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‘Mor?’
‘If she escaped by catching a rope froone up by the roof’
He nodded ‘And now a crucial point, littlefor the naroup you are working for, I shall be reluctantly forced toOh, really, why soften things? I won’t be reluctant about it at all’ His smile cut like a knife
Irene was fairly sure that she could invoke the Language against him before he reached her, or sih She tried to recall Dominic’s dossier, as he’d provided a list of the better-known secret societies
‘The Cathedral of Reason Sir,’ she said reluctantly, letting it be drawn out of her That had been one of the eneral scientific progress than slaughtering horrific fiends and dangers to huers to humanity
He nodded as if she had confirain for you Or rather, for your et it faster by working together A copy could be arranged A deal can be ree?’
What Irene truly wanted to say was that she didn’t like being called little mouse It wasn’t even as if she was that sht for a woant, insulting, offensive boor, and if she could she would personallylocomotive
What she said was, ‘Yes, sir’ She dropped her eyes sub into attitudes and high drama themselves that they half expected it froratified to find their expectations borne out They thought of everything in terms of stories, with themselves as the main character They played roles – no, they lived roles, and they saw the world around the He wanted her to be a ent Very well, she’d play the part for hinore the burning throb of anger and incipient ulcers
He smiled at her This tiry thin-lipped snarl It arh that she could nearly have smiled back, if she hadn’t knodarkness and candlelight and closeness, a catch in the breath, a warirl Wait adrawers open, rifling through them to find paper, pen and ink ‘Where did he keep it – ah, yes’ He dropped a sheet of paper on the dried blood, opened a bottle of purple ink, dipped a quill in it, and scrawled a quick note ‘There We’re having a ball at the E a friend Bring a lover, even Find me there and tell me what your masters say to my little proposition And rely, Irene said, ‘Yes, sir?’
‘Remember that I would make a better low about hiht that fell on him came from somewhere else, soold, reassuring, enchanting, all-enco Even the slit cat-pupils now seemed more natural than human eyes ever could He stepped forward to lay his hands on her shoulders, drawing her close against hi to you, little one I will protect and shield you You will be my adored one, my own special love, ht’
He smelled of spice and honey She could feel the coldness of his hands through his torn gloves and the fabric of her clothing
‘Say that you’ll be s across Irene’s back burst into sudden agony, and she pulled away harshly, gasping for breath He took a step towards her, but she raised her hand, and he paused
‘I belong,’ to the Library, ‘to the Cathedral of Reason,’ she spat ‘Seducing me so I’ll betray my masters will not convince theers to his lips and blew her a kiss ‘I felt like trying I’ll see you toet Or I’ll come and find you’
He turned on his heel and strode across to the safe, scooping up the papers and visiting card She could see the care that he took not to touch the cold metal ‘Merely our private correspondence, my dear,’ he tossed over his shoulder ‘About library books Nothing to concern you’
Irene bit her tongue hard enough to hurt, trying to keep her face inquisitively bland He could have used the word ‘library’ just in passing He didn’t necessarily suspect her Or hein order to keep her attention on hiibbered at the back of her mind Some Fae did know about the Library The powerful ones Was this particular Fae that powerful?
The door slaiven way He’d been more than she expected, in every sense If it hadn’t been for her bindings to the Library, she ht not have been able to resist in tiht literally made her shiver There had been other cases of Librarians who had been lost to chaos The stories weren’t reassuring The undocumented cases even more so And there was the one horror story that every Librarian knew, about the man who’d turned traitor to the Library and sold it out He had never been caught and was still out there –