pulled away and the ceiling grew new

14:17

mattoes, which fell the crusher again.

14:31

Two. SAL,

14:35

in the department clinic, with whatever

14:37

she had to hand, was how the clue solution

14:39

would read if someone didn't start making

14:41

sense soon. She

14:43

glared over the doctor's head at Collins, her

14:45

partner who leaned against the wall, arms

14:48

crossed, looking like he'd rather be anywhere

14:50

but here. Carrying anything but the

14:52

news he carried. Her

14:54

head swam. I've

14:56

told you three times, she said.

14:59

My brother came to my apartment. Two people

15:01

followed him. I gave you their descriptions. They

15:04

broke down my door, there was a fight, and

15:06

I woke up when the officer survived. It's not

15:08

that complicated a story. You're

15:11

sure you saw your brother. Of course,

15:13

I'm sure. It was Perry. You had

15:15

some kind of fight with his roommates. Breathe,

15:18

the doctor said. She breathed.

15:21

The stethoscope chilled her skin. So

15:24

what's the problem? Collins

15:26

shifted, but if he'd been trying to get comfortable,

15:29

his expression suggested that he'd failed.

15:32

Who says there's a problem? Come

15:34

on, Collins. Here.

15:37

He passed her a tablet. It play.

15:40

Security camera footage rendered her apartment

15:43

building hallway in ghoulish greens and

15:45

whites. She saw herself

15:47

open her door and peer out into the

15:49

hall, smile. Step back,

15:52

swing the door wide and close it again.

15:55

This is the wrong footage. It's

15:57

not though, check the time stamp. If

16:00

Harry's not there. Collins

16:02

lowered his chin toward his chest. It didn't

16:04

touch due to the extra chin in the way.

16:07

Scratch one theory. You

16:10

thought I was seeing things. Who

16:12

knows? We got your testimony. We

16:14

got a living room with broken glass and two

16:16

cups of instant coffee. We got tape

16:18

that doesn't match your story and falls apart

16:20

ten minutes later. Star up with

16:22

the ceiling. The doctor said, just

16:25

with your eyes. Keep them alive, please. The

16:28

doctor's flashlight burned the world.

16:30

Sal forced herself not to blink. So

16:34

you don't have the intruders either. Say

16:36

it falls apart, like I said. Shit.

16:41

Sal, come on. Chinese

16:43

woman, white guy with red hair, unnamed

16:46

third guy with quote, old

16:48

accented unquote voice, doesn't

16:50

give us lot to go on. Irish,

16:53

she said. The white guy had an Irish

16:55

accent. Great cell. In

16:57

New York, that sure narrows it down. Someone

17:00

must have doctored the tapes. First

17:03

responders pulled them. If someone messed with

17:05

the footage, they did it fast. The

17:07

doctor released her eyelid and she blamed

17:10

pink blood white blotches from her vision.

17:13

The other eye, please? And

17:15

again, the world was light. They

17:18

planned this, Sel said, whoever

17:21

they were, it couldn't have been random. They

17:23

were after Perry, they hacked into building

17:25

security, which would make sense.

17:27

I mean, it'd be possible if paranoid.

17:30

Except those cameras don't talk to the internet.

17:32

They're not even digital. There's an actual

17:34

honest to god save system in the building basement.

17:37

Looks like it was installed back when I was hunting

17:39

playboys under my big brother's mattress. Gross,

17:42

Collins. There was a rat nest

17:44

on top of the cabinet. The thing we saw of

17:46

a VCR, Nobody

17:48

got to that tape before her hoisted. Trust

17:50

me. And you should find a new landlord.

17:52

That building's a dump. My

17:55

brother is out there somewhere. I

17:57

saw him.

17:59

The doctor finished with the flashlight and stepped

18:01

back. She

18:03

is good to go. If anything's wrong,

18:05

I can't see it.

18:07

Sal squeezed both her eyes shut until pink

18:09

one way. Thanks, doc.

18:11

Can you give us a minute? When

18:14

the door closed and left them alone, Colin

18:16

sank into the doctor's chair with a long

18:18

his as if he was under such pressure

18:20

he had to let out steam to

18:22

bend. He

18:23

looked at the back of his knuckles rather than

18:25

it her. You

18:27

know, none of this makes sense. He said,

18:30

I know what I saw. And

18:32

the more you say that, the waiter it sounds.

