Chapter 7 - A Hunt Among Flames
The grand library was a towering inferno of burning paper, falling plaster, and collapsing wooden balconies. Rafters crashed down around Clara in brilliant showers of orange sparks as she navigated the hazardous maze of fiery bookshelves. In the center of the room, Julian was frantically trying to shove the decoy ledger into the roaring stone fireplace, violently poking at it with a long iron rod. "Burn! Why won't you burn, you cursed piece of paper?!" he screamed, his face smeared with black ash and absolute, unhinged madness.
"It won't burn, Julian!" Clara’s voice cut through the terrifying sound of crackling wood. She stood at the entrance of the library, holding a heavy iron fire poker, her eyes blazing with cold, unyielding determination. "That parchment was chemically treated a century ago to survive fires just like this." Julian froze, turning slowly to face her. Seeing her standing there alone without her father to protect her, a bitter, twisted smile broke across his blood-stained face. "Then I don't need to burn the paper," he hissed, stepping over a burning wooden beam. "I'll just destroy the only other living witness—you."
