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“CRASH!”
Kaidan nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping the book he’d been in the process of shelving. He cringed as it hit the ground, landing open and bending several pages. He started to scramble down the ladder to retrieve it and almost fell off when another loud noise sounded from the main hall. “What in the world?” Snatching up the damaged book, and doing his best to smooth the pages as he went, Kaidan ran through the door in search of the disturbance. Ten paces into the main hall, he stopped short, his jaw dropping as he surveyed the mess before him.
Two of the large shelves that lined the hall lay overturned, their contents spilled across the library’s polished wood floor. Scrolls had unrolled and clearly been trod upon. Some of them were torn into two—or more—pieces. Books were scattered every which way, and Kaidan bit back a curse at the sight of several loose pages amongst the debris. How had such a thing happened? Righting the shelves would be no mean feat, as large as they were. But the time it would take to repair and reshelve all of these books and scrolls…Kaidan could already feel the headache beginning.
From the other side of the hall, muffled laughter sounded and Kaidan froze. An answering voice called out, dripping with drink, “How far do you think I can throw this bust?”
“Nah, bet you can’t even get it past your feet. That thing’s pure marble.”
“Who’s there?!” Kaidan called out before the first speaker could decide to try his strength anyway. Seeing red, he started toward where the bust in question—of Shepard, the great hero of the Citadel—stood. Before he was halfway across the hall, however, reason slammed into his anger. There were at least two intruders—and they were strong enough to have tipped the massive oak shelves behind him. His call seemed to have caught his intruders off guard. He could hear them muttering from behind the closest set of shelves. But Kaidan knew if it came down to trying to fight them, the odds were not in his favor. He pivoted on his heels, running for the nearest window, and threw it open. “Constable! Help!” He hollered it with all of the volume he could muster, adding, “Vandals in the library!”
“Shit! Let’s go,” he heard from behind him.
Kaidan ducked behind the nearest shelf, peering around it in an attempt to get a glimpse of the culprits. He cursed under his breath as he recognized one of them in the low lantern light, but stayed hidden until he was sure they were gone. Then he hurried to the main doors and slid home the heavy wooden bar that would keep out any more unwelcome visitors for the evening. Returning to the window, he peeked outside, unsurprised but still disappointed to see that not a soul was stirring in the street. “I’m glad they were fool enough to think the constables would come to help,” he muttered under his breath, before shutting the window and locking it. After a moment’s consideration, he began checking every window and door in the library to make sure all of them were locked as well.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Alenko, but there’s nothing more to be done.” Tevos’ tone indicated she wished him to drop the matter at once.
Kaidan wasn’t quite ready to let the vandalizing of the library stand. “But I saw them, ma’am. One was for sure Harkin, which means the second one had to be Conrad. He follows Harkin around like a puppy.”
“Well, Mr. Harkin and Mr. Verner both insist they were at home last evening when the destruction occurred, and Mayor Udina believes them. Or at least he says he does.” Tevos wrinkled her nose, a rare display of her distaste for the new mayor.
As frustrated as Kaidan was that she didn’t seem to be taking the incident seriously, he was glad to see that she wasn’t any fonder of the new mayor than he was. Udina seemed to have it out for Eden’s library. Well, for books and higher education in general, but from what Kaidan had heard, the man meant to make the library the scapegoat of it all. “What about the constable,” he tried, “can’t he ask around? I’m sure if he checked in at Chora’s, there’d be someone who saw Harkin and Conrad leave right before the incident.”
Tevos snorted. “You and I both know that even if the constable was so inclined, such testimony wouldn’t be enough to prove anything. Not to him, and not to Udina.”
“But—”
“Leave it, Mr. Alenko. Just be sure to lock the building up at closing from now on. And get to work. This mess isn’t going to clean itself.”
Pushing down a sigh of frustration, he managed to bite out, “Yes ma’am,” before turning for the main hall.
He let out the sigh when he once again saw the mess that Harkin and Conrad had made the night before. The blacksmith and his apprentice had come by to right the shelves after Tevos went to visit Udina, but the rest of it had been left for him, the lowly junior librarian, to set to rights.
“Might as well start by gathering up these,” he said, bending down to collect a few loose pages. He set to work, trying to ignore the headache pushing through.
Tevos was right. Kaidan knew she was. But that didn’t make it any better. It made it worse. The library was an institution in Eden, the legacy of Mayor Williams, the very first mayor after the town had been granted its independence from the lord that used to own the land. For Tevos, who had been the librarian here almost as long as Kaidan had been alive, to just blithely accept Udina’s campaign against it suggested that the demise of the library was inevitable. Kaidan couldn’t accept that. Hell, Kaidan wouldn’t accept it. He refused. Sure, he could probably find a position in some other library in some other town. But Eden was home. More than that—accepting the defeat, letting the library be run out of town by Udina and his mindless followers, well, it just wasn’t an option.
“So,” he murmured to himself as he tucked the loose pages carefully under a paperweight on the main desk, “what are you going to do about it?”
James sighed and took a long sip of ale, savoring the sweet flavor of the brew. It had been a long day. Anderson had roused him well before the sun to help Librarian Tevos with righting the huge bookshelves that had been toppled in last night’s break-in. The boss had let him grab a quick breakfast after that—emphasis on quick—before he’d been back to the forge to spend all day working on the massive gates Udina had ordered for the town. The work was grueling enough, but it was made worse by the fact that neither he nor Anderson really wanted to be making the gates. As far as James was concerned, they were unnecessary. Eden had never needed city gates in its history, and there was no indication that any were required now. The fact that Udina seemed so intent on putting a barrier between the town and its neighbors should have had the townsfolk running him out of office. The correlating fact that, in fact, no one in town really seemed to mind Udina’s new isolationist policies was fucking worrying, at best. James loved Eden but, for the first time, he was seriously considering seeking work elsewhere when his training with Anderson was complete.
Not like there’s anything for me to stay here for anyway. A picture of warm brown eyes flashed through his mind, giving lie to the thought. James sighed again and took another drink of ale, trying to push away the image. It wouldn’t be fair to say that Kaidan Alenko didn’t know James was alive—Eden was too small for most folks to not at least know who each other were—but that was about as far as Kaidan’s interest in James went. That man’s true love was the library, and he had little attention to spare for anything else. Not that James could blame him. It was a beautiful building, centered prominently in the town square, across from the inn, which also served as the town hall. When school wasn’t in session and the weather was nice, the library doors were thrown open and Tevos hosted readings of books and plays, often encouraging townfolk to try their hand at performing. Sometimes she invited musicians to play, clearing the tables in the main hall so that there could be dancing. The schoolhouse itself sat adjacent to the library, encouraging the town’s youth to believe there were no limits to the knowledge they might possess.
Not that the mayor held with such beliefs. One of the first things he’d done when he came to office was to enact a new, limited, curriculum for the school. When the headmistress objected, Udina fired her and replaced her with his own assistant. For the past year, the children of Eden were taught enough reading only so they could read, and to do the rest of their lessons. Those lessons included very basic math, the history of the town, and an assessment as to what kind of apprenticeship in town they should begin planning for. As far as Udina was concerned, any life skills the children of Eden wanted were something they’d have to learn on the job.
“Wow, Harkin! I can’t believe you drank that whole tankard in one go! Do it again!”
