The Secret Chapter

by Genevieve Cogman

  ‘So, about those dragons,’ Irene said quietly. ‘If this place isn’t claimed, as Mr Nemo said, then what are they doing here? And why has Felix vanished? There are too many unanswered questions.’

  There were other couples chatting to each other in the queue, ranging from students in jeans and duffel coats to people in evening wear. Hot-dog stands made no class distinctions – and anyone could also be a CENSOR operative.

  A police car drove past, sirens blaring loudly and lights flashing. But it wasn’t heading in the direction of the Casino Nonpareil. Irene could only hope that Kai and the others weren’t its target.

  Jerome shrugged. ‘I guess Felix had his own business.’

  ‘Like what? That’s not very helpful.’

  ‘I can see you’re annoyed, but I don’t know why you’re annoyed at me.’

  ‘I’m annoyed because—’

  ‘Sweet or spicy?’ the stallholder asked, holding up mustard.

  ‘Sweet,’ Irene said, annoyed at the distraction.

  ‘Spicy,’ Jerome said with a grin. ‘Because?’ he prompted as they strolled away, local cuisine in hand.

  ‘I’m annoyed that you revealed yourself as Hao Chen’s partner back there,’ Irene admitted.

  Genuine surprise showed on Jerome’s face. ‘You know, I thought that you’d be thanking me for stepping in.’

  ‘All right,’ she admitted. ‘Perhaps that was ungrateful. Still . . . you put yourself in unnecessary danger.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have missed a game like that for the world,’ Jerome answered.

  ‘It was a huge risk!’

  ‘Honey, I like risks. I want risks. That’s how I roll.’ He considered her with a frown. ‘By the way, I’d have thought you’d have been prepared to lose me back there, as long as you got the job done.’

  Irene took a bite, considering her answer. ‘There are two ways of looking at that. The first is that we haven’t got the job done yet. You’re still useful.’

  ‘And the second?’

  ‘I don’t play that way,’ Irene said slowly. ‘This isn’t a game show or a zero-sum situation where only one person wins. I don’t see why we shouldn’t all get what we want.’

  Yet he was right: why should she care about these total strangers? Being a Librarian and a spy meant being cold-blooded. She didn’t have the luxury of choosing between her mission and the safety of casual acquaintances. It wasn’t something that her parents had taught her. Still, the morality ground into her at school wouldn’t be silenced. Plus she hated losing.

  She felt a pang at the memory of her childhood refuge. Whatever she’d thought at the time, in retrospect it was a haven where ethics had been practical, trust had been possible and where she could still believe virtue would be rewarded. Even if it now seemed like fiction . . . And now Gamma-017 was in danger and she still didn’t have the book she needed to save it.

  ‘You’re asking me to accept a lot,’ Jerome was saying.

  ‘But we need trust, if we’re going to work together. Think of it as a gamble.’ Irene paused. ‘And what are all these police cars doing? That one’s the third to pass us!’

  ‘Okay. Before we go any further,’ Jerome said, ‘I need you to promise not to lose your temper . . .’

  ‘The. Imperial. Regalia.’ Irene spoke through gritted teeth as she inspected the items in front of her. ‘Sword. Crown. Orb. And sceptre. That agate bowl was supposed to be the Holy Grail at one point, wasn’t it? And that emerald salt cellar is bigger than my fist.’ At this precise moment, it would have given her great pleasure to throw it through the apartment window. ‘I’m . . . lost for words.’

  ‘I can probably think of a few,’ Felix said, reclining smugly on the lounger with a glass of wine. ‘Furious. Shocked. Jealous. I don’t think any Librarian could have pulled this off, could they?’

  Irene forced herself to back away from the cliff edge of her anger. They still needed him. And she had promised Jerome – who clearly knew everything – that she wouldn’t lose her temper. Even with some of the Hofburg Museum’s most valuable items spread before her. ‘Oh, all right. I admit it. I’m impressed.’

  ‘As you should be.’

  ‘Don’t push your luck.’ Irene looked around the bland apartment Jerome had brought her to. ‘So what do you plan to do now?’

