Chasing the Prophecy (Beyonders) by Brandon Mull

great storehouses of learning, only the Celestine Library remained untouched. Even the legendary Eldrin chose not to confront the Maumet. What does that tell you?”
    “The Maumet is tough.”
    “It intimidated the most powerful wizard Lyrian has known. It got between him and his mission, and he let it stay there.”
    “He might have figured the Maumet would be able to guard that information forever,” Jason said.
    “All indications have shown that he would have been correct,” Ferrin said. “Maldor has sent several teams to retrieve information from the Celestine Library. None have succeeded. I’ve heard that the only way to harm the Maumet is to chip off pieces.Sort of the opposite of me.” He casually detached one hand at the wrist, flipped it into the air, then caught it on the stump at the end of his forearm. The hand fused seamlessly back into place.
    “So if we chop off an arm, the arm is gone.”
    “Supposedly, the Maumet never regenerates lost material. But this is all speculative. Nobody has ever severed a limb. To my knowledge nobody has ever seriously harmed it.”
    Jason stared out over the steaming jungle. “And we need to find a way.”
    “The oracle tasked Galloran with regaining control of Trensicourt, raising an army, and mounting a direct assault on the emperor’s impenetrable stronghold. If you ask me, Galloran has the easy job.”
    “Rachel seems pretty nervous,” Jason said. “She was worried the oracle might have been wrong.”
    “I don’t think the oracle was wrong.”
    “No?”
    “No. She was authentic. I expect that her prediction was valid. Remember, she wasn’t promising victory. She was looking for any possible route to victory, no matter how faint. I’m sure if you can somehow access the library, there is a chance of finding a way to contact Darian the Seer, even though he is supposed to be dead. Those strong enough in Edomic have found methods to achieve astonishing life spans. And it is conceivable that the famed pyromancer could provide some arcane information that might help an attack on Felrook succeed. I can’t begin to imagine what that information could be. And I doubt that any knowledge could make such a victory likely.”
    “This isn’t sounding good,” Jason said, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach.
    “We asked if, among all the possible futures, there might bea one-in-a-billion chance of turning the tide and dethroning Maldor. I’m sure the oracle found what Galloran sought: a theoretically possible, but highly unlikely, path to victory.”
    Jason rubbed his wrist anxiously. “In other words, we won’t just probably fail—we’ll almost certainly fail. You’re still willing to go along with it?”
    “If Maldor ever apprehends me, my fate is certain. Just like you and Galloran and the Amar Kabal, I’d take a minuscule chance at victory over certain doom. If we fail, I can still try to jump ship and hide in the wilderness for the rest of my life, which is my only other current option.”
    Jason shifted uncomfortably. “You’re warning me that my quest probably ends with the Maumet.”
    “I want you to appreciate what you’re up against. You will have to succeed where multitudes have failed. You’ll have to accomplish something that the mightiest wizard in the history of Lyrian didn’t dare to attempt. You’ve pulled off some shocking upsets in the past, but only a fool would bet on you this time. So I will.” Ferrin detached an ear and held it out to Jason.
    “You’re betting an ear?”
    “I’m betting that not only will you find a way past the Maumet, but that you will locate Darian the Pyromancer and need to offer us crucial information from a great distance. If you perish, I’ll just have to get used to life with one eye and one ear.”
    “Farfalee is bringing messenger eagles,” Jason reminded him.
    “I know, and they will serve as an important redundancy, but nothing beats sure, instantaneous communication.”
    Jason accepted