Daniel snorted. “Pretty much. I’ll wash my hands when I’m done. Don’t worry.”
“Sweet.” Leon stepped back, raising a hand awkwardly. “Um. Well. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thanks,” Daniel whispered. “I’ll be back soon.”
Leon nodded once, already backpedaling. His gaze met Daniel’s for a moment—and then he turned, trudging back toward the book-stacked table.
Leon was giving him space, Daniel knew. And he appreciated that. Being in this room already sent chills down his spine, leaving a sick feeling in his gut. Having Leon standing there observing would just make it worse. He needed to be focused and get this business done, not stand around on the edge of panicking.
So get it done. He swallowed, tearing his eyes off the filth-coated room, and squared off against the nearest bookshelf.
“Madis,” he whispered, stepping close enough to run his fingers along the spines. “You’ve got to be here somewhere.”
The books out in the rest of the hidden library were by and large thin, ranging from children’s novels to pamphlets with an occasional thicker tome mixed in. These books, though...Daniel licked his lips, his eyes tightening. Each one might as well be an encyclopedia, thick and heavy enough lifting them would take some doing. They were marked out in sets, unified by the names on their spines.
Just like the Librarian’s journals, Daniel realized. His eyes widened faintly. If he ignored the devastation around him and just looked at the books...he might as well be back in his own quarters, looking at the stories of Librarians long gone.
And they were alphabetized. He nodded, allowing himself a tiny smile. “Okay,” he whispered, allowing his eyes to flit past a Dagrún and an Ermo. “I can handle this much.”
He squatted, following the alphabet downward, then shifted sideway to a second bookshelf. His lips shaped out each unfamiliar, ancient-sounding name, until-
“Madis,” he said softly. His hand came to rest on the first doorstop-sized book of the set. “Found you.”
Now what? He chewed on his lip, still staring at the books. What next? Where should he start?
He needed to know what he was dealing with. That was the first and most important task. With a final nod, he grabbed the book with fingers that were only-slightly shaking, pulling it out into his grasp. A chain rattled from its spine, pulling out along with the text.
The cover fell open before him. He took the first page, hesitating for a moment as his fingertips hit the paper. Each was wafer-thin, filling him with the feeling that he’d rip the whole page in half with a wrong move. “You’ll fix the book if I rip it, won’t you, Alex?” he murmured, starting to turn.
Again, she didn’t reply. That didn’t seem like a good sign. She was still mad at him?
Whatever. He clamped down on the twinge of unease building in his chest, focusing in on the first pages of the book.
Madis
That was all—no last name. “Odd,” Daniel whispered, frowning. His eyes dropped to the next line. It was smaller, and looked as hand-scripted as the rest, but somehow, the two words there carried a reverence he couldn’t quite place.
The Rekindler
“Rekindler?” Daniel murmured, his frown deepening. “Is that some sort of title?” He flipped through the first pages, but the entries there were full of strange people and strange places, things that seemed to have little or nothing to do with the task at hand.
Biting back a hiss, he closed the book again, sliding it back into its slot on the shelf. “That’s the first one,” he said, more to steady himself than anything. “Then let’s…”
Shuffling sideways, his hand drifted to the last one—and the thinnest. That seemed like a good guess. He drew it out, ignoring the screech of the chain, and started to paw through.
Martin was supposed to handle the recruitment. He assured me he could handle it. We need to find new scholars to help us continue the research efforts, on top of new demis to keep it away from everyone else’s hands. We need a proper hider soon, too, or else the primes are going to eat us alive. I shouldn’t have left it to him. He’s too young. I should’ve-
Journal entries. Daniel let a sigh hiss out between his teeth, turning through the pages. Just like Indira’s book, and the others he’d flipped through. There was no telling if they’d ever actually written these entries, or if Alexandria had simply chosen this format to condense the information out of their minds. It didn’t really matter in the end, he supposed.
But he wasn’t interested in their recruitment problems, either. Grabbing chunks of the pages, he started flipping faster, searching for anything that looked familiar.
Rickard has progressed well over the last year. I’ve brought him into the inner circle. Karin says I should give him a relic, make him a proper demi, but I can’t help but feel that’s a mistake. This body isn’t as young as it once was. It’s time I started to think about the next inheritance, and a man like Rickard is passionate. Driven. He’ll-
No. His heart had leapt at the glimpse of the name, but it wasn’t what he needed. His fingers turned to the next delicate page, returning to the search. The sound of paper brushing against paper filled his ears, overloud in the eerie quiet of the filthy room.
Another week with no forward progress. I know I’m not wrong in this. She’s wily, but I’m no fool either. Her people have dwelled in the northeast as long as these states have existed. If I can find one of her goons, I can follow the trail right back to her. If we could secure a blood demi for our studies, it would change everything. Absolutely everything. Such a treasure trove of information...but she’s slippery. Every time I think we’re closing on her underlings, she-
No.