  ‘I haven’t decided yet.’ Felix took another cheerful sip of wine. It was the most relaxed – the most friendly – that Irene had seen him. The successful theft had filled a nagging hole in his self-esteem, and for now he was the affable gentleman thief through and through. ‘Sometimes one just has the urge to steal a thing because it’s there, if you know what I mean?’

  Jerome clinked glasses with him. ‘That I do.’

  Irene counted down from five to one silently, trying to control her exasperation. Felix was clearly unreliable. But . . . if the group agreed that he needed to be shut out of the operation, could they count on his non-interference? What if he decided to steal the painting himself, hiring a new gang, now he was on a high? On the other hand, if they kept him with them, how long before he started boasting and said too much about the other people involved, such as Irene and Kai? If they really were infringing the treaty, she didn’t like to think of the consequences.

  ‘Let me call the others,’ she said, needing a moment to think. ‘I want to be sure they’re all right.’

  ‘Be my guest,’ Felix said with a lazy wave. His gaze returned fondly to the emerald salt cellar. It was sitting casually in a pile of crumpled newspapers on the coffee table and somehow seemed larger than life, almost too big to be real.

  Irene wandered over to the window. The phone rang, twice, and then Kai’s voice said, ‘Irene?’ In the background she could hear the screech of wheels and the sounds of furious driving.

  ‘All secure here,’ Irene said. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yes. We’re somewhere—’ He broke off. ‘No! No, the car won’t fit through there!’

  ‘Easy peasy,’ came Tina’s distant voice. There was a grinding noise of metal against metal.

  ‘Give me the phone.’ That was Ernst’s voice. ‘All is well. We are escaping. Dragon boy is a back-seat driver. Is bad habit.’

  ‘I usually let him do the driving,’ Irene admitted. ‘Jerome and I are with Felix. He’s looted the Imperial Treasury . . . which is why all the cops are buzzing round the Hofburg Palace. Avoid that area.’

  ‘So that is where he is. Tell him we will be talking later, him and me.’

  ‘Have you had any word from Indigo?’

  ‘Only to confirm that the interrupts did their job.’

  There was a painfully loud crash and a thud, then the squealing of wheels again. ‘Are you all right?!’ Irene demanded, wincing.

  ‘No,’ Kai snapped, back on the call. ‘I just nearly swallowed the damn phone, that’s all.’

  ‘Good. See you back at base,’ Irene finished. The phone went dead without another word.

  Irene turned to face the two Fae. ‘They’re all right – I hope.’

  She’d come to a couple of conclusions. Someone needed to pull this so-called team together – not just to give orders, but to convince them to cooperate. Who knew, maybe it could even be good practice in getting dragons, Fae and Librarians to work together? Not that she’d ever be able to tell anyone about it . . . We need trust, she’d told Jerome. Now she had to trust them all, as she couldn’t do this alone. They really needed Felix, too. The thief was good at what he did. But if he wasn’t with them, and could even act against them . . . she was going to face a very unpleasant choice.

  ‘When I took the job, I thought everyone on the team was as, shall we say, invested in the job as I am,’ she said. ‘I was wrong, wasn’t I?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say you were exactly wrong,’ Felix said. ‘I just like to have my cake and eat it.’

  The pile of gold and jewels on the table drew Irene’s gaze. ‘That’s a pretty big cake,’ she admitted. ‘So are you sure you really need the Mr Ne
mo job now? The risks are stacking up. CENSOR is breathing down our necks. And there’s not just one, but three dragons in town.’

  Felix frowned, emerging from his haze of pleasure a little. ‘Three, you say?’

  ‘We ran into the others while we were at the Casino Nonpareil. Of course, they probably won’t get in the way of our heist. But given the level of danger, I wouldn’t blame you if you walked out . . .’

  She was hoping Felix and his archetype couldn’t resist a challenging theft. It wasn’t just about the money for him. The greater the threat, the more tempting it would be.

  ‘Are you trying reverse psychology on me, Irene Winters?’

  ‘I am,’ Irene admitted. ‘Good catch.’ She tried to channel her training. When an opponent spots your negotiating tactic, admit it, and openly admire them for their intelligence in noticing it. ‘But . . . don’t you want to be the thief who stole The Raft of the Medusa from under the nose of three dragons? The man with his name in Mr Nemo’s private address book, on speed-dial for the most important thefts of all?’

