Read Infinity Ring 05 - Cave of Wonders for Free Online

believe you are sincere, and we thank you for your generosity. I am Ibn Abī al-Shukr, but you may call me Abi.”
    “I’m Dak. This is Sera and Riq.”
    “Is that so?” The tone of the man’s voice became serious. “Unusual names.”
    “Yes, well” — Sera put on that innocent smile that Riq had seen her use before — “we’re not from here.”
    “I perceive that,” the man said. “I believe you have traveled far. Very far indeed.”
    Riq thought he seemed suspicious. Was he simply talking about their clothes from China? Or did he mean something else? The first guy had said Abi liked to show newcomers around the place, and now Riq wondered why that was. Could it be because Abi was the Hystorian? Maybe being the designated tour guide let him check to see if any strangers coming to the House of Wisdom were from the future.
    Riq decided to test that theory. “We come from farther away than you would probably think. He said you like to show new people around?”
    “I do,” Abi said. “I . . . have an interest in where people come from, and how and why they find their way here to the House of Wisdom.”
    “I bet you hear all kinds of stories,” Riq said.
    “I do.” Abi smiled. “But so far, nothing that would seem
impossible
to believe. No one has yet flown here, for example. Or come by other means unknown to the people of my time.”
    Time
. That settled it in Riq’s mind. This guy had to be either a Hystorian or a Time Warden, and since he still doubted they’d find any Time Wardens here in the House of Wisdom, the moment had come for them to stick their necks out once again. He looked at Sera and Dak, and gave a little shrug. He was going for it.
    “We came here by something you might think is impossible,” he said.
    “Oh?” Abi asked.
    “Yeah, you could say our . . . boat travels
backward
up the river.”
    Abi cocked his head. “I see. Come, let me show you more of the House of Wisdom.”
    He gestured for them to follow him, and they proceeded down one of the arched walkways around the courtyard. From there, they took one of the corridors deeper into the building, the scuff of their steps echoing back at them. They passed several spacious rooms, each lined with bookshelves set in arched alcoves with borders of intricate paint and tile around them. Scholars were at work within each of the rooms, reading and writing and speaking in hushed tones.
    Riq thought back to the courtyard. If all the corridors were like this, with big rooms full of books, then there were thousands and thousands of volumes here.
    Eventually, they came to what Riq assumed was some kind of sitting area. Except there weren’t any chairs. Persian rugs covered the floor, and cushions and pillows surrounded a few low tables. It was otherwise empty.
    “Please, sit down.” Abi gestured toward one of the tables.
    Riq, Sera, and Dak all lowered themselves to the floor. It was actually comfortable. Really comfortable. More comfortable than any of the chairs at the Hystorian headquarters, that was for sure. Riq thought he might suggest to Brint and Mari that they start conducting all Hystorian meetings on cushions on the floor. But then he remembered his fears and that thought turned to dread.
    “Good. Now we can talk.” Abi took a seat across the table from them. “As I’m sure you have guessed, I, like you, am a Hystorian.”
    Riq didn’t know whether that was cause for celebration
or despair.

S ERA WAS finally able to relax a little. They had found Abi, in spite of Dak, but also because of Dak, and it was quiet here. The walls of the House of Wisdom kept the clamor and chaos of the city out, and Sera thought this was a place she could get some work done. Maybe solve the Riemann hypothesis, which seemed appropriate, since the Babylonians were the first to use the number zero, one of the few history facts that interested Sera.
    “So you know why we’re here?” Riq asked Abi.
    “Of course. You are here from the future to