Tessellated tiles cut from reflecting stones in tones of deep green and brown covered the floor in a complex pattern. The walls were decorated with panels of carved amber. A couple of dozen other dragons stood around the room, clearly members of the nobility from the richness of their silk and brocade robes. They were all in the part-human form that Irene had seen once or twice before. The dragons here maintained a human build and height, but their skin showed scales like a snake, the colour of gems or precious metals. Their long, manicured nails almost resembled claws. The courtiers all wore their hair long, tied back in a single braid. And they carried themselves with an absolute authority that made their shape seem the natural, proper way to be formed. By comparison, human flesh seemed but a larval stage; weak, pitiful and unfinished.
Irene realized this was going to take place in front of an audience, even if it was a collection of the Queen’s most trusted servants. The stakes had just gone up, and her options had grown even fewer. A private confession wasn’t an option any longer.
The room might have looked at first glance like a medieval fantasy – but it was timeless. The guards with halberds by the doors also wore efficient-looking guns at their belts, and Irene had no doubt they knew how to use them. And everything and everyone in this room, in this castle, belonged to the Queen. Irene could feel her power permeating the room. Even though sunlight streamed in through the high windows, there was still somehow a feeling of being deep underground. She could imagine herself in some mine vault that reached down to abysmal depths. The weight of earth was a terrible pressure bearing down on her, making her conscious of how tiny and short-lived a thing she was, and the light seemed very far away.
With an effort she lifted her head and focused on the Queen. Ya Yu was the shade of willow leaves in spring, and was robed in the same delicate light green, bordered in pale gold. She sat on a throne – or at least a highly dramatic chair – that seemed to have been carved from a single block of onyx. There was apparently no cushion.
Irene made a private mental resolution that if she ever became a queen, her throne would incorporate a cushion. Also a convenient bookcase.
Their group approached the throne, led by Mei Feng, and all bowed. Qing Song, Jin Zhi and Hu behind them all made a full obeisance, going down on one knee and pressing right fist against left shoulder. Kai made a deep bow of respect. Irene and Evariste bowed as best they could.
Ya Yu gestured for them to rise: her attention settled first on Qing Song and Jin Zhi. ‘I had not expected to see either of you without the book that I requested. It was to be proof of your fitness for office,’ she said. Her voice was sweet and low, but it filled the room and hummed in Irene’s bones the way Mei Feng’s roar had done earlier. ‘I desire an explanation.’
Mei Feng took a step forward. ‘Your majesty, I approached the target world with my servants when two dragons were observed in open battle. And we intercepted this group leaving. They have not yet offered an acceptable answer as to their actions or motivations.’
Ya Yu looked at the six of them. ‘Perhaps one of you would care to speak?’ she said mildly.
Under the Queen’s gaze, Irene’s throat seemed to lock up in terror, and she had the urge to babble everything she knew. She managed to look away, and glanced at Hu out of the corner of her eye. She’d expected him to advance his case first, then wait for Evariste to back him up. But he was silent, standing behind Qing Song in perfect passivity.
Then Irene realized that Hu couldn’t speak instead of his lord. It just wasn’t appropriate here. The Queen had requested answers from junior nobles of her court. It wasn’t a servant’s place to put himself forward and offer an explanation.
As the silence stretched out, it became clear that no one was keen to speak first, and the tension was building. But silence wouldn’t save them. If the Queen felt like resolving matters by declaring a universal Off with their heads, she had the authority to do it.
So if Irene wanted to take control of the explanations, it had to be now.
‘Your majesty,’ she said, stepping forward. ‘I request permission to speak.’
Kai twitched very slightly, one hand moving as if he wanted to hold her back. She knew him well enough to read his face. He looked as if he was preparing himself for a catastrophe. All she could think was, Trust me.
‘Do so, and identify yourself,’ Ya Yu commanded.
‘My name is Irene, and I am a servant of the Library,’ Irene said. ‘As is Evariste here, who may be considered’ – if one squinted really hard in a poor light, she thought – ‘to be under my authority. I was originally sent to investigate his current location and activities.’
Ya Yu nodded. ‘Continue.’
‘When I arrived in the New York in question, I located him and heard his story. He had been imposed upon by dragons.’
‘In what way?’ Ya Yu demanded. Her disapproval was clear in her voice, and echoes of it were visible in the courtiers’ faces. But whether it was disapproval of Irene or of the accused, Irene couldn’t tell. Out of the corner of her eye Irene could see Qing Song standing a few paces to her right with his face set like stone, clearly ready to deny anything and everything.
‘Evariste returned to his world of origin, intending to visit his old mentor,’ Irene said. ‘But he came home to find that the man was dead of a heart attack, and his daughter had been stolen by a member of your court.’ She turned her head to stare accusingly at Qing Song and Hu, ignoring the look of betrayal that Evariste was giving her. He stepped forward to interject, but Kai pulled him back. ‘He was blackmailed into compliance by a threat to his daughter, and ordered to find a certain text. Ultimately he fled from those involved, but he was too afraid for his daughter to risk returning to the Library. While I was trying to resolve this, I was assaulted myself, and the nobles here – Qing Song and Jin Zhi – engaged in open battle above the city. We subdued them and removed them from that world in order to save civilian lives.’
Ya Yu tilted her head like a raptor considering a prey’s last desperate attempts at escape, and the tension in the room tightened. ‘You make serious accusations against one of my servants,’ she said. ‘I trust that you can justify them.’ She glanced at Qing Song.
‘This is all highly emotional and poetic,’ Qing Song said curtly. ‘Your majesty, this woman has clearly learned her trade from the books she has stolen. She can spin a lie at a moment’s notice. I ask her for proof of her story.’
‘Did you or did you not employ the man Evariste?’ Ya Yu asked.
Qing Song squared his shoulders. ‘He came to me and offered his services.’
A burst of muttering rose from the courtiers at his words. In a less well-regulated court, it might have been uproar. Here there was murmuring and short fierce gestures, and even then Irene could sense the shock and turmoil behind it. This was a place of law and order – and Qing Song had just admitted to breaking the rules.
The Queen’s eyes went wide with anger, and as she spoke everyone else fell silent. ‘He did what? And you accepted?’
‘Your majesty,’ Qing Song said, a hint of desperation in his voice, ‘I know the rules of your challenge forbade us from seeking their help, but surely there is no harm in taking a gift when it is placed in front of you? Only the foolish general ignores the benefits of chance.’