  ‘It’s a gamble,’ Felix said. But she could hear the waver in his voice, the temptation tugging at him.

  ‘We’re all gambling,’ Irene answered. ‘So – what is your plan for the painting? I’m sure you already have something in mind.’

  As Felix leaned forward, eager to display his cleverness, she knew she had him.

  ‘We have a loiterer,’ Indigo said.

  Irene looked up from the detonator which she was assembling under Ernst’s guidance. ‘Whereabouts?’

  ‘By the main entrance.’ Indigo turned one of her screens so the rest of them could see the door to their building. She’d tapped into all the local cameras after the gang incident. ‘He’s been past twice and now he’s standing there, checking the list of tenants. Of course, he might not be here looking for us, but . . .’

  ‘But worst scenario is probably true,’ Ernst agreed philosophically. ‘If we dump his body a good distance away, it may take them longer to find us.’

  ‘Or it might lead people directly here, if he’s supposed to be investigating and goes missing,’ Felix pointed out. ‘If he’s one of that gang, he may be calling early for payment.’

  Irene stared at the grainy black-and-white picture on the monitor. Indigo’s new equipment might be top quality, but the camera in the building’s lobby was cheap tat. Still, there was something familiar about him . . . ‘Can you get me a better image?’ she asked.

  The camera zoomed in – and the man turned to reveal his face.

  Irene and Kai looked at each other in shock. ‘It’s Evariste,’ Kai said.

  ‘If you both know him, then he’s a Librarian or a dragon. Which?’ Felix kept his tone casual, but Irene could sense the caution beneath it. Last night’s confrontation and discussion seemed to have brokered a truce between them, but it wouldn’t take much to break it again.

  Indigo sniffed. ‘Not a dragon. Certainly not a dragon.’

  ‘He’s a Librarian,’ Irene said quickly, ‘and he may have an urgent message.’ She was remembering her email to Coppelia, and her need to know whether the treaty clashed with this job. Since she hadn’t gone back to the Library . . . the Library had come to her.

  Felix put down the paperwork he’d been forging. ‘Are you backing out?’ he asked quietly.

  ‘I need to know what he has to tell me,’ Irene said, instead of answering his question.

  Felix was silent.

  ‘I go down to get him,’ Ernst suggested. ‘Stay in room while they talk. I am neutral third party. I have no grudges. I crush anyone’s head if necessary, whoever they are.’

  Irene reminded herself that Ernst was no more trustworthy than any other Fae in the room. Even if his ‘friendly thug’ attitude was easier to live with than Felix’s caution – or outright hostility. Then another thought struck her. ‘Indigo, can you get sound down there?’

  ‘Easily,’ Indigo replied.

  ‘There you go,’ Irene said. ‘You can listen to what we have to say. And I won’t need to bring him up here and expose you all.’

  Felix looked as if he would like to object, but nodded. ‘That sounds fair enough.’

  ‘I’d better go down too,’ Kai suggested. ‘Just in case he tries anything.’

  ‘Well, of course. Anyone can see that you and Librarian girl are partners in crime.’ Ernst patted him on the shoulder. ‘Is rather cute, no?’

  In the corridor outside, Irene took a deep breath. Even if she and Felix had negotiated a temporary peace, the room had been tense all morning. Kai and Ernst had both been very unhappy – and that was putting it mildly – about Felix dropping out for his own private schemes and Jerome abetting him. It would have been even worse if Indigo had not commented that it was ‘typical of all Fae’, thus uniting most of the room against her instead.

  Kai looked sideways at her. ‘Any thoughts?’

  ‘Only that I’m counting the hours till this is over,’ Irene confessed.

  ‘I still don’t see why Lady Ciu would have retired here,’ he said, not for the first time.

  ‘Perhaps she likes the local sachertorte,’ Irene offered.

  ‘No, she doesn’t look the type to have a sweet tooth,’ Kai said seriously. ‘And it can’t be the art. I was told that the eye injury left her nearly blind.’

  ‘She could see well enough to play cards last night,’ Irene pointed out. ‘Kai, she seemed . . . comparatively reasonable. Why are you so disturbed?’

