It clicked. How could she have ever forgotten it? The fairy had sounded like that in her kitchen, his horrible yellow-and-black wings buzzing to keep him aloft. Alice put her hands against the wall of books and searched frantically for a crack to put her eye against. Small pinholes were everywhere, but all she could see through them was the floor or another row of books. She noticed a shaft of light from higher up where the lantern shone through, and stood on her tiptoes to try and reach it.

‘All right,’ came a voice, and Alice froze, because it was the familiar rumble of Mr Black. ‘What have you got that’s so all-fired important? You know it’s dangerous for me to come here.’

‘You worry too much.’ The other voice was high and nasal. It sounded like the fairy, Alice was almost sure it was, but ‘almost’ wasn’t good enough. I need to see. ‘It’s worked out so far, hasn’t it? As long as I have this, she won’t be able to lay eyes on me.’

‘She’s not the only one that needs worrying about,’ Mr Black grumbled. ‘Get on with it.’

‘My information confirms what we suspected. The book is here, I’m sure of it.’

‘I hope your information is more specific than that,’ Mr Black said. ‘I don’t know if you noticed, but there are a lot of books here.’

‘Patience, my friend.’

‘I’m not your friend. And I’m not patient.’ Mr Black’s voice was low and dangerous. ‘You tell your master that he had better come through on his end of the deal.’

Alice couldn’t quite reach. Her eyes were just below the level of the gap in the books, giving her a view of the ceiling but not the speakers. She grabbed the bookshelf and pulled, testing to see if it would support her weight. It didn’t so much as wobble, but the steel edges dug painfully into her fingers when she tightened her grip.

‘All in good time.’ The thrumming increased in volume. ‘I’ll begin my search, and when I catch the scent—’

‘Send me a message first,’ Mr Black said. ‘This place has too many eyes.’

Alice took a deep breath, held onto the bookshelf, and pulled herself up. Her feet scrabbled for purchase, but the book she’d been planning to stand on shifted underneath her and slid out of the way, leaving her to hold herself up with her hands alone. The steel bit into her skin, but just for a moment she could see. There was the short, misshapen body, and the fast-beating yellow-and-black wings. The fairy was moving away, following Mr Black, and for a mad moment Alice wanted to shout after him. Anything that would keep him in place long enough for her to find a way through this bookshelf, grab hold of him, and demand to know—