A blood focus. One like we’ve been searching for for so long. I’m certain of it.
But when I asked Madis, when I suggested the possibility, he laughed. He told me that this library focus doesn’t even exist. He shrugged me off.
Madis is wise. I know that. One does not become the Rekindler by accident, and ignorance is utterly impossible after inheriting. So it’s not that I don’t trust that he has a plan. I just...do not understand how he could ignore the possibility of a blood demi passing so close at hand.
So I pressed him. Perhaps I was too forward, but I couldn’t allow this opportunity to slip away. The Bookbinders have worked for too long to miss such a chance. I insisted that we take a serious look at Miss Indira’s information.
And now Madis has assigned me to the task.
I think he intended it as a slight. A punishment, of sorts. Sort of a do-it-yourself message. So be it. If he’s giving me the go-ahead, I’ll use it. He might laugh at me now, but hell. If I manage to bring a blood demi back to the compound before he’s even started to formulate his own plans, that laughter won’t last long.
Miss Indira gave me the addresses for this blood demi’s companions. They’re in an area filled with mundanes, the finders say. Not a demi in sight. There’s some travel involved, but if we can move quickly, the region’s primes won’t even realize we were there.
I’ll show him, and I’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll have the future we deserve.
By the time he finished reading, whatever confidence Daniel had possessed had long since turned to ash. He swallowed hard, staring down at the words, then slowly, carefully, closed the book.
A blood demi. Him? And they were saying Alexandria was one of these focuses, just like Leon had?
That didn’t make any sense. He’d read the manual that Leon was still poring over, and while there were similarities, the differences were too pointed to be mistaken. And he wasn’t anywhere on the shelves in this horrible, horrible room.
He’d started to be hopeful, for the fact that this Madis had so little interest in him. Rickard’s entries had crushed that hope into dust.
And now, he was left caught between them, just a pawn for whatever goals the two of them had.
A hand brushed his shoulder. He jumped.
“Hey,” Leon said. “You good?”
Daniel blinked furiously, licking his lips. “Y-Yeah. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You just look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”
The book hung heavy in his hands. Daniel nodded, drawing it closer to him. “...Right. Sorry.”
Leon sighed. “What’d I just say?”
This time, Daniel couldn’t quite bring himself to respond. The quiet dragged out, growing more uncomfortable by the second, until finally, Leon cleared his throat. “Everything okay?” he said, more softly.
“...Yeah,” Daniel said, straightening a fraction of an inch. “I was just...learning about the people. The ones attacking us.”
“...And?”
“I think...I don’t know,” Daniel mumbled. “They’re connected to Indira’s people, like Olivia said. They’re mages. They’re looking for special mages, and for some reason they think I’m one of them.”
“Oh,” Leon said. “Crap.”
Daniel snorted, unable to stop himself, and a heartbeat later, Leon joined in. It wasn’t funny. No part of it was funny. But right then, in that blood-soaked room with mages and murderers all around them, it was hilarious.
Finally, when their laughter started to die away, Daniel shook his head. “They’re arguing,” he said, and his voice was steadier. “The leader and his lieutenant. Madis and Rickard.” His smile went crooked. “There’s some bickering in the household about how to handle Indira’s request.”
“Maybe we can use that somehow,” Leon said, his eyes sparkling.
Daniel could only chuckle, watching him. “That’s what I thought, too. It’s pretty much all I’ve got.”
“Maybe that’s enough.” Leon’s expression didn’t falter. “We’ll make it through. We’ll find a way.”
Yes, they would. Daniel held Leon’s stare for a moment, still smiling faintly, and then turned away, loosening his hold on the Rickard book.
It fit back into the empty space on the shelf as though Alexandria had crafted it special for the biography. He let his fingers rest on the spine for a moment, memorizing the way the cover looked. Fixing each and every word of the journal entries in his mind.
“Are you good?” he said, then, glancing back over to where Leon waited. “I’m starting to think I’ve done all I can here.”
“Thank god,” Leon said, deflating. “I thought you’d never ask. If I have to read this damn book one more time, I’m going to puke.”
“You could have said something,” Daniel said, smothering a smile. “And please don’t puke on the books.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Leon said, setting the book down on top of the shelf. “That’s all I’m saying. How do we-”
He stopped dead mid-sentence. He’d seen it too, then—the light starting to reflect off the books around them, glowing from beneath his skin.
Daniel’s breath caught in his chest. His skin was glowing, too. Alexandria had never sent him out quite like this before. His pulse quickened, pulsing in his veins.
Thank you, he willed, closing his eyes against the glare. I know you didn’t want any of this. I know I’m breaking all the rules. Thank you.
A hand brushed against his. Leon. He didn’t pull away, letting Leon lace his fingers with Daniel’s. They clung to each other, holding tight as the world started to spin.
I’ll be back, he whispered silently, feeling the ground start to give way beneath his feet. Keep the place warm for me.
The glow wrapped around them surged, blinding even through his eyelids. Hand in hand, they let the Library vanish into white.
- Chapter Twenty-Two -
Movement.
Something soft pressed against his back. His head. Something warm, that gave
