Chapter 19

The Final Reckoning

The noise was deafening. Irene was not exactly new to noise, or that she was the one making it, but now her ears were ringing. And it was largely her own fault.

She hit the ground, then Carlos fell on her and crushed the air from her lungs. She was still gasping for air when everything around her exploded. The noise wasn't the worst of it. The changing pressure, the feeling of too much magic in one place, clashing with itself and ripping everything apart that it could touch, that was the worst of it. Irene couldn't breathe, she couldn't see and she couldn't think.

It seemed to go on forever.

At some point something struck Carlos on the head and he lost consciousness, which made him even more of a dead weight. And still it wasn't over. The pressure built and built until at last it was so unbearable that Irene passed out as well.

When she woke up again, it was all over. The pressure was gone. So was the wind. Only the gentle splatter of the rain was audible. Because of course it was too much to ask that it would just be dry already.

Irene pushed Carlos off. He had a bump on his head, which would account for why he was still out. She checked his pulse, which was fine. So not dead then.

As a matter of fact, neither was she. That came as something of a surprise.

There was not one person left standing. Irene couldn't see Cowl – she really hoped he had been blown apart in the backlash; it couldn't have happened to a more deserving person – the zombies were gone, Carlos was still down. She didn't see Harry.

She turned around, and that was when she did see him. That was also when she discovered that she was not the only one standing up.

This was not the good news that it seemed.

Harry had been thrown quite a way from where he had started, curled in almost the foetal position around the skull. He didn't move, and from where she was standing, too far away to be useful, she couldn't see if he was still breathing. Looming over him, staring down at him, was the Erlking.

It never rained but it poured, didn't it.

Irene was not in the mood for this. She was battered and bruised, not to mention cold and soaked to the skin. It had been all hands to the pump since the moment she set foot in this alternate. It was about time they had a break.

As she would be happy to explain to the at least eight foot tall Fae.

'Step away from him, please,' she said. The Erlking was a hunter, so she made sure to sound as assertive as she was still capable of. It wouldn't do to have him mistake her for prey. 'This hunt is over. And you missed it.'

The Erlking turned to her and stared. It was a very unnerving stare, although that might just be the glowing amber eyes. He did a step in Irene's direction and it took everything in her not to step back. The Library brand on her back twitched uncomfortably in the face of his power, but if she let herself be cowed now, he'd walk all over her.

He was a hunter, after all.

So she straightened her back and held his gaze for endless moments until at last the Erlking threw back his head and laughed. Somehow it was more unnerving than the stare. 'And such a hunt it was,' he agreed. 'For that you shall go free this night.' The laughter faded. Instead he sent fear at her, the cold fear a small beast of prey would feel when chased across the land. 'But if I should encounter any of you again, I shall not hesitate to strike you down.'

'Understood,' Irene said, proud that she didn't shake and that she didn't run away as fast as her legs could carry her, as they dearly wanted to.

The baying of hounds filled the air. As before, the enormous horse appeared out of nowhere. The Erlking mounted up. From this great height he looked down on Irene again. 'See that you remember that,' he said. 'I shall not forget.'

Then he was gone.

Another problem for another day. For now all Irene wanted was a change of clothes, and warmth. Just a shame Kai really couldn't breathe fire. That would have been useful fight right now.

But clearly a Librarian's work was never done. She bent over Harry and felt his pulse, which was still there. He stirred when she touched him, but the extent of his communication was a pained moan. Irene took a look at the back of his head, and then promptly wished she hadn't. How he had kept going as long as he had was a mystery.

The skull he held blinked into orange life. 'Hey, Harry,' he said in quite a different tone than he had when he had been in Cowl's hand. It was almost… flirtatious. 'Who's the babe?'

Scratch that. It was definitely flirtatious.

Harry wasn't up to a coherent response, so Irene took it upon herself to answer the question. 'Irene Winters, Librarian. Are you hurt?' It seemed polite to ask.

