Cold curiosity rolled in waves over Eliot's skin. He faced it, letting it wash over him, a sentient tide examining its victim. He felt its question the way he felt lightning in the air before a storm.

Why don't you run?

Eliot breathed in the scent of rain and electricity. "Why should I?"

You're afraid.

"Yes. That's no excuse."

A shadow broke off from the cloud surrounding him, condensing into a shape a few steps away. Humans are selfish creatures, it whispered into his head. They are driven by self-preservation. I promise to take them away from themselves, and they run. All humans want to escape fear.

"I know fear," Eliot said. "I've been fear."

Fear is irrational. You cannot understand it.

"It's a tool, like anything else. Like a knife. Use a knife to sever an artery or lance a wound. End a life or save it."

The shape before him solidified, twisting into something that resembled a man. It had no features, but Eliot got the impression it was facing him.

Studying him.

Waiting.

"Fear keeps you from doing stupid things," Eliot went on in a low voice. "Keeps you alive. Fear isn't death."

I am death. Fear is my weapon.

Eliot tensed, sensing an opening. He knew how to disarm his opponents.

You cannot disarm me, said the shadow in Eliot's mind. You cannot fight something you cannot see. You cannot fight yourself.

The shadows converged on the shape before him, sweeping over the unbroken blackness and then drawing together, reforming into familiar blue eyes, faded scars.

Eliot stared, and his own face stared back.

I am the darkness within every heart. I am hatred. I am mistrust. I am fear.

A chill seeped into Eliot's skin, clawing through his body, burrowing into the spaces between his bones. The shade before him split, and another Eliot stood beside the first, watching him with dark eyes.

You cannot escape. Give yourself to me, and I will let it end.

He closed his eyes, but the darkness pursued, circling his thoughts, testing his guard. "I'm no quitter."

"No," said the first Shadow-Eliot, his voice harsh. "You don't quit. You just leave."

"You're a coward," said the other. "A killer. Irredeemable."

"I know," Eliot whispered.

You're like me.

Eliot set his jaw. "I told you before—everything is a tool. Good or bad, helpful or harmful. I'm just another knife."

"That's a clever way of saying you won't take responsibility for your actions," said one of the shades.

"Just following orders," needled the other.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness," Eliot said, his heartbeat drumming in slow, heavy beats against his ribcage. Coward. Killer. Irredeemable. Each pulse was a fist against his insecurities, and he had no defense for them.

He let the punches land.

"You're a liar," said a Shadow-Eliot.

"You're unwanted," added the other.

They spoke together, and their voices echoed inside his head.

"Damned."

Something shattered. Pain lacerated his chest, splintering out, slicing deeper, sharpening the hurt that lurked beneath the surface. That's right, hissed the darkness. You're not brave—not clever. You don't run because you know the truth.

Eliot shook his head, and a jeering chuckle reverberated through the emptiness.

You're not worth pursuing.

He took a breath, letting the pain wash over him, engulf him, overwhelm him—and breathed out, standing firm as it crested and broke over his head.

As it receded.

"That's not true," he said softly. "I don't work alone anymore. I have family now—again. We trust each other. I love them, and they love me, and we make each other better."

You are what you have always been, said the voice in his head. It sounded faint, like it was shouting at him over a distance. You cannot change.

"I have," Eliot said. "They showed me how. They showed me there's hope for everyone."

Another hit—this time outward, a blow against the darkness. Eliot closed his eyes.

"Even me."

A shriek of wind tore through him, knocking him back a step—and then it was gone, and the hallway light blazed against the ceiling, and the voice in his head was silent.

And the two Shadow-Eliots were still there, standing before him, wearing his face, and Eliot blinked at them, waiting for them to disappear.

"El," the second one said. His eyes were wide and red, his skin pale. He stepped forward, and Eliot shifted back, his body falling into a defensive stance while his mind tried to catch up to what he was seeing. He tensed for the blow, ready to dodge, to strike back—

And instead, he felt arms around his shoulders, and the smell of salt and sunscreen swept over him. "It's not true," the double said, pulling Eliot against him. "What I said, it's not true. It wasn't me. That's not how I see you."

Warmth seared through the lingering chill, burning away the rest of the shadows. Eliot inhaled, letting the familiar details settle over him—the gruff affection, the embrace that bordered on aggression. "Alex?" he rasped. He looked over the shoulder pressed against his chin, frowning at the other figure in the hall. "Jake?"

"You agreed with it," Alex said, crushing him tighter.

Eliot turned his face into the collar of Alex's jacket. "You didn't know me before."

"It was wrong." Alex's voice was low, almost a whisper, and his hands balled into fists on Eliot's back. "I don't care what you did before. You've never been unwanted."

A hand touched Eliot's shoulder, and he looked up to find Jake standing beside him. Alex shifted to throw his arm around Jake, and for a long moment, Eliot just stood there, surrounded by arms he knew would defend him, feeling the last of the cold fade from his mind.

"Yeah," he said, his voice raw but solid. "I know."

