The Burning Page

Li Ming gave Zayanna a sidelong glance. Irene wondered whether the dragon had taken exception to the ‘charming’ comment or intended to cast doubt on Zayanna’s assertions. Probably the first.

‘And I have to go through a library, or another large collection of books,’ Irene said. ‘Which limits what I can do. Now please can we get back to the subject under discussion?’ She realized she was starting to get as emphatic as Zayanna, and moderated her tone. ‘Zayanna, Li Ming, you both clearly know who Alberich is. Do you know anything about his current activities? Or anything else odd – anything at all – that’s going on at the moment?’

Zayanna frowned. ‘Well, there was one rumour I heard, but I was rather hoping it wasn’t true. I had been trying to keep track of Lady Guantes – casually, through the gossip networks – and I heard she’d been talking to Alberich. Then she’d dropped out of general circulation.’

Irene’s throat went dry with something unpleasantly close to fear. ‘You might have mentioned that before,’ she said.

Zayanna shrugged. ‘It’s a rumour, darling. I don’t panic over rumours. If I did, then I’d already be hiding in some backwater little London in a great detective’s sitting room – oh, so sorry.’ She didn’t look remotely apologetic. ‘But you asked. And I can’t verify it. That is what you say, isn’t it? When you’re talking about being a good spy and trying to confirm facts?’

Irene touched Kai’s hand reassuringly. She didn’t look up at his face, but she could feel the tension in him. She couldn’t blame him: if she was honest, that touch had been as much to comfort herself as it had been him. She turned to Li Ming, hoping he’d have something encouraging to contribute.

Li Ming was already shaking his head. ‘Nothing unusual,’ he said. ‘The only oddity at the moment is that some of the regular conflicts have quietened down. One might guess that forces have been withdrawn from known trouble spots, to be deployed elsewhere.’

Vale opened his mouth, possibly to disapprove of guessing on general principles, then shut it thoughtfully. He finally said, ‘How recent is this? Would the timing fit?’

‘The attacks on the Library have only taken place in the last couple of days,’ Irene said. ‘But perhaps Alberich was drawing in his forces beforehand, if he’s using other agents . . . I don’t know.’ She marshalled her thoughts. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘We’ll leave it there for the moment. Thank you both for your comments. Immediate plans – Kai, I’ll need your help. Vale, if you would—’

The door swung open, and everyone turned towards it. Irene couldn’t help noticing that both Vale and Zayanna slid a hand beneath their clothing, clearly demonstrating who was carrying weapons. Are we all feeling nervous? I think we’re all feeling very nervous.

Inspector Singh stood in the doorway, looking a little bewildered to find everyone’s attention focused on him. He was in uniform, but the cuffs of his trousers were thick with yellow dust, and a few grains of it marred the whiteness of his turban. ‘I apologize if this is a consultation in progress, Vale,’ he started.

Vale relaxed, eyeing Singh’s cuffs, his hand sliding back into view. ‘What have you been doing in Houndsditch, Singh?’

‘A matter of some corpses being stolen during a plague-pit excavation,’ Singh said. ‘I don’t like to take you away from anything urgent, but you did say to call by, if something intriguing came up. And there was a message from your sister that it might be connected to the Tapanuli fever investigations. Though those haven’t been made public yet—’

His glance towards Irene and Kai wasn’t particularly friendly. Irene could sympathize to some extent. Her own guilt kept on reminding her how much Vale’s current situation was their fault.

‘Tell me about it,’ Vale said, rising to his feet. He took Singh by the arm, hustling him towards his bedroom. ‘We don’t need to bother the others with this,’ Irene caught him saying, before the door closed behind them.

‘I didn’t know Vale had a sister,’ Kai said, in tones of mild shock. It wasn’t clear whether he was surprised that Vale had never told him about his sister, or by the fact that the sister existed at all.

‘You know he doesn’t talk about his family,’ Irene said. She was desperately curious herself, but her growing sense of urgency insisted that she leave the gossip till later. Besides, it would be bad manners. ‘Zayanna, we may be away for a few days. Will you be safe?’

Zayanna put down her now-empty glass. ‘I think so, darling. I’ll be careful. Are you sure I can’t come with you and help? To your B-1165 world? And why is that folder of yours written in my own language, anyway?’ She saw the incomprehension on Irene’s face. ‘Nahuatl, you’d probably say. The Library isn’t secretly based under my home or something, is it?’

Irene glanced down at the folder. Coppelia had helpfully labelled it with the world’s designation, and since it was in the Language, anyone who wasn’t a Librarian would read it as their own native tongue. ‘Ah. Trade secret,’ she said. ‘It’s the Language. You’re just seeing it as Nahuatl.’

‘That would explain why I’ve been seeing it as Chinese,’ Li Ming noted.

Irene resisted the urge to run her fingers through her hair and scream at the way everyone kept on wandering off-topic. ‘I can’t take you through the Library, Zayanna,’ she said. ‘And I don’t have any other way of getting there. But you can do one thing for me.’