Page 37 of Ink Blood Sister Scribe

“You’re not going to like this,” Nicholas said. “But I need you to come in here and do me a favor.”

Collins groaned. “I did you a favor last night by not letting you get murdered.”

“I need you to read a spell.”

“No,” said Collins. “No way. I don’t do that. Not in the job description.”

“Please? I’ll give you—” Nicholas paused, because he had no cash, only credit cards and a near-limitless bank account, which was useless for secret out-of-pocket expenses. “My watch,” he finished. “It was eleven thousand pounds new. You could probably sell it for—”

“You paid eleven thousand dollars for awatch?” Collins said.

“Actually, it was a good deal, normally these go for—”

“My watch was thirty bucks and it works great,” Collins said. “I don’t need a new one.”

“What, then?” Nicholas hissed, glancing up and down the empty hallway. “I have cuff links, tie clips, a couple rings, and Sir Kiwi’s got that gold collar she never—”

“I don’t want your money.” Collins’s eyes were narrowed in annoyance.

Nicholas thought of Collins’s reaction when Nicholas had asked why he hated books. He lowered his voice further. “I’ll write a spell to reverse your NDA.”

Collins’s expression changed so fast Nicholas nearly laughed. “I will,” said Nicholas. “And in case you think I’ve turned suddenly selfless, I haven’t. I’d prefer my bodyguard be able to answer my questions when I ask them—and it seems you can’t do that under the NDA. So it’ll be a win-win for both of us.”

Collins clenched one hand and put it against the wall very gently.

“Who’ll read it to me?” Collins said. “You can’t.”

“You’ll read it yourself.”

“What? It doesn’t work like that.”

Nicholas shook his head. “What do they teach you when you’re hired? Yes, it works like that. People read their own spells all the time.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

Nicholas threw up his hands. “Because you saved my life and I already owe you?”

Collins looked away. Then he said, “Write me the spell first, then I’ll help you.”

“I can’t,” Nicholas said, frustrated. “You know that. I have to write the truth spells and I’ll need to rest at least a few weeks afterward. I’ve lost too much blood recently as it is. But I need you to read that book for me now, tonight.”

“So I have to just take your word for it.”

Nicholas found that he wanted to be trusted. “Yes.”

Collins frowned in thought while Nicholas waited, breath held. He wasn’t used to it being this hard to get what he wanted, especially notfrom someone supposedly under his direction—or Richard’s direction, anyway, which was the same thing.

“Fine,” Collins said. “Ugh.”

Nicholas debated fleetingly about whether or not he ought to go to the herbarium and find something to mix Collins’s blood with—the spell was Hungarian, so paprika or meadowsweet were obvious choices—and the informational card had saidmax six minutesduration, which meant that without any herbal oomph they’d be lucky if the spell lasted three... but he was worried Collins would change his mind if the process took too long, and anyway, three minutes was plenty of time to see what lay beyond the bookcase. So he forewent the herbs and pulled Collins into the Library.

He waited until they were both inside to make certain the electronic door was firmly closed and locked behind them, and when he turned, he found Collins standing with one hand against the wall, the other pressed over his eyes as if overwhelmed by the light. Nicholas frowned. It was well-lit in here, yes, but not overwhelming—the brass lamps lining the shelves had a low, amber light, and the chandeliers overhead sent down a warm glow. But then Collins dropped his hand and stared out into the room, jaw falling open slightly.

“You’ve never been in here before,” Nick remembered, seeing it through his eyes: the thousands of books in their tidy rows, the carved shelves on every winding wall, the glittering chandeliers, the changing ceilings, everything lush with color and texture and age and magic. No wonder he seemed overwhelmed. “What do you think?”

“Seen one library, seen them all,” Collins said. “This one’s nothing special.” But his awed face suggested otherwise.

“Liar,” Nicholas said, laughing. “Here, gloves.”

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