‘I have every right to be. You lied to Isaac, and you lied to me.’

‘Now, that’s not fair.’ Alice could hear the feline smile in Ending’s voice. ‘I told you both you could have the book. I could hardly be lying to both of you.’

‘Unless you planned to turn it over to Geryon all along.’

‘Believe me when I say that was the last thing I wanted.’ Ending heaved a rumbling sigh. ‘You must understand our position, Alice. I—and all my kind, my brothers and sisters—are bound to serve the Readers. They hold tremendous power over us, and we cannot defy them openly. So we are forced to meddle and scheme in the shadows, out of sight.’

‘You once told me you did that because it was your nature,’ Alice said.

‘When you are as old as I am,’ Ending said, ‘one’s nature is largely a product of habit.’

Alice turned round. There was an alcove in the shelves that hadn’t been there before, deep in shadow, and all that her lantern was able to pick out was a pair of slitted yellow eyes.

‘You said “brothers and sisters”,’ Alice said. ‘And when I spoke to the Dragon, he talked about his sister. Did he mean you?’

‘If he was angry, I’m afraid he did,’ Ending said. ‘He was one who refused to serve, long ago, and was thrown in a prison-book for his troubles. He blames me and the others for not coming to his aid.’ Ending cocked her head. ‘He is, I think, a bit mad. Who wouldn’t be, after so many years alone? But I have tried to care for him as best I could, and make sure none of the Readers had a chance to bind him.’

But he called me . . . Alice shook her head. Ending’s soft purr of a voice was beguiling, and she had to keep reminding herself that she couldn’t trust her. Best not to tell her everything.

Instead she said, ‘But now this Anaxomander has the book, and the Dragon ended up bound to me.’

‘Far from the worst of all possible outcomes,’ Ending said. ‘Anaxomander is weak, compared to Geryon. I doubt he will dare a confrontation with my brother soon. As for you . . .’ There was a gleam of light on sharp, ivory-white teeth as Ending smiled. ‘I have hopes that you have it in you to be better than the others.’

Alice felt a little flush of pride, and berated herself for it. ‘Be that as it may,’ she said, ‘you still owe me. I want your help with Vespidian.’

‘Whatever I can do, of course,’ Ending murmured. ‘But without the book . . .’

‘No one knows it was stolen except for me and Geryon. And you and Ashes, I suppose. But Mr Black doesn’t know, and that means as far as Vespidian is concerned, Geryon still has it. And that means we still have a chance.’