Then Li Ming interrupted her thoughts with the announcement she’d been secretly dreading: ‘His majesty the King of the Northern Ocean honours you with his presence.’
Irene rose, then stooped into a full curtsey, conscious of Vale bowing as the door swung open.
Kai brought his right fist to his left shoulder and quite unselfconsciously went down on one knee, bowing his head. ‘My lord uncle,’ he said. ‘Your presence is undeserved. I ask your pardon for any inconvenience I may have caused you.’
Irene looked up through her lashes, waiting for a cue to rise, praying it would come before her legs spasmed and she lost her balance. Like Li Ming, Ao Shun was dressed for this London, but his spotless jet-black suit, complete with white silk scarf, could only have come from a royal tailor. He also appeared in a fully human guise this time, Irene saw to her relief, though the sheer impact of his presence was only slightly less overpowering as a result.
‘You have my thanks for your actions in defence of my nephew,’ he said, at last gesturing for them to stand. ‘I have come to discuss what took place, before raising the matter of war with my brothers.’
‘Your majesty,’ Irene said, and saw Kai suppress a twitch. No doubt it was Not the Done Thing for anyone other than the king to take the conversational lead. ‘I ask your permission to speak.’
Ao Shun levelled his gaze at her, and she felt as if she was in a cannon’s sights. ‘Your actions have earned our consideration,’ he said. ‘What concerns you?’
‘Your majesty, the kidnapping was due to two people alone,’ Irene said. She watched him as she spoke, trying to gauge his reaction to her words, looking for any hint of emotion. ‘One of them is now dead at my hands. And the other acknowledged her defeat and fled. Your nephew has returned to you. We were also helped by others of the Fae who didn’t seek war. Your majesty, I am not asking for lenience to benefit the Fae. But I entreat you to consider all the humans in all the worlds between you and them. I beg you, do not make this a matter of war. It would be disproportionate.’ She looked for words that might sway a dragon. ‘And, I think, unjust.’
Ao Shun’s eyes flared red at the word unjust and the sky outside darkened in response, as gathering clouds hid the sun. ‘Your words are heard,’ he said. ‘Your perspective is natural, as one from the Library.’
Irene felt the pressure of his displeasure, as it lay dangerously heavy in the air, and had to force herself to continue. ‘Of course, your majesty,’ she said, ‘I am loyal to the Library. And, as such, I can and must speak for its interests. But I would also say that the Fae have suffered a severe setback, proving that it’s unwise to kidnap any dragon, let alone one of your royal bloodline. Please consider this to be sufficient, your majesty.’
Ao Shun turned his head slightly, looking away from her. ‘You have done your duty to my nephew as your student,’ he said. ‘Your responsibilities in this matter are ended. There is no need for you to take further action.’
Irene could see Kai looking at her, with a please-please-shut-up-now expression on his face. On her other side, Vale was impassive. ‘I have fulfilled my duty to my student,’ she said. ‘I also have a duty to the Library, and to the people in the worlds that it touches.’
‘And what of you, my nephew?’ Ao Shun’s voice took on a distinct edge as he addressed Kai. The room was suddenly full of thick tension - it pressed against Irene, and she could see that Vale was having to square his shoulders to stand firm against it. Thunder shuddered in the air outside. ‘Have you any thoughts on this matter?’
Kai’s throat worked as he swallowed. ‘My lord uncle,’ he faltered. Then his voice grew stronger. ‘My teacher speaks truly. It would be unjust for harm to come to humans who have had no involvement in these hostilities. Those Fae who were responsible have paid for their actions. Time will prove the rightness of our way and the weakness of theirs. If there must be retribution, then blame me for my folly in allowing myself to be captured.’
‘Your folly, or your teacher’s carelessness,’ said Ao Shun, and the air trembled slightly at his words.
‘I will answer for any fault of mine,’ Irene said firmly. The taste of fear was sour in her mouth.
‘Surely his friends must also take some of the blame, your majesty,’ Vale said. ‘Those like me, for instance.’
Ao Shun looked between the three of them. Scale-patterns were showing across the skin of his cheeks and hands, and his nails were longer and darker than they had been a moment ago. Rain broke against the window with a slap of wind.
