Mikkel Birkegaard - The Library of Shadows

Jenny had slipped him a taxi voucher, but he left it in his pocket and walked home instead. On the way he had an opportunity to gather his thoughts. The rage was still hovering inside him like a stomach-ache, but it gave him a sense of satisfaction to know where he should direct his fury: at Remer and the Shadow Organization. They had succeeded in destroying Luca's life, and they were well on the way to doing the same with him. They had taken what he loved most – his work – or so they thought, at least. But Jon had actually begun to have his doubts. The events of the past few days had pushed his law career into the background, and he was no longer sure it was where his passion lay. But under no circumstance was he about to let this all just pass.

Back home in his flat, he rang Katherina.

After that everything happened very fast. Katherina rang him back in less than ten minutes. She had spoken to Iversen, who was going to be discharged that same day, and he had immediately suggested they should carry out the activation – or seance, as they called it – the following day. Jon asked if there was anything he needed to do to prepare, but the only advice Katherina could give him was that he should relax. So that was what he did, along with a bottle of red wine. The day ended with him falling asleep on the sofa, which was where he awoke the next morning.

In the sunlight, everything looked different. A couple of times he considered ringing Frank Halbech to explain the whole matter, but each time he tried to imagine the conversation that would result, he gave up. Besides, he had a terrible headache that prevented him from thinking clearly and reminded him how long it had been since he'd drunk a whole bottle of wine by himself.

The seance wasn't going to take place at Libri di Luca until after closing time, so his hangover had time to subside over the course of the day. In the evening Jon ate a solid meal of beef stroganoff, which for once he prepared from scratch in his kitchen. After that he took a cab to Libri di Luca, where Iversen was waiting.

Aside from a couple of cuts on his face, the old man looked like his old self, and he didn't even show any sign of fatigue after spending all day in the shop for the first time since his hospital stay.

'It's so wonderful to be back here again,' he said, smiling happily as he looked around the room. 'She's taken good care of the place, Katherina. I gave her the day off, but they'll be here for the activation – both Katherina and Pau.'

'Is that necessary?' asked Jon, who was beginning to feel uneasy.

'The effect is better the more participants there are,' Iversen explained. 'Katherina is especially important. As a receiver, she has the ability to guide your powers if it should turn out that you're a transmitter like your father.'

'And if I'm not?'

'If you're a receiver like Katherina, we'll need to proceed more cautiously. Not because there's any danger for you, but there could be some risk for me, as the reader of the text we're using. When you're activated, you won't know how to control your new powers.'

'And what if it turns out that I don't have any powers at all?'

'I'm sure you do, Jon. I've already noticed something about you. The Campelli tradition suggests that you're a transmitter, but it won't be possible to tell until the seance is over.'

'Does it hurt?'

'Not if you're relaxed and open,' replied Iversen. 'But if you try to fight it, there might be some pain associated with the activation. If you block it completely, we won't be able to carry it out, no matter how much we pressure you. Most people are naturally a little nervous in the beginning and have a hard time surrendering, but once they realize that it goes easier if they relax, the rest usually proceeds painlessly.'

'It sounds as if you've taken part in quite a few seances.'

'Actually only three.' Iversen smiled with embarrassment. 'And one of them was my own activation.'

Jon laughed. 'I feel much better now.'

Iversen studied Jon intently. 'I didn't mean to make you nervous, but the truth is that it's not an exact science. There are plenty of things we don't yet understand. But you're in good hands, Jon. If we sense that the slightest thing is going wrong, we'll just abort the whole process.'

'I hope you're not going to stop the whole thing just because I might happen to frown. I'm ready to do whatever's necessary, even if it does hurt a little.'

'Let's wait and see, Jon. Wait and see.'

At that moment there was a knock on the door and they both turned towards the sound. Katherina came in wearing a long dark coat. She gave Iversen a hug and then, smiling, held out her hand to Jon. He took her hand and pulled her close for an embrace. It was nice to see her again, so nice that he had to divert his eyes as their bodies separated.

'So, are you ready?' asked Katherina as she took off her coat and draped it over the counter. Underneath she was wearing a blue sweater, a pair of snug jeans and short black boots.

'As ready as I'll ever be.'

'Don't worry, we'll get you through this in one piece,' she said.

'Yes, well, that's what you all keep telling me.'

Katherina went downstairs while the two men stayed at the counter.

'So we're just waiting for Pau,' said Iversen, peering out of the window.

They didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes before Pau came rushing through the door, making the bells dance.

'Hi, Svend. Hi, Jon.'

Both returned his greeting.

'Great night for an activation, huh? I mean, wind, rain and maybe if we're lucky we'll even get some thunder.'

Iversen smiled. 'So maybe we should move it outdoors?'

'No, that's okay, Svend,' said the young man, tossing his leather jacket on top of Katherina's coat. 'The princess here?'

'She's downstairs,' replied Iversen. 'We're just waiting for you.'

Pau seemed to think about that for a moment, but then he clapped his hands together and looked at Jon. 'Well, let's get started then.'

Jon and Pau went on ahead while Iversen locked the door and turned off the lights in the shop.

'How many activations have you participated in?' asked Jon when they reached the stairs.

'Just one,' said Pau. 'My own. But I wasn't really conscious during it. I was run down by a psychopath on Strшget and hit my head on the cobblestones, and when I woke up from a coma three weeks later' – Pau snapped his fingers – 'bam! That was it.' He started down the stairs. 'It took a while before I figured out what it was all about, even though I could tell right away that something was wrong. But you'll soon see what I'm talking about. Just wait.' He laughed.

They had reached the bottom of the stairs and continued on down the dark corridor to the oak door that led to the library. A faint light came from the doorway.

'Hi, Kat,' said Pau as he stepped inside.

Jon followed Pau into the room. The electric lights were dimmed and the room was almost entirely lit by candles on the table and the few shelves not holding books.

'It's just for atmosphere,' Katherina told Jon. 'It doesn't have any importance for the activation.' She smiled.

'But it's damned cosy,' exclaimed Pau as he dropped into a chair. 'All we need now is some incense and herb tea.'

Katherina ignored him and pulled a book from the glass case in front of her.

'Have you read this?' she asked, handing the volume to Jon.

He took the book and studied it. It was bound in black leather, and even though he didn't have much understanding of such things, he could tell that it was high-quality workmanship. When he turned the book round to look at the title, he saw that it wasDon Quixote.

'No,' Jon said at last. 'I've never got round to reading it.'

'That's a shame,' she said. 'It's a classic. Iversen has read it to me several times.'