The Palace of Glass (22 page)

“I'm hoping we have a little time,” Alice said. “They won't know for sure that Geryon's gone, and they'll have to organize.”

But Isaac was shaking his head. “After Esau's death, they're all on edge. My master was already talking to the others about sending their apprentices here. He was practically in a panic. I was hoping I'd be in time to warn you.”

“
Warn
her?” Ashes said. “That's like running to warn someone who's set off a bomb that things are about to get a little hot!”

“You know, you could be a bit more constructive,” Alice said.

“I'm still trying to wrap my head around the magnitude of your insanity,” the cat muttered. “Once I've got that handled, I'll get started on the mind-numbing terror.
It's not just
your
neck on the block here, you know!”

“I know,” Alice said. “I'm sorry! I thought we'd have more time!”

“Running isn't going to work,” Isaac said. “Mr. Black might be able to get away if nobody goes looking for him, but the old Readers will follow Alice wherever she goes. A rogue Reader, even an apprentice, is too dangerous.”

“And most of the creatures can't run,” Alice said. Isaac shot her an odd look, then nodded slowly.

“As I see it,” Isaac went on, “you've got two options when the apprentices turn up. You can tell them it was an accident, and surrender. If the Readers don't figure out that it was
you
who trapped Geryon, they'll probably assume one of them did it. I bet one of them would take you in. Apprentices are valuable. I could try to convince
my
master that you'd be useful.”

“They'll still tear the library to pieces,” Alice said. “All the creatures—”

“Not to mention Mother and me,” Ashes said. “The Readers won't allow one of their own to control two labyrinthine. They'll imprison Mother and probably toss me to the wolves.”

Isaac's face fell. “The other option is letting Geryon loose and begging for mercy. Tell him it was a mistake,
or that one of the others had a spell on you. He might let you live.”

Alice closed her eyes.

Revenge.
She'd followed the snarling, red-eyed beast of her anger, all the way through the lava tunnels and the fortress of the ice giants to the Palace of Glass. She'd done what she intended to do, punished Geryon for everything he'd done to her and her father, but somehow it had all gone wrong.
Now Isaac wants me to let him
out
?
She couldn't bear the idea.
But without him, it's all going to fall apart. All the creatures he protects, Ending and Ashes, not to mention
me
.
She'd been ready to accept danger to herself—after all, going to the Palace of Glass had been dangerous enough as it was. But she hadn't realized how much else depended on Geryon.

But it doesn't
depend
on him, not really. They pay him tribute so they won't have to pay it to someone else or get wiped out in a battle, like my father was. Geryon's just . . . sitting on top of the pile. They all are.

Like Ashes had said, everyone bowed to someone.

Everyone . . .

She opened her eyes again.

“I'm not letting him out,” she said. “And I'm not going to surrender.”

“What, then?” Isaac said. “Don't tell me you want to
fight
the apprentices. You'd never win, and anyway, it isn't
their
fault.”

“I'm not going to fight them,” Alice said, thinking of Flicker. “I'm going to talk to them.”

ASSAULT

A
LICE DIDN'T HAVE TIME
to do more than explain the outline of her plan before Ending arrived through a gap in the shelves that hadn't been there a moment before. The great cat was breathing hard.

“My brothers and sisters are closing in.”

“The other labyrinthine are coming
here
?” Alice said.

“They don't need to leave their own libraries,” Ending said. “The Readers have ordered them to extend their power to bind me, to block me off from my own labyrinth, so the apprentices can enter undisturbed.” She let out a long growl. “I do not understand. They cannot know for certain that Geryon is imprisoned, and yet they seemed to be in a panic. I will fight for as long as I can,
but against all the labyrinthine at once I am outmatched. I will not be able to help you when the apprentices arrive.”

“What about me?” Alice said. “The Dragon granted me some of its power—do you think that they know
I
can touch the labyrinth?”

“I doubt it,” Ending said.

“Unless one of the other apprentices told their master about you,” Isaac said.

Alice tested and found that she could still grip the fabric of the labyrinth easily. “So far, so good.”

