Smoke and Iron (The Great Library #4)(57)

Khalila wanted very badly to be able to say yes, but instead, she could only say, “I hope he does. He’s in the hands of the Archivist now, along with my friend—” She almost said Jess, but Jess’s safety in Alexandria depended on discretion. “Morgan, who would have been sent to the Iron Tower. I don’t know what’s happened to Wolfe, but we are going to find him. You have my word.”

“I do not know you, or the value of your word, Scholar Seif, though nothing you have done causes me to doubt it.” Murasaki turned her focus back to her High Garda commander. “Well? What do you say?”

He sighed. “I say if the Archivist is desperate enough to assassinate you—and she was his creature, no doubt about that; we’ve long established as much—then we don’t have much of a choice. He sees you as a threat.”

“He should. I came here of my own accord to avoid being a rival to him. But I could easily change my mind.”

“You should lock down your Translation Chamber,” Khalila said. “Before they send troops to take this place away from you. He might order it destroyed.”

“You think he would? Destroy it?” Murasaki asked.

“I think the Archivist will do anything to preserve his power, and Scholar Murasaki has a powerful reputation. If she sides with us, it will hurt him badly. He won’t take the chance.”

Fergus nodded and snapped his fingers. A lieutenant stepped forward. “Kali, lock it down. And keep the Scholars and librarians in the interior. I don’t want them put at any more risk than we must. Lock down the Codexes, too. All of them. The slower Alexandria gets word of this, the better.”

“Yes, sir,” the woman said, and cut her eyes toward Khalila. “And about them . . . ? Our orders . . .”

“We’re not the Archivist’s personal guard, and these people don’t threaten our Serapeum. We’re not leaving these grounds.”

She saluted and turned to give orders to soldiers, who scattered on their missions. Which left the still-smoking corpse, Murasaki, Fergus, Khalila, and the lieutenant alone in the vast room. Smoke had risen to stain the windows overhead and swirled there like storm clouds.

“Lieutenant, please have a squad of troopers make the body safe and store it,” Murasaki said. “Find out her funeral preferences. I will personally pay for her burial, and transportation to her family if that was her wish.”

The lieutenant silently saluted and left.

Fergus said, “Are we really doing this, Shirasu?”

“We’ve talked about it more than once. I don’t think we have any choice if we intend to keep faith with our vows,” she said, and turned to Khalila. “You’re injured, child. I’ll summon a Medica.”

Khalila realized she was shaking from the pain, but at least it wasn’t growing worse. If she uncovered it now, she was afraid the Greek fire would find new breath and spread. “I’m fine,” she lied. “Scholar Murasaki, I need to know what you intend to do.”

“I would have thought it was obvious,” Murasaki said. “I will continue to serve the people of Cadiz and the people of this country. If necessary, we will protect this place and these books with our lives. And I will reject, by force, any attempt by the Archivist to take control of this Serapeum. You may tell King Ramón Alfonse that while we continue to serve the Great Library and its ideals, we do not support the Archivist. Nor will we fight on his behalf.”

Khalila bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“Thank Scholar Wolfe,” Murasaki said. “The Archivist’s injustice to him is the only evidence I needed.”

“One more thing,” Khalila said. “A favor.”

“You saved my life. I think I might owe you this.”

“Use of your Translation Chamber.”

“To go where?”

“Alexandria,” Khalila said. “Not to the Serapeum. The High Garda compound.”

Murasaki’s brows climbed. “Are you so eager to be killed?”

“We have friends there,” Khalila said. “And a plan. If it happens as I hope, you may follow us home, honored Scholar, to help us restore the Library we both love.”

There was a long silence—too long for comfort—and Murasaki finally inclined her head a regal degree. “This I will do for you,” she said. “But, Scholar, be warned: this is not a game for children, or amateurs. You have taken on something so much larger than you know. I hope you are not crushed under its weight. I believe that if you live long enough, you might do great things.”

Khalila bowed and put her hand to her heart. “You honor me, Scholar. May I leave to gather my friends?”

“And how do you know you’ll not be leading them into a neat trap?” Fergus rumbled. He was still frowning; maybe it was simply the way his face fell even at the best of times. “Easy for us to take you all and offer you up to the Archivist.”

“Yes,” Khalila said. “It would be. But I think there is some honor, and some wisdom, left inside the Library, Captain.”

She turned, took a deep breath, and walked out of the jaws of the dragon into the wider compound, past waiting High Garda who did nothing to stop her. The gates opened, and she dared to hope that finally, something was going their way.

Then she was almost knocked over by Dario as he threw his arms around her.