18:35

Nothing on the cameras. I mean,

18:37

nothing, no blood. What

18:40

did people think I just

18:41

snapped? Imagine my brother being kidnapped?

18:43

Beat myself up, broke my own damn living

18:45

room window.

18:47

You were upset when he left yesterday.

18:49

Of course, I was upset. We found fingers

18:52

in an ashtray. I freaked

18:54

out, but that doesn't mean I'm nuts. It

18:57

went to your brother's apartment. His

18:59

roommates say they sound this morning. Did

19:01

you see him? She asked. Colin

19:04

Shook has said, then they're lying

19:06

or he escaped. Either way, he's into

19:08

something big. He needs help.

19:11

Well, he told the boys to call us when he shows up

19:13

again. But for now, you should

19:15

take a day or two. Come down, rest.

19:18

And if I don't, He

19:21

shifted his weight back on the chair, which creaked.

19:24

The lieutenant asked me to tell you all this,

19:27

so it doesn't have to get formal. I

19:30

have to find my brother. So

19:33

she pushed herself off the table and grabbed her

19:35

jacket from the hook by the door. If

19:37

you won't do it, someone has to. I'll

19:40

pretend I didn't hear that, he

19:41

said, stay out of trouble. Okay?

19:45

She laughed, opened the door, and walked fast

19:47

until she hit the street.

19:51

Theories were for people with more patients than

19:53

Sal Brooks, but the Brooklyn bound Q

19:55

trains stopped over the Manhattan Bridge, so

19:57

she had time to make up a few.

20:00

I'm crazy. The nuclear option

20:02

didn't compel. The doctor said

20:04

she was fine physically. People

20:06

snapped all the time zeroed to nuts in sixty

20:08

seconds, but this kind of snap didn't match

20:10

her experience. As she were cracking,

20:13

her story would make more sense or

20:15

less or both. She'd

20:17

met people on this very train who told her with

20:19

overwhelming conviction that they were the product of

20:21

genetic experimentation by the United States

20:23

government using alien DNA, and

20:26

they built a prototype transport being to take

20:28

them home, which they'd show her if she visited

20:30

the compound in Jersey they shared with their four

20:32

lovers chosen to embody the classical Chinese

20:34

elements. As if she'd trust

20:36

someone who asked her to go to Jersey. So

20:39

far, she wasn't ranting about conspiracies or

20:42

screaming obscenities at passersby. Count

20:45

crazy out for now. Though

20:48

crazy people probably did that too.

20:50

Once you reject possibility you're mad,

20:52

Anything you do no matter how strange

20:55

must be saying. Keep going

20:57

in that direction and you're one step away from

20:59

the creep with the chopped off index fingers in his

21:01

astray. The

21:03

train crossed the river. But

21:05

I assume you're not crazy. She thought,

21:08

Perry didn't come to you because of an argument with his

21:10

roommates. He didn't drop by to say hello.

21:13

He was afraid. Maybe

21:15

he thought they wouldn't follow him into someone else's

21:17

apartment, or maybe he knew he could

21:19

escape somehow if he'd just had time to

21:22

to read that book, which

21:24

made no sense. She

21:27

rose out of the subway and onto a long

21:29

wide Brooklyn street with three story brick

21:31

houses on both sides, blank dark

21:33

windows, Italian bakery, convenient

21:35

store. Newly opened coffee

21:38

shops indicated these blocks were a hair's

21:40

breath from hip. When the

21:42

neighborhood crossed over, Perry and his friends

21:44

would have to move. Providing, of course,

21:46

whatever mud hole they'd stumbled into didn't

21:48

swallow them first. Perry's

21:51

roommates knew something. If they

21:53

had seen him this morning, they could tell her how

21:55

he looked, where he said he was going when he left.

21:58

If not, they had lied to cops, which

22:00

gave her leverage. Not that

22:02

she'd need much with Aiden and

22:04

Todd, the boy scared easy.

22:07

She took a quick turn around the block.

22:10

Dead for ten o'clock in the morning, most

22:12

of the locals at work somewhere else. Cold

22:15

November air tossed a sun front

22:17

page down the sidewalk, and Sal's

22:19

shoulder deeper into her jacket. She

22:22

walked past the boy's townhouse, which was the

22:24

only one on the blocks till decorated for Halloween.

