"Never liked those books," said the Armourer. "Creeped the hell out of me when I was a boy. Entirely unsuitable for children, I've always said."

"How is William?" I said, carefully changing the subject. "Has he settled into his position as head Librarian?"

"Not really," said the Armourer. "He's still crazy, and not in a good way. But if anyone in this family knows anything that matters about the Immortals, it will be William. He knows everything. When he can remember it."

"He didn't know much about the Apocalypse Door," I pointed out.

"You need to pop into the Old Library and have a good talk with him," said the Armourer. "I'll stay here, where it's safe and sane."

"What if the Sarjeant-at-Arms turns up here looking for me, and starts putting the pressure on you?"

"Like to see him try," said the Armourer. "I think sometimes people forget I used to be a field agent. I'm just in the mood to get unpleasant and unreasonable with someone. I've got a set of depleted uranium knuckle-dusters around here somewhere."

I never know when he's joking.

CHAPTER FIVE

Secret Discussions, With Unexpected References to Heaven and Hell I stepped through the Merlin Glass into the Old Library, and the Glass shrank down and disappeared back into its subspace pocket with even more haste than usual. As though it was actually disturbed by the place I'd brought it to. Which was fair enough. The Old Library contains far more than just shelves and shelves of old books. It is a place of secrets, a depository of knowledge too terrible for the everyday world. I was standing somewhere among the rows and rows of stacks, stretching away in every direction I looked. Not that far away, the Librarian, William, and his young assistant, Rafe, were talking quietly together, so intent on the book before them they hadn't even noticed my arrival.

I took a moment to look around me. Simple, functional, standing shelves packed with books rose all the way to the gloomy ceiling. The floor was just bare wooden boards, that clearly hadn't known wax or polish in a very long time. There were no windows, the only illumination a sourceless golden glow that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Presumably real lights would be too much of a fire risk. I had to wonder about central heating, since the air was toasty warm-again, presumably to help preserve the books. There wasn't a touch of dust anywhere, and not a single cobweb, despite the Old Library having? been lost and abandoned for centuries before I rediscovered it.

The golden glow reminded me of the last days of summer, and the place felt more like a chapel than a library. A repository of wisdom, of worship. And yet, not a comfortable setting. Although the many rows of standing shelves limited my view of the Old Library, it still felt unnaturally large, as though the stacks stretched away farther in every direction than the human mind could comfortably accept. There were rumours that the Old Library was actually growing, quietly, to make room for all the books and papers entrusted to it, and I was quite prepared to believe it. Just looking around I had no idea how to find an exit, without the help of a map, a compass, and a ball of thread to follow. And I also had to wonder: if this was a labyrinth, might there be a monster somewhere, lurking at the heart of the maze?

Rafe was patiently trying to persuade William to put aside his work for a while, and get some rest. William ignored him, standing stooped before a great oversized volume set out on a podium. The Librarian was a frail old man, with a sad lost face, wearing a bright cheerful dressing gown and a pair of fluffy bunny slippers. His bushy grey hair seemed to stick out in every direction at once, but his mouth was firm and his gaze was sharp and keen. William had a great mind, but a lot had happened to it, little of it good.

The assistant Librarian, Rafe (never call me Raphael, I am not a turtle) was a pleasant young man with a bright beaming face. He always looked like he'd got dressed in a hurry and didn't give a damn. He had a first-class mind, and was devoted to the old Librarian. He was currently trying to persuade William to be sensible, and getting nowhere.

"You need to go to bed, William; get some proper rest."

"Haven't got a bed," William said craftily. "I've got a nice little cot, and my very own blanket. All I need."

"When was the last time you got a good sleep?" said Rafe.

The old man shrugged. "My memory doesn't go back that far. Besides, I don't like to sleep. I have dreams… bad dreams. And anyway, I've far too much work to do. So many books, so little time…"

They both looked round sharply as I approached, but William accepted my sudden appearance the way he accepted everything, because everything was equally important, or unimportant, to him. Rafe gave me a hard look.

"Hello, Eddie. I didn't think anyone could just walk into the Old Library these days, without setting off all kinds of alarms."

"I think the Merlin Glass is getting sneaky," I said. "That's what happens when you hang around with Droods. Hello, Rafe. Hello, William."

"Hello, hello, nice to see you, don't bother me now, I'm busy." William turned back to the book on the podium. "If you want to make yourself useful, see if you can find my socks. Someone's been stealing them."

I looked at Rafe. "I thought the whole idea of allowing William to live down here was that it would help to stabilise him?"

"That was the theory, yes," said Rafe, coming over to join me. "But it appears that there's stable, and then there's stable. He knows who he is, and where he is, and his work is impeccable; everything else tends to vary from day to day."

"I like it down here," William said loudly. "I'm not ready to live in the Hall. Too many people. Had enough of that living in the asylum. No, no, I'm not at all ready for people… I'm fine down here. Fine." He broke off, and looked carefully left and right. "Though I'm not entirely alone, down here. Not strictly speaking. There's Someone in here with me. Someone, or Something. It watches me. Or watches over me… hard to tell."

I raised an eyebrow to Rafe, who shook his head firmly. "I heard about what happened to the Matriarch, Eddie, and to Molly. I'm so sorry. I can't believe it. It's been years since there was a murder in the Hall, let alone two in one night."

"Eighteen fifty-two," said? William, unexpectedly. "And that was a murder/suicide. We were a lot tougher about cousins marrying, in those days."

"I popped up for a quick look," said Rafe. "Everyone was running around, shouting and screaming like mad things. Couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone. Everyone's looking for you, Eddie. Either because they think you're guilty, or because they want you to tell them what to do. You did lead the family once, after all."

"Once was enough," I said. "Let the Sarjeant-at-Arms run his investigation. He knows what he's doing."

"Never thought I'd hear you saying good things about the Sarjeant," said Rafe. "What have things come to?"

"In a situation like this, a merciless thug and bully is just what we need," I said. "If there are answers to be got, he'll get them. But I can't help feeling… there won't be anything left behind for him to find. This was a professional hit. Someone put a lot of time and effort into planning it…"

William slammed his book shut, and spun round to smile cheerfully at me. "It's really quite fun, having everyone as paranoid as me, for as change."

"William," said Rafe. "The Matriarch is dead. Murdered."

"Never liked her," William said briskly. "She never liked me. She was a real cow when she was younger, and age did not mellow her. Oh, I'll stand up to see her avenged; she's family. But I'm too old, too talented, and too crazy to bother with crocodile tears."