Page 70 of The Librarian’s Familiar

He’d hoped that August’s parents would be more keen to help…instead of taking the wait-and-see approach. While he understood that they didn’t want anyone panicking, at the same time, not doing anything would lead to more panic. He was being sandwiched in on all sides, and there was nowhere for him to go. The pile of laundry on the bed fell over, and a fitted sheet sprang open like it had been holding its breath.

He put his hand out to stop it from leaping off the side of the bed, and glared at the rest of the pile, daring it to try something. He was not in the mood. Keeping one eye on the pile, he pulled up the number of the man in charge of the prison and called before he had time to second-guess himself.

The phone rang three times before he picked up. “Hello.”

“Hi, this is Agent Charlie Quinlan in Claw Lake. Am I speaking with Jeremy Rhodes?”

“Remy is fine. I assume you’re calling because you’ve picked up the growing cluster of magic.”

Charlie sighed with relief. “Yes…you’re monitoring it?”

“We noticed it this afternoon. We were planning on monitoring it tonight and calling you in the morning. But since you’re calling me, I’m hoping you can tell me something.”

Charlie wished he had something pertinent to share. “All I can tell you is that the animals are saying the storm is coming and that we should run.”

“Since that’s not an option for us, what’s the plan?”

“I’m going to try and dismantle it.”

“The magic?”

“Yes, before it becomes a storm. Or perhaps lessen the storm. I’m worried that it’s going to target the prison to rupture the wards.” There was no other reason to be gathering magic.

Remy was silent. “You don’t know what kind of witch is out there gathering the magic, how are you going to dismantle it on your own?”

“Leave that bit to me. What can you do so that if the storm hits, there are no wards to rupture? Because if they go, there’s going to be a lot of damage.”

“And some people are going to get out who shouldn’t be released.”

“That too.”

“I can take them off-line. I’ll then be relying on mechanical containment only, which isn’t ideal, as then the prison won’t be hidden either.”

“Have any of the prisoners been getting regular visitors?”

“The only people who come to the prison are the staff, food delivery—who have no contact with the prisoners—and the librarian. No visitors.”

“Who’s the biggest reader?”

“What?”

“I’m working on the theory, humor me.”

“Off the top of my head, I can’t tell you. But I’ll be able to find out.”

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. Everybody was going to get back to him, but no one had anything useful. “Okay, that would be great. In the meantime, I think you need to start preparing for mechanical containment.”

“Yeah, we are. The accumulation of magic is never a good thing. The last time it happened was about five years ago. Did some damage a bit further north and wiped out a town.”

“Five years ago?” August said he hadn’t been home in five years.

“Yeah, it was a big deal at the time, but it wasn’t as much as what’s out there now.”

“Thanks for the lead. I’ll look it up.”

“I wouldn’t call it a lead. Sometimes witches like to test their abilities up here. Sometimes it goes bad. Toss in a few Coven training exercises, and things aren’t always what they seem.”

“True. Text me if you learn anything else.”