Eve knew she was being unfair. She was overprotective where her Librarians were concerned, and she erred on the side of caution whenever possible. But this was Stone's brother. It was perfectly normal for him to want to find Alex. It didn't mean he was trying to find an excuse to go off alone. It was probably coincidence that he'd been alone when the smoke monster showed up in the first place, and it was probably coincidence that he was fully functional when the other person who'd been with him was now a sobbing mess. No, it wasn't coincidence—she could hardly find fault in a man with a military background having better coping mechanisms than a grad student. She was overthinking things. Eliot was fine.
But she walked half a step behind him… just in case.
A lightbulb buzzed and sputtered in the empty hallway, throwing jagged shadows along the walls. Their footsteps echoed—Eve's footsteps, she realized. Eliot's movements were silent.
"Look," Eve said. "I know you—"
Eliot stopped. "You hear that?"
Irritated, she paused and listened, prepared to find that he had cut her off to avoid a conversation. Instead, a door closed somewhere down the hall, and the sound of footsteps echoed toward them. A single set, so it wasn't Cassie and Alex. The Curator? Eve tensed, squaring herself in the hall and watching Eliot from the corner of her eye.
A figure turned a corner down the hall and hesitated when it saw them. "Ah," it said, moving toward them. "Colonel Baird, I assume? And this would be—"
The figure stopped, giving Eve a chance to study it. It was a man, tall, dressed in a dark suit that looked out of place in the dismal hallway. He was unarmed, as far as Eve could tell, unless the envelope in his hand was some kind of magic letter of doom. With the way her day was going, it wouldn't surprise her if it was.
"Well," the man said. He resumed his brisk walk, and though his tone was light, his smile looked forced as he looked at Eliot. "What do we have here? Astral-projection? No, your hair is longer. A clone then? Or is it more mundane?" He tilted his head. "A twin?"
"Who are you?" Eve asked.
The man looked at her. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Gregory Downey."
"I take it you've met my friends," Eve said. "Where are they?"
Gregory turned his attention back to Eliot. "Yes, you must be a brother. I can see minute differences now. But then which of you is Jacob Stone?"
"You gonna answer the colonel's question?" Eliot asked, folding his arms.
"Of course. One moment." Gregory reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pair of spectacles, which he unfolded delicately and placed on the bridge of his nose. "Ah. A brother, then. Eliot Spencer?"
Cold fear shot down Eve's spine. Spencer? She'd never seen any pictures—the accounts she'd read only described him as a short man with brown hair. Most of the adjectives connected to him focused on his actions rather than his looks. Ruthless, they said. Dangerous.
Killer.
She looked at him, trying to keep the horrified betrayal off her face, but the glance Eliot sent her proved he'd seen it. "Answer the question," he growled at Gregory.
Gregory removed the spectacles and replaced them in his pocket. "Your friends are quite safe. Hidden, but safe. This will explain everything." He handed the envelope to Eve, the empty smile back on his face. "If you'll excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to."
"Hang on," Eve said, but as Gregory turned away, he muttered something under his breath and disappeared.
"Hey!" she yelled. "Come back!"
"That sounded like Latin," Eliot said. "A spell? Is that possible?"
Eve rounded on him. "You don't get to make guesses about magic. Actually, you don't get to say anything at all. You don't get to be a part of this anymore."
"I take it you've heard of me," Eliot said blandly.
"Eliot Spencer, international hitman?" Eve said. "Yeah, NATO tends to keep track of people like you."
"In my defense, that was a long time ago," Eliot said.
Eve glared. "In my experience, people don't change."
"Really?" Eliot still stood with his arms folded, and his tone was easy—like he wanted her to think he wasn't a threat. "Can you really say you haven't changed since you started working with the Library?"
"We're not talking about me," Eve said.
"Can you say Jake hasn't changed?" Eliot pressed. "Or any of the others? Can you really say you haven't made each other better? I've done bad things, Colonel, things I can never make up for. I won't argue that. But that was before I met my team. I haven't been that person in a long time."
"That doesn't change the fact that you lied about who you were," Eve said.
Eliot tilted his head. "I didn't lie. Not giving you a full account of my past isn't the same as lying."
