The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library 1)

‘Suit yourself.’ His lips curved in a smile that was somehow more a man’s than a woman’s. ‘Shall I go through the usual literary conventions? First I tell you that you’ve been told slanders about me, and you nod understandingly while not believing a word of it. Then I promise that you can go free if you hand over the book and you lie and give me a forged copy. Then I kill you.’ He shrugged. The knife stayed in place. ‘Or shall we break from the usual tropes and actually do something different? Something that might mean you survive this?’

Irene thought about how many other Librarians must have been in this position. There was a reason why he was an urban legend.

Though if they all get killed, who comes back to tell the stories, an irritating part of her mind pointed out. She ignored it.

‘I don’t see how you can use both the Language and Fae magic,’ she blurted out, her mouth running on automatic while she tried to think. It wasn’t hard to sound vaguely admiring, even if he’d see right through it.

‘I’ll give you that one for free,’ Alberich said generously, and Irene mentally lowered the odds on him letting them live even further. ‘Once a person can use the Language, that can’t be taken away. I’ve learned to use chaos since then. It involves a certain amount of personal redefinition. Difficult, but not impossible. One doesn’t have to die. Something to take into account in your future career, perhaps? There are far more opportunities open to you than you might think.’

Opportunities . . . What opportunities did she have right now? Kai might be able to use amazing dragon powers to stop Alberich entering an area, but that wasn’t much use when he was already inside it. And she might be able to force Alberich out of an area using Language, but again that wasn’t much help if he could simply wait outside its boundaries . . .

Boundaries. A half-plausible thought moved through the back of her mind. She wished she’d had more time to ask Kai about his capabilities. When he warded an area, did the warding simply follow the track that he left? Or was it a more metaphysical sort of thing, with the boundaries of his warding being linked to whatever he intended to ward?

‘Let’s reduce the potential hostages,’ she said briskly, ignoring Kai’s intake of breath from behind her. If this was going to work, she needed him outside and free to act. ‘I’m the one you want. As you said, I’m Kai’s superior. Having him stand here and maybe lose his temper won’t help either of us.’ She tried to look gullible. Impressionable. As if she believed Alberich when he said she might survive this. ‘You’ve already got one hostage, and you know I’m concerned about his well-being. If I wasn’t, we’d already be attacking or running away. Let’s clear the ground. Let Kai here go as a start to the negotiations.’

Alberich surveyed her thoughtfully, and again there was that flash of hunger in his eyes. ‘It’s true that my questions concern you, not him,’ he said slowly. ‘And he’s no initiate. I needn’t fear him trying to open a door to the Library behind my back. Very well. I’ll be reasonable. In return for a similar concession from you.’ Irene remembered to breathe. ‘Such as?’ she said.

‘Your birth name,’ Alberich said quickly, and she realized this had been his plan all along.

Magic had never been Irene’s field of expertise. It still wasn’t. But she didn’t need to be an expert to know that Alberich’s Fae magic, with knowledge of her true name, could be very bad news for her.

‘Hah!’ Kai said. She suspected he was sneering.

Irene nodded to Alberich, then turned to Kai. As she had thought, he was sneering. ‘Kai,’ she said. ‘I want you to do something very straightforward for me. I want you to go outside and stay outside. I don’t want you setting one foot inside this library.’ How to convey to him I want you to set up that warding you talked about and do it as fast as possible? ‘I’ll handle this.’

Kai blinked at her, totally blindsided. ‘But—’ he started.

‘But me no buts,’ Irene snapped. ‘It’s as Alberich said. You’re not a Librarian and there’s nothing you can do in this situation. You don’t have the Language and you can’t fight him. I’m not going to endanger yet another person. Now are you going to obey my orders and get out,’ she could hear her voice rising, ‘or am I going to have to worry about you as well as Vale here?’

Kai gave her a long stare. It felt like a reproach. It was a reproach. She didn’t want to do this to him, but Alberich wasn’t stupid. The slightest hint of collusion would get Vale killed, and she could only hope that Kai understood that. ‘You know perfectly well there’s nothing I can do if I’m outside these walls,’ he said. Could he have grasped what she wanted? ‘I’m supposed to be your colleague, not your brain-damaged dependent! At least let me stay nearby.’

‘It’s all one to me,’ Alberich said blandly.

Irene jerked her thumb at the door. ‘These are your orders, Kai. Out, and stay outside, and I don’t want to see your face until we’re done.’ She glanced up at the window for a moment. ‘And don’t get any ideas about flying around on the zeppelins.’

Kai’s eyes narrowed fractionally, and she could only hope that he’d grasped the idea. ‘Don’t think I’m happy about this,’ he said, shoulders slumping to the very angle of their first meeting. It had looked better in a leather jacket.

Irene nodded and turned back to Alberich. ‘The door, please.’

‘Your name, please,’ he said, with the same intonation that she had just used.

‘I give you my word that I will give you my birth name the moment Kai stands safely outside that closed door,’ Irene said in the Language.

‘Neat,’ Alberich commented. ‘You think quickly. Room door, open.’

The door swung open, squashing silverfish in its wake, and thudded against the wall. There was nobody in the room beyond – at least, there was nobody alive. Just the huddled mounds of the few unfortunate bodies caught in the silverfish attack. Irene hoped queasily that they were just unconscious, overcome by ultrasonic waves or something like that. She couldn’t handle more deaths.

‘If you hurt her,’ Kai said softly, ‘I swear by my father and his brothers, and by the bones of my grandfathers, that you shall pay for this.’

Alberich regarded him thoughtfully. ‘What a curious way of putting it. I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before . . . oh, never mind, I daresay I can dissect you later if it’s absolutely necessary. Out of here now, before I change my mind.’

Irene didn’t say anything, in case Alberich did change his mind. She gestured Kai towards the door, and wondered how long it would take him to set up a barrier. And also how long she had before Alberich was finished with her.

Kai hunched his shoulders angrily and stalked out of the office.

‘Close, room door,’ Alberich said, and it slammed shut with another squelch of splattered silverfish, leaving the three of them alone together.

Irene felt the compulsion of her own oath like a noose around her neck. ‘My parents gave me the name of Ray,’ she said, quickly choosing her words, before it could force out even more detail. The phrasing was more convoluted than it might have been, but it was true enough. ‘I don’t know their birth names, so I can’t give you a family name.’