Conrad Verner’s annoying exuberance shook James out of his thoughts on the mayor’s disturbingly backward views. He glanced across the tavern, narrowing his eyes at the sight of Harkin and Conrad at the bar, pounding back drinks as if they hadn’t committed any crimes the previous evening. Granted, it seemed that as far as the constable was concerned, they hadn’t. But James had heard Kaidan telling the constable that morning who he’d seen the night before, and he didn’t doubt the man’s testimony for a second. For all that the constable hemmed and hawed that Kaidan couldn’t really be certain who he’d seen last night, James guessed the constable didn’t really doubt Kaidan, either—he just didn’t care enough to pursue the matter. Or was under orders not to.
“Nah,” Harkin said in response to Conrad’s encouragement. “Think I’ll take a walk. I’ve got some unfinished business, y’see.” He shot Conrad a sloppy wink and pushed away from the bar, ambling to do the door. His young companion trailed in his wake like a puppy eager to please its mother.
Shit. He’s going back to the library. James tossed back the rest of his ale, dropped coin for the drink and a tip on his table, and followed behind the other two men, keeping to the shadows.
“You really wanna go back, Harkin?” Conrad asked once they had the tavern behind them. “What for?”
“Still got that bust to throw,” Harkin grunted. “Pisses me off, the way it always looks down so smugly at everyone. Like Shepard was really some kind of hero and not just a hot-shot that got lucky. I coulda single-handedly held off a raider invasion if I’d been around. Anyone could, if they were quick enough on their feet.” He sniffed. “Not better’n me, and I aim to show it. Besides,” he laughed, “it was so satisfying watching that shelf tumble, and there were plenty left to take down. Maybe if we tip ‘em right, we can get some of ‘em to smash, too.”
James grimaced. This is bad.
“Yeah,” Conrad laughed. “That was fun! But, Harkin,” he paused, as if walking and thinking weren’t activities he was used to combining, “what if that Kaidan fellow calls for the constable again?”
“Right,” Harkin snorted, “let him. Didn’t do any good last night. Constable doesn’t care—else we’d be sitting in the jail instead of walking free. You heard the mayor last week. Books are a bad influence on our youth. Gives them the idea they’re better than everyone just doing their jobs here in town or out in the fields. Probably the constable’s just waiting for someone to come along and burn the library down so he doesn’t have to figure out how to deal with the place himself. I bet we could have taken care of that wimpy librarian last night and continued with our fun if we hadn’t been surprised by him.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. We could have done for him. And if he’s there now, we’ll do for him tonight, right? Can’t let him get in the way of our fun!” Conrad’s enthusiasm had returned and, as always after a moment of doubt, swung too far the other way once it returned.
“That’s right,” Harkin agreed. “We’ll do for him if he tries to get in the way. Then we’ll have our fun.” This was followed by a laugh that made James’ skin crawl.
They were almost to the library. James knew he had to do something, and fast. He could probably tackle Harkin and haul him away, but as soon as Conrad jumped to the other man’s defense, James would be in real trouble. There was no way he could take on the two of them with physical force alone. Besides, Anderson always got pissy when he found out James had been fighting. What does Harkin like more than destruction? The answer came to him in a flash. Sending up a prayer of thanks for good timing, he loped out of the shadows, catching up to the other two men a few feet short of the library steps. “Harkin! Conrad!” James inserted himself between the two of them, throwing his arms around their shoulders. “Oh, man, am I glad I caught you! When I saw you headed out of the square, I thought to myself, James, those guys are gonna miss a hell of a show. It would be downright un-neighborly to let that happen!” He grinned at them, letting his words slur just enough to imply he’d had maybe a bit too much to drink.
“What are you on about, Vega?” Harkin tried, and failed, to extricate himself from James’ grip. James caught him flicking his eyes toward the library, determination writ plain on his face.
“Sha’ira!” James crowed. “She’s performing at the inn tonight! I was headed that way when I saw you two out here.”
“Really?” Conrad beamed, his face alight with wonder. “I thought she’d retired!”
“Hah! Her? Never! She’s just been traveling. Came back today.”
Harkin’s entire demeanor had shifted at Sha’ira’s name. James well knew the man was besotted with the performer. He wasn’t alone in that. She had half the town wrapped around her little finger. There wasn’t a single indecent thing about her performances, but somehow, they radiated sultry promise that, if only someone could get her alone for a few moments, she could show them the universe. Harkin never missed one of her shows. He glanced at the library one more time, but James could see his resolve was faltering. “Are you sure?” He licked his lips, then fixed his eyes on James. “Wouldn’t the whole town be talking about it if she was back?”
“She asked the innkeeper not to advertise for tonight,” James shrugged, “said she wasn’t ready for the full crowd just yet. Wanted to do a more intimate set.”
“Wow,” Conrad breathed. “Harkin, should we go? It’s always so crowded when she performs. It’d sure be nice to have a clear view for once.”
“Yeah,” Harkin agreed, then fixed suspicious eyes on James. “How come you know all this? Did she talk to you?”
“Hah!” James laughed, shaking his head. Subtly, he started to steer the men back toward the inn. “I wish. No, she came by the shop after she got in this afternoon. Wanted to say hi to Anderson. They’ve been friends since they were kids, I guess.” Rumor had it that they were more than that, but James wasn’t sure he believed it. Anderson seemed to genuinely care for Sha’ira, sure, but he also appeared to be immune to her charms. James suspected she found it refreshing.
Harkin stopped resisting James’ attempts to change his direction, walking willingly toward the inn. “It does sound like a rare chance,” he agreed. “All right. Let’s go.”
“Well, you’ve certainly thrown yourself into getting this place cleaned up,” Tevos observed, startling Kaidan and almost causing him to drop the scroll he’d just finished repairing. “I’m glad to see you’ve focused your attentions to where they should be.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kaidan agreed, turning to face her. He held up the scroll. “In fact, this is the last thing left to do. Just have to put this where it goes.” And hope those vandals don’t come back. The last few nights had been a nice reprieve, at least. With Sha’ira back in residence on the inn’s stage, Harkin was too distracted to think about the library. It was lucky that apprentice blacksmith had found Harkin and Conrad when he did the night after the break-in. Kaidan, who’d been keeping watch from the library’s balcony, had no doubts they’d been coming back with real intent to do more destruction. He’d been ready to try to keep them out, although he still wasn’t quite sure how much good it would have done. Still. It wasn’t like he could stand by and do nothing. He’d tried to get the constable to set up a night watch on the library, but the man wasn’t interested and had berated Kaidan for wasting his time, then gone and complained to Tevos. She’d given Kaidan a lecture on overstepping his role and told him to go about his actual work.
“Good,” Tevos remarked, interrupting his sour reflections. “Hopefully now that everything is back to normal, you can also let go of this ridiculous notion that someone is out to get this institution.”
Kaidan stared at her. “With all due respect, ma’am, you can’t really believe the notion that ridiculous, can you? Just yesterday at the council meeting, Udina gave a whole speech about the new headmaster finding dozens of ‘dangerous’ books in the hands of his students. He questioned how they had come to have them, with the implication clear that the library—that we—were responsible for tainting the children of Eden. He also had a whole aside about how far too many of this town’s resources go toward frivolous enterprises instead of focusing on fortifying the town and training its citizens to support it.”
Tevos snorted and waved a hand, dismissing Kaidan’s concern. “Political bluster. He’s just trying to drum up support for his idea of starting a militia,” she ignored Kaidan’s grimace, “because if the town people think he’s acting to protect them from some imagined threat, they’ll continue to support him as mayor.”
“That doesn’t concern you?”
“I don’t see why it should. There is no threat, as you well know, and once people realize how much a militia costs to maintain, they’ll stop him from following through. Besides, you know as well as I do that the library doesn’t take up any of the town’s resources. We’re funded with the trust left in place by Mayor Williams’ will.”
