“The Library wasn’t always outside of time. It was in Egypt.”
“Correct. But it was only an ordinary library then. An extraordinary one, I should say. But not like it is now.”
“How did it burn? And how did it end up in the void?”
“Well, this was long after Isis and her troubles with her husband, you understand. Thoth was the god of knowledge and scribes and so forth. Seshat was the goddess of wisdom and writing. She was his daughter. She was his wife. It’s best not to think too closely about those things when it comes to the Egyptians. But they were like peas in a pod, to use one of your human phrases.
“Being what they were, they loved the private document collections and the homes and places where scholars met. When the humans built the library in Alexandria, some of the priests asked for Seshat’s blessing. Naturally, she gave it. She was, in a sense, the librarian of the place. She knew every jot and curve of every word of every scroll. But then there was the fire and the place burned.”
He took his seat again, and Hazel waited for him to continue.
“I don’t know what started the fire, but Seshat wouldn’t leave her beloved library. Presumably, she tried to extinguish the flames. Thoth went in to get her out, but she died. Her loss drove him mad.”
“How did the Library end up in the void?”
“I don’t know. But somehow it did. On this side, the place was destroyed, but in the void, the Library still existed. With time, I suppose they’ve added onto it. I know people visit there still.”
“How do I get inside?”
“You have to be a renowned scholar with various recorded accomplishments, an impeccable reputation and the necessary personal connections.”
“But what about someone like me? Or Astrid? What about ordinary people?”
“No. Not even Astrid, rare as she is, would be admitted.”
“We have a friend, a cat, who studied with monks in Ireland. She’s a scholar.”
“If she had the ability to go to the Library, she would know. It would never be something unexpected to her,” said Yelbeghen.
“I see. How do the scholars get in? Where’s the entrance?”
“Planning on storming the gates? The entrance moves, and I have no idea who guards it or who determines where it appears. For all I know, it’s the Librarian himself. Though how he manages it in his insane state, I could not guess.”
“With the time machine and a Door, we might be able to get inside.”
“Unlikely,” said Yelbeghen. “And if you did, you couldn’t get back out. And if you did manage to escape with your lives, you’d be as mad as the Librarian himself.”
“What about when it was on this side? When it was still part of this world? There had to be a moment, when it was still burning, but not in the void yet. We could use our time machine, get there, go inside the ordinary human library, then ride it into the void and find Elliot. Maybe we could even find whatever we need to help Neil.”
“An interesting idea.”
“How would the gods look, if I met them?”
“Just as you and I do. Well, perhaps they’d be a little more beautiful than we two are. You were not gifted with beauty, and I do not look quite as human as I might.”
“All right,” she said, choosing not to respond to his insult. “So Thoth was an ibis or human, and what was Seshat?”
“Just a woman, but I don’t know. As far as I know, she’s dead. Even if she survived, I wouldn’t seek her out if I were you. Wherever she is, Thoth will be also. You want to avoid him.”
“Why aren’t you trying to talk me out of this?”
“Because I hope you go,” he said.
“And Astrid?”
“I’d like her to stay, naturally.”
“Why do you care if I go or not? Would my death and the death of my companions amuse you?”
“Not at all. You seem to misunderstand me. I do not love death and destruction. Those of my kind who were brutal and violent are no longer in this world. You do not like my collections, but I know you have toured the grounds. You have seen rare things, animals and other beings who would be out of place in the ordinary world. They have no other place to go. This place is as much a sanctuary as a home.”
“Right. And slave owners used to tell the abolitionists how happy their charges were.”
“If you insist on misunderstanding me, then I cannot say anything to convince you.”
“You haven’t answered my question. Why would you want us to go?”
“I have learned about the ship you captain. If you die, you leave Skidbladnir behind.”
“In the event of my death, the ship goes to Mr. Escobar. I’ve made arrangements.”
“Still, he’s a monkey. They all are.”
“How do you know about my crew?”
“I make it my business to know about any interesting items I may wish to acquire.”
“Well, the ship would belong to him, and there’s nothing you could do to take it.”
“He has family and there are islands that his people might like. Lush, remote ones with more fruit than their little fuzzy bellies could hold.”
“Well, we’re not intending on dying. So you’ll have to resign yourself to disappointment. If we can get into the Library right when it burns, we could get Elliot and get out.”
“And what about your friend who is not your husband?”
“We have a good number of people, some who are very good at infiltrating difficult places and finding lost things.”
“You speak of the raven and the cat.”
“Don’t tell me you know about them because you want to acquire them.”
“I would not object if they wanted to live here, but from what I understand, they are happy out in the ordinary world. I would not take them unless they were willing. Now, tell me more about your ship.”
