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 sighed, 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 and 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 plain clothes 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?’