22:27

A big rain soaked felt and wire

22:29

spider clung crookedly outside Perry's window.

22:33

Parked cars line the street mostly foreign

22:35

made. One thinned pink Cadillac

22:38

belonged in a Mary Kay reward brochure

22:40

or a museum, and

22:42

an easy carpet cleaner van.

22:46

Every instinct in her screams keep walking.

22:49

Call back up at least. Only idiots

22:51

and martyrs throw themselves into situations they

22:53

don't understand without Cavalry waiting.

22:57

She didn't know it was the same van.

22:59

She was already on shaky ground back at the office,

23:02

and the people who'd broken into her house seemed

23:04

to have no no feelings about their intrusion.

23:06

If she remembered the conversation she'd overheard

23:09

correctly, they even thought they had saved her

23:11

from something. Still,

23:14

though. Acel really

23:16

wanted to rule out any chance she was crazy.

23:18

She shouldn't have walked straight to the van, drawn

23:21

her gun, thrown open the rear doors, and

23:23

told the two monitor lit figures inside.

23:25

Hands where I can see them. The

23:28

Chinese woman rolled her eyes, then raised her

23:30

hands to the level of her shoulders. I

23:32

told you we should have switched bands. The

23:35

red head backed away from the keyboard and swiveled

23:37

in his chair. She was so cold.

23:40

How was I supposed to know? Where the hell

23:42

is my brother?

23:43

That's

23:43

an interesting philosophical question, really.

23:46

The guy said, nice accent. That

23:49

was the concussion talking. Focus.

23:52

The Chinese woman shifted forward in her chair.

23:54

Don't move. Sal shouted. Excuse

23:58

me, detective Brooks, set a voice

24:00

from the sidewalk behind her, a man's,

24:02

deep, older, and studiously

24:05

calm. The voice from the door,

24:08

sel drew back from the van and turned to include

24:10

him in her field division. I

24:13

think there has been a misunderstanding. He

24:16

was tall, Hispanic, and wore

24:18

a priest's black shirt in color. He

24:21

held a tray with three coffees in one hand,

24:23

but the other was raised, palm up, between

24:25

blessing and

24:26

surrender. Who are you?

24:28

What the hell is going on here? I

24:31

am father Arturo, Manchuh. Accent

24:34

on the second syllable. And

24:36

as for your other

24:37

question, I can explain

24:39

if you let me.

24:42

They stood on the sidewalk beside the van.

24:44

Menchoo had wanted to talk inside,

24:46

but Sal gave him a, what kind of idiot

24:48

do you take me for? Look. Which ended

24:51

that line of conversation fast. Red

24:53

looked uncomfortable out in the open. He

24:55

kept shifting from foot to foot and glancing

24:58

over his shoulder. Hands deep in his pockets.

25:01

The woman just watched, arms crossed,

25:03

a bandage wrapped the knuckles of her right hand,

25:06

and there was a lot of lean muscle hiding beneath

25:08

her black jacket? Cell

25:10

liked her. After a confusing day,

25:12

straightforward hostility felt refreshing.

25:16

Your priests, Sal said

25:18

skeptical. The woman

25:20

laughed once. I'm

25:22

a priest. Mentu said,

25:25

Grace, of course, is not. Liam's

25:27

a lay brother. Why did you break

25:30

into my apartment last night? She

25:32

considered adding how in reference

25:34

to everything, the broken door, the

25:36

book, the corrected tape, decided

25:39

against it. One problem at a time.

25:43

Menchoo set the tray of coffees atop the

25:45

band. Your brothers in

25:47

possession of a rare manious that

25:49

does not belong to

25:50

him. It used to belong to the people

25:52

we worked for. It was

25:54

stolen seventy years ago. Turns

25:57

out the volume spent the last seven decades

25:59

in the Metropolitan Museum sealed collection.

26:02

In two weeks ago, someone broke into

26:04

that collection and made off with a number of

26:06

books, including this one.

26:09

You're saying Perry was part of the museum

26:11

heist. She

26:13

remembered Astoria yesterday. Severred

26:16

fingers and an ashtray full of blood.

26:19

White male, mid forties, shots

26:22

fired, Hope of

26:24

recovering Christ fingerprints. No

26:28

way. Not directly.

26:30

Your brother and his friends were one of many

26:33

parties looking to buy these stolen texts.

