Page 47 (1/1)
‘Stay up here!’ an elderly gentle suicide! Wait just a minute and the police will be here – ’
No She couldn’t wait She tried to rationalize why, as really all the screa flesh were irrelevant to her et the book – to her duty as a Librarian She could just stay put But as she tried to shut out all the uni away fro for the other table
Aunder it, tu freely, which meant that he was still alive
Irene pulled herself up onto the table, vaguely conscious that her skirt was fouled with blood and sal her voice to carry above the noise
‘Yes?’ Brada aside other men and women by sheer force of personality Her hair was still perfect, and her goas only stained at the very edges ‘I hope you have so useful to say’
Irene forced down her hostility ‘I do I have an idea, but I’e I need your help’
For ato put conditions on that help, but the other woman barely hesitated ‘What do you have in ant, huge, electric-lit chandelier ‘The things on the alligators’ heads are specific and discrete Use the Language to call electricity down into them Even if it doesn’t kill them, it’ll wreck their control systeesture ‘It uests if they’re in contact,’ she said neutrally
Irene hadn’t thought of that It only took a ator ‘So be precise in your language!’ she snapped ‘Or do you want me to find the vocabulary for you?’
Bradamant sniffed ‘I don’t think that I will need your help for that endeavour’ Her tone suggested Irene’s total incompetence would render any assistance worthless
Irene should have let her get on with it, but a sudden thought struck her ‘When did you coh from the Library?’
‘We have no time for this discussion,’ Bradamant declared ‘Stand back and let me work’
Irene stepped back and scanned the crowd as Bradamant prepared Silver was easiest to spot He’d found an ornate pike and was busy iullet to tail Vale and Kai were back to back, surrounded by half a dozen alligators No one else was being targeted so heavily She couldn’t recall anything from Dominic Aubrey’s notes about the Iron Brotherhood They were fairly obviously anti-Fae, ith shoeing their alligators with cold iron and staging the attack here and now But she wouldn’t have thought that made them anti-Vale Quite the opposite, really: Vale clearly had no particular liking for the Fae, and his attendance here was adversarial rather than friendly towards Silver Were the alligators being so those people who offered the most resistance?
Irene turned back to Brada of orders in the Language Fortunately the people around her were too preoccupied by the alligators to pay , then shattered, pris apart in puffs of crystal dust Electricity forked down in visible arcs of lightning, targeting the alligators’ electronic attach in wide curves as their jaws opened and closed on eed the alligators that had been surrounding them ‘Nicely done,’ she said to Bradaest that the words Of course were simply beneath her ‘I can’t see why you didn’t do it yourself,’ she said
‘Chaos contaators were slowing their thrashing now, their wild spasles ‘The door to the Library was sabotaged on this side We think it rabbed her shoulder Soh colour drained from her face ‘Alberich is here?’
‘Yes,’ Irene said bluntly ‘Didn’t you get notified?’
The expression on Bradamant’s face spoke for itself Belatedly, Irene put two and two together ‘You’re here without authorization, aren’t you? You cah this is a quarantined world and it was etting eaten by alligators,’ Bradamant snapped ‘You owehere Now’
‘So why did you co the deh chaos to cover their conversation She and Brada up on the tables A lot of other people aiting to be absolutely sure that the alligators were dead before they caain ‘To this party, that is Not just to this alternate’
Bradaht even have been a trace of shame in her eyes, but Irene wasn’t sure if it was sha stolen another Librarian’s ht Finally she said, ‘I needed to investigate the Iron Brotherhood’