The skull's grin was disconcerting. 'Not anymore,' he leered.

Of all the things Irene might have reasonably expected to happen today, getting hit on by a spirit in a skull was not one of them. The life of a Librarian was truly varied and never dull.

'Stop it, Bob,' Harry groaned.

'Ahw… Come on, Harry, after I saved her life?'

'Excuse me?' Irene asked.

Harry echoed the sentiment, albeit a little less vehemently.

In so far as a skull could look pleased, Bob did. 'I stood over her, didn't I? And the Warden,' he added as an afterthought. 'Until the backlash ripped every enchantment in a two mile radius apart of course. Sorry about the dinosaur.'

That at least explained the dinosaur bones all around the place where Carlos and Irene had fallen. It also explained why Carlos had a large bump on his head; bones of a T-Rex were not exactly tiny. Or light-weight. No wonder he had passed out.

'Well done, Bob,' Harry said, but he didn't sound like he was quite all there.

'I figured since you and the Wardens are all friends now, you'd want them in one piece,' Bob said, still grinning. 'Nice cloak, by the way, Harry. Is it real or did you steal it?'

Nice was not the way Irene would have described Harry's Warden cloak after the events of the night. Not that her own clothes were in a better state. She hadn't been near a mirror for a while. And that was probably just as well.

'Got drafted,' Harry muttered.

Bob whistled.

'Maybe we can do this later?' Irene suggested. 'Somewhere dry?'

Somewhere also where she didn't hear the tell-tale sirens heading in their direction. Where they were standing it was still dark, but in the distance the lights had come back on. Whatever Cowl had done to the electricity, it had not survived his death. Which meant that everything was working again. Irene would bet that the first thing many people had done was place several panicked phone calls to emergency services about tornados, flooding and what must have looked and sounded like a battle in the middle of Chicago.

Not to mention all the mentions about an flying Dragon and a rampaging dinosaur.

It occurred to her that this particular mission was not as smooth and unobtrusive as was usually expected of a professional Librarian. And there was absolutely no chance whatsoever that Bradamant was not going to heap the blame for that on Irene.

Something to look forward to.

But that too was a problem for later. The first order of business was to get out of this place before the police showed up to ask questions they wouldn't understand the answers to. And chances were they'd all think the people giving them were insane.

Irene had no intention of ending this already very bad night in a cell.

They all agreed to make themselves scarce. The Wardens returned to their hotel, Butters in tow to see to Luccio's stab wound. He muttered endlessly about not being a real doctor, but he managed quite well, and apparently Luccio was not actually dying. If they could keep infection out anyway. Irene was relieved about that; she'd liked Luccio.

She also tried not to laugh when she saw that he had turned Morgan into a pack horse for his polka suit.

She wasn't sure he'd let her survive that.

Her own motley band returned to Harry's apartment. It took a while before they could find a cab they could convince to take them. Apparently they looked like something out of a horror show. And not the Halloween-approved kind. Even Bradamant's usual impeccable looks had taken a severe beating.

It was so tempting to take a shower, change into something dry and then fall asleep in front of the fire. It was in fact so tempting that Irene did in fact exactly that and didn't wake up until half past ten the following morning.

She was not the last to wake up. Thomas still sprawled over the couch in a manner a model would murder to master. Harry probably still slept in his own bed, but Irene was too drowsy to get up to check. Only Kai and Mouse were awake.

'Good morning,' Irene said, pushing her hair out of her face. At least it was still morning. But she felt well-rested for the first time since she stepped foot in this alternate. Not to mention dry. And warm.

What luxury.

'Good morning, Irene,' Kai said. He stretched out.

Mouse trotted over for his morning greeting. Irene obediently scratched him behind the ears. After last night he certainly deserved it. Some of the more tricky predicaments could have turned out very different if he had not been there.

'Where did you sleep?' she asked. 'In the chair?'