“I know that.” Kaidan agreed. “You know that. The mayor knows it. Does anyone else, outside of the council? If the council is willing to let him use the library as a scapegoat, there’s not going to be anything we can do to stop him from seizing control of the trust and shutting us down.” Or worse.
“There’s the law,” Tevos said, as if that simple fact alone could safeguard them from Udina’s machinations. As if Udina didn’t seem to believe he was the law. Kaidan opened his mouth to protest and she held up a hand to forestall him. “We are done discussing this, Mr. Alenko. Our focus is on keeping this institution running and on serving our patrons to the best of our ability. Nothing else. Do I make myself clear?
Kaidan bit back a sigh of frustration. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Now. The headmaster did drop off a pile of books he no longer deems necessary for his classroom. Have them shelved before you take your lunch.” With that, she turned and left. A few minutes later, Kaidan heard the door to her office close with more force than necessary.
Shaking his head, Kaidan shelved the scroll in his hand and made his way to the desk. Tevos hadn’t exaggerated when she’d called the returned books a pile. At least thirty books lay haphazardly deposited on the desk, blocking its view of the entrance. Sorting them into a more orderly pile, Kaidan saw that most of them were simple children’s stories. Fairy tales and adventure books. The kind of things that helped him learn to love reading as a child. The only dangerous thing he could see about them was that they might encourage children to think about a life beyond Eden, beyond being a farmer or a weaver, or a smith. He frowned and pulled out the ledger of checked out books so that he could mark these as returned before shelving them. A glance at the most recent entry showed it had been almost a month since anyone had checked something out. Serve our patrons, she said. He shook his head. What patrons?
James slipped through the stacks, satisfied that he was the only person in the library, aside from Kaidan and Tevos. Udina’s ranting at the council meeting yesterday had riled up some of the town’s more gullible folks. James hadn’t missed the suspicious looks thrown Kaidan’s way as Udina went on. Hell, some of the looks had been down right malicious. Then, at the tavern last night, he’d overheard more than one grumbling conversation about how the library was doing more harm than good these days. Harkin and Conrad hadn’t even been there, but a significant portion of Eden’s citizenry seemed to be shifting to the opinion of, “I don’t even see why Eden needs a library.” Get folks drunk enough or angry enough—or both—and from there it was a pretty short hop to, “So, let’s get rid of it right now.”
Thankfully, Anderson didn’t share that opinion. James hadn’t even figured out how to ask if he could maybe take a few days to keep an eye on the library before Anderson himself suggested it. “Udina’s not terribly smart,” Anderson had said, “but he’s clever, and he knows what effect his words are having. Hell, he’s probably counting on it, hoping the rank and file will do his dirty work for him. You and I both know he’s got the constable in his pocket. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure Tevos and Alenko are safe, or to be ready to raise the alarm if it looks like trouble’s brewing. There are enough of us who still support the library to stop any major shenanigans, if we get the chance.”
James risked one more peek at Kaidan through the shelves, noting his look of concern as he logged in a giant heap of returned books. He made his way toward a small side door—the one Tevos and Kaidan used when coming and going after hours—and slipped outside, being sure to lock the door behind him. As far as he knew, that and the main doors were the only entrances to the building. Couldn’t hurt to check around outside, though, make sure there aren’t any other doors. Or some other way for someone to sneak in. Nodding to himself, James did a circuit around the large building. He confirmed there were no other doors, but did find a few places an industrious individual might climb up to the second-floor balcony that overhung the main entrance. There wasn’t much he could do about them—two trees on the lawn had large branches close enough to the balcony to swing over—but they were both visible from across the square, as was the entrance to the alley where the side door let out. James made his way across to the inn, settling down in the shade of a tree on its front lawn, ready to begin his watch. He felt confident he could scare off or distract any individuals who looked like they weren’t going into the library on legitimate business. If he spotted a group approaching, he’d be able to run for help. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. Anderson had indicated he had a few ideas on how they could nip Udina’s campaign in the bud, but until then, James meant to keep the library—and Kaidan, he could admit to himself—safe.
Kaidan looked up at the sound of the main doors opening, eyebrows raising at the sight of a broad-shouldered young man slipping into the stacks. That’s the third time this week. Seriously, what reason could the blacksmith’s apprentice have for repeatedly skulking around the library? Kaidan couldn’t think of any good ones. His mind helpfully provided a memory of that night after the attack, when Vega had buddied up to Harkin and Conrad on their way to attempt more vandalism. Kaidan had also seen Vega watching the place from across the square. No, he definitely couldn’t think of any good reasons for a friend of Harkin’s to be lurking so often, especially not these days. Well, Kaidan was done with it, and he was ready to make it known, damn it. He set aside book he’d been repairing—this one from the usual wear and tear, thankfully—and marched toward the stacks he’d seen Vega slip behind.
Approaching the younger man’s back, Kaidan scowled. Vega wasn’t even pretending to look at the books. He was just peering around the place, clearly scoping it out. Putting on his best “librarian” voice, Kaidan crossed his arms and asked, “Can I help you with something?”
Vega jumped about a foot into the air. Kaidan had to admit, it was satisfying to have gotten the drop on him. He bit down a smirk, keeping his face stern as Vega whirled around. “Um…no?” Vega ventured. “Just looking around.”
“I’ll bet,” Kaidan answered. “Well, you’ve been looking around every day this week. If you haven’t found the book you want by now, I don’t think we have it.” Vega looked surprised. Did he really think Kaidan hadn’t noticed him? It was literally his job to know if someone was in the library. James’ eyes widened further when Kaidan added, “And you can tell Harkin to forget whatever it is he’s planning. The constable may have looked the other way once, but he won’t be able to ignore a second break-in.” It was a bit of a bluster. The constable was probably perfectly content to ignore any number of break-ins at the library if Udina would let him. For the moment, Kaidan just needed to get Vega to take him seriously. Maybe get him to convince Harkin that messing with the library wasn’t worth it.
“Wait,” James protested. “You think—that’s not—”
“Whatever I think is irrelevant,” Kaidan interrupted. “What I know is that you’re here without any legitimate business and it’s within my rights to insist that you leave.”
“But—”
“Now. And don’t come back.” Vega looked like he wanted to continue his protests, but Kaidan stood his ground, one eyebrow raised. “Also,” Kaidan added, “don’t lurk across the square watching the place. There’s nothing to see.”
“Fine,” James huffed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I’ll go. Just. Be careful, man.”
Kaidan frowned after him, waiting until he heard the large entry doors close before returning to his desk. What an odd parting shot. But was it a threat? Or a warning?
“Here, hold this.” Anderson shoved a large section of gate at James, turning back to grab another section.
“Sir, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”
“Of course I am,” Anderson countered. “But if Alenko thinks you’re in league with Harkin, your presence is only going to distract him from looking out for the real threat.”
“Okay, maybe,” James conceded, following Anderson to the forge, “but if I’m not there to keep an eye on things, something bad could happen.”
Anderson gave him a level look. “Something bad could happen whether you’re there or not. Probably will, eventually, given how Udina keeps stirring the pot. But it’s been quiet lately, and Alenko is on alert, clearly. You need to trust him to do what can be done while you figure out how you can help without him knowing.”
“I guess,” James conceded. “I don’t like it, though.”
“Hell, I don’t like it either. I’m still trying to get Tevos and the town council to take the threat seriously. But they’re all convinced it was an isolated incident. Maybe they’re right. It’s not like Harkin is known for his follow-through. He’s probably moved on to the next thing that’s pissing him off by now, and Verner will follow where he goes, unfortunately.” He sighed. “Waste of potential, that.”
