A Painted Goddess by Victor Gischler Read Free Book Online

balanced system that allows you to go up or down to any level in the library. If the stories are true, that is. Engineering is not my field, but I can’t pass up this opportunity to examine the mechanisms. Without a doubt the university will want to send master engineers to examine the lift . . . if that is indeed what this is.”
    Brasley gestured into the room. “By all means. Have a look.”
    Olgen set foot into the room. Then another foot. He entered slowly, hands drawn up to his chest as if he didn’t want to accidently touch anything, eyes wide.
    Talbun followed. “If it’s still operational, the lift might be useful. Could save us a lot of time.”
    Brasley rolled his eyes. “ If it still works and if we can figure out how to use it. Everything in this damn place is falling apart, remember?”
    He led the goat cart into the room.
    Iron doors slammed closed behind him, sealing them in the room.
    “Are you fucking kidding me?” Brasley said.
    “What did you do?” Talbun demanded. “Did you touch something?”
    “I didn’t touch a damn thing,” Brasley insisted.
    Looking back, Brasley saw two rows of short levers, at least a dozen for each row. Next to that was a larger lever shoved all the way into the up position.
    “One of these levers opens it up again, I expect.”
    “ Don’t touch anything,” Talbun said.
    “Our combined weight must have triggered the doors to close,” Olgen said. “That’s a guess, obviously.”
    “Well, I don’t fancy being trapped in such a small space,” Brasley said.
    “Just stay calm,” Talbun said.
    “I’ll be calm enough when I’m not trapped anymore,” Brasley insisted.
    “I imagine those small levers choose what level the lift takes us to,” Olgen mused. “Or maybe a combination of levers. Fascinating.”
    “No, not fucking fascinating,” Brasley said. “Very annoying. I want out of here. I don’t like being confined. Not with a goat especially.”
    “Let’s just figure this out,” Talbun said.
    “If all these smaller levers decide which level we go to, then this big lever must open the door.” Brasley grabbed the lever.
    Olgen’s eyes shot wide. “Milord!”
    Talbun lunged for him. “Brasley, no!”
    Brasley yanked the big lever all the way down.
    There was a distant clunk, and in a split second they were all thrown to the floor as the lift sped upward at a staggering speed.
    Brasley heard somebody screaming and realized it was him, his face pressed flat against the cold stone floor. The little room sped up and up.
    And up.

CHAPTER SIX
    Brasley struggled to push himself back to his hands and knees, but the lift flew upward at such a velocity, he could barely move. Ropes and pulleys rattled as they passed each level. The goat bleated panic. Olgen nearly matched the goat’s terror, screaming sheer guttural fear.
    If he could get to his feet, maybe Brasley could grab the big lever and flip it up again. Maybe it would stop their reckless ascent, and then they could—
    There was the crack and smash of the world breaking. The little room shook so violently, Brasley knew he was going to die.
    The lift stopped.
    Because it had smashed into something.
    “We must have collided with the top level.” Olgen looked pale, a sheen of sweat on his face.
    Brasley gestured to a set of iron doors similar to those that had closed behind them on one of the lower levels. “Do you think one of the levers would open those?”
    “Don’t fucking touch any more levers,” Talbun barked.
    Something creaked and groaned and snapped, and the floor tilted abruptly.
    Brasley threw his arms out to his side for balance. “I would like to be on the other side of those doors, please.”
    Olgen set his lantern down and went to the doors, stuck his fingers into the seam where they closed together, and tried to pry them apart. “Stuck fast.”
    The floor lurched again. Grinding noises came from somewhere above them.
    Brasley looked pointedly at Talbun. “Can’t you do