To her shame, her memory of everything that happened was a little hazy. She seemed to remember that Harry and Kai had gone out to do something when she came out of the shower. Something about wards? Maybe?

'Eventually,' Kai said. 'It was not as uncomfortable as you think.'

And even better for having a large fluffy dog for added warmth.

She frowned. 'What did you and Harry do last night?' she asked. 'After we got back?' She had the unpleasant feeling that she was missing something.

Kai looked… uneasy. 'How plausible would you like your deniability to be?'

Irene knew she shouldn't have gone to sleep so soon. 'How bad is it?' After all, Kai was still her student and she was still his mentor. She was responsible for him. And while she trusted Kai with her life, she didn't always trust him not to do something stupid and reckless.

'Not bad,' he said unconvincingly.

Irene closed her eyes and wished for patience.

'Let's put it this way,' Kai suggested cheerfully. 'If asked, I will say that I definitely didn't threaten a vampire of the Black Court and I definitely didn't witness Harry hand said vampire of the Black Court the Word of Kemmler to stop her from ruining one of Harry's friends.'

'You gave a dangerous book to a vampire?'

Kai shrugged. 'Harry gave the book. Besides, we can always steal it back if we need to. We know where it is now.'

That made sense of course. 'I think I would like my deniability.' This was not a Library matter. They weren't sent out to collect the Word of Kemmler and this had nothing to do with them. Everything she didn't have to report to Coppelia she counted as a win. The things she did have to report landed her in enough hot water as it was.

Harry and Thomas woke up shortly after. Thomas was compos mentis enough to organise breakfast. Harry wanted to help, but was commanded to get himself on the couch and to not get off it. He looked a bit less like a walking corpse than the night before, but still in no shape to perform any task more strenuous than lifting a fork to his mouth.

By unspoken agreement, neither Irene nor Kai mentioned the Word or the vampire.

'What happened at the end with Grevane?' Irene asked. '"Live in agony"?' Something about that sentence had made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Grevane was a wizard. This was more than just lashing out in anger. The air crackled with magic as he said it: cold, hateful, dangerous.

Of course, last night had not been the time to explore the issue in depth.

Harry's face clouded over. 'That was his death curse,' he said.

Irene's briefing had not covered that topic. Kai was just as mystified. He looked at Irene and shrugged. 'I feel fine,' he said. 'Maybe he missed.'

Harry shook his head even before Kai finished talking. 'Death curses don't miss. They may take some time manifesting, but they don't miss.'

Irene discovered that she didn't have much appetite left after that. She didn't know what living in agony would look like, and from the looks of them neither did the others, but it was a safe bet that it would be… well, agony.

'Can they be broken?' she asked. That was what usually happened in books. People were cursed, and then the protagonists had to find a way to break the curse. And with this world heading towards narrative patterns, that would make sense.

But apparently not. 'Not that I've ever heard of.'

So all they could do was watch and wait, not really Irene's strong point. And what did living in agony even mean? It could be physical pain. It could be that life became unbearable through loss or horrible circumstances. There was no telling from what direction it would come or what shape it would take.

All she knew that she was powerless against it.

She made a mental note to research the possibility of using the Language to deal with it anyway.

'So what now?' Harry asked after breakfast. Or possibly early lunch. Irene wasn't picky with the right terminology right now.

'Back to the Library,' she said. 'We'll drop off Die Lied der Erlking, and then we have to write our reports.' She would like to edit quite a bit out, but Bradamant would make sure that was not going to happen.

Irene's thoughts skidded to a halt. Of course. Of course that was what she was missing. Or, more specifically, who she was missing. 'Where is Bradamant?'

Not with them, was the short answer to that. It was only a small apartment. Thomas checked the subbasement to be sure, but she wasn't hiding there and she hadn't locked herself into the bathroom either. She had simply vanished.

To rat on Irene, most likely. She should have known.

