Page 9 of Discord
The paint was stripped away, and all that was left was the magic. I was right. This was a big fuck you, but it was also a clue. Dorian had fake paintings stashed everywhere, and he’d embedded an actual map to all of them into the canvas.
“Shit. We will never find it.”
I just laughed.
“Yeah, we will. You have toRaiders of the Lost Arkthis shit. Look at the selfies. One is less flattering… look at where it is on the map. Doesn’t that look to be about where the storage yard is?”
“By Lilith, you’re right! We’re still fucked though, seeing as we don’t know how to break in.”
Baby steps. Everything was pointing us towards Silvaria’s shipping container. We just needed to figure out how to get inside.
6
Ripley
Ihad barely unlocked the doors and sat down at my desk when I got a phone call from one of the board members. I wanted to shriek and out Silvaria, but I had to hold my tongue for now. She outranked me, and I had no proof.
“Have the boxes come?” Laris asked.
“What boxes? No one has told me anything.”
“Silvaria has been traveling the world, gathering rare books for the library. She’s shipped them and should fly back soon. They should arrive today. I have the tracking.”
“You do knowIshould have the tracking, and she should have told me she was sending new books, right?! Every time she brings new books in, she never follows the right protocols.Noneof the books are properly prepared to be cataloged and put on the shelves!”
Laris just laughed. If I could have cursed him through the phone, I would have. He was one of those snobby warlocks who constantly went on about his ancestors, but was too stupid to be as evil as Silvaria. I’m sure there was a time period when his relatives had married cousins to keep their bloodline pure because he had an excellent education.
“Silvaria is eccentric, and she manages to find the most amazing treasures. You’ll have to excuse her for not doing everything by the book.”
My hand tightened on my phone. That was pretentious bullshit that only the extremely wealthy could get away with. No one would be excusing my happy ass for not following protocols. If I left a book in the same state I received it, then someone would get hurt and sue the library and it would be my fault... or the library itself would get damaged. So, I took personal offense when she didn’t do what needed to be done with a sentient book, and it either bit me or hit me with magic as a result.
She totally knew how; she was just an asshole.
If Reyson didn’t kill her, I was going to destroy her and everything she stood for. In all honesty, if Reyson didn’t kill her, there were plenty of people on my team who might. Fuck, I definitely wanted to… but I also wanted to completely dismantle the entire system of misbehaving witches who got away with anything because of their money and pedigree.
“That’s not an excuse, Laris. If I left the books in the state she sent them to me, I’d be fired when they hurt someone or destroyed the library. She might outrank me, but this is her job just as much as mine. I’ve stopped it every time, but she’s going to damage the library. Eventually, she’s going to send me something that gets the best of me.”
“Ineversaid that, dear girl, but you’re a stronger witch than Silvaria will ever be, and a hell of a lot smarter, too. Why do you think you’re the librarian, and she’s only on the board? When she was younger, she had it in her head she wanted to run the library. She didn’t make it past the blood interview. She’s on the board because she has connections. She uses those connections to find rare treasures for the library. Don’t hold it against her that she sends you books in that condition. She doesn’t have your abilities.”
I didn’t peg Laris for speaking ill of Silvaria. He was a bit of an ass kisser. Still, I filed that away for later. I still didn’t know what kind of deal she’d made with a demon, but I could definitely use her being a shitty witch later. She had graduated from the Academy of the Profane, just like I did, and we had the exact same curriculum. We may have even had some of the same professors.
Laris straight up told me I was the better witch. She was probably one of those students the academy knocked one of the scholarship spots out for her family to buy her way in. Most people would have been expelled for not being able to keep up, but money talked.
I could definitely use that.
“Fine, but how about in the future, Silvaria can find the books and then send someone else more competent to fetch them?”
“I’ll bring it up, but not in front of Silvaria. She does so like to feel useful.”
My ass. She wasn’t traveling around collecting rare books. I had my own personal vampire hacker. I knewexactlywhat she was doing on those trips.
“Thanks, Laris.”
I hung up and flopped back in my chair. Balthazar was sitting next to me, glued to his computer. Bram had disappeared into our section on demons. He had come back with a ton of books and was sitting at my desk, muttering to himself. He looked up when I sat down.
“Problems, princess?” Bram grunted.
“Silvaria is sending a box of surprises.”
