The Lost Plot

by Genevieve Cogman

  One part of Irene was all horrified sympathy. But as she nodded and agreed, the other part of her, the colder part, could guess what was coming next. This is why it’s dangerous for Librarians to have families. It makes us vulnerable. It leaves us open to pressure.

  “That’s what Qing Song’s holding over you, isn’t it?” she asked. “He has your daughter.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “Yeah.” Evariste glared at Irene now, his shoulders hunched defiantly. “That’s what it comes down to. He has my daughter. He and his men came to talk to Julian—like I said, they’d done deals with him before. Qing Song figured Julian would help him out again. But when they arrived, they found he’d died.”

  “The timing on that is rather coincidental,” Irene said. Had Julian tried to refuse Qing Song’s request? An old Librarian, threatened and alone, who already had a heart condition . . . could Qing Song’s pressure have prompted that final heart attack?

  But Evariste just shrugged, apparently less suspicious than Irene. “Qing Song must have really been cursing his luck on that one. But they went through his papers, saw my letters, and knew I was going to visit. And they found this letter too, the one about my daughter. Qing Song admitted he’d read it. One of his people had gone to Anita’s family, pretended to be Miranda’s father, and taken her away. I don’t know how he did it, but he convinced them. But he’s holding Miranda now, and I don’t even know where he’s keeping her. I’ve spoken to the family, I’ve seen a photo of her—Miranda’s real, it’s not some sort of hoax. He has my daughter. And if I don’t find the book, he will have her killed. I had to play along till I knew where to find the book—so I had something to bargain with. What choice did I have?”

  “He wouldn’t hurt her,” Kai said firmly. “Not an innocent child.” But his face was troubled.

  “It’s his future at stake,” Evariste countered, his voice acid with bitterness. “He might regret it, but that’s not going to stop him. It’s a matter of the greater good, as he sees it: for him, for his family, for his court. And what’s one human being’s life against that?”

  Irene nodded. She felt very cold. It was easy to imagine someone trying to put that sort of pressure on her own parents, to get to her. Even if she was adopted, even if they’d been lying about that throughout her life . . . They’d have tried to save her too.

  She held up a hand to stop Kai from protesting. “It’s Qing Song’s life at stake as well,” she said to Evariste. “He wouldn’t have told you the full details, but there’s a competition going on for a high-ranking post between him and another dragon. The loser isn’t going to survive. And even if you did what he wanted and he returned Miranda, that sort of arrangement would come back to haunt you. You’d never be free of him.”

  “Yeah, I worked that out.” Evariste stared at the wall as though he was visualizing possible futures, and all of them bad. “It’d just be the first small favour of a long, long list. And Miranda would never be safe outside the Library, because anyone who wanted to put pressure on me . . .”

  He turned back to Irene and Kai, his hands extended as if he wanted them to understand.

  “So anyhow. I said yes. I figured I’d work out how to fix things later. I thought that if I could get the book, then I could set my own terms. And I’ll be honest with you, I was kind of panicking. I was afraid if the Library knew about it, they’d put me under house arrest right away, even if it meant Miranda—” Evariste broke off. When he spoke again, his head was bowed as though he’d already given up. “I reported in. I said Julian had had a heart attack. I asked for compassionate leave to tidy things up. Qing Song said this would be over in a few weeks, so I figured that was long enough. I went back to G-14, and Qing Song and Hu took me between worlds to here. That was freaky.”

  “So he just left you here to do the research?” Kai asked.

  “Kind of.” Evariste shrugged. “I’ve had people watching me most of the time. Qing Song, or Hu, or one of his human goons. The only time I left was to visit the Library for research. The Traverse from this world, it’s in Boston . . . But I guess you’d know that, since you’re here now.”

  “It’s been blown up.” Irene could hear the flatness in her own voice as she struggled for control. It was still hard to remember the utter ruin of that library. “I’m fairly sure Hu was behind it, though I’m not entirely sure why.”

  Evariste lowered his head into his hands. “That’s my fault,” he said, his voice muffled. “Oh shit, that’s my fault too.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I told them that was where the Library could access this world. I thought that if I told them that, it’d keep their attention there and it’d give me a better chance of escaping. And maybe they wouldn’t watch other libraries so closely. When I went on the run, they must have thought that’d stop me leaving this world—”

  “Tell me one thing,” Kai interrupted. “Why are we here in America? Why aren’t you looking for the book in China?”

  “I lied.” Evariste didn’t look up. “I know America—even if it’s not this America. I don’t know China. I had a plan. But I needed to make sure I’d have the chance to run when the right moment came. So I found a reference to a copy of the book right here, and I fed them that. They’d already run into problems trying to find the book in China. Plus Qing Song said that someone else was looking for the book there too. That must be the other dragon who’s competing, right? I’d send them flowers and good-luck wishes, if I had the chance. So Qing Song was only too glad to go somewhere else to find a copy. I said I just needed a little longer to locate exactly where it was. Then a few days ago I skipped out on my guard. I figured if I got hold of the book myself, I could bargain from a position of power. Get Miranda back, get them to promise never to come anywhere near me again. But they were on my tail before I had the chance to grab the book. They’ve been searching the city. And I was afraid that the moment I stepped out of my rooms for more than a few minutes, they’d grab me. But I can’t stop thinking about Miranda. I didn’t know whether to give myself up or run for the Library and beg for help—or what to do. And then you show up.” He made it sound as if Irene and Kai weren’t much of an improvement on Qing Song.