'It doesn't make sense,' Kai said, gesturing to the bookcase, where Die Lied der Erlking still lay. 'Why run back to the Library without the book?'

'She swore an oath not to take it,' Irene reminded him. An such an oath in the Language was absolutely binding. Or rather, she had sworn to let Irene take it back. But now there was more than one copy... 'She has taken Grevane's instead.' The very book Irene had been too tired to conceal last night. Bradamant had played her for a fool, had snatched the book and was probably even now in the Library parading in triumph and casting Irene in as unkind a light as she could manage.

Kai said something unrepeatable.

'Don't.' It wouldn't help.

'She's done it again!' Kai fumed. 'How dare she?'

All Irene knew was that her attempts at a truce had been well and truly rejected. Clearly Bradamant still hated her as much as she had ever done. So much for professional conduct.

'I told her I'd report her,' Irene said miserably. 'So she beat me to it.'

Kai kept up the rant Irene did not have the energy for. The only thing she could berate herself for was that she had naively assumed Bradamant would stick to the spirit of her promise, rather than the letter. And it was such a stupid vendetta! Irene had worked as hard to get where she was as Bradamant had. She had only become a Librarian-in-Residence so soon because of the whole trouble with Alberich and the loose ends left behind by Dominic Aubry's sudden death. It was not, as Bradamant clearly thought, preferential treatment because Irene's parents were Librarians.

But try explaining that. Irene had certainly tried.

'We must go back to the Library,' Irene said, cutting Kai off mid-sentence. 'It's no good assuming what she might have done.'

And the sooner she was on the scene, the soonest she could begin her own defence and perhaps save her record before it was permanently blackened.

'Thank you,' she told Harry. 'But I don't suppose we'll need Die Lied der Erlking anymore.' As far as she knew the Library never had two copies of the same book from the same world. An extra copy had no extra value. So now she had the book she wanted, but it no longer mattered. And she knew better than to think Bradamant would get reprimanded; in the Library results counted for more than ethical methodology.

'Take it anyway,' Harry said. 'Before someone else tries to summon the Erlking.'

Irene still had a vivid memory of the Erlking and agreed that it was probably best that it didn't happen again. Not that she was sure why Harry believed that Librarians were any more responsible with information than people living their lives in the various alternates. Librarians were still people, after all.

So she took the book and slipped it into her coat pocket. And this was where she stumbled. Normal missions didn't end with saying goodbye to new friends. They usually ended by making a mad dash for the nearest library ahead of any pursuing law enforcement, guards or enraged owners.

'Thank you for your hospitality,' Kai said, who probably had etiquette lessons since he was old enough to speak. 'And indeed for your friendship.'

'Will we see more of you?' Harry asked.

Irene didn't like the answer she had to give to that one. 'I don't know,' she said. She was Librarian-in-Residence on another alternate. She liked it there. She even had a friend there. But being Librarian-in-Residence meant that she didn't usually go to other worlds. 'Most of our missions are in the world where we live. But I hope we'll come back here.'

But her time was not hers to command. That was the choice Irene had made when she swore herself to the Library and she had never once regretted that. But she didn't have any friends who weren't Librarians, except for Vale, since her school days. Friendships outside of the Library were awkward anyway; because no one aged in the Library itself, the differences in aging were always a factor.

'We'll find time to visit,' Kai promised.

Irene didn't ask how he intended to sort that out. A problem for later. She was storing up a lot of those.

Coppelia was not a problem for later. When Kai and Irene entered the Library and found a computer, there was an urgent email waiting for her with an invitation to come to Coppelia's office and explain herself at her earliest convenience.

Which Irene correctly read as: as soon as possible and preferably yesterday. Your convenience has nothing to do with this.

So they went. Kai swore that he was more than prepared to speak up for her, which counted for nothing, because Coppelia flatly refused to let him in. He may wait outside, but Irene had to enter her mentor's office alone.