26:36

Father Manshu kept his voice calm,

26:38

maintained eye contact, presented himself

26:41

to her at an angle. He

26:43

was good at seeming non threatening, part

26:45

of the jobs, how guest? Her

26:48

attention drifted back to grace who grind

26:50

bearing

26:50

teeth. And there were

26:52

others willing to pay more. Your

26:55

brother stole the book from the original thief

26:57

and left a copy in its place. We

27:00

raged out to your brother hoping to resolve

27:02

the issue without violence, but he

27:04

ran to you and then he

27:06

ran from you. The book

27:08

is valuable if only to a collector

27:11

and the people he stole it from don't

27:13

like to lose. We can

27:15

keep him safe if he works with us.

27:19

The

27:19

fingers had been wedged into the gaps in

27:21

the ashtray meant to hold cigarettes.

27:24

Urnails pointed

27:25

out, sun rays of flesh

27:27

and bone. He

27:29

should go to the police. We are

27:31

the police. Man, you said, bullshit.

27:35

We are special consultants to the police department

27:38

on this matter. If you'll permit

27:40

me. He reached slowly

27:42

for his breast pocket. She

27:45

nodded. From within,

27:47

he produced a business card with a cellphone number

27:49

cell recognized.

27:51

And this is chief Gallagher's card.

27:53

Michelle will confirm my story.

27:56

We were oversellers last night

27:58

for which I offer my

27:59

apologies. Perry

28:01

is in great danger. And

28:04

there it was, beneath the professional

28:07

polish, beneath the professional assurance,

28:09

Sal had heard too many times from priests

28:11

and lawyers. Men's shoe

28:13

cared. I'm

28:15

sorry. He

28:16

continued. I know this has been

28:18

a huge shock. I know you're worried

28:21

about your brother. So are we?

28:23

We need to find him. One

28:25

man, Liam said. Off

28:27

the grid in the city like this. Paying

28:30

with cash. No problem. Anyone

28:32

else you'd like me to find while I'm at it? Elvis,

28:34

some really air hard. Fatherman,

28:36

she ignored him. It's possible

28:39

his friends know something, but they're

28:41

scared. They won't talk to anyone. They don't

28:43

know. We're wasting time.

28:45

Grace said, we should just knock down the door.

28:48

Liam nodded. Great idea. Work

28:51

so well last night. There

28:53

were a thousand procedural reasons salves

28:55

should leave. The parry was in

28:58

danger and if these people had the Chiefs blessing,

29:00

she could help them without breaking orders.

29:03

Technically, I can

29:05

help. No, Manchuh

29:07

said. I'm sorry, who counts in all

29:09

of you? I'm involved already. This

29:11

is my brother we're talking about. Every

29:13

second counts. If you go in there

29:15

without me, you'll learn less than the cops did this morning.

29:19

We know what we're doing. So

29:21

do I? Manchu's eyes

29:23

were deep and sad. Liam

29:26

cleared his throat. Let her

29:28

in father were short handed anyway.

29:31

The priest side. Very

29:34

well. The

29:36

one question, Sal said to break the

29:38

silence as much as anything else. You

29:40

said your consultants, where from?

29:44

The old man raised one finger to his collar.

29:47

Isn't it obvious? Three.

30:01

Jesus Christ. Sal said

30:03

when Liam handed her the bug. It

30:05

was barely visible against the cosmetic tape.

30:08

When she said it against her skin, she didn't

30:10

feel the slightest chill of metal. This

30:13

is good gear, my

30:15

specialty. I'm this one.

30:18

Liam offered her a thin silver cross on

30:20

a chain. What's this for?

30:23

Stuff, he said. Just put

30:25

it on. Okay? I don't

30:27

believe in God. He believes in

30:29

you. He laughed as if he'd

30:31

made a joke. Think of it as a

30:33

temporary deputation. Grace

30:36

checked her watch. We could have been inside

30:38

twenty minutes ago. Talk

30:41

normally, Liam said, and we'll

30:43

hear. If there's trouble, he

30:45

is a gross. Panic

30:47

button. More like a movering

30:49

only in reverse. If you see something

30:51

strange, try touching it with the cross. There

30:54

are wiggled his fingers.

30:56

Circuits and stuff. You

30:59

joking. A whole whole year

31:01

of little faith. Thanks.