“That will be your only advantage,” Ending said. “Use it carefully. If they find out, the other labyrinthine will bind you too. I am sorry, Alice.” Ending's tail lashed. “I did not expect this.”

“I knew there were risks,” Alice said. “And we may get out of this yet.” She turned to Isaac. “You should go back. If your master knows you've come here—”

“The hell with it,” Isaac said. “There's no time. If you can convince the other apprentices to go along with your story—to tell their masters that Geryon is still in control—then it won't matter.”

“And if I can't, Anaxomander will kill you,” Alice said. “Isaac, please. You have to try to return before he notices you're gone.”

“I'm not going to leave you alone.” Isaac stepped forward and pulled her close against him. Alice's heart thump-bumped, and she could smell the ancient fabric of his battered coat. His voice was a whisper. “I lost Evander. I'm not going to lose you too.”

“I . . .” Alice swallowed hard.

“The labyrinthine are here,” Ending said. She let out a roar and slipped away, disappearing into the shadows.

Alice felt the fabric of the labyrinth give a little shiver as new minds took hold of it, closing in on Ending. The great cat could keep moving, but sooner or later they would box her in. In the meantime, the rest of the fabric went calm, quiet and undisturbed. Moments later, she felt the faint quiver that meant there were other humans in the library.

Alice pushed herself away from Isaac, blushing only a little. She looked down at Ashes, who was hunched miserably by her foot.

“What about you?” she said. “Do you want a safe corner to hide in until this is over?”

“No point,” the cat mumbled. “If they lock Mother away, they'll come for me wherever I go.” He extended his front paws and then stretched, tail curving over his back. “You may as well bring me with you. At least that way I'll get to see what happens.”

Alice picked him up and set him on her shoulder. “Just get clear if it
does
come to a fight.”

“Oh, I certainly intend to,” Ashes said.

“You're not very loyal,” Isaac said as Alice took his hand.

“Loyalty,” Ashes sniffed, “is for
dogs
. Cats have better sense.”

“Stay close,” Alice said.

She twisted the fabric, connecting
here
to
there
for just long enough to step through. They emerged near an intersection of a narrow aisle and a wide one. There was a gap between two of the shelves, and from this vantage point Alice could spy on the broad aisle without being seen. She pressed her eye against it, and Isaac knelt to look as well.

Five people walked down the aisle, sticking together in a tight group. In the lead, Alice recognized Ellen, dressed in worn, cream-colored leather. She was tall and thin, with pale skin and close-cropped blond hair, and the bright light of her halo hovered a foot above her head. Behind her came Dexithea, her dark, frizzy hair tied up in a messy ponytail.

Then, side by side, were a boy and a girl Alice didn't recognize. The boy was black, with short hair and round metal glasses that gave him an owlish look. His prim impression was reinforced by his clothes, which were
gray and sober, a bit like the suits Alice's father used to wear. The girl, in contrast, wore shorts and a floppy, oversized shirt, and her skinny white legs were grimy and covered in scabs. Her hair was such a bright red that it reminded Alice of Flicker. She guessed both of these newcomers were a little younger than she, perhaps ten or eleven.

Last of all was a taller figure, wearing a long, dark cloak. Isaac's breath hissed.

“Is that
Garret
?” he whispered.

“Garret's dead,” Alice said. It
did
look a little like Garret, but it was hard to tell in the shifting shadows.

“Are you sure? I was too busy running away to be certain.”

“That whale-thing ate him,” Alice said. “Just before it smashed the bridge.”

“Maybe his master fished him out again.”

Ellen turned her head, and the light of her halo caught the tall figure's face. It was definitely Garret, with his long, animated features and theatrical silk cloak billowing out behind him. Shadows clung to his feet, boiling in the light like water on a hot skillet.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Isaac said as the intruders approached.

“Garret doesn't change anything,” Alice muttered. “We still have the same choices.”

“I'll be right here,” Isaac said. “In case something happens.”

“Me too,” Ashes said, from somewhere in the vicinity of the floor.

Alice straightened up, squared her shoulders, and
pulled on the devilfish thread. Her hands started to glow an eerie green, enough to light up her face. When Ellen was perhaps ten yards away, Alice stepped out from behind the shelves, hands raised.

