Boundaries. A half-plausible thought moved through the back of her mind. She wished she’d had more time to ask Kai about his capabilities. When he warded an area, did the warding simply follow the track that he left? Or was it a more metaphysical sort of thing, with the boundaries of his warding being linked to whatever he intended to ward?
‘Let’s reduce the potential hostages,’ she said briskly, ignoring Kai’s intake of breath from behind her. If this was going to work, she needed him outside and free to act. ‘I’m the one you want. As you said, I’m Kai’s superior. Having him stand here and maybe lose his temper won’t help either of us.’ She tried to look gullible. Impressionable. As if she believed Alberich when he said she might survive this. ‘You’ve already got one hostage, and you know I’m concerned about his well-being. If I wasn’t, we’d already be attacking or running away. Let’s clear the ground. Let Kai here go as a start to the negotiations.’
Alberich surveyed her thoughtfully, and again there was that flash of hunger in his eyes. ‘It’s true that my questions concern you, not him,’ he said slowly. ‘And he’s no initiate. I needn’t fear him trying to open a door to the Library behind my back. Very well. I’ll be reasonable. In return for a similar concession from you.’
Irene remembered to breathe. ‘Such as?’ she said.
‘Your birth name,’ Alberich said quickly, and she realized this had been his plan all along.
Magic had never been Irene’s field of expertise. It still wasn’t. But she didn’t need to be an expert to know that Alberich’s Fae magic, with knowledge of her true name, could be very bad news for her.
‘Hah!’ Kai said. She suspected he was sneering.
Irene nodded to Alberich, then turned to Kai. As she had thought, he was sneering. ‘Kai,’ she said. ‘I want you to do something very straightforward for me. I want you to go outside and stay outside. I don’t want you setting one foot inside this library.’ How to convey to him I want you to set up that warding you talked about and do it as fast as possible? ‘I’ll handle this.’
Kai blinked at her, totally blindsided. ‘But—’ he started.
‘But me no buts,’ Irene snapped. ‘It’s as Alberich said. You’re not a Librarian and there’s nothing you can do in this situation. You don’t have the Language and you can’t fight him. I’m not going to endanger yet another person. Now are you going to obey my orders and get out,’ she could hear her voice rising, ‘or am I going to have to worry about you as well as Vale here?’
Kai gave her a long stare. It felt like a reproach. It was a reproach. She didn’t want to do this to him, but Alberich wasn’t stupid. The slightest hint of collusion would get Vale killed, and she could only hope that Kai understood that. ‘You know perfectly well there’s nothing I can do if I’m outside these walls,’ he said. Could he have grasped what she wanted? ‘I’m supposed to be your colleague, not your brain-damaged dependent! At least let me stay nearby.’
‘It’s all one to me,’ Alberich said blandly.
Irene jerked her thumb at the door. ‘These are your orders, Kai. Out, and stay outside, and I don’t want to see your face until we’re done.’ She glanced up at the window for a moment. ‘And don’t get any ideas about flying around on the zeppelins.’
Kai’s eyes narrowed fractionally, and she could only hope that he’d grasped the idea. ‘Don’t think I’m happy about this,’ he said, shoulders slumping to the very angle of their first meeting. It had looked better in a leather jacket.
Irene nodded and turned back to Alberich. ‘The door, please.’
‘Your name, please,’ he said, with the same intonation that she had just used.
‘I give you my word that I will give you my birth name the moment Kai stands safely outside that closed door,’ Irene said in the Language.
‘Neat,’ Alberich commented. ‘You think quickly. Room door, open.’
The door swung open, squashing silverfish in its wake, and thudded against the wall. There was nobody in the room beyond – at least, there was nobody alive. Just the huddled mounds of the few unfortunate bodies caught in the silverfish attack. Irene hoped queasily that they were just unconscious, overcome by ultrasonic waves or something like that. She couldn’t handle more deaths.
‘If you hurt her,’ Kai said softly, ‘I swear by my father and his brothers, and by the bones of my grandfathers, that you shall pay for this.’
Alberich regarded him thoughtfully. ‘What a curious way of putting it. I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before . . . oh, never mind, I daresay I can dissect you later if it’s absolutely necessary. Out of here now, before I change my mind.’
Irene didn’t say anything, in case Alberich did change his mind. She gestured Kai towards the door, and wondered how long it would take him to set up a barrier. And also how long she had before Alberich was finished with her.
Kai hunched his shoulders angrily and stalked out of the office.