  “We arrived about ten minutes before Qing Song did,” Irene pointed out. “Even if you’d gone out the back window the moment you heard his wolves, how do you think things would have turned out?”

  Evariste’s shoulders slumped. He looked sick. “So what happens now?” he asked bluntly.

  And that was the million-dollar question.

  “We need to think,” Irene said firmly. “And we don’t have much time before someone catches us. Kai, would you mind stepping downstairs to see if you can spot any watchers? And Jeanette Smith might still be in the news—so pick up a newspaper while you’re out.”

  Kai frowned but nodded, coming smoothly to his feet. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said, closing the door behind him.

  “Did you really send him out for a paper?” Evariste demanded.

  “Kai’s not a sworn Librarian—at least, not yet—and I am. And I don’t have any second loyalties. So if there’s something you want to tell me that you didn’t want Kai to hear, this is the time to do it.”

  “Actually, yeah,” Evariste said slowly. “There is something.”

  Irene nodded. “I’m listening.”

  He moved without warning, and his fist took her squarely in the stomach. As she folded over, gasping for breath, he made a break for the door.

  But while Irene was surprised by his speed, she’d been expecting his bid for freedom. It didn’t take an FBI agent to realise that Evariste might want to handle things himself.

  She tumbled to the floor, sweeping her leg round in a wide kick, which took him at the ankles. He went down with a thud, face-first, and she threw herself on top of him. She hooked her arm round his throat and dragged his head back, bracing her
knee in the small of his back as she choked him. “Tap the ground if you surrender,” she grunted, her own breath still coming with difficulty.

  Evariste struggled underneath her, clawing at her arm across his neck. His breathing rattled harshly in his throat as he fought for air, unable to form words, let alone the Language.

  Irene gritted her teeth and held on. “Tap the floor. Surrender. Or I swear I’ll choke you unconscious and have Kai carry you back to the Library here and now. But if you work with me, then I’ll try to help you.”

  Common sense urged her to tighten her grip until Evariste was unconscious. He was compromised, and the choices he’d made had put the Library in danger. The safest thing to do would be to take him back to the Library via the nearest big collection of books.

  The safest thing, perhaps, but not the right thing. What about the very real threat to his daughter’s life? She could imagine the Library taking Evariste in, protecting him, but leaving his daughter to take her chances. One child’s life, against the Library’s safety? Older Librarians might consider it a regrettable but necessary sacrifice. And Evariste had been victimized, betrayed, and used. He was another Librarian—in many ways her brother, by choice and by oath. She could take the safe option. Or she could take a risk.

  She’d been ordered to bring Evariste in. She’d be risking her place in the Library if she defied those orders. Melusine had outright warned her that she’d take the blame if the Library needed a scapegoat. She’d be putting the Library itself in danger—all for the sake of one little human girl who might already be dead. This was not the sort of thing that a sensible, competent, loyal agent did.

  She didn’t want to have to make this decision. She couldn’t endanger the Library. But she wasn’t sure she could live with herself if she left Miranda to die.

  And yet . . . family ties might be the key to this whole business. Qing Song had a family too, and that might be the lever that could reverse the whole situation.

  Irene had to make a decision, and she had to do it now.

  She thought for a moment that Evariste was going to fight to the end. But then his fingers weakened, losing their grip on her arm. His right hand slapped against the cheap carpet.

  Irene slackened her grip a little, enough that he could breathe. “Give me a pledge in the Language that I can trust you,” she said coldly. “I won’t give you another chance.”

  Evariste’s breath came in rough, hissing gasps as he filled his lungs. He was silent, and Irene wondered what he was thinking: whether he was willing to accept her terms, or whether he was trying to think of some way round them, another method of escape. Finally he said, “If you will swear not to give me to the dragons and to help me get my daughter back safely, then I will cooperate with you in this place freely and fully, to the best of my abilities.”

  Irene considered his words. The freely and fully, to the best of my abilities were probably as good as she was going to get. Now she had to give a counter-pledge and not compromise herself too far. “I swear to do my best to help you remain free from the dragons and save your daughter’s life, but with the understanding that my duty to the Library comes above all other oaths. Will that suffice?”

  “I accept,” Evariste said with a sigh, his voice barely audible. “There. You can let me up now.”

  “We’d better tidy up before Kai gets back,” Irene said, releasing her grip on his neck and rising to her feet. “We’ll need to move, once he returns.”

  “What is it with you and him?” Evariste demanded. He sat up, prodding his throat uncomfortably. “You do know you can’t trust them, don’t you?”

  “I notice you’re not saying that while he’s in the room.”

