If everyone in the house was asleep, there was no one to go after Isaac but Alice. She hesitated, her hand on the doorknob, then turned round and dashed up towards her room. She’d gone charging off into the library by herself twice now, and if those experiences had taught her anything, it was that it was better to dress warmly and bring along a decent pair of boots.

A few minutes later, Alice trotted down the gravel path towards the library. The music was still just on the edge of hearing, growing no louder or fainter wherever she went.

He lied to me. The thought burned large in her mind. Isaac had told her that his Siren wasn’t strong enough to put the three needle-toothed creatures to sleep at once, but now he’d used it to entrance the entire house. She hadn’t been able to find Geryon, but he must have been caught as well, or he would have responded to the pilfering of his vault. He was just playing with me, the whole time. He could have got away from those things easily, if he could do this. He never needed my help. Alice rubbed the back of her hand against her lips unconsciously, as though trying to wipe away a stain.

The full moon provided a good illumination. The trail of blood was down to a few drops, and not always visible in the silver light, but it didn’t matter. Alice knew where she was going, and finding the bronze front door of the library slightly ajar confirmed her suspicions.

She slipped through, stopping only to retrieve and light a lamp, and headed inside. There was something different, something wrong, down at the very edge of perception. Like a noise she hadn’t realized was there until it stopped, the library felt different. It was, she thought, as though even the shelves and the building were asleep, somehow. There had always been a sense of presence, as though something was watching her from the shadows with cool, unblinking eyes, but now those eyes were closed. She passed a half-dozen sleeping cats, curled up in corners or lounging astride the shelves.

It wasn’t long before she could see the glimmer of another lantern, up ahead. It didn’t seem to be moving, and Alice slowed her steps as she approached, suddenly uncertain how to proceed. She thought about trying to sneak round, behind a shelf, and then pop out unexpectedly, but that would only make Isaac run, and she wasn’t certain she could outrace him. He might even attack her. Her stomach roiled, reminding her that all she’d had to eat in who knows how long was honeyed oatmeal, and her legs gave a warning quiver.