The party of apprentices came to a halt at once. Ellen squinted, then dimmed the light from her halo.

“Alice?” she said. “Is that you?”

“Hello, Ellen,” Alice said. “Hi, Dex.”

“Sister Alice!” Dex said. “The auguries informed me we would be seeing one another again, although I must admit I did not anticipate the circumstances.”

“I wondered when you'd show yourself,” Garret drawled, pushing his way to the front of the group. Ellen, Alice noticed, stayed close by his side. “It's good to see you, Alice.”

“You too,” Alice said. “I'm a little surprised.”

“That I'm not dead, you mean?” Garret grinned impishly. “I surprise even myself sometimes.”

Something crossed Ellen's face, a flicker of remembered pain. She and Garret had been close, and Alice wondered how long she'd believed he'd been killed in Esau's fortress.

“I don't think you've met Michael and Jennifer,” Garret said, waving at the two newcomers. “This is Alice,
Geryon's apprentice. She's going to give herself up like a good girl.”

“Is that what you're here to do?” Alice said. “Take me prisoner?”

“Something Geryon did has gone very wrong,” Ellen said. She looked nervous. “He released something that ought to have stayed imprisoned.” She took a small green book from her pocket. “My master gave me a spell that can recapture it, if we set it in the right place.”

“We're supposed to bring you in to explain exactly what happened,” Garret said. “And to make sure you don't mess anything up once we activate the spell.”

Released something?
That didn't make any sense. Pyros and Helga had warned her about the Palace of Glass, but nothing could have followed her home without Ending seeing it.
All I came back with was the book.

“You've got it wrong,” she said aloud. “Geryon is busy with his own affairs, but he sent me to tell you to leave right away. You can tell your masters that he doesn't appreciate the intrusion.”

“Is that so?” Garret said. “If he were that irritated, you'd think he'd come down here himself.”

“Like I said, he's busy. And you're lucky he is. Do you really want to see an old Reader get angry?”

“You think we're lucky.” Garret's grin widened. “I think you're bluffing.”

“You don't have to do this, Alice,” Ellen said. “Geryon won't blame you for not standing up to all of us. Just surrender and come along quietly, and everything will be fine.”

“I must agree with Sister Ellen,” Dex said. “I do not wish for us to quarrel. Stand aside, and we complete our mission and let our masters decide what happens next.”

“It's a reasonable request,” Garret said. “Unless the prisoner has already gotten to her.”

Dex looked pained. “Garret—”

“My master warned me it might try something like that,” Ellen said, staring hard at Alice. “There's no telling what it's capable of.”

“I'm not under anyone's control,” Alice said. “But I'm not going to surrender.”

“And I don't plan to keep chatting all day,” Garret said.

“Are you really going to try to hurt me?” Alice said. “Dex? Ellen?”

Dex opened her mouth but for once seemed to have nothing to say.

“Please don't make me,” Ellen said.

“I'm not making you do anything,” Alice said. “Can we
forget the mission, just for a minute, and talk about this?”

“I think we've had enough talking,” Garret said.

“Garret—” Ellen began, but the boy had already raised his hand, shadows flowing along his arm like dark quicksilver.

“Get her,” he said pleasantly. “Try not to kill her, if you can help it.”

For a moment, Alice didn't think anyone was going to obey. Then Garret shot Ellen a sharp glance, and she swallowed and raised her hand. Beams of brilliant white light lanced out from her halo, reaching for Alice like spreading fingers. Alice ducked, wrapping herself in the Swarm thread. Where the blasts hit the shelves behind her, books exploded, burned pages fluttering down all around her.

Between blinks, Dex encased herself in the silver armor of her caryatid, and the young girl, Jennifer, raised her arms and summoned an enormous hawk. The bird rose above her with a screech, eyes trained on Alice as it flapped madly to gain height. In the center of the confusion, shadows roiled around Garret, but the blades of darkness Alice had been expecting didn't materialize.
Thank goodness for small favors.

Even if she'd been willing to fight the other apprentices, she didn't think she'd be able to win against all five of them. She paused, ducked another beam from Ellen, and shouted to Isaac.

“Now!”