“What about damage to Eden Eld?” Otto asked. Eleanor felt sick. What was Katie going to do? Would she destroy Eden Eld completely with a flick of the quill?

Thea wouldn’t do that, she thought. But Katie wasn’t Thea anymore. Because you couldn’t save her.

“It’s not a simple process. She won’t be able to do too much all at once,” the Editor said, swiveling an ear back. “There may be some time before things go too horribly awry. Of course, they were fairly awry already.”

“This is a disaster. No books have been stolen from the Library in all my six hundred years of service,” the Librarian moaned, covering his face.

“We’ll get them back,” Eleanor pledged, though her voice shook. “The books and the ink and the quill.”

The Editor and the Librarian looked at each other. “Is that allowed?” the Editor asked.

“Technically speaking, we are responsible for all retrieval efforts,” the Librarian said in a hushed whisper, though they could all hear it clearly.

“I’m not cut out for fieldwork. I have tendinitis,” the Editor whispered back, leaning her head in close to the Librarian’s.

“They are heroes,” the Librarian allowed. “And it is an unprecedented emergency.”

“Not to mention board game night. We wouldn’t want to skip board game night,” the Editor replied.

Together, they turned toward the four humans. The Librarian cleared his throat. “Given the extraordinary circumstances, we will allow you to retrieve our books and supplies.”

“And what do we get in return?” Eleanor asked, folding her arms.

The Librarian looked affronted. “A sense of civic duty fulfilled!”

“No way,” Otto said, shoulder to shoulder with Eleanor. “We want the Stories.”

“The Stories belong to the Library’s collection,” the Librarian said. He hesitated. “But I suppose we could let you check them out, with a generous return policy.”

“What about the damaged books policy?” Pip asked, with a tone of voice that suggested extensive experience with the topic.

The Librarian’s eye twitched. But the Editor chuckled. “Come with me,” she said, and beckoned them forward.

•   •   •

THEY LEFT THE Librarian to tidy up all the books that had been scattered in the fight. The Editor led them to a tall, narrow door with nine strong locks, which she turned all at once with nine keys held in nine hands. On the other side was a large room lined with shelves. The books on the shelves were locked behind firm iron grates. The Editor crossed to one, muttering to herself, and unlocked it.

“Here we are,” she said. She carried three slim volumes to the table in the middle of the room and set them down one by one. “Warrior. Witch. World-walker.”

The books hummed. Eleanor could hear them. Feel them. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. Pip made a weird little unf noise and rocked on her feet, and Otto’s fingers twitched.