“Maybe. But Harkin and Conrad aren’t the only folks who are listening to Udina. Harkin’s just the first to resort to acting on it. If the mayor keeps talking shit—”
“Yeah. I know. I’ve got Valern trying to get him to stop. He’s like a dog with a bone, though. Makes me think he’s got something planned, but hell if I know what. Right now, things are quiet. Let’s enjoy that while it lasts and use the time to figure out a new strategy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Okay. Now set that down here so we can join these up. The sooner we get this monstrosity out of my shop, the better.” James did as he was instructed and they got to work.
He had to admit, it felt good to lose himself in the project, even if it was, as Anderson called it, a monstrosity. Work was still work. James just wished he had something better to show for it than a whole lot of sweat and an ugly gate. He was no closer to figuring out how to help protect the library by the end of the day than he had been at the start. Maybe he could find a different spot from which to watch the library where Kaidan couldn’t see him? Or he could enlist someone else to stand guard? But there was no guarantee Kaidan wouldn’t just chase them off too. I could always try talking to him, James mused, explain what I’m about. Maybe he’d welcome the help if he knew that’s what it was? At this point, getting Kaidan to trust him seemed like a long shot. Still, it had been quiet the past week. He’d go to the library tomorrow and see if Kaidan would listen. There wasn’t any harm in trying. Well, aside from getting yelled at again. James sighed as he put his tools back in place. A glance outside showed it was far later than he thought. Anderson hadn’t been kidding about wanting to finish the gate. The two finished halves loomed in the forge, taking up almost all of the not exactly large space. “I guess we’re going to have to deliver those tomorrow, huh?”
Anderson grimaced. “I’d rather not. We’d have to hire a cart, and making the arrangements then seeing it done would probably take up half the day.” He shook his head and rolled his shoulders. “I’ll swing by the mayor’s mansion tonight and let Udina’s secretary know he can pick the gates up at first light. They can get everything sorted while we’re still breaking our fast.”
James chuckled, approving of the plan. “Works for me. Well, if you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll head out. I think I’ll swing by the tavern.” Making something so big—and repugnant—was thirsty work.
“Still keeping an eye on Harkin, huh? I can’t imagine that aids in digestion.”
“Nah, he’ll be at the inn to see Sha’ira. I can eat and drink in peace.”
A confused look flashed across Anderson’s face. “Sha’ira’s not playing tonight. I thought you knew.”
“What? Why not?”
“Even she needs a break, now and again. She’s taking a few nights to rest her voice before her last show, and then she’s back on the road.”
James’ eyes widened. “When did she announce that?”
“Notice went up today, I’d guess. I saw her this morning, and she told me she’d just been to talk to the innkeeper about it. A messenger from the Citadel found her after her show last night, asked to book her on an engagement there.”
“Good for her, I guess,” James mumbled, worry starting to build. Without the guaranteed distraction of Sha’ira’s performance, Harkin might turn his attention back to other forms of entertainment. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing at the door. “I’m, uh, I’m gonna go. I think maybe keeping an eye on the tavern might not be such a bad idea.”
“I’m sure it’s fine, Vega,” Anderson sighed, “but go on. Good luck to you.”
“Thanks,” James mumbled, darting out into the night. So much for eating and drinking in peace.
“THUD!”
Kaidan bolted awake, groaning at the crick in his neck. He blinked bleary eyes and looked around, realizing he’d fallen asleep against the edge of the balcony.
“Try again, Harkin! I don’t think that lock can take many more hits.”
“Just shut up and get out of my way.”
“Right, yeah, sure.”
Kaidan scrambled to his feet and leaned over the balcony. He couldn’t see much, aside from the stairs leading to the library’s entrance, but another loud thud reverberated through the night, and he felt the balcony shake from the impact. What the hell where they doing down there? “Hey!” He leaned further out, straining to see beneath the balcony and knowing it was useless. “Stop that! Get out of here!”
Harkin appeared on the stairs, grinning up at Kaidan. “Hey, there book boy, just hold on tight. We’ll be with you in a minute.”
“Yeah! Book boy, hah!” Conrad laughed from beneath the balcony.
“I’ll call for the constable!” Kaidan warned.
Harkin snorted. “Look around, book boy. No one’s coming. No one cares. Hell, I could probably set this whole place on fire and the mayor would laud me as a hero.” His grin widened. “Say. There’s an idea. Verner, you got any matches on you?”
“I don’t think so, Harkin. Want me to go run and get some?”
“Nah, we’ll just have to do this the hands-on way.” He leered up at Kaidan then ducked back beneath the balcony. Another thud sounded, followed by the tinkling of falling metal. The lock had broken. The doors rattled, but Kaidan closed his eyes, sighing in relief as he pictured the heavy bar that still rested behind them. The bar was holding. Harkin and his lackey weren’t getting in tonight. Kaidan opened his eyes and found Harkin on the stairs again. He didn’t look particularly deterred. Kaidan’s heart sank. “Smart,” Harkin mused, “reinforcing the door. I wonder,” he grinned once more, “did you do the same to the side door?”
An involuntary gasp left Kaidan’s lips. He was fairly certain the side door was locked, but…
“Didn’t think so,” Harkin chuckled. He winked at Kaidan. “See you soon.”
Harkin bolted for the side of the building. Kaidan blinked and turned on his heel, racing inside and barreling toward the steps that would take him to the main floor. If he could get something in front of the door before Harkin could break it open, maybe he could keep him out. It was no use though. Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard the cracking sound of splintering wood. Kaidan paused at the foot of the stairs, considering. He couldn’t just let Harkin and Conrad run loose and tear the place up, but he wasn’t sure how to stop them. Already, he could hear stomping feet, accompanied by assorted crashes and thuds as they began their rampage.
Maybe…maybe he could sneak out the front? If he could get the constable here, while Harkin and Conrad were in the middle of their vandalism, surely the man would have to stop them? They might not face any real consequences, but it would limit the damage they could do tonight. No one would be able to pretend like the library wasn’t under threat anymore. Right. That was the only thing for it, then. He turned toward the main hall but was stopped short when a hand gripped his arm like a steel vise.
“Where do you think you’re going, book boy?”
Kaidan turned wide eyes to Conrad, who seemed to have appeared behind him on the stairs.
Conrad followed his gaze up the stairwell and snickered. “Harkin thought you might not remember to close the balcony door behind you. Easy enough to climb that big ol’ tree out front and hop over.” He stepped forward, pushing Kaidan ahead of him. “Hey, Harkin! You were right! I got in, and I’ve got book boy!”
Harkin appeared in the hallway, a malicious grin lighting his face. “Not bad, Verner. Not bad. Now,” he stopped in front of them, giving Kaidan a considering look. “What are we going to do with you?”
James ran the whole way from the tavern to library, cursing himself under his breath. Even Anderson had been so sure that Harkin would have let the idea of tearing up the library go by now, and James had almost let himself believe. He should have known better. Harkin was like a dog with a bone. He’d been distracted by Sha’ira, but in the back of his mind, the library was still there, waiting. James berated himself for even bothering to go to the tavern first. It had been nothing but a waste of time. Now he just had to hope—he skidded to a stop in front of the library steps, taking in the gaping front door. “Shit.”
He was too late.
