The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library Novel) by Genevieve Cogman

Author:Genevieve Cogman [Cogman, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-06-14T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

The carriage did not sink elegantly into the water like a dying swan: it hit the surface of the river with a rattling crash that threw Irene into Kai, and Kai into Vale, and Vale into the wall of the carriage.

Force equals mass times acceleration, Irene thought dizzily. She should be thinking of a way out of this, but her thoughts cowered like frightened rabbits. She didn’t want to think.

The carriage tumbled as it began to sink, rolling over as the river tugged at it. The three of them automatically grabbed handles and benches, wedging themselves into corners until the vehicle came to a jolting stop on its side. Black Thames water covered the windows, not entirely cutting off all light, but making it only barely possible for the three of them to see one another.

“The usual protocol in these cases is to wait until we are fully submerged, then open a window to equalize the water pressure and swim up to the surface,” Vale stated. Irene could hear the sheer control in his voice, over the creaking of the carriage and the slow trickling sound of water. “But if that person has sealed the carriage, given that I could not break the window earlier, this tactic would be ineffective.”

Right. She had to explain to Vale about Alberich. She owed him an explanation about a great many things now. But what was the point, if they were just going to die? Well, it did remove the need for justifications. Yet there were other ways of dodging that sort of thing, and she was avoiding the subject again. And the water was pressing down, and they were all going to die . . .

He doesn’t just want us dead. He wants us dying in fear, in the dark, and slowly. This isn’t just wanting to get us out of the way, so he can work undisturbed. It’s malice, pure and simple.

She had been afraid. She had been so very afraid that she’d been cringing in the corner, unwilling to speak, let alone act. But now something else woke in her.

I will not tolerate this.

“Then we’re just going to have to find a way to break it,” Irene said. She forced herself to lean forward. “What one man can do, another can undo.” Saying the words made them possible, gave her strength.

“But you can’t touch his magic!” Kai said. “When it infected you before it nearly killed you!”

She wished that she had time to think this through calmly, to plan, to consider. “Wait,” she said, pulling the glove off her damaged hand and pointing her fingers at the window. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Would you care to explain?” Vale invited tensely.

“I was attacked by the same forces he used earlier,” Irene said. She could feel the cold water soaking into her slippers and stockings, curling up around her ankles. “If I can identify them and expel them, it should break the binding, and we can swim out of here.”

“Very good.” Vale eased himself farther back in his seat.

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