There was a knock at the door.
Li Ming moved to answer it. ‘I’m afraid you have the wrong room—’ he began.
‘I don’t think so.’ It was Coppelia’s voice. Coppelia, here. Irene felt as if she could suddenly draw a breath. ‘My name is Coppelia, and I am an elder of the Library. I request audience with his majesty the King of the Northern Ocean.’
‘She may enter,’ Ao Shun said, before Li Ming could even turn to consult him. ‘I welcome the advice of an elder of the Library.’
Coppelia stepped into the room, neatly dressed in a dark velvet gown and cape suitable for greeting royalty, the wood of her hand hidden by her gloves. And though she was rigidly straight-backed, she leaned on a silver-topped cane as she walked. Her arthritis is playing up again. Inside the Library, she was a teacher and friend. Outside the Library, it was harder to forget that Coppelia was an extremely old woman, who’d accumulated years of injuries as a Librarian in the field.
‘Your majesty.’ She gave Ao Shun a half-bow, having to support herself on her cane. ‘Please forgive my lack of formality. I’d have curtseyed properly, if I were as young as these children.’
‘No forgiveness is necessary,’ Ao Shun said. The rain outside was slacking off. ‘Your presence is most welcome. Will you be seated?’
He’s treating her as a respected ambassador, so definitely a step above me, Irene decided. But thank god that Coppelia showed up.
‘I’m only here briefly, your majesty,’ Coppelia said. ‘I’ve come to collect my colleague to answer a formal inquiry. I hope that won’t be inconvenient?’
Irene felt the colour drain from her cheeks. So she had to face a penalty for what she’d done. She tried to convince herself that she’d expected it all along, but it rang hollow. She wasn’t ready at all.
‘I have no reason to complain about her actions,’ Ao Shun said. ‘She has acted properly throughout, and I owe her my gratitude for what she has done.’
‘Madame Coppelia, you can’t do this!’ Kai had his jaw set, and the metaphorical bit between his teeth. ‘Irene did everything she could to get me out of there. It wasn’t her fault that I was kidnapped. If anyone should be blamed for this, it’s me.’
‘Kai.’ Ao Shun slapped his open palm on the arm of his chair. ‘Silence!’ But he seemed more astonished than angry that Kai should actually have had the nerve to speak. ‘If this is an internal matter, then it is not your place to interfere.’
‘I’m still an apprentice to the Library,’ Kai said, his skin starting to take on a draconic cast too. ‘Unless and until I am removed from that position, which was agreed by my father himself …’ He let it trail off meaningfully.
Irene tried to interpret the sudden look of baffled frustration on Ao Shun’s face. Kai’s father was his older brother. In terms of the draconic respect for hierarchy that she’d seen, this suggested that Ao Shun couldn’t contradict his orders. The situation was rapidly degenerating into a no-win one.
Someone had to take responsibility.
‘Of course I’ll return to the Library,’ she said. Ao Shun and Kai broke their mutual glare to look at her. She addressed Coppelia. ‘I admit I broke Library rules in visiting a high-chaos world without permission. I also acknowledge that I failed to properly supervise an apprentice who was under my charge, which resulted in him being kidnapped by individual Fae, and might even have led to war.’
‘These are serious charges,’ Coppelia said. Her voice w
as as severe as a hanging judge, but there was a glint in her eye that Irene recognized as approval. ‘Your majesty, I must ask for your permission to leave. Irene and I need to return as soon as possible.’
Ao Shun was frowning. He had Kai’s trick of glowering, now that Irene thought about it. ‘Is it necessary for her to return? Perhaps some detached duty could be arranged? I would not see her punished for her actions. I would even be glad to have her in my own service.’
‘Your majesty is too generous,’ Coppelia said. ‘Her actions are very serious. I’m sure that she herself wouldn’t want to avoid due process. Would you, Irene?’
She could throw herself on Ao Shun’s mercy and take up his offer. But then she’d also have to say goodbye to the Library - just as devastating as if the elder Librarians cast her out. Either way, she lost. She might retain Kai as a student that way, but she still lost.
