Irene reluctantly turned her mind back to the job. ‘Can you send Evariste a message the Library way?’ she asked. It was possible for the Library to send a message to any Librarian, printing it out on all the written material surrounding them. While it was costly in terms of energy, surely a situation like this warranted the effort. ‘For all we know, he’s a prisoner and being forced into this.’
‘We can, and we will, but he doesn’t have to answer it. Which brings us to the next point on the agenda. How you find him.’
‘I’m really hoping you have some special secret way to do that,’ Irene said resignedly. ‘One that we regular Librarians don’t get told about. Because otherwise, trying to find one man in a strange world is going to take time. Even if I look for the nearest draconic disturbance and assume he’s involved.’
‘Fortunately for you, you’re correct.’ Melusine picked up a sheet of blank paper from the desk, then steered her wheelchair across to the far wall and a shelf there, lined with cream-bound volumes. She tapped it in the same way she’d done to the previous one. ‘E, please.’
The books cycled through as the world-access ones had done, but this time Melusine was forced to check several volumes. She finally settled on EU-EW XIV, opening it to a particular page and laying it in her lap. ‘Stand back,’ she advised.
Irene kept her distance, but watched with interest.
Melusine laid the blank piece of paper across the open page of the book. ‘Copy the name of Evariste,’ she said in the Language.
The blank paper literally sizzled, shuddering against the book as if someone was pressing a hot iron against it on the other side. Irene’s own brand seemed to fizz for a moment in sympathy, and Melusine twitched her shoulders as if she was feeling the same thing.
‘There,’ Melusine said. She removed the paper, and closed the book and re-shelved it. She offered Irene the paper, which was now marked with a full Library brand – Evariste’s name in the centre, in the Language, surrounded by the usual Library cartouche.
Irene took the paper carefully, examining it. Rumour had it that if you examined the surrounding markings in a Library brand closely enough, such as with an incredibly high-powered microscope, you would find that they were composed of words from the Language in very small print. It was the sort of thing that might be true. ‘I can use this to find him?’ she asked.
‘The principle of similarity,’ Melusine said. ‘Use the Language with this to locate him – using the symbol to scry for him on a map, employing directional pointers, the usual sort of thing. He’s been off our radar for nearly a month now, so he might be anywhere in that world.’
Irene nodded. ‘I have another question while I’m here, if you don’t mind.’
‘Oh, ask, ask,’ Melusine said. ‘Don’t be so polite. I’m interested in getting the job done.’
Irene was fairly sure that if she stopped being polite, Melusine would be significantly displeased. But that was one of the perks of being higher-ranking: you could tell your juniors to cut back on the courtesy, while simultaneously being offended if you felt they were being too rude. A win–win situation, for the people on top. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘As I understand it, dragons can trace people to a particular world. And if they follow them to that world, then they may end up emerging right on top of where they are in that world. Is there any way that I can stop dragons finding me that way? Jin Zhi could try following me, and I’d rather not have her in my general neighbourhood, let alone closer.’
‘Library wards,’ Melusine said briefly. On seeing Irene’s blank look, she explained. ‘The usual Library wards that you’d put up if you were trying to avoid Fae interference – get inside a large collection of books and invoke the Library’s presence. That’ll keep dragons from tracking you as well, so long as you stay inside. And speaking of dragons finding you, try to avoid it. Ideally you’ll be in and out without them knowing you’re there. Keep Kai away from them, too. If you get him involved in this political situation, and we have to explain it to his family—’
‘You don’t have to tell me,’ Irene said. ‘I’ll need to take the blame.’
Melusine nodded, a little reluctantly. ‘I’m afraid so. We can hide you, if you get back here safely. But you wouldn’t be able to leave here for a few centuries, until they’d given up looking for you.’
So it wouldn’t be just Irene’s career at stake, but her personal life too – her friends, Vale, Kai, the world she’d grown used to living in . . . ‘Then it’s a good thing I’m planning not to get caught,’ she said, forcing optimism into her voice. ‘Or lying about my identity, if I do. Now, you said the previous Librarian who went to A-658 on official business left an emergency cache behind?’
‘Yes, and I was going to give you the details.’ Melusine glanced at one screen, scrawled down an address and a number and passed it to Irene. ‘Stop in at Wardrobe after you leave here, and pick up some appropriate clothing for Jazz Age America – suits, short skirts, guns, whatever. The Traverse to that world comes out in the Boston Public Library in America, so that’s where you’ll be arriving. It shifted there in 1875. Used to be to the Escorial Library in Spain. When Gassire was there, he left a stash of local money and identity papers at the Northern Bank in Boston. Here’s the bank address, that’s the safe-deposit box number, and I’m sure you won’t have any problems getting access. Assuming that Evariste hasn’t already emptied the safe-deposit box, I suppose, in which case you’re on your own. You can track Evariste from there. The Journey to the West is a Chinese text, so I suppose he may be in China. Good thing that world has planes. We haven’t time for you to take a slow boat. Any remaining questions? Your student will be waiting.’
‘Just one.’ Irene didn’t want to ask it, but she couldn’t avoid it any longer. ‘What do I do if Evariste is cooperating with the dragons?’
The faint traces of camaraderie, such as they were, drained out of Melusine’s face. ‘That can’t be permitted. You’re to bring him back here to answer questions, by whatever means you find necessary. Unless there’s a watertight explanation for his actions, he may be facing far worse than simply suspension or probation. You understand how serious this is?’ She waited for Irene’s nod. ‘We cannot afford to look as if the Library is playing politics. We can’t even let that rumour get started. You were right: this could be fatal to all the Librarians currently out working in their worlds, and to the Library itself. Evariste may be an innocent dupe, he may have been deceived or threatened into this, but ultimately that’s not important. You need to pull him out of there now and close the situation down. Whatever it takes.’
Irene nodded. ‘Understood.’
And she knew that she might just have agreed to his death sentence.