  “That’s because I’m not stupid.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Irene straightened her clothing. “Every now and again a young dragon is apprenticed to the Library. None of them ever take the final vows . . .” Her throat tightened, and she forced herself to continue the sentence, to say out loud what she’d been suspecting for a while now. “And I don’t think that Kai will either. He isn’t going to leave his family behind.”

  It’s only a matter of time before I lose him, she thought. And I’m compromised too, just like you, because I care about him. But family blood rules dragons—and that might be the key we need.

  “But why does the Library allow it?”

  “I don’t know,” Irene admitted. “I can make a few guesses. Even if we don’t have a formal alliance with the dragons, we are generally on better terms with them than with the Fae. Or more cynically, maybe it’s to keep the dragons thinking they know what we’re up to, by letting a few in at a very shallow level.” She turned to look at Evariste. “But if you want proof of Kai in particular, then believe me when I say that he helped me stop Alberich, at great personal risk to himself.”

  “Yeah, I can see he’s the hands-on type.” Evariste sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “All right, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Just don’t go thinking they’re all like him, okay? Qing Song’s bad news. And even if Hu’s more friendly about it, he’s still dangerous.”

  “Oh, I believe that,” Irene said drily. “But getting back to business, is there anything you want to tell me before Kai gets back? Librarian to Librarian?”

  Evariste shook his head. “It wasn’t easy, but I’ve told you everything.”

  They both jumped as the door’s handle turned. Before panic could set in, Kai entered, a folded newspaper tucked under his arm. “There’s no immediate threat, but it’s time to get moving. And here’s part of the reason why.” He offered Irene the paper. It was already folded open to a particular article, and her jaw dropped as she read it.

  “What is it?” Evariste asked.

  “It has to do with how we arrived in New York.” Kai was clearly enjoying himself. “Irene used the Language to convince the police chief she was really an FBI agent, but it wore off shortly after we left. And Captain Venner ended up giving an interview to a newspaper reporter, where he had to explain why he let us go.”

  “You can now add ‘master hypnotist’ to my list of titles,” Irene muttered. “To go with ‘mob boss.’ I had no idea Captain Venner was such a gifted raconteur.”

  “I liked the bit about how you fixed him with your glittering eyes and he found himself helpless to move in his chair.”

  “Did you memorize this whole article?” Irene said with some annoyance.

  “Only the good bits.” Kai leaned against the door. “He had to rationalize things somehow, Irene. Try to be sympathetic to the poor man. How else could he explain what he saw?”

  “You aren’t the one being described as having a brow like Shakespeare and a deep serpentine gaze like Satan . . .” Irene pulled herself together. This was getting off track. “Very well. Add one more item to the list of problems I’ll have if the police catch up with me.”

  “Right,” Kai said, “and that’s the other part of why we need to move now. I think this place is being watched. A couple of men in plainclothes out front. We need to clear out before they can bring in reinforcements.”

  Irene nodded. “Let’s move this elsewhere. Evariste, you’ve been in town longer than us—where can we continue this conversation?”

  • • •

  The closest “where” turned out to be a deli nearby, patronized by students, the less well-off, and people who wanted to drink coffee rather than alcohol. The high student concentration meant that the racial mix of Irene, Evariste, and Kai was less obvious than it might have been elsewhere. And the lack of alcohol probably meant fewer gangsters. They annexed a corner table with a good view of the door and sat down to plan.

  Irene had been thinking. “Several thoughts,” she said, “in no particular order. Evariste, Qing Song is in just as deep trouble as you are. Possibly even deeper.”

  She turned to Kai. “Kai, if someone in your fathe
r’s court was found trying to force Librarians to help him, by kidnapping their dependents . . . what would happen to that person?”

  “Public disgrace and loss of office,” Kai said without hesitation. “Possibly even death or banishment, depending on his or her rank. Even if we don’t have a formal alliance, that’s unsanctioned behaviour. My father and his ministers wouldn’t endorse such conduct. It’d be a declaration of hostilities in itself.”

  “Yes, but Qing Song said—” Evariste started. Then he stopped, as if realizing how far he’d been duped. “You mean he’s just as incriminated as I am,” he said slowly.

  “Exactly,” Irene said. “Whatever Julian’s relationship with him or his family was, Qing Song badly overstepped the line in taking your daughter hostage. And now that he’s lost track of you, not only has he lost his big chance to get hold of the book, but there’s a witness on the loose who can make things politically dangerous for him. Possibly fatally so. The Queen of the Southern Lands isn’t going to want a subordinate who causes this sort of mess. Most of all, by acting like this, Qing Song’s endangered his family.”

  “You mean other dragons would actually care what he’s done?” Evariste said cynically.

  But Kai had sat back in his chair at her final words, as though she’d gut-punched him. “They’d care,” he said quietly. “They’d care very much indeed. This isn’t some kind of petty gamble between two individuals. This is a challenge where both participants have been supported by their clans. If Qing Song has done what he did—unprovoked, against the servant of a neutral power—and his clan is incriminated, then all of them risk disgrace. The queen would enforce it. He was a fool to do it.”