Alex thumped his fist against Eliot's shoulder blade, then leaned back to hold him and Jake at arm's length. "Good. Everyone okay?"

"Fine," Jake said. His hand was still on Eliot's upper arm, and he flashed a tentative smile when he caught Eliot's gaze. "I never doubted you."

"But..." Eliot frowned at Alex, eyeing his pale face. "The—what did you call it? The Nalusa Falaya. When it targeted us, it had a physical effect, right? You felt it, didn't you, Jake?"

Jake nodded. "When it first showed up, I felt like I was having a panic attack. My heart was racing, my vision got blurry, the whole nine yards."

"Alex," Eliot said, pushing down a spike of panic. "Your hypertension—how do you feel?"

"Actually... not bad," Alex said, lifting his wrist to display his silent blood pressure monitor. "Normal readings."

Eliot cast a concerned glance at Jake. "How's that possible?"

For once, Jake looked as confused as Eliot felt. "Maybe it's because the Nalusa Falaya was focused on you. We weren't the target—it used our presence against you. I didn't feel the same fear this time, just a kind of uneasiness. But I couldn't move, couldn't..." His expression darkened, and a muscle in his cheek jumped as he clenched his jaw. "I couldn't stop what I was saying. But I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I've never thought that. Anything like that."

The warmth in Eliot's chest was still pulsing through him; he felt lighter than he had in years. "You gonna tell me you love me?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows, hiding a smile.

A tired grin quirked at Jake's mouth. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Before Eliot could answer, a metallic groan rumbled through the hallway, and the floor gave a convulsive heave. Alex staggered, and Eliot lifted a hand to steady him, staring at the buzzing lights. "What was—?"

"Oh, that." Alex patted his arm and shot a wary look at the ceiling. "Apparently the building's been untethered from this dimension."

"That's not exactly what happened," Jake said. "The passage to the Curator's office is what was untethered. The building is still mostly in this dimension, I think, but—"

"I don't think the details really matter," Alex said, starting down the hallway at a jog. "You and Cassie can explain it when we get out of here."

The hall bucked again, and Eliot turned his attention to staying on his feet. He let Alex take the lead, falling in behind him with Jake bringing up the rear. He normally didn't give up either of those positions to anyone else.

It felt good to let them take over.

They ran, and each step brought awareness back to Eliot's numbed thoughts. He submerged himself in the sensation of movement—of pumping muscles, oxygen filling his lungs, steady footsteps propelling him forward. It would have been easy to lose himself in the activity, but his instincts weren't as easy to distract as his thoughts. A shout sounded ahead, nearly drowned out by the creaking beams in the walls, and his ears pricked toward the familiar voice.

"Stone?"

Eliot slowed as he turned the corner behind Alex, drawing to the side to give Jake room to follow. Eve stood in the center of the hall with a relieved smile on her face. "Oh, thank goodness. Is Stone—"

She broke off when she saw Eliot. Her eyes widened, and she stopped short of where she'd started walking toward them. "Eliot," she said, surprise and uncertainty clear in her tone.

"Yeah," Alex said. "But let's finish the reunion outside, huh?"

Eve held out an arm to stop him. "Hang on. How did you escape the Nalusa Falaya?"

"Eliot found an antidote to fear," Jake said, shouldering beside him.

"What does that mean?"

Jake glanced at him. "You said something about hope right before it disappeared."

"Hope?" Eve echoed. "That was all?"

"Actually…"

They looked at Alex, who shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. "I just—that reminded me of something Cassie and I found when we were looking into the Gifts of the Magi. Hope is supposed to represent one of the three French hens."

"What are the other two?" Eve asked.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, faith and love. And you did kind of bring those up, too, Eliot. Remember?"

He didn't think he'd ever not remember, but he didn't say that. He just nodded and cleared his throat, hitching one shoulder in a half shrug. "Yeah, I mean… I guess. It wasn't intentional."

"So you're saying a Christmas carol was enough to vanquish a shadow monster?" Eve deadpanned.

The room gave another tremble, and Jake nodded down the hall. "We can do more research back at the Library. Where are the others?"

"Outside," Eve said. She turned and jogged with them as they resumed their flight, keeping pace without losing her breath. "When you didn't show up, I came back in to see if I could find you."

She shot a glance at Eliot, who ignored it. They had Alex back now, and the others were safe as well—Eliot didn't need to stick around. She wouldn't need to put up with him much longer.

Only one more corner separated them from the exit, and they ran to it in silence. It was dark outside the building, the peaceful, clear darkness of a regular winter night, and Eliot vowed he would never again take natural darkness for granted. The other Librarians were waiting in the parking lot, huddled together with David and Cindi, watching the door with worried expressions. Jones shouted when they ran through the doorway, but Eliot tilted his head to listen to another distant sound.

Sirens.

"We better keep going," he said. "The shaking must have tripped a sensor, or someone noticed and called it in. We're about to have company."

"How are we supposed to explain that?" Alex asked.