31:03

She said and left the van. A

31:08

skull knocker stared out at Sal from the

31:10

boy's front door, a half inch

31:12

left of center. Drill

31:14

holes covered with duct tape, pop the door to the

31:16

knockers either side. They'd tried to

31:18

screw the knocker in three times without measuring

31:20

the door's actual midpoint and after the

31:22

third attempt agreed to celebrate their success.

31:25

The mailman had given up on the overstuffed mailbox,

31:28

its contents congealed by rain into

31:30

a sudden block of wood pulp and ink.

31:33

Layers of junk mail formed a newsprint marsh

31:36

on the front step, sporting an impressive

31:38

array of greenish molds. Sales

31:41

stared into the skulls glass chip eyes,

31:44

squeezed her own eyes closed, opened

31:46

them again, and reached for

31:48

the hinged lower jaw. Before

31:51

she could touch it, the door jerked open to reveal

31:53

Eitan, tall and gangly wearing

31:55

pajama bottoms and a dirty little shirt.

31:58

He stopped the door with his foot, but he was too

32:00

skinny to quite fill the small gap. Sal,

32:04

this is a really bad time. She

32:06

shoved the door. He stumbled back

32:08

of setting a pile of mud caked boots, and

32:10

she pushed through into the narrow musty hall.

32:13

The door slammed behind her. Where's

32:15

Perry? What the hell have you gotten him into?

32:18

Perry's fine, Zelle? Come

32:20

on. This is like Callegal search

32:22

or whatever. I know

32:23

my rights. I don't give a shit

32:25

about the weed you have in your desk, Eitan. Perry's

32:28

in trouble. True or false. Perry's

32:33

yeah. Eitan spread his arms to span the hall

32:35

and block her path. Between a rack

32:37

of mud splattered coats and a cross stitch

32:39

Perry had made of Darth Vader's mask. Barry's

32:42

fine. We're fine. We had

32:44

a, you know, small disagreement last night,

32:46

but we've taken care of everything. Maybe

32:48

we could go out for coffee and talk about

32:50

it. Let's talk here, unless

32:52

there's something you're trying to hide. Hide.

32:55

No. Of course not. What would we

32:58

try to hide from you? She

33:00

jerked forward as if the duck under his left arm.

33:02

When he braced to grab her, she jagged right

33:04

and he fell into the coats while she swept

33:07

past into the living room. A sea of

33:09

pizza boxes and USB cables. A

33:12

rust added red and fair sword and hung on the

33:14

wall. Something green bubbled

33:16

in a beaker on a bunsen burner on top of cloth

33:18

foot table she'd rescued from curbside recycling

33:20

for them. Stares rose

33:23

from the mess to the second floor where the boy

33:25

slept when they slept at all. Todd,

33:28

black, older than Perry and Eitan, though

33:30

he'd enacted, sat at the couch blanked

33:32

by two monitors with a heavy leather bound

33:34

book open on a stand on the coffee table.

33:37

He looked up and blinked at Southrop Boggles.

33:41

Aiden's coat muffled cursing from the hall mixed

33:43

with music from upstairs or something

33:45

like music, a stream of bleeps

33:47

and blips she remembered from sitting cross

33:49

legged on the carpet. Eight years old

33:51

playing Nintendo. Sally.

33:55

Great to see you. Didn't expect you

33:57

to drop by. Harry didn't say anything.

34:00

The prescription goggles warped Todd's eyes

34:02

to silver dollar size.

34:04

But this is a really bad

34:06

time. Eitan said,

34:09

bad time wouldn't happen if anything to do with my brother's

34:11

disappearance, would it? Or the museum

34:13

theft? Todd let

34:15

go of the book too fast. His

34:18

blue latex gloves left to trace powder

34:20

on the brown leather, which was embossed with

34:22

a vine and knot

34:23

pattern. Or were those

34:25

vines after all? I

34:28

really don't know what you're talking about.

34:30

So like we told the cops, Perry,

34:32

came by this morning. He was fine.

34:35

He looked scared, but that's it.

34:38

He swallowed hard. Theft,

34:40

though, you think Perry

34:43

was mixed up in something? I haven't

34:45

seen that book around here before, Todd.

34:48

Look, he raised his hands fingers

34:51

spread. Perry's

34:53

the one who gets the books, and we analyze

34:55

translator upload. It's

34:57

all about board as far as I know.