Chapter 40
“Have you informed your masters that the deal is off?” Yelbeghen asked Astrid over dinner. They were the only two eating, as everyone else had opted to eat in their rooms. Astrid didn’t blame them. Hazel simply wanted to leave and was looking forward to the return of Skidbladnir while the triplets were keeping to themselves.
“The Seelie aren’t my masters,” Astrid said.
“They force you do to what you do not wish to do.”
“Most of life is doing what you don’t wish to do,” said Astrid. “School, work, supernatural bargains. You might get a bad hand, but you play the hand you’re dealt.”
“An interesting way of seeing it. You know, if you were under my protection, they could not ask anything of you.”
“And if I was under your protection, I’d have to live here as a captive, like the Seelie girl they’re trying to get back.”
“Did the Seelie make any counteroffer?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “They just said that I was supposed to negotiate with you. But unless you can think of something you want, something I could provide, then I have nothing to offer.”
“You underestimate yourself, Astrid. You have much to offer.”
His look made her stomach flutter, but it also made her interior alarm bells go off.
“Just tell me what you would take in exchange for freeing the Seelie girl,” she said. “Then I’ll talk to the Seelie and see if they can provide it.”
“You.”
He touched her hand and she jerked it away.
“You mean for me to take her place?”
“Ideally, yes.”
She had been through something similar before. She had taken Sister’s place to allow the girl to be freed. And now, she could take the Seelie girl’s place to ensure Sister’s safety from the Seelie. On one hand, it would work and Sister would be safe. On the other,
what else could they threaten her with? If she was willing to give herself up every time someone threatened a person she cared about, she’d never have a free day or even a free moment. Every being who knew what she was could threaten to harm Sister, Elliot or her other family or even the members of the Time Corps. And then they could have her do whatever they wished. She’d be a puppet on a string forever.
“No deal,” she said. “I’m not for sale.”
“I don’t mean for sale. Merely a choice, a free choice on your part.”
“I don’t understand why you’re fascinated with me. I’m not the only psychopomp in the world.”
“No, but an Unseelie born psychopomp, and a virgin to boot?”
She was horrified that he knew this detail of her life. How had he figured it out? Was it a look, a scent, some other indefinable thing that only beings like him could detect?
He had touched her hand. That must be it. It was the only way. He had not known about Briar before he had taken the three girls to that room. He must have touched each of them and figured it out.
“This obsession with virginity is strange,” she said. “You know that, right?”
He shrugged. “Your inability to place value on it is just as perplexing to me.”
“And I suppose if I agreed, you wouldn’t be interested in changing my virginal state, right?”
“Not unless you wanted to. I would not object.”
“That’s terrible. Why do that with me, but not to the Seelie triplets?”
“It’s different with you. You’re a Door.”
As if that explained anything. What, did he think she’d perform some Door magic during sex? Maybe she could send them both into the void. She wondered if drakes could survive there.
“I can’t,” she said. “For one, I have psychopomp duties to perform. I’d have to leave at a moment’s notice. And secondly, I am starting art school soon.”
How simple and human that sounded. Art school. New York. Scholarships and an apartment. Drinking coffee and studying. Here she was, a being who could travel between worlds, and she was clinging onto a life of a mundane human woman.
“You could still do those things, as long as you returned to me.”
The dining room was empty, and he was surrounded only by beings that either needed him for a safe place to live, like the strange wildlife, or were forced here, like the Seelie girl and the triplets. She studied him as he poured himself more wine, and again she felt that little tug inside. What was it he had said about them being alike?
“I can’t,” she said. “I won’t be anyone’s property again. If you had ever experienced it, you wouldn’t ask it of anyone.”
“Tell me.”
She did. She told him about her time in the Unseelie world as a servant, but unlike other servants with no chance of escape, she had always maintained hope.
“It was only because I was a Door that I knew I’d get out some day.”
Her phone dinged, and she glanced at it. Gerard had sent her a text.
“They have Sister!” she said. “The Seelie took her, as insurance for me to get the Seelie girl back.”
Her phone rang. It was Gerard.
“If you harm a hair on her head, so help me, you will pay,” Astrid said before the little centaur could say a word.
“She’s fine! She hasn’t been harmed. She’s safe in your old house in the Seelie world.”
“And you better not be giving her anything to eat. She’s human born.”
Though Sister had eaten in the Unseelie world and escaped, she had never been in the Seelie lands. Eating anything might trap her there.
“Nothing, not a bite,” said Gerard.
“How do you know? You’re calling me from the human world. You can’t be with her.”
“Iolanthe is with her.”
“Oh, that makes it all better. She’s worse than you are. You send Sister back right now, or I’m coming there myself and anyone who tries to stop me will find themselves standing on a Door that drops into the void.”
