'You oughta know, boss. I'll be at the office if you need me.'
'Good. Take care, Howie.'
'Good luck, boss.'
'Thanks.'
Incarnadine hung up and the screen faded to black. He let out a breath and shook his head.
'Tyrene will have to handle it,' he said. He got up and made for the door, but again was thwarted by the jangling telephone.
'Things come in threes,' he murmured.
The man on the screen had his back to the camera (of which there was none anyway, but no matter).
Incarnadine picked up the earpiece.
'Yes?'
'Is this the castle?'
'Yes.'
'I was told to report.'
'I see. Where are you?'
'In the village. I don't understand why I was summoned, or what I'm supposed to do.'
'Ah. Well, I'm sorry, there's no one here who can answer your questions at the moment.'
The man sighed. 'It's always like this.'
'I'm so sorry.'
'It matters little. Shall I call again?'
'It's up to you. By the way, who shall I say phoned?'
'Call me _K.''
'Uh, K., listen ? again, my apologies, but we're really up to our butts in alligators here.'
'I understand. I'll wait around here for a while, if you don't mind.'
'As I said, it's up to you. Sorry to cut you off, but I have to run.'
'Goodbye, then.'
Shrugging, Incarnadine hung up.
'Trials and tribulations,' he complained. 'But that's to be expected.'
He ran for the door.
Five
Library
'There sure are a lot of books here,' Melanie said.
'You bet,' Linda said.
The library was several stories high, spiral staircases communicating between levels. The second and third levels were galleries that looked out onto the main floor. The open stacks were on the ground floor, and they seemed endless. The place was as big as the biggest city or university library, if it wasn't a lot bigger. For all that, the place abounded with inglenooks and carrels and other cozy places to curl up with a good book. There were certainly enough books; most of them, however, were hardly what could be called light reading: ponderous tomes bound in ancient leather, formidable and daunting.
But not all.
Osmirik sat at a table with a stack of paperbacks in front of him. He was examining them one by one and making notations on index cards. A small-boned man with dark hair, he wore a simple brown cloak and soft black shoes with pointed toes.
Linda and Melanie came walking off the main floor and into the alcove where Osmirik was at work.
'Hi, Ozzie!' Linda said.
Osmirik looked up. 'Ah. Lady Linda, how good of you to drop by.'
'Just giving Melanie a tour of the library.'
'Only too happy to have you.'
'Melanie, meet Osmirik, the Librarian. Ozzie, this is Melanie.'
Melanie smiled. 'Nice to meet you, Osmirik.'
Osmirik had stood, and now he bowed deeply. 'The honor is mine, Mistress Melanie.'
'What're you doing, Ozzie?' Linda asked.
'Cataloguing some new… acquisitions.'
Linda looked. 'Oh. More weird paperbacks, huh?'
'Yes. Not castle books, however. For that, we might be grateful.'
'What have we got? Let's see. Boy, they all look interesting.'
Osmirik said sardonically, 'Interesting is an understatement. I was unfamiliar with this sort of literature until these books began showing up. They have greatly broadened my literary horizons.'
Linda picked one up. 'Foundation's Robots?'
'Deathless prose! Its use of allegory is on the order of pure genius.'
She selected another and glanced at the cover. 'What's _cyberpunk'?' She tossed the book down. 'Well, if you say so. Me, I never read this kind of stuff.'
'I must confess that I, too, am at a loss as to what to make of them. But they have appeared here in the library. There must be some significance to that fact.'
'Are you going to shelve them?'
'Oh, yes. I have already instituted a paperback shelf. They will be catalogued and become part of the General Collection.'
'Can anyone use the library?' Melanie asked.
'All are welcome here,' Osmirik said.
'If you can find anything good to read,' Linda said. 'Most of this stuff ? pardon me, Ozzie, but most of it's pretty off-the-wall.'
Osmirik nodded. 'I must agree. But all of it is quite interesting. And useful, as far as the Recondite Arts are concerned.'
'He means magic,' Linda explained.
'Oh.'
'Yes, magic and other occult subjects are somewhat over-represented,' Osmirik said. 'Given the nature of the castle, this is hardly surprising.'
'Lord Incarnadine does a lot of research, doesn't he?' Linda said.
'Oh, yes. And some of the castle nobility, as well.'
'Really? I rarely see any of those people in here.'
'Most send call-slips, and the books are delivered, though some do come personally to search the card catalogue. The Earl of Belgard is a not infrequent visitor. And… oh, yes, Lord Arl was here just this morning.'
'Don't believe I know either of them,' Linda said. 'Well, we're going to mosey on down to the natatorium. Melanie, do you feel like a swim?'
'Well, kind of. Sure, that might be nice.'
Linda rubbed her neck. 'This morning I woke up with stiffness right along here. Maybe a soak in the hot tub will work the kinks out. You'll like the pool, it's Olympic-size.'
Melanie gave her head an unbelieving shake. 'Just how big is this place?'
'Uh, real big.'
Osmirik asked, 'How much have you seen of our castle, Melanie?'
'Oh, the lab, the dining hall, the bedrooms, the kitchens, the ballroom ?'
'And a few of the permanent aspects,' Linda added.
'Yeah, they're something,' Melanie said. 'Forests, mountains, deserts, every kind of place you could think of. Some of them are strange.'
'There are a lot of strange aspects,' Linda agreed, nodding. 'And wild aspects.'