35:00

Maybe Harry got himself in deep

35:02

with the wrong

35:03

people, but I don't know who

35:05

or why. You just

35:07

read the books. That's it.

35:09

He said. So if I came

35:11

back here with a

35:12

warrant, what would I find?

35:14

You don't wanna do that. Oh,

35:16

I mean, really?

35:18

I wanna know where my brother is. He

35:21

doesn't wanna see you. He

35:24

came to my house last night terrified. Nothing's

35:27

changed between now and then. Behind

35:29

her in the hall, Aiden recovered. So

35:34

sweat ran down Todd's temple to his

35:36

cheek. Maybe we can

35:38

talk this over somewhere outside. His

35:41

eyes jerked up and left. She

35:44

turned three bedroom doors upstairs,

35:47

one for Aiden, one for Todd, one

35:49

for Perry, Perry's, the

35:51

one with the Japanese cartoon

35:53

scroll, was slightly a jar.

35:56

That sounds like a good idea. She said,

35:59

then ran out the stairs and burst through the door into

36:01

Perry's room. Monitors

36:03

illuminated the un main bed, the bare

36:05

bookshelves, the piled clothing, There

36:08

should have been sunlight, but the Halloween store

36:10

spider hung outside Perry's window blocked

36:13

the sun. And

36:15

Perry himself at in ripped jeans

36:17

and blood stained shirt, curled

36:19

like a shrimp over his keyboard, unblinking

36:21

eyes inches from his central monitor. Fairfoot,

36:25

hair tousled, one day growth

36:27

appeared, jaw muscles

36:29

sneaked, relaxed, snaked

36:32

again as he rocked in his chair typing.

36:35

Perry,

36:37

except detective

36:39

Brooks, a lawyer might ask some day,

36:41

how

36:41

did you know the person sitting in the chair was

36:43

not your brother? And she'd

36:45

opened her mouth before the courtroom, but

36:48

no words would come out, an audience

36:50

would stare at her, the judge would

36:52

draw her fingers, the lawyer would

36:54

lean forward, anytime detective

36:57

Brooks, the

36:59

clothes were parries, the body language

37:01

ditto. But still when

37:04

she said, Harry, the second

37:06

time, her voice was uncertain. You

37:09

stopped typing? And curled himself

37:11

vertebra by vertebra from the keyboard

37:14

and turned to her. His

37:16

eyes focused on the wall behind her.

37:19

He smiled woodenly. Sal,

37:22

Sister, I'm sorry he had

37:24

to come here. Perry.

37:28

She'd imagined hugging him when she saw him again,

37:30

imagined hitting him too. Neither

37:32

seemed possible now. Harry,

37:35

here, here. As if saying

37:37

that would make it true, I

37:40

am. And you should go. So

37:43

What a reasonable suggestion? I

37:46

have worked to finish if you don't mind. She

37:49

didn't. But her not minding

37:52

was strange. Wasn't it?

37:55

Harry, what happened last night?

37:56

Nothing? He

37:59

said, I was pushed. You see,

38:01

the book burners chased me and I took

38:03

help where I could find it. I'm perfectly

38:05

fine. Better than I've been in a long,

38:07

long while. You're a

38:10

police officer. He

38:12

said, as if he just looked the fact up in a large

38:14

and fine print list.

38:17

His words didn't match the movements of

38:19

his mouth. She

38:21

focused through the fear and why

38:23

fear he was her brother, but

38:26

maybe he wasn't right now. His

38:29

mouth was not moving in time with his words

38:31

because the words he spoke were not English

38:33

even though that was the language she heard.

38:36

It must feel like this when you solve a

38:38

case, when the whole world

38:41

makes sense at once. I've been

38:43

working on puzzle for long time,

38:45

and I just needed the right push.

38:48

He reached for her. There seemed

38:50

to be a great deal of space between them all of

38:52

a sudden, but his arm grew longer to bridge

38:54

the gap. A finger

38:57

of ice pressed against her skin above her heart,

38:59

so cold it burned. As

39:02

the hand approached and no longer looked like the

39:04

hand at all, not like the hand of flesh,

39:07

torn corrugated tin, twisted around

39:09

paper and woven plastic owns

39:11

forming fingers. Black

39:13

oil dripped from ragged joints. The

39:16

arm was a length of rebar wound

39:18

with trash bags and shredded cloth.