She could only imagine how frightened Sister was. After enslavement and years of torment, the poor thing was probably having an emotional breakdown. All her progress, all her struggle to fit into the human world, were now up in smoke.
“Listen to me. Astrid,” said Gerard. “She’s only being held as insurance that you’ll finish your task.”
“I was working on the task, I’ll have you know.”
“Yes, but they wanted me to inform you of the extra incentive.”
“You want to talk about incentive? How about this for incentive? Yelbeghen is right next to me, and if you don’t send Sister home this instant, he and I are both going to show up and the Seelie will find what it’s like to choose between freezing in the void or burning alive.”
She glanced at Yelbeghen, who took the napkin from his lap and tossed it onto the table. He tipped his head toward the door, indicating he was ready to go.
“I can’t do anything,” said Gerard. “I’m under orders.”
“Then get your orders changed. You have one hour. Make that half an hour. Human time, not that crazy Seelie time.”
She hung up the phone and found Yelbeghen smiling at her.
“Do we have to wait the entire half hour?” he asked with a gleam of mischief in his eye.
“I wasn’t intending to. I’m going to Seelie right now to get her.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said. “In case you need someone to burn anyone to a cinder.”
“I didn’t mean that. But if they hurt her, you can do what you like. Oh, but you have to stay here. I can’t take anyone through my Doors. It’s not allowed.”
“I can get there myself. But even if I do, how do you plan on getting Sister out without making a Door?”
He was right, but it didn’t matter. Let the psychopomps cry about it. Let the worlds be destabilized.
She made a Door to Luna Park, stepped through, then made another Door, making very, very sure it led to the proper place in the Seelie world.
Her old home was unchanged. The rooms were bright and comfortable and the building was still surrounded by cold iron. It was fortunate that Sister could not speak, as she might have said something when Astrid appeared out of nowhere. Instead she gave a little cry, and then leapt up from her spot nestled in among a pile of cushions on the floor.
“Where’s Iolanthe?” Astrid whispered, and Sister pointed to the next room. Astrid motioned silently for Sister to take her hand, and a moment later, they were in the living room of the Time Corps house.
“Professor!” yelled Astrid.
The man appeared at the top of the stairs, black hair wild and shirt sleeves rolled up.
“Ah, you’re back!” He headed down the stairs.
“Did you know that Sister was taken by the Seelie?”
“What? No. When was that?”
Sister signed, “It has not been long. Only fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“You need to take her somewhere safe,” said Astrid. “Another time maybe. In the past. The Seelie could eventually live long enough to find her in the future. But they can’t go back in time.”
“No!” signed Sister. “I can’t see you there either. I would be alone.”
“If you stay here, the Seelie will use you to get to me. They’ll do it again, and next time, they might not just let you sit in a nice room. Time can pass strangely there, and I might not be able to find you.”
“Hazel has a house in our home world,” said the Professor. “She lives there when she’s older. In the late 1950s, early 1960s. I could take her there.”
“Hazel would be there with you,” said Astrid to Sister. “And you can use the machines to come back to see me whenever you liked.”
Sister looked unsure, but there was no time for delay. Right now, the Seelie were discovering her absence. They could arrive at the house at any moment.
“Go now,” she said to the Professor.
Sister squeezed Astrid in a tight embrace and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll see you again soon,” said Astrid. “This isn’t forever.”
She hoped it was true.
“Come upstairs,” said the Professor. “I already have the coordinates.”
Astrid waited until they were gone. Ten minutes later, the Professor returned in different clothing and with a few days’ worth of beard.
“Hazel is looking after her. Older Hazel, once she retires. Sister is settling in, and though they won’t have the computers and cell phones that you young people like, she’ll be all right.”
“Thank you.”
She knew she ought to go to Mr. Augustus’s office to summon Gerard and inform him in person of what she had done, but if the Seelie wanted her, they knew where she’d be. Besides, she had a feeling that Yelbeghen would take her side if the Seelie decided to punish her. No sense in staying here with vulnerable people when an angry drake was available.
She returned to Yelbeghen’s island, stepping through the Door into the dining room where their food still sat, now cold. The drake ate meat, but had kindly provided her a vegetarian dish. A little breeze blew in from the adjoining room, and Yelbeghen appeared.
“I’ve dealt with the Seelie,” he said. “They will not seek out Sister again and the queen has sent her apologies.”
“The queen? You had an audience with the queen?” Even Astrid had never seen the queen or even the higher court members. She had only dealt with lower-level bureaucrats and errand runners.
“Well, a surprise audience,” said Yelbeghen. “She couldn’t very well refuse me when I showed up in the middle of her throne room.”
“How did you get there? Do you have a secret portal or something here on the island?”
The Time Corps Chronicles (Complete Series) Page 109