Dreading what he might find, James darted inside, thankful for the large windows that lined the top of the main hall’s walls. They let in enough moonlight for him to pick his way through the destruction. This was so much worse than the first time. Shelves had been toppled and smashed. Passing by a large pile of books and scrolls, he caught the distinct scent of urine and scowled. He didn’t look too closely after that, afraid he might find something even worse if he did. His foot crunched on something and he stopped, glancing down to find he’d stepped on a shard of marble. Following a trail of similar pieces, he located what had once been a bust of Shepard and shook his head. “What assholes.”
He reached the desk and stopped to look around, devastated at what he saw. The main hall had been utterly destroyed. The vandals hadn’t stopped there, either. Several chairs lay smashed in the center of the hall, and peering up at the galleries, that overlooked it on one side, James could see the railings had been smashed in several places. A table dangled precariously over the edge of one. James wasn’t sure how the railing had held under its weight. Something told him it wouldn’t continue to do so much longer. A sound from behind him made him start, and he whipped around, listening intently. That sounded like… The sound repeated—a low groan of pain. “Oh no,” James murmured. “Please be okay. Please.” He darted down the hall behind the desk, stopping at the foot of a stairway leading up. Kaidan lay unconscious on the ground. James could make out blood on his face, there was an ominous dark patch on his shirt, and one of his arms was bent at an awkward angle.
James knelt beside him, checking for a pulse. Kaidan flinched and groaned again, but did not wake. “Shit,” James muttered. “Those assholes,” he repeated, with more heat. “Okay buddy,” he said, gingerly scooping Kaidan into his arms, “hold on. I’m gonna get you help.” Kaidan groaned in pain as James shifted him, then seemed to settle again. James walked to the side door as carefully as he could, trying not to jar the other man. Doctor Michel wouldn’t be happy to be woken so late, but she’d make sure Kaidan would be all right.
Then, after that was seen to, James meant to find Harkin and have a word with him about his extracurricular activities.
“Easy now, easy.”
Kaidan groaned and blinked his eyes open, trying to figure out where he was. It was very…bright. He blinked again, taking in the large window and pale yellow walls, along with the white blanket tucked over his body. “What?” He tried to form a more specific question, but couldn’t manage it. Instead, he groaned again. Everything hurt. How did everything hurt?
“You had a pretty rough couple of nights,” the voice said, sounding sympathetic. “I’m glad to see you awake at last.” Kaidan found the speaker, recognizing Doctor Michel. He took in his surroundings again, along with the pain he felt. His left arm seemed stiff and heavy. A glance down at it showed it had been wrapped and splinted. A memory of a sharp burst of pain before everything else went black came back to him—Harkin grabbing and twisting when Kaidan had tried to flee, and then a crack and then nothing. He looked at his arm again. Oh.
“What—” he tried again. “What happened?”
Michel sighed. “The details are unclear. But from what I was able to gather when you were brought in, you were attacked during a break-in at the library. That was the night before last. I was able to set your arm, stitch up your cuts, and make you comfortable, but you’ve been unconscious that whole time. To be frank, I was a little worried there might be some internal bleeding, but I no longer think that is the case. You were dehydrated, though. I think your body just reached a breaking point and had to shut down for a while to recover.” She shot him a pointed look. “At a guess, I’d say you haven’t been sleeping or eating regularly for some time?”
Kaidan winced, then nodded. “I guess you’re probably right about that. After the first break-in at the library, I, well, I have been trying to make sure it didn’t happen again.” He sighed and rubbed a hand gingerly across his face, wincing again at the stubble along his jaw. “Not that it mattered, in the end. They still got in.”
“I offered to call the constable when Mr. Vega brought you in, but he didn’t seem to think that would do much good.” She frowned. “He seemed in a hurry to find someone though. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that young man so angry.”
“Vega brought me in?” She nodded. Kaidan tried to wrap his head around the information. He was pretty sure Vega hadn’t been with Harkin and Conrad the other night. Had he come to meet up with them later? But why bring Kaidan to Doctor Michel? Maybe he felt guilty about Kaidan getting hurt? Hadn’t meant to go that far? He shook his head, unable to find an answer.
“Do you wish me to send for the constable now that you are awake?” Michel asked, watching him closely. “You were very severely wounded. The slice to your stomach was bleeding profusely. If Mr. Vega hadn’t brought you to me, you might not have survived the night. No matter what Mr. Vega thought, I do not think the constable can dismiss such an attack. Especially not when there is an eye witness.”
“The constable has declared the attack to be the work of a vagrant who is long gone,” Tevos said, stepping into the room. She took in Kaidan’s state with a sour face. Turning back to Michel, she added, “Mayor Udina is already using the incident to push his desire for a militia and to convince the town to contribute to the building of the barrier wall so it is completed sooner. I do not believe either of them will see the benefit to changing their story at this point. Not even based on Mr. Alenko’s testimony.” She glanced back at Kaidan, her face softening for just a fraction of a second. “I am glad to see you are awake. Although, if you had listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened. You’d have been at home, safe and sound, when the break-in occurred.”
“I was keeping watch,” Kaidan countered. “I had to do something. I couldn’t just let them wreck the place even more.”
Tevos rolled her eyes. “Books and furniture are not worth your life, Kaidan.” She shook her head. “But, as it is your life to do with as you please, I hope you find your passion worth the cost. The library is yours now.”
Kaidan’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It is clear that Eden no longer holds the library, or us, in any esteem. They would rather listen to Udina’s rants than think for themselves.”
“Oh, come now,” Michel protested. “It isn’t the whole town that agrees with Udina on this.”
“Perhaps not. But they do not seem to disagree strongly enough to oppose him.” She turned back to Kaidan. “I have been offered the position of head librarian at the Citadel. I’ve accepted. You are welcome to join me as my assistant there. You can follow along once you’re released from the good doctor’s care.” She watched him, expectantly.
Kaidan was already shaking his head. “I can’t just abandon Eden. This is my home. The library is my life’s work.”
“I thought you might say something like that.” Tevos sighed. “Very well, then. As I said, the library is yours, for whatever good that does you. Take care, Librarian Alenko. Perhaps our paths will cross again one day.” She nodded at him in farewell, then at Michel, and left without another word.
“I cannot believe she’s just…leaving town,” Kaidan said after a few moments of awkward silence. “She doesn’t even want to try to find a way to solve this problem.”
“She didn’t grow up here,” Michel mused. “I suppose she doesn’t understand having roots in a place. For what it’s worth, I hope you can find a solution. I meant it when I said that not everyone agrees with the mayor.”
“Thank you,” Kaidan said, managing a wistful smile. “But she was right about one thing—not everyone disagrees enough to do anything about it.” He frowned, considering. “Maybe that’s my angle. If I can get enough of those folks to rally in support of the library, maybe Udina will drop his crusade.”
“It’s worth a try,” Michel agreed. “But you’ll have to wait at least another day to start. I’d like to keep you for one more night, just to make sure you’re well enough before I release you.”
Kaidan wanted to scream. Or cry. Or kick something. He tried to run his hands through his hair to vent some of his frustration, and winced in pain as his broken arm was stopped short by its sling. He felt as gutted as the library looked. After he’d passed out the other night, Harkin and Conrad had evidently gone wild, toppling shelves and tearing up books. His nose wrinkled as he caught whiff of something foul in the corner. And other things. He grimaced, an involuntary growl escaping his throat. This would take ages to put back together and clean up, especially in his current state. He didn’t have Tevos around anymore, either. She hadn’t done much of the actual maintenance of the place, but she’d been another set of hands at least. He straightened. “I’m head librarian now,” he reminded himself. “If I need help, I’ll just have to go find it.” Surely the library’s trust held enough funds to hire a cleanup crew. School was just wrapping up for the year. Maybe some of the older students who didn’t have farm duties would be willing to earn some money working for him. The financial books would be in Tevos’ office—my office. Kaidan started to wind his way through the mess toward the back stairs but stopped when someone behind him cleared their throat. Kaidan turned, eyes widening. “Mayor Udina!”
