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Paranoia was one of the few habits that orth keeping

At eight o’clock the next , the doors of the combined British Museum and British Library opened Irene and Kai joined the crowd of people heading in Luckily nobody was in thePeople kept their gazes fixed on their boots, stared blankly ahead, or buried themselves ferociously in notebooks

The Department of Classical Manuscripts was open, but Dominic Aubrey’s office was closed The door was locked, bolted, and possibly even barred on the inside, for all that Irene could tell She didn’t reht have missed it

‘Shall I pick the lock?’ Kai asked as they (not for the first ti at it and did their best to i staff

‘I’ll do it,’ Irene said ‘He ainst physical or sorcerous lockpicking, but he can’t ward against the Language’ She paused ‘Stand back’

‘Oh?’ Kai said, doing as she’d told hi, but traps and alarnored Kai’s expression of sudden dis an excellent education) and quickly went down on one knee There she infore that all seals and bars on it were undone, all locks and bolts opened, and all wards gone

It swung open quietly when she set her hand on the handle She beckoned Kai in quickly after her, and closed the door behind hi sunlight ca beyond, and glealass cases The Library door itself was secured by h both the door handle and a metal link set into the wall It would be useless to prevent anyone co from the other side, as the power of the Library would prevail, but it was efficient enough to stop people trying it from this side

‘Irene,’ Kai said uneasily

‘Yes?’

‘If the door out was bolted from this side, and if the door to the Library was padlocked froood point,’ Irene said Encourage useful habits of thought ‘There h sorcery’

‘So can you use the Language to find the secret door?’

Irene sat down on the chair behind the desk It was clearly Dominic Aubrey’s personal chair It yielded with the ease of long use with a single graceful creak, and smelled of snuff and coffee ‘Not exactly Field exam; tell me why’