39:21

Bottle glass eyes reflected the monitor's blue

39:24

glow. Thin lips parted

39:26

to reveal metal teeth wet with more

39:28

oil. But some

39:30

trader impulse still insisted this was

39:32

Perry, her brother, there was

39:34

no reason to pull back from him, there was no reason

39:36

to run, She should let this thing

39:39

touch her, that the oil on its metal

39:41

skin was not oil, in fact, but

39:43

a whisper, a voice that might help her

39:45

if it only got inside. The

39:48

cold fire against her chest was real.

39:51

Her skin seared, froze, cracked,

39:54

She followed the pain back to her body and

39:56

retreated unsteady as if her legs

39:59

belonged to someone else. She

40:01

staggered out into the hall, and the arms stretched

40:03

toward her impossibly long. She

40:06

slammed the door shut on the thing's hand.

40:09

The perrier thing didn't seem to care.

40:12

It kicked the door open. Mangled

40:14

fingers clicked back into place. It

40:17

smiles, split as it widened. It

40:20

didn't need a face anymore, just

40:22

teeth. From the

40:24

bedroom, she heard a window chatter. Bottled

40:27

glass eyes widened. A

40:29

black blur knocked the thing that was not

40:32

her brother into the wall. Sal

40:34

blinked and the blur result into grace.

40:37

Slivers of window glinted from the footsteps

40:39

of her boots. She raised one

40:41

of Perry's monitors overhead and slammed it

40:43

into the all in creatures face. Sally

40:46

thought help. Her

40:48

hand went to her shoulder holster, but Grace

40:50

and the creature were too close moving too fast.

40:53

It threw Grace back, wriggled to its feet without

40:55

concern for any principles of anatomy, and

40:58

ran at her. Grace jumped back

41:00

onto the bed out of reach, dodged a

41:02

tin claw then jumped onto the creature before

41:04

it could recover, toppled it to the ground and

41:06

struck it in the face four times with her forehead.

41:09

A ceramic plate on the thing's face broke.

41:12

Grace clogged inside it for something sal couldn't

41:14

see. Take it easy. That's my

41:16

brother. It's not. Grace

41:18

said and never was. The

41:21

creature threw her into the desk. Grace

41:23

roared, Dodge left. A

41:25

claw shattered one of the remaining monitors. Grace

41:28

grabbed the broken flat panel from the floor

41:30

and hit the arm, which snapped. Grace,

41:33

get back. Give me a shot. I have

41:35

this. You worry about the guys downstairs.

41:38

What? Go. She

41:41

went behind her more screaming,

41:43

more broken glass. Downstairs,

41:46

Todd sat in front of the book His

41:48

blue gloved hand stroked its paper. He

41:51

looked up and over at her. Todd,

41:54

Jesus Christ, there's something up there.

41:56

But his gaggle swollen eyes were black from

41:59

pupil out to

41:59

edge. He turned

42:01

a page of his book. You

42:06

are listening to book burners. Created

42:08

and produced by Realm, your portal

42:11

to another world. Listen away.

42:18

Book

42:28

burners is created by Max Gladstone

42:30

and written by Max Gladstone Margaret

42:32

Dunlap Amal El Motar, Merle

42:35

Lafferty, Andrea Phillips, and

42:37

Brian Francis Lattery, executive

42:40

produced by Molly Barton and Julian

42:42

Yang. Performed by XC

42:44

Sands, audio production

42:46

by Amanda Rose Smith, an additional

42:48

editing by Corey Barton and Brooks ewald.

42:52

Original theme by Hashem Ocelahi, featuring

42:55

Jody Reddage Bourbon and mix by Justin

42:57

Morell. Cover art by Annie

42:59

Wu, executive in charge for

43:02

Realm, Mary Oceladola

43:03

He. Find more shows like

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Bookburners by following Realm on Apple

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Podcasts, Spotify or at realm

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dot f m.

43:18

Hi. I'm Michael Freiberg, the creator of

43:20

Intraquest, a new three d audio adventure

43:22

podcast, Intraquest, that's

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two words, INTRA, Spacequest,

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is out now and available everywhere you listen

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to podcasts. Now stay tuned for the trailer.

43:31

And then check out and subscribe to the show.

43:34

You must be the civilian mercenaries ether

43:36

and series. I'm ether,