“Alenko. Yes. Hello.” The mayor glanced around the hall, distaste clear on his face. “I have to say, I expected something…more.”
“I’m afraid you’re catching us at a bad time, sir,” Kaidan managed in a dry tone. There was no way Udina wasn’t aware the place had been vandalized for a second time just a few nights ago. Did he think the library kept magicians on staff to clean the place up? Trying to keep his anger out of his voice, he asked, “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Mayor? As you can see,” he gestured with his free arm, “I’ve got quite a lot of work to be doing.”
Udina chuckled. It was not a pleasant sound. He turned a smile on Kaidan that was even less pleasant. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Well. I suppose it will be up to you just how much work there is, really.”
“What do you mean, sir?” The hair at the nape of Kaidan’s neck rose, and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine.
“All of this trouble the library has had of late,” Udina began, rearranging his face into something that was meant to be sympathy as he gestured at Kaidan’s broken arm, “your own injuries—it’s proven that this institution is a source of conflict for the town. We can’t have that, can we?”
He paused, and Kaidan stared at him, trying to figure out if he was supposed to answer. He dearly wanted to point out that there hadn’t been any trouble with the library until Udina himself began stirring it up. “Sir?”
“Given everything that’s happened, it is clear that Eden has no need of the library, and allowing it to remain will only lead to further trouble. So, I’ve decided to shut the whole thing down.”
“You can’t do that!” Kaidan said as the words sank in. “The Williams Trust—”
“The Williams Trust supported the creation of the library, and supports the continued maintenance of it only under specific conditions. The head librarian has abandoned her post, which means those conditions are no longer fulfilled.” He shrugged and smiled placidly. “I think you’ll find I’m well within my rights to close the library and dissolve the trust.”
“Tevos named me her successor. There’s still a head librarian.”
“Did she?” He pursed his lips. “That’s funny. I know my office received her letter of resignation. She may have mentioned her intent to promote you, but we don’t seem to have the paperwork, signed by both of you and witnessed by a clerk, that would officially name you as her replacement.” His smile returned, spreading into a grin. “The trust’s documents are quite specific about the procedure for naming a new head librarian.”
Kaidan’s heart sank. Tevos had been head librarian for almost thirty years. It was possible she had forgotten the procedure for naming her replacement, or just didn’t know there was a specific one in place. With any other mayor, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. “Doctor Michel was there when she informed me of my promotion,” Kaidan tried. “Surely a written statement from her would suffice, given the extreme conditions of Tevos’ resignation.” But Udina’s smile hadn’t faltered. He’d won. He knew it, and he could see that Kaidan knew it too.
“I’m sorry, Alenko, truly, for all of the trouble you’ve been through. But alas, the library seems to have come to the end of its time here in Eden. Perhaps there’s some other job in town you might be suited for? Or perhaps Tevos still needs an assistant in the Citadel? Either way,” he shrugged, “your work here is done. Well, almost. You have three days to clear out any books and documents you don’t wish to see destroyed. According to the trust, they’re town property, of course, but I am sure no one would mind if you wanted to send them to some other library. I’ll return then to collect the keys and arrange for the removal of everything that’s left. Good day, Alenko.” He nodded and turned on his heel, striding out the door and leaving Kaidan staring behind him.
Three days. Kaidan looked around the wrecked hall, his heart sinking even lower. That wasn’t much time. But he would save as much as he could. He bent over and picked up a book lying in a beam of sunlight. No, it wasn’t much time at all. “Better get to work, then,” he murmured.
“Can you believe this?” James railed as he pumped the bellows. “Udina had to have been waiting for something like this to happen. He was ready to swoop in with the orders way too fast.” He shook his head and looked at Anderson. “Can he even do this? Isn’t there a trust or something?”
“Apparently,” Anderson grimaced as he turned the tongs, “Tevos overlooked some technicality of the protocol for naming her replacement and Udina is using that to say the conditions of the trust weren’t met.”
“Which means what? He just gets to close the library and use the money from the trust for whatever he wants?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“This sucks.”
“I agree. But at this point, I’m not sure what can be done about it. Udina played us all.”
James frowned. Anderson was right. He didn’t have to like it, but it didn’t change the fact. If only Harkin and Conrad hadn’t disappeared. Most of the town seemed to be buying the story that a vagrant attacked Kaidan and wrecked the library. Kaidan could, presumably, counter that story. But he hadn’t, as far as James knew. He guessed it was because he understood how little good it would do at this point. Without the men around to be questioned—and someone actually willing to question them—pointing the finger their way didn’t really change anything. But if they were to be found, and I could get them to confess… It was a long shot, but anything was worth trying at this point. “Sir,” James began, catching Anderson’s eyes.
Anderson gave him a sharp look and then sighed. “Whatever you’ve got planned, can it wait until we finish this piece, at least?”
“Yes, sir,” James answered, grinning. “Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, don’t thank me just yet. I don’t know what you’re gonna do, and I’m not sure I want to. The least I can do is give you the chance to try. But I do still have a forge to run. Come on. Hold it steady, now.”
They got to work, and it could have been James’ imagination, but he thought maybe Anderson was going a little faster than he normally would have. Not enough to sacrifice quality, of course, but enough so that they were done a little bit quicker. James nodded to him and removed his heavy leather apron, waving as he slipped out of the forge and headed for Conrad’s place. Harkin was probably too smart to leave any trace, but Conrad might have left some clues as to where he’d gone when the two vanished.
“Can I help you?” A tired-looking young woman answered the door on the second knock. She looked James up and down with more annoyance than curiosity. A bright-eyed child with Conrad’s eyes was perched on her hip, attempting to braid her hair.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Verner, but I’m looking for Conrad.”
“Well, he’s not here,” she sighed. “Hasn’t been for a few days, which has been fun, let me tell you. Usually, he distracts this one so I can get my sewing done when school’s out.”
“I don’t suppose he told you where he was going?” James slipped a hand into his pocket and fished out a small iron ring puzzle, dangling it in front of the child. “Hey,” he said, grinning at them. “Do you like puzzles?” Their face lit up and they reached for it, releasing their iron grip on their mother’s hair. James thought she let out a small sigh of relief.
She managed a small smile and shrugged. “I’m afraid not. He came home all proud of himself and saying the mayor had asked him to run a message or something.” She rolled her eyes. “I kind of figured he was full of it. He likes to exaggerate, you know, but he left coin, so I guess he could be on a paid job.” She shrugged again.
“Okay,” James said, mulling this over. Conrad could have just been trying to impress his wife. Or Udina could be more directly involved in this than James knew. “Thank you for your time,” he added, “I appreciate it.”
“All right,” she said, shrugging again. “Good luck, I guess. Oh, here,” she started to take the puzzle back from her child, but James waved her off.
“Keep it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Seems like it’s of more use to you than me,” he said, nodding to the child who was enraptured by the puzzle.
She smiled a little and nodded. “Okay. Thank you, then. Good day to you.”
James took his leave and wandered back through town. Could the mayor have really told Conrad and Harkin to get out of town for a few days? He snorted to himself. Of course he could have. The question was, how did James prove it? As if summoned by his thoughts, Udina’s voice floated around the corner of the building James was passing. “You’re sure no one saw you?”