Or maybe there was a way out of this that wasn’t quite losing. It depended on whether Ao Shun really did feel some sort of gratitude for her actions, and just how far that extended.
‘I’m not going to abandon my duty now,’ she said firmly. ‘My actions and my neglect could still cause war, threatening hundreds of worlds. I submit myself to whatever punishment is required.’
Vale seemed about to say something. She caught his eye and desperately stared him down, with a tiny shake of her head. If this huge gamble was going to work, then the threat to her had to be genuine.
Coppelia nodded. ‘I would expect nothing else. Come, then.’
For a moment the room was silent, then Ao Shun said, ‘Wait.’
‘Your majesty?’ Coppelia enquired.
Ao Shun’s expression could have been carved from stone. ‘I request, as a favour and in the interests of justice, that this Librarian not be judged too harshly. I can say with some confidence that there is no immediate risk of war.’
Irene took a deep breath of relief for those human worlds - and for herself. The sudden lifting of weight from her shoulders was dizzying. There wouldn’t be a war. She could survive a penalty - and it might not even be that bad, given what Ao Shun had just said. But then she considered the unbending nature of Library discipline, and her heart sank.
Coppelia gave a dignified half-bow. ‘Thank you, your majesty. This will be taken into account in judgement of her. Irene, if you have any farewells to make to your friends, please do so.’
Irene turned to Kai and Vale. ‘I’ll be back if, and when, I can,’ she said. ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’ It might not be quite the language that one should use in front of a king, but her control was slipping. And the shadow of the inquiry still hung over her.
Kai took her hands in his. ‘I will be waiting here for your return,’ he promised. ‘With my uncle’s permission, of course.’ The last bit was added hastily, and didn’t sound particularly sincere to Irene. Judging by the frown on Ao Shun’s face, it didn’t sound very sincere to him, either.
Vale touched her shoulder briefly. ‘I’ll keep an eye on Strongrock in your absence,’ he said. ‘I hope you won’t be too long, Winters. Your expertise with languages is surprisingly useful.’
Irene’s throat tightened. She was not going to embarrass herself. ‘Thank you both,’ she said clearly. ‘I hope not to be too long, either.’
And she did still have hope. Because Ao Shun hadn’t removed Kai from the Library, and because Coppelia had come to help her - and because, whatever the punishment the Library might level, she didn’t think they were going to cast her out. She was still part of the Library, and she’d spoken for the Library when things were at their worst. And, with the Library’s help, they had stopped a war before it could begin.
And because, in spite of everything that had been set against them, she and Vale had saved Kai.
She dropped another curtsey to Ao Shun and followed Coppelia out of the room - back towards the Library.
SECRETS FROM THE LIBRARY
Insider information on the Library and its spies
IRENE’S TOP FIVE BOOK HEISTS
As a junior librarian spy, Irene is sent far and wide to collect famous, rare and dangerous books and bring them back to the Library. This might be to doom a dangerous faction or to save a world - a librarian may not be told. Sometimes a book is exactly where it’s supposed to be, in a well-laid-out library on an orderly world, so it’s a simple matter to retrieve the required tome. Sometimes a mission goes badly wrong and the spy barely escapes with their life, never mind the target acquisition. Needless to say, librarians all have their favourite book-heist tales and horror stories. So we asked Irene to share her top five.