'Report, please,' Coppelia said when they had both sat down. Her face gave nothing away, which did nothing for Irene's now very strung nerves.

Working on the assumption that Bradamant had held absolutely nothing back, Irene gave a very detailed, very truthful report of the mission. The only things she deliberately left out were the soulgaze with the Corpsetaker and the fact that Harry had given the Word of Kemmler to a Black Court Vampire. The soulgaze she didn't mention because it felt both terrifying and somewhat private. The Word she didn't mention because it was, at least at this moment, not Library business.

To her relief, Coppelia didn't notice the omissions.

Unfortunately, she had more than enough to say about everything else. 'Ten out of ten for the clarity of your report,' she started, giving Irene an intense stare that effectively communicated that this was the extent of her compliments and to expect a great deal of criticism from this point onwards.

'Thank you,' Irene said.

'In summary, you destroyed two buildings,' Coppelia said.

'I prefer the term damaged,' Irene said. 'Both buildings are still structurally sound.' She hoped.

'You revealed knowledge of the Library.'

'The Wardens already knew…'

'You entered into a pact with the Fae…'

'Very minor Fae, and no obligation was incurred.'

'You encouraged the manifestation of a Dragon. Multiple times.'

Kai had hardly needed encouraging. In fact, he had rather insisted. But pointing that out would make it seem like she tried to shift the blame onto her student, and she had seen enough of Bradamant's tactics not to want to do that. So she said nothing.

Coppelia frowned at her. 'Do you have nothing to say, Irene?'

'A few things,' Irene said. 'Kai and I retrieved the book, as instructed.' Always the best thing to lead with. 'We banished Alberich from alternate G-692, and we made sure he did not get what he came for. We solved the murder of Hercule, and brought his murderer to justice.' And quite possibly at a great cost to Kai. 'Perhaps most importantly, we have gained the friendship of a powerful wizard, and through him now have access to his not inconsiderable network, which will make working in that alternate considerably easier.'

Coppelia said nothing for at least five minutes, but Irene held her nerve and resisted the urge to fill the silence with more explanations and justifications. She had done a good job, no matter what stories Bradamant had told. She refused to be cowed or shamed for something she had done well. If anyone deserved to have the book thrown at her – figuratively of course, this was the Library; why would anyone throw a perfectly good book? It might get damaged – it was Bradamant. She had barged in on someone else's mission and screwed her colleagues over. Again.

As she would be sure to mention as soon as they were finished with Irene's report.

'That is your professional opinion?' Coppelia asked at last. 'That you have built valuable contacts in alternate G-692?'

Irene nodded. 'It is.'

Coppelia leaned back in her chair and exhaled. 'Well, I suppose that will make Bradamant's job easier.'

Irene wasn't sure she had heard that correctly. 'Bradamant's job?'

'Bradamant's job as Librarian-in-Residence to alternate G-692,' Coppelia clarified. 'Hercule's death has left a vacancy and some unpleasant loose ends. It was felt that Bradamant, with at least some experience of that world, would be the best choice.'

Irene did not have the words to explain in just how many ways this was unfair, undeserved and, most especially, just plain wrong.

'Bradamant…' she began.

'Brought back Die Lied der Erlking.'

Irene had put up and shut up with a lot of Bradamant's antics. She didn't want glory or advancement or praise for her work, not the way Bradamant did. Irene considered such conflict between colleagues unprofessional. She'd rather work in harmony, although she would prefer never to work with Bradamant again at all, if it could be arranged.

But even she had limits, and Bradamant had just waltzed all over them. Again.

'Bradamant stole my mission,' she said, keeping her voice under control, though that was an effort. 'I told her to stay away, and she came back to try to steal Die Lied from under my nose. She led one of my allies into danger, then scarpered when it became dangerous. She promised, in the Language, not to take my copy, so she found another and beat me back here. I regard this as highly unprofessional conduct. It seems that Bradamant is allowed to break rules, sabotage and endanger Librarians, and shift blame for any faults onto her colleagues to facilitate her own rise in status.' This rant had been a long time coming. 'And now, it appears, that this behaviour is rewarded instead of punished.'

