In all the time she’d been visiting the Otherworld, Effie had still not actually been to an Otherworld town. People kept meaning to take her, but Pelham Longfellow—the other traveler who regularly visited Truelove House—was always being called away, urgently, to investigate “the Diberi situation in Europe,” and Clothilde couldn’t leave the Great Library for very long. But today, at long last, it was finally going to happen.

“And you’ll be getting your Keeper’s mark as well,” said Clothilde.

“I know,” said Effie. “I can’t wait to be able to help you all in the Great Library. To be actually allowed to go in, and—”

“Oh no!” Clothilde suddenly put her hand to her mouth. “We’re supposed to do a sort of official induction in the Great Library before you get your Keeper’s mark. I can’t believe I forgot. I think it’ll only take five minutes. We’ll do it before we go. Is that all right?”

“Okay,” said Effie. But somewhere nearby, the sun seemed to go behind a cloud. It wasn’t that Effie was scared of the Great Library exactly—she wasn’t afraid of anything—but the last time she’d been in there she’d almost died.

“I’ll go and get my things and wait for you downstairs,” said Clothilde.

Effie found Clothilde in the entrance hall carrying a large wicker basket that seemed to be full of tissue paper and colorful striped boxes. Her cousin put these down and took from around her neck the brass key that opened the Great Library.

“Ready?” asked Clothilde.

“Yes,” said Effie, frowning slightly. “Definitely.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Is something wrong?”

Effie shook her head. She couldn’t lie and say no out loud. She couldn’t tell Clothilde about the slight headache that had just started. Was it because she was remembering what had happened last time she’d been in the Great Library? Or did it mean that she was running out of M-currency? Effie blinked and tried to put it completely out of her mind. Lexy had once told her that something between 90 percent and 100 percent of pain was in the mind. Which meant you could control it—if you knew how. The first step was not believing in it, apparently.

The wooden paneled doors to the Great Library were just underneath the large sweep of the grand staircase that went up to the gallery, where Effie’s room was, and the doorway leading to the staircase to Cosmo’s private study. Clothilde approached with the key. Effie gulped silently. Would it be like it had been before?

“All right,” said Clothilde. “You first.”

“Really?” said Effie.