"You withheld information that would have kept me from working with you," Eve snapped. "Does Jake know what you used to do?"
Eliot looked away; it was all the answer she needed. "He deserves to know," Eve said. "As soon as we get back, you need to tell him. Understand?"
"What's in the envelope?" Eliot asked.
"Don't change the subject."
"You don't like me," Eliot said. "I get it—I'd probably feel the same in your position. My feelings ain't hurt. But I'm not leaving until I know both my brothers are safe, so you might as well get on with it."
Warning alarms blared in Eve's brain. Eliot Spencer was dangerous, no matter whose brother he was, and Eve didn't like the idea of him getting involved in Library business. But what other choice did she have? She couldn't send him out with the smoke monster floating around—Stone would never forgive her. She couldn't trust him to stay out of trouble on his own. As much as she hated to admit it, the safest place for him was where she could keep an eye on him.
And she was wasting time being indecisive. With a glare, she tore open the envelope and pulled out a thick card with the words "Thank You" printed in gold calligraphy across the front. She opened it, glowering, and read the enclosed message out loud.
"Dear Colonel Baird,
Thank you for the use of two of your Librarians. I understand Guardians don't like sharing, so I appreciate the gesture all the more. Your Librarians have kindly agreed to help me acquire the Gifts of the Magi and have decided to sequester themselves in an undisclosed location in order to minimize distractions. If you are anxious to have them returned to you, you can always aid them in the search. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to leave the fort until the location of the Gifts can be determined, so I have arranged to have my pet act as a sort of perimeter guard. If you haven't met my dear Nalusa Falaya yet, you needn't worry; as long as you remain indoors, you will be perfectly safe. Venture outside, however, and I cannot make the same guarantee. We also have a spell in place preventing any kind of transportation back to your Library, just to make sure you stay honest. It wouldn't be any fun if you could just open a door and walk out, would it?
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you at last.
Kindest regards,
The Curator."
Eve looked up from the card. "She has Alex and Cassie."
"But she thanks you for two Librarians," Eliot said. "She thinks Alex is Jake. What happens when she finds out he isn't?"
Eve shoved the card back into its envelope. "They have to be here somewhere."
"Not necessarily," Eliot said uneasily. "If that assistant of hers can transport, they could be anywhere."
"Yes, thank you," she gritted out. She clenched her jaw and stared at the envelope. What now? They had to find Cassie and Alex; that was priority number one. But to do that, they would have to figure out where the Gifts of the Magi were. And to do that, they'd need to go to the Library—except they couldn't, because the Curator could apparently cast spells to keep them from opening a door to the Library, and if they went outside, they'd be attacked by the smoke monster. "This was a trap," she muttered. "The Curator planned everything to lead up to this, all to get the Gifts of the Magi. Why are they so important?"
"I don't suppose you already have them sitting on a shelf back at the Library?" Eliot said.
She shook her head. "I'll have to call Jenkins again. He might know something."
Eliot nodded, but his expression was troubled. Eve frowned at him. "What?"
"Just..." he muttered. "If this was a trap—right down to the fake people—then who are Cindi and David? Are they fake too? And if so, why let them stick around? And if not, what purpose do they play in all of this?"
"One of them summoned the... smoke... creature... thing," Eve said. "You said Cindi was out of your sight for a moment, so she could have done it then." Assuming she could trust Eliot to tell the truth about the incident, anyway. She'd have to verify it somehow.
"But then why is David here?" Eliot asked.
Eve pursed her lips. "Could he have gotten hold of an invitation and not realized it was a fake auction?"
"That seems a little convenient," Eliot said.
It did. There had to be a reason that David was there, and it was feeling more and more suspicious that he already knew Stone. Eve took out her phone and pulled up Flynn's number, but when it rang half a dozen times before going to voicemail, Eve cursed and jabbed at Stone's number instead. "Why even have a phone if you never answer it?" she muttered. She fidgeted while the phone rang, trying to watch Eliot without making it too obvious that that's what she was doing—but then again, why not? He already knew she'd be watching him closely. She made eye contact and was both impressed and annoyed when he didn't look away.
"Baird?" Stone said in her ear.
"Stone," she said, opening the envelope again. "We have a problem..."