James stopped short, shaking his head to clear it. He glanced up and saw that he was standing in front of the florist’s shop. The voice had seemed to come from down the alley beside it. He took a tentative step toward the alley and stopped when another familiar voice spoke in reply.
“I’m sure. I left that idiot Verner at the way station in Nirvana. He attracts too much attention. No one saw me slip into town this morning.”
That was Harkin. What were Udina and Harkin doing meeting in an alley in the middle of the day?
“Good,” came Udina’s curt response. “He’s going to be a loose end. He’ll need taking care of, but for now I’ve got another job for you.”
“Hey, if you can keep paying, I’m happy to keep doing your dirty work.”
Udina scoffed. “There’s no need to make it sound so illicit. We’re doing what’s necessary for the good of the town. Once I’ve established the militia barracks in the library building, they’ll be up front in the town’s consciousness. I’ll build them up as a source of pride and have them do drills in the square, encourage the town to cheer them on. When I send them to oust the Batarians, everyone will cheer them as heroes.”
“Citadel won’t like you annexing the neighbors.” Harkin didn’t sound like he cared, just that he felt the point should be made.
“Maybe not, but I can convince them the Batarians were threatening the safety of Eden. They’re not really part of alliance. No one in Citadel will be too bothered about us expanding our territory at the expense of some outsiders who were making trouble for its upstanding citizens.” Udina sounded so pleased with himself, as if he’d looked at the situation from every angle and was convinced he’d covered them all. A cynical part of James’ mind pointed out that his plan probably had a decent chance of succeeding. By the time the Citadel learned of Udina’s aggressions, he’d have had plenty of time to make it look like he was in the right.
“Whatever,” Harkin huffed. “I’m not into politics. Just a payday. What do you need me to do?”
“The first phase of my plan is just about done, but Alenko’s a loose end. He wasn’t supposed to wake up again—he can identify you and Verner. So far, he hasn’t pressed the issue, but if he thinks anyone will support him, he will. That can’t happen.”
James heard Harkin’s knuckles crack. “I’ll make sure it won’t. Book boy won’t see another sunrise, I’ll make sure of it.”
“Well. One more. Right now, he’s busy trying to salvage as many of his precious books as he can before he’s evicted. Lay low for a day. Tomorrow night, after dark, make him disappear. By the time anyone realizes he’s missing, his grace period to vacate will be up. People will think he just left town.”
A chill crept down James’ spine.
“I can work with that,” Harkin answered. James could hear the man’s grin.
“Good. Will Verner stay put for that long?”
“Oh yeah. I told him he needed to wait for a reply to the message we were delivering.”
“Excellent. Once you’ve taken care of Alenko, get rid of Verner. I don’t trust him not to talk about this.” James heard a soft clinking, followed by a low whistle from Harkin. Udina continued. “Half now. Return to Eden in a week for the other half.” There was a pause, then, “I trust you know how to keep your mouth shut?”
“Course I do. Besides, I’m smart enough to know it’s guys like me take the fall for guys like you if this kind of thing gets out. You don’t have to worry about me keeping your secrets.”
“Glad to hear it. All right. I need to get back. I will see you in a week. No—you go that way. I’ll go out the back. Can’t have anyone see me coming out of alleyways in the middle of the day.”
Realizing that he was about to be caught, James ducked into the florist’s, turning his back to the display window. There was a large mirror behind the counter to help make the small shop look larger. James watched it, waiting for Harkin to go by.
“Can I help you?”
He jumped and turned to find the florist at his elbow, looking him over with polite curiosity. “Um.” He thought quickly, gaze darting around. “How much for those blue roses?”
Nirvana was a whole lot of nothing in the middle of nowhere. James tied his horse to a hitching post and surveyed the way station. A postal station, a stable, and an inn that had maybe two rooms. He’d passed a farm about a mile back, which is where he guessed the few people who lived here got their food from. The sun was setting as he made his way into the inn, praying that Harkin had been right about Conrad staying put. After leaving the florist’s, James had thought long and hard about what to do next. Udina running the library out of town was bad. Doing it so he could build a militia and invade the next town over was worse. Kaidan could guess where Udina was planning to get the money to finance that—without the library using the trust, that was a whole lot of available coin. But even worse, he meant to have Kaidan killed. Well, and Conrad. But…no. That was bad too. The guy was a fool, but his biggest mistake was putting his faith in Harkin and Udina. He didn’t deserve to be killed for that. Hopefully James could convince Conrad that it had been a mistake and manage to save both him and Kaidan in the process.
James had returned to the forge and filled Anderson in on what he’d heard. Anderson agreed that, even if Kaidan would agree to testify that Harkin and Conrad had beaten him and destroyed the library, the constable was probably too deep in Udina’s pockets to act on it. They needed more. Anderson thought Valern might help them, but not without actual evidence.
So.
Here James was.
In Nirvana.
Hoping to get help from one of the people who was behind all of the trouble in the first place.
“Can I help you?” A growly woman eyed James as he walked in. “Do you need a room for the night?”
“Hopefully not,” James said. “I’m looking for someone I think is staying here. Young. Blond. Kind of like a puppy in human form?”
“Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “Him. Yeah. He’s here.” She nodded toward the stairs in the back corner. “First door on the right. If you’re here to pick a fight, you’re paying for any damages.”
“Right.” James said. “Uh. Thanks.”
He took the stairs and came out into a hallway with four doors. Either this place is bigger than it looks, or the rooms are smaller than I thought. Either way, Conrad was here. James took a deep breath and knocked on the first door on the right. He heard rustling from behind it, and then it swung open to reveal an expectant looking Conrad.
“Vega?” His expression shifted to puzzlement. “What are you doing here? Did Harkin send you? Oh! Do you have the message I’m waiting for?”
“Not exactly.” James sighed, then gestured behind Conrad. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”
It didn’t take long for James to lay out what he’d overheard earlier that day. Conrad was, unusually for him, skeptical. “The mayor isn’t planning to invade our neighbors. He just wants to keep Eden safe from them.”
“Okay, but if that’s really all he wants, why not build a new barracks, get the whole town to pitch in? Why run the library out of town?”
“Because it’s hurting our youth! You heard what he said!”
“Is it, though? How? How is your kid hurt by having a library in town?”
Conrad’s face crinkled up in thought, as if he had never considered this. “The mayor says the library exposes the kids to dangerous ideas,” he tried.
“Okay. Have you ever taken your kid to the library? Is there anything dangerous there?”
“I mean, I guess not. We do enjoy the puppet shows and the plays. But still. The mayor has to have a good reason. Like, the need to act fast! He thinks the danger’s imminent enough that there’s no time to build a barracks. The town needs the library building for that.” Conrad nodded and grinned, looking satisfied with himself.
“If that’s the case, Conrad, why all of the secrecy? Does Udina not trust that the town would act in its own best interest? If he explained that we need the library building for a barracks, would everyone not agree to make that sacrifice to keep us all safe? They already agreed to the wall around town, and the gate. You know they would agree to this,” he pressed on, not giving Conrad time to come up with an excuse. “Even Alenko and Tevos would have understood and figured something out for a temporary library—the trust that funds it would probably let them build a new one, even. So why is Udina trying to make people scared of the library and paying you and Harkin to go vandalize it—and to rough up Kaidan, then pretend it’s a vagrant?”
Conrad frowned, and James could see him piecing all of the facts together, trying to assemble a puzzle that just…didn’t fit. He decided to play his last card.