Jake overtook Eliot to speak around him. "We don't. We find the nearest building and call Jenkins to open a door to the Library, and we let the locals deal with their random unexplainable earthquake on their own."

"Convenient," Alex muttered.

Eve turned to say something, but Cassie's relieved exclamation cut her off. She hurried to meet them in the middle of the parking lot, throwing her arms around Alex first, then Jake, and then, to his surprise, Eliot.

"You boys certainly know how to keep things interesting," she said, giving him a squeeze before stepping back to look at Eve. "What now?"

"I parked my truck about a mile away," Eliot said. "I can give you a ride to the nearest door."

Flynn nodded. "I just tried Jenkins, and whatever spells the Curator put in place are still holding up. He can't open a door here."

"Then let's go before the cops show up," Jones said.

Cassie shot an anxious look at Eve. "That's great, but we're not all going to fit in one truck. And what exactly are we going to do with David?"

"David would appreciate being a part of that conversation," he said, crossing his arms.

Eve held up a hand, cutting off Jones and Flynn as they opened their mouths to answer. "We can figure that all out later. For now, we just need to get out of here. Cindi, you drove yourself here?"

"Yeah," she said, gesturing to a car parked at the end of the lot. She hesitated, then added, "I can drive some of you."

"So you can try to force your way into the Library?" Jones said. "No thanks."

Eve shot him a stern look. "Not helpful."

"I can go with her," Alex said. "Jake, I'll just call you to pick me up when we find a door."

"I'll go too," Cassie offered. "I'd like to know a little more about what DOSA's doing here."

At Eve's uncertain frown, Flynn raised his hand and said, "I'll go with them. That should be an even enough split, assuming Eliot's truck has back seats."

He nodded, and Flynn continued. "Then you four better get going. We'll meet you back at the Library."

A burst of unease rooted Eliot's feet to the ground. He'd just found Alex again—or rather, Alex had found him—and he didn't want to separate so quickly. But the sirens were growing louder, and Alex would be with people who were clever enough to get themselves out of any trouble they might get into.

As if reading his thoughts, Alex winked and slapped a hand against Eliot's shoulder. "Don't look so serious. I hitchhike in the Philippines all the time."

"They'll be fine," Jake added. "They'll probably beat us back to the Library. Come on, we gotta go."

Eliot nodded, wiping the frown from his face and sucking in a calming breath. "This way," he said, leading the way from the parking lot. He listened as Alex, Cassie, and Flynn piled into Cindi's car, on high alert for signs of trouble, but there were no sudden shouts or cries for help. Just shutting doors and the turn of the engine, and the sound of the car pulling onto the road, heading in the opposite direction of the sirens.

In the opposite direction of Eliot and the others, who would have to run right past them through a mile of open country. They had the darkness to conceal them, at least, but the moon was nearly full in a cloudless sky, and Eliot knew better than to run along the highway. He led them away from the road, angling their path to cut in an arc across the field so they'd come at the rideshare parking lot from the side, hopefully long after the locals had passed them.

"You seem tense," Eve muttered suddenly. She'd come up on his left when they hit the field, trusting Jake to run beside David, and Eliot sent her a surprised look he wasn't sure she could see.

"It's nothing," he grunted.

From the corner of his eye, he could see her watching him, but he kept his attention focused on the ground ahead. "Alex will be fine," she said. "Flynn and Cassie are with him."

"Didn't work out too great the last time."

Great—insulting the Librarians was the perfect way to get on her good side. Eliot released a sharp sigh, finally feeling the first hint of fatigue working through his muscles. "Look, I'm sure your people know what they're doing. Alex does too. They can handle themselves, I know, and it'll be over soon, and I'll be out of your hair. But I won't be able to relax until we're all back in our separate worlds where we belong."

"Separate worlds," she repeated. "That count for Jake, too?"

He winced, glancing over at his brother. Jake was involved in his own quiet conversation with David, apparently oblivious to Eve's words. "Sometimes I think that'd be easier," he admitted. "But no, I don't want to stay separate. We just started figuring things out again."

She was silent for a few steps, but he could feel her eyes on him as they ran. "Eliot," she said finally, her voice heavy, and Eliot's stomach dropped. She was going to tell him to stay away from Jake. He couldn't blame her, not with what she knew of his old reputation, but the thought of having to fight through another barrier just to maintain a relationship with his brother made him feel like he'd just been punched in the gut.

Why couldn't these things ever work out?

"Hey," Jake said, cutting off Eve's impending warning. "Is that it?"

Up ahead, the moonlight gleamed off the windshield of a lonely truck parked in an otherwise empty lot. Eliot sent one last weary glance toward Eve before jogging onto the pavement, digging through his pocket for his keys. He unlocked the truck and stood back while Jake and David piled into the back seats, then took a slow breath and held the keys out to Eve.

"You want these?"

She flicked her gaze between him and the keys, a frown settling between her brows. "No," she said finally, moving past him to open the passenger door.

He lifted a questioning eyebrow, and she gave him a small smile before climbing into her seat.

"Go ahead. You drive."