The Belly of the Beast

Ch. 42, Dare to Know

I let the silence stretch out, and a strange thought, one that I'd been turning over since reading the riddle, came to me. "Do you know the mottos for the level's in this section?"

I could feel his eyes boring into mine, and wondered if maybe I should have been a little more discreet. Instead of meeting his eyes I lifted my hand, pretending to have a sudden need to fix something there.

Finally, he answered. "Level L is Sed Terrae garviora menant. It means: But on earth, worse things await. Level M, Sapere aude. Dare to know."

He continued to list the other levels' mottoes but I'd stopped listening, the words for Level M pounding through me. Sapera aude. The words on the parchment. Dare to know. Dare to know what?

I took a cool, careful breath, burying my excitement and trying to mimic his dark eyes and careless attitude. "Why dare to know?"

He shook his head, then, after a moment's pause, said, "Level M has the largest library on the Beast. I think the motto refers to knowledge. Or at least the quest of it."

The largest library. Holy shit. The riddle used the motto of the level M, the level with the largest library, and referenced the first Adam and Eve. Excitement rose in my chest— what the first Adam and Eve was referencing a Bible? Afterall, Adam and Eve were the first people to dare to know. And look how that ended for them. I pushed the thought away, excitement building now. Maybe the first Adam and Eve was a reference to the oldest Bible on the Beast. A book found in Level M's library.

Or maybe I was grasping at straws. Still, if I was going to run around a level, it might as well be searching for answers—while also trying not to die. Who knows, Maybe I can manage both now that I have a partner.

"You know, I've never seen a real library before." I smiled at Dagger.

"You want to catch up on your reading before we die?"

"Got something better to do?"

He sighed and then stood up. "We may as well die in a library as anywhere else."

"That's the spirit."

We started down the corridor, moving into a hallway lit in a pale, white light that gave it an ethereal glow. Instead of roots or trees or vines, flowers grew from the walls in shades of pinks and whites and lavenders, so beautiful it made the back of my throat thicken. How had the people of Old Earth ever taken this all for granted? Dagger seemed immune to their beauty, but I wasn't sure that was proof he might in fact be a Jackal. Maybe men just weren't impressed by flowers?

We turned the corner and left the flowers behind, and I found my voice again. "So Dagger, how about a team name?"

"No."

"I'm thinking Team Zagger. Team 'Not Friends' could work too."

He didn't respond, but I thought maybe his lips twitched.

We continued down corridors filled with plants of every shade and variety, Dagger taking each turn with a certainty that surprised me. I couldn't help but think how strange it was that this man, who had saved my life as I had saved his, I knew so little about. Not his real name. Not why he was in the trials. Not his letter.

Yet, here we were, walking side by side, partners by choice this time.

I didn't often ask Xyla about boys, given her superior tone, but I wished I could have gotten her take on Dagger.

First, why he had asked to partner up.

And, even more strangely, why I was glad he had.