Irene didn't say that she strongly suspected that Kostchei had more than a hand in shielding his protégée from the consequences of her own actions. That was politics, and she would prefer to stay out of that swamp.

Coppelia regarded her sternly. 'Four out of ten for coherency,' she said. 'And three out of ten for deductive reasoning.'

Irene felt her face colour bright red. What had she missed?

'You are not the first Librarian to note problems with Bradamant's methodology,' Coppelia said sternly. 'Nor are you the first to register them with a senior Librarian.'

This did not surprise Irene in the slightest.

Coppelia wasn't done. 'It was felt that Bradamant would benefit from a prolonged period in one place, where she will have many responsibilities to keep her occupied, which will leave her little time for… spontaneous trips.' She regarded Irene steadily. 'As I understand it, G-692 is a challenging alternate, with a chaos infestation and many different factions of supernatural creatures. These things being so, it is only prudent that she will be closely monitored for a time, until we are sure she has a handle on things. And, in due course, when she has settled a bit, an apprentice will be assigned to her. Perhaps being a teacher will teach her to be a better Librarian.'

As someone who had been Bradamant's apprentice for a time, Irene took the liberty to doubt that. She already felt for the poor student who would have to deal with Bradamant's company day in and day out. 'I see,' she said.

It was not a punishment, but not the reward Irene had assumed it to be either. Irene had had senior Librarians breathing down her neck, and it was not something she had ever enjoyed.

'I hope you do.' It was a very thinly veiled warning.

Irene swallowed. 'You might as well tell me, what is the impact of this mission on my record?' Not that it was the record itself she worried over, but she enjoyed being Librarian-in-Residence, and she liked to keep the position. And it would be just like Bradamant to try and take that away so that she could hold it over Irene's head that she held a coveted post while Irene did not.

Coppelia allowed herself a small, triumphant smile. 'Oh, a few commendations for services rendered to the Library beyond the call of duty, I should think. And for your apprentice too, of course.'

Whatever Irene had anticipated, this was not it. Uncharacteristically, words failed her entirely.

Coppelia's smile became positively Machiavellian. 'One commendation for your capable handling of Hercule's murder. We would hardly look good if we let it be known our people can be murdered without consequences. The Dragons and Fae would think us weak, and that would never do.'

Of course, it all came down to politics. Irene might have known. Some senior Librarians lived for that kind of thing, and Coppelia was definitely one of them. She nodded.

'And of course, Kai and you are two of the very few people who have met Alberich and survived. Twice now, in fact.' No doubt she had crowed about her protégées' accomplishments to everyone she could find. It reflected well on her, of course. 'And you have banished him from another alternate, one that might have proved extremely useful to him, had he been allowed to remain there. Well done, Irene.'

There was genuine warmth in those last words. Irene relaxed a bit. 'Thank you.'

'Naturally, both you and Kai will have to be more careful now,' Coppelia continued briskly. 'Alberich will not forget what you have done to him. He himself may not be able to enter your alternate again, but he is not above using minions.'

'We'll be careful.' Minions couldn't hold a candle to Alberich. Especially after this last mission, minions didn't frighten her nearly as much as they used to.

'See that you are. Librarians are not an infinite resource.' The warmth disappeared and the stern teacher returned. 'It is past time you went back to your post, Irene. This mission has run several days over the initial estimation. You are a Librarian-in-Residence now. So, be in residence.'

'We will go immediately,' Irene said. She rose to her feet.

So in summary: the mission was completed, and she had now two recommendations to show for it. She had made new friends. She still had her position. She still had her apprentice.

Life was good.

Just the epilogue left! Tying up some loose ends and setting up the next crisis for the sequel.

Reviews would be welcome.