“Conrad,” he said, placing a hand on the other man’s and meeting his eyes, “I heard the mayor, today, tell Harkin to make Kaidan disappear for good, then come find you and do the same.” Conrad’s eyes widened and James pressed further. “Is that what you signed on for? Killing people to get a building? Leaving your own kid to grow up without a father?”
“No!” Conrad stood up, and James saw that his eyes glistened with tears. “Of course not! No one was really supposed to get hurt! But Harkin wouldn’t really—” He turned to James. “Would he?”
“You know him better than I do,” James shrugged.
Conrad deflated. “I just wanted to try to keep the town safe. For my kid.”
“I think your kid would rather have you around. So would your wife.” James stood and walked to Conrad, gripping his shoulder. “So. I’m asking you to help me fix this. To put a stop to things before anyone else gets hurt. Are you willing to do that, Conrad?”
He bit his lip and met James’ eyes. Then he nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
Kaidan struggled to add a load of books to the wagon parked in front of the library. He’d tried asking for help at the inn and the tavern yesterday, but no one who was sympathetic to his cause seemed to be around. He’d returned to the library and started pulling everything off the shelves he wanted to try to save. Today had been spent moving it all to the main hall and then trying to load it on the wagon. It was slow-going work by himself, slowed even further by his broken arm. Worse than that was the realization that most of what he’d pulled wouldn’t fit. He’d had to stop and reassess, making hard choices about what was truly essential. Kaidan had no doubts that anything left behind would be destroyed. He wondered if Udina would hold a bonfire in the square. Then he wondered how many people in town would gleefully attend.
His spirits were low as he glanced up at the sky. The sun was just about gone, the last light of dusk fading away. The wagon had room for maybe two more loads—still not enough, but it was all he had. There was no time to find another wagon. Tomorrow, Udina would come for the keys to the building and that would be it. Kaidan sighed and returned to the main hall to choose which of the dozen piles remaining would make the final cut. By the time he got back outside, he expected the darkness to be total, and he was surprised to realize that he could see quite well as he made his way down the library steps. That surprise turned to alarm as he identified the source of the light. His wagon had been set on fire. “No!” He dropped the books he held and sprinted for the wagon, hoping he could smother the flames.
“Thought that might get your attention, book boy.”
Kaidan whipped around at the voice, and Harkin stepped out of the shadows from beside the library stairs. Kaidan’s stomach dropped, but he bit his lip and turned back to the fire. No matter what Harkin did to him, he had to try to save these books. At the very least, a fire left unchecked might spread. He grabbed the cushion from the wagon’s seat and manage to beat out the flames.
“Hey!” Harkin stepped up, grabbing Kaidan by the shoulder and wrenching him around, sending a sharp stab of pain up his broken arm. “Don’t ignore me!”
“What do you want?” Kaidan bit it out, overcome by a wave of exhaustion. He was just so tired of all of the games. “You’ve already won. The library’s done. Just let me leave in peace.”
“Now,” Harkin drawled, “where would be the fun in that? Besides, the mayor doesn’t want to risk you coming around to ruin his plans. But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of peace soon enough. In fact, that’s all you’ll have.” He grinned and lifted his arm. Kaidan caught the glimpse of something shiny—metal? A knife! In a flash, he understood Harkin’s intention. He tried to struggle out of the other man’s grip, but it was too tight. “Ah, ah, ah,” Harkin tutted. “I don’t think so. You don’t get to walk away this time.”
Kaidan gulped and closed his eyes, bracing himself. But the blow never came. Instead, a new voice spoke up from behind them. “You know, that sounded dangerously like a confession. What do you think, Vega?”
“I think that was definitely a confession,” a familiar voice agreed.
“In fact,” the first voice said, drawing closer, “I’m pretty sure that’s the final nail in Udina’s coffin, right there.”
Kaidan opened his eyes at the same moment the pressure of Harkin’s grip disappeared. Deputy Constable Bailey was there and had grabbed Harkin, squeezing his wrist until he dropped the knife. Bailey yanked Harkin backwards, away from Kaidan, who sagged against the wagon, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Hey,” Vega said, rushing to his side. “You all right?”
Kaidan stared up at him, confused at the clear concern in Vega’s eyes. “I have,” he managed in a shaky voice, “no idea.”
James laughed. It wasn’t cruel or taunting. It sounded relieved, more than anything. “Well, let’s get you inside then, and make sure, okay?” He started to lead Kaidan up the stairs, then paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Bailey, do you need me for anything else?”
“Not tonight, I don’t think. We’ve got your statement, and you can confirm my report for Valern and Sparatus tomorrow. Just swing by in the morning and we’ll finish getting it sorted. I’ll haul this trash down with the rest.” He grinned and yanked on Harkin’s arms, dragging him toward the jail house.
“Right, then,” Vega nodded at him. “See you in the morning.” Turning back to Kaidan, he continued to lead him up the stairs, “In we go.”
“But—” Kaidan stopped on the stairs, trying to get his bearings. “I have to be out of there by the morning. I need to finish getting the books—”
“You’re not going anywhere, unless you want to,” James told him with a reassuring smile. “The rest of the council overturned Udina’s order closing the library. They’ve also,” he added, sounding vindicated, “removed him from the office of mayor.”
“Oh,” Kaidan managed. “That’s good.” He let James lead him inside, trying to sort out everything that had just happened. James led him to Tevos’ office—well, his office now—and pressed him into a chair.
“Tea, or something stronger?” James asked, looking Kaidan over with a critical eye.
“There’s whiskey in the cabinet over there,” Kaidan said, pointing. Tevos left most of her things in her hurry to leave town, and Kaidan hadn’t prioritized cleaning out the office, with everything else that had been going on. Now that he thought about it, a drink sounded like an excellent idea. He watched James get out the bottle and a pair of glasses, then pour the drinks. “Thank you,” he said, accepting the glass. He took a long sip, watching James over the rim. He had about a million questions, but one floated to the top of his mind. “Why did you take me to Doctor Michel the other night?”
James grimaced. “By the time I found out Sha’ira didn’t have a show that night and Harkin and Conrad weren’t in the tavern, I was too late to stop what they did here.” He sighed. “But I found you, at least, and it was clear you needed more help than I could give.” He shrugged.
Kaidan thought this over, a few pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. “You weren’t ever actually with Harkin and Conrad, were you?”
“Oh, hell no!” James blinked and met his eyes. “I love this place, man. I wouldn’t want to see it go—and I definitely wouldn’t have ever tried to hurt you.” He stopped short and cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away and taking a quick drink. He gave himself a little shake, then turned back to Kaidan. “I was trying to keep them away from here and make sure no one else was messing with the place. That’s why I was, uh, lurking. I didn’t realize you’d seen me with them when I sent them to Sha’ira’s. I might have actually explained myself.” He sighed. “Sorry.”
This drew a chuckle from Kaidan. “You’re sorry? I’m the one who owes you an apology. I’m sorry, for assuming the worst of you.”
“It’s okay, man, I get it.” James looked down and shrugged.
“No, it’s not,” Kaidan insisted, leaning forward. “I really am sorry. I should know better.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover?” James laughed.
“Exactly,” Kaidan agreed. He took a long sip of his drink and sat back in his chair, allowing himself to really relax for the first time in what felt like forever. “So, Vega. You seem to know more about what’s been going on than I do. Care to fill me in?”
James nodded, looking around. “Kind of a long story, and I skipped dinner. Looks like maybe you did, too. Want to go get something to eat while we talk?”
“I’d like that,” Kaidan said, raising his glass to James in a toast. “I’d like that a lot.”