  Kai hunched his shoulders in a familiar gesture of discomfort. ‘She wouldn’t have been interested in the game. She couldn’t care less what cards she drew. She was simply playing with her opponent, like a cat.’

  That wasn’t comforting. ‘You said that she was a senior courtier before her injury, even if she wasn’t as powerful as some.’ Of a lesser family, Kai had said, meaning that Lady Ciu didn’t have the elemental affinities of the more powerful dragons. So – thank goodness – she couldn’t raise earthquakes or storms, or bring down blizzards that would wipe whole cities off the map. But she was still a dragon, which made her very dangerous. Kai had said she was part of the Winter Forest family, as well – a group of dragons who had good reason to have a grudge against Librarians in general, and Irene in particular. ‘Where did she get that eye injury? You said she’d been a famous duellist.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Kai said. ‘I was told in a war, but I don’t think that was the whole story.’

  And then they were in the lobby. Evariste was in local garb, but Irene would have known him anywhere. A dark-skinned man, his hair was growing out and clubbed back in a short tail. His overcoat was heavy and his shoes scuffed, an unobtrusive match for the local area. He carried himself with a learned wariness, light on his feet and ready to bolt.

  He suppressed a twitch as he saw them. ‘Hi,’ he said nervously. ‘Look, we aren’t in immediate danger, are we? Should I be hitting the sewers and hiding till we can get out of town?’

  ‘It’s not that bad,’ Irene said. ‘Thanks for coming.’ She remembered Evariste had little experience with fieldwork on other worlds. In fact, after their mission together had gone bad, she’d assumed he’d hole up in the Library for a few years – or at least until he’d learned better skills.

  Evariste leaned against the deserted lobby desk. ‘Oh no, no trouble at all. Do you realize that the Library entrance to this world is in Japan?’

  Irene winced. When Evariste had emerged from the Library into this world, he would have had to travel all the way to Vienna. ‘I really am sorry,’ she said guiltily. ‘I came here via Fae transport. I don’t even know the Library’s classification for this world.’

  ‘A-327,’ Evariste said promptly. ‘There’s no Librarian-in-Residence either. And to get right to the point, no, nobody’s claimed this world according to our records. If you’re stepping on someone’s personal fief, you’ll have a problem with them. But it won’t have wider implications. And you’re looking different. What happened
to your hair?’

  Irene sighed in dizzying relief. Safe. She wasn’t risking the peace treaty by stealing from anyone here. She relaxed, touching her purple-streaked, gel-spiked hair. ‘A disguise. I’ve already been on too many cameras on this world.’ Then she frowned. ‘Wait a moment. If our classification is A-327, it would mean this world is technology-oriented, with no magic.’

  ‘I’ve seen the technology – cameras everywhere. This is not what I’d call a safe place.’

  Kai was frowning too. ‘I see what you’re getting at,’ he said. ‘This world’s supposed to be apparently crawling with supernatural entities. Werewolves, vampires, mages, whatever. Yet the Library designates it as non-magical – or at least, not magical enough to be significant.’

  Irene nodded. A or Alpha worlds were aspected towards technology, with little to no magic. Beta worlds had magic as the norm – with any technology being pretty unimportant. Gamma worlds had both. Perhaps the Library’s information was out of date, and supernatural creatures were a recent development? But this didn’t match with what she’d read about the world. ‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ she said. ‘But the most important thing is—’

  ‘Is to ask how Evariste’s daughter is,’ Kai said firmly. ‘I’d been told that you got her back safely. Is everything going well?’

  Evariste’s face lightened. ‘Miranda Sofia’s fine, but confused. Anyone would be – after being kidnapped by dragons.’ He glowered briefly and quite unfairly at Kai. ‘We’re settled on a new world now, very high-technology, helping a Librarian-in-Residence who’s nearing retirement. I only popped back to the Library to do an errand for her.’

  ‘Is that where you saw Coppelia?’ Irene asked, feeling sorry for him.

  ‘Yes. She grabbed me and said that you’d requested some information. She gave me a token to find you. She also said – go ahead, walk off with the whole museum and everything else in it, just don’t miss your deadline.’

  ‘Sounds like her,’ Irene said with a sigh.