Agamemnon by William Shakespeare
I suppose the first text that comes to mind would be Shakespeare’s Agamemnon - everyone wants to boast about retrieving a unique Shakespeare, don’t they? It was one of those jobs where you know exactly where the text is (in a reclusive billionaire’s private collection) but the problem is getting it out of there. The world containing the book was still in the middle of a long-running set of wars, dating far back to some crusades in the eleventh century, and the Byzantine Empire was the dominant power. More obstructively, it was one of those worlds where women have a very defined second-class position in society. I ended up ‘borrowing’ a copy of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost from yet another world (it had never existed on the target world). Then I let that come to the billionaire’s attention. I allowed him to swindle me out of it, in order to get at his collection. I felt quite good about myself afterwards, since he had at least got his hands on a Shakespeare he’d never read before. As for the play itself … well, I found that Shakespeare had borrowed most of the basic plot from Aeschylus, the ancient Greek tragedian. But as usual Shakespeare had added in some bits of his own. I wonder if he had intended to borrow the rest of Aeschylus’ Oresteia sequence too and make a trilogy of it …
The Skjoldunga saga
The time I was sent to fetch a copy of the Skjoldunga saga is one of my worst memories. I was posted to a moderate-chaos, high-magic world, and there were idiots waving large weapons every time you turned a corner. Think flying longships, spell-singing skalds, and lots and lots of omens and feuds. Anyone who was anyone was trying to start new wars. It was as if they expected Ragnarok to be happening tomorrow and wanted to make sure they’d slaughtered everyone they could before it got apocalyptic. There was no helpful Librarian-in-Residence on that world. There were barely any libraries. And there were plenty of Fae. Worse than cockroaches. I worked as a travelling bard and storyteller, and recycled classic stories while trying to entertain over-muscled drunks in taverns. If you happen to visit that world and run across an oral retelling of Captain Nemo fighting Moby Dick while fleeing the French Revolution, now you know why. And the war that did get off the ground was absolutely not my fault. The Fae were involved too, and they were the ones who set off the Gullinbursti Bomb. I was just an unfortunate bystander.
The Light-House by Edgar Allan Poe
Another one that I had trouble getting hold of was Poe’s The Light-House, after the author’s demise. And the version I was after was the completed work, a full novel, unlike the unfinished version found in some worlds. Poe had been quite a famous writer during his lifetime in this world, though he still had problems with drinking and gambling. He’d lived in the American Confederate Empire, as it was called there, and his wife had been a practitioner of the local folk magics. While sorcery worked on that world and was a major subject in universities, most of the Fae in that world were over in Europe, so at least I didn’t have them to worry about. The problem here was that there was supposed to be a cryptogram concealed in the book. It was one of those ‘solve the puzzle and you shall receive my accumulated wealth’ scenarios, which led to copies of the book being very scarce (it had only been published as a limited edition, too). And several secret societies or obsessive treasure-hunters had made finding them even harder. I ended up being chased through the local woods by a large number of magically transformed
killer cats, and having to dive into the lake to avoid them, and then crawling out on the other shore and being mistaken for a drowned ghost … Not one of my more triumphant episodes. And not my favourite way to spend Halloween.
The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants by Shi Yukun
A year later I was sent to acquire a copy of The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants - a transcription of oral performances by the storyteller Shi Yukun. It was one of those books which show up in rather a lot of worlds, but this particular one was unique - it went on for a hundred chapters longer than other versions. The world where the book was based was quite peaceful, which made a nice change. It was ruled by the Chinese Empire, and there wasn’t much magic or much technology, but there was a lot of trade. I had to establish an identity as a foreign student, travel halfway across China by slow train, and get a place at the university at Ch’ang-an in order to have access to the university library. This was where the only known copy of the full original was stored. I then spent a solid three months sneaking in by night and copying the manuscript by hand, and I only had to dodge the guards a few times. It wasn’t a time-sensitive mission, and this way I could leave the original there. It was quite an enjoyable assignment. I even managed to get some studying done. My life isn’t all running around and screaming, you know.
Lady Catherine’s Denial by Jane Austen
Finally, there’s one mission that I remember particularly due to the book itself. I’m not saying that the world wasn’t interesting - it had high technology, moderate chaos levels, cloned dinosaurs, et cetera. But more importantly, this was the only world on record where Jane Austen had gone on to write whodunits. Naturally I was briefed to retrieve the entire set. The hardest to find was her final book, Lady Catherine’s Denial: the manuscript had vanished with Austen’s death. I managed to trace it to the private estate of a mad scientist in Wales. (I’m not saying that all mad scientists read Jane Austen, but a surprising number of the ones that I’ve met do.) Annoyingly, he was the sort who fills his private park with carnivorous cloned dinosaurs to ensure privacy. I had to sneak in via an underground passage, from a disused local coal mine. Even then I was captured and almost ended up as an experimental subject. (Of course I escaped. I’m writing this, aren’t I?) I still have a copy of the book on my own shelves, if you’re interested. It starts with the murder of Lady Catherine de Bourgh …
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