Isaac smiled, quick and furtive, and turned away in a whirl of fluttering canvas and flying dust. Alice stared after him for a moment, before walking back towards Mr Wurms’s table.

Chapter Fifteen: Eavesdropping Again

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EAVESDROPPING AGAIN

After she finished finding books for Mr Wurms, Alice returned to the house for an early dinner. Her stomach was rumbling, in spite of the sandwiches. Geryon had told her that using magic took up a lot of energy, and that she would need to be sure to eat a healthy diet. It didn’t make her tired, exactly, but spending too long at it without a break gave her mind the same dull, foggy feeling she got when she forced herself through too many pages of algebra drills.

She found Emma standing in the front hall. If it had been anyone else, Alice would have said she was waiting for someone, but in Emma’s case it was probably because Mr Black had parked her there after some task and forgotten to give her any further orders. Alice told her to go back to her room and lie down, then headed down to the dining room herself to get something to eat.

Since she’d discovered the true nature of Geryon’s household, Alice had become more comfortable with the invisible servants who cooked the meals and cleaned the table while her back was turned. Whoever the shy creatures were, they were masters of their craft, though to Alice’s tastes, their range of menus was a little old-fashioned. She wondered if she could ask Geryon to speak to them about a few modern touches, and perhaps a few more fresh vegetables.

Tonight, though, she found herself unable to enjoy her meal, and she finished quickly and went up to her room. Her mind was full of Ending and Isaac, both warning her that Geryon was not to be trusted and demanding that she trust them instead. But Geryon had been nothing but kind to her – except for that one moment in the room full of pillows, but that had been important for her training – and the thought of keeping secrets from him while living under his roof made Alice deeply uncomfortable.

On the other hand, Ending clearly knew something about Vespidian, and the fairy was the only link she had left to her father. If I don’t help her, and he finds this book and leaves, I may never be able to track him down again. Her father might be dead, though she hadn’t been able to banish a tiny germ of hope from the darkest corners of her mind. But the thought of never knowing for certain made Alice want to scream.