Page 182 of Librarian

If I agree, I could be unleashing a necromancer back on the world, but I could also be giving her a fresh start. In many ways, it’s exactly what Benny wanted for her when he destroyed her old grimoire.

I want to refuse, but I feel like I owe it to him to give her the chance.

We don’t have time for me to second guess the decision.

Swallowing back my objections, I shove the runeform, the dagger tip, and the gem into her hand. “Fine. Done. Find somewhere to hide and destroy that thing. Fast.”

“Mathias can track it,” Leo reminds her as she turns on one heel, already heading away. “He’ll be hunting you.”

“No. He’ll be huntingme.” I watch Anthea disappear down the hall and then turn to Jasper. “Take Pierce to Fort McKinley?—”

“No. Someone’s got to keep an eye on my sister.” Pierce’s eyes narrow as his chest rises and falls on a jerky breath. “She can’t be trusted. Just conjure me some more bandages or something. I’ll be fine.”

Stubborn man. Then again, given the number of family members he’s lost recently…perhaps part of him is a little concerned, even if he won’t admit it. After all, we’ve just learned that Mathias can track that gem wherever it goes.

But despite his assertions, and Eddy’s first aid, he needs help. He needed help five minutes ago.

“You’re going to die unless someone looks at that,” I tell him bluntly. “Arguing with me is a waste of time we do not have. The only thing you can do right now is stay alive.”

I give Jasper a silent look, and he winks at me, crossing the space between us and the nearest door in two strides, knocking. “Fort McKinley main hall.”

The door swings open on creaking hinges, revealing the last stragglers from breakfast. Heads turn as they notice us, but Jasper and Dakari are already dragging Pierce through.

“Oi!” Jasper shouts, though it’s really unnecessary. “Someone keep this asshole alive, or the Librarian will have all our heads.”

That threat motivates them. Even after living with me for a few weeks, my reputation lingers. Hands reach out, dragging Pierce the rest of the way through, healing spells already being uttered.

I expect Jasper to go after him, but he lets the door swing closed.

“I’ll follow the wicked witch of the south and keep her arse alive long enough to get it done.” He swoops in and kisses me, wincing as the drain burns hotter even at that brief contact, then takes off at a run. “Stay safe, lass.”

I can’t make that promise, but he shouldn’t go alone. “Dakari, Leo?—”

“Not leaving you, baby girl,” the former says, before I can order them away. “Not now. Not ever.”

Leo nods. “Agreed.”

“We’re not fighting him,” I remind them. “There’s no point until Anthea is done with the phylactery. We have to keep him busy.”

Mathias doesn’t know about Anthea. With Pierce direly wounded, and the dagger nowhere to be seen, he’ll likely believe his phylactery is safe, even if it’s out of his sight. What he won’t abide is me escaping him a third time. His arrogance makes him predictable.

Which makes me the perfect distraction.

My grimoire flicks open, already searching for foundation level spells that will work.

“Hiding? How low the mighty Librarian has fallen,” Mathias taunts.

He’s getting closer. Even with the magic magnifying his every word, I’m surprised I can hear him over the pounding of my blood in my ears. I can feel him now, his grimoire a familiar, nauseating presence to my right.

I turn to face the threat.

Every step across the cracked tiles of the Rotunda echoes until I’m standing looking southward along Botanical Hall with Dakari and Leo at my side.

“I’m not hiding,” I announce, meeting the dead gaze of the lich at the far end with every ounce of courage I possess.

My breath freezes in my lungs.

Somehow, his presence makes the already dilapidated hall seem more oppressive. Or maybe that’s the small horde of undead shambling along behind him, already spreading out, heading deeper into the Arcanaeum.