Paper and Fire (The Great Library, #2) - Rachel Caine Page 0,150
helmet. The same as in all the other chambers he’d seen.
Smoke was already beginning to filter in and fog the air with a thick, chemical reek, and Jess coughed and began to realize that there wasn’t time to send all of them, even if his father intended to keep his word.
He’s going to kill them, Jess realized with a jolt of real horror. Everybody but me and Morgan. He needs Morgan. It was plain to him, the way that his father’s men were positioned, isolating Thomas, Glain, Wolfe, Santi, and now Khalila and Dario.
“There’s not time to send all of you!” Morgan shouted. The Burners had crowded in behind them and were pushing forward now.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said the woman who led the Burners, and she nodded to her men and women. “There won’t be as many as you think.”
At her signal, her people quickly, efficiently, and brutally swung into motion . . . and caught the Brightwell bullies by surprise. Ten men were quickly taken down with blows from behind. Fast deaths, so fast Jess hardly even comprehended them. Now it was just the eight Burners who’d survived—plus Brightwell, Brendan, Jess, and his friends.
“Kate, you backstabbing piece of—”
“Manners, Master Brightwell. We’re all friends here,” the woman said. Kate. It sounded too nice a name for her. Jess heard a crash from overhead; something had collapsed. The fire would get to them soon, and the smoke was already thickening. Harder to breathe. “I’m sparing your lives. Get out. Now. Run. You’re resourceful. And I’m giving you your son as a bonus.”
“I have two,” Brightwell said. “I’ll be taking both.”
She put a knife to his throat. “The Library rebels belong to us,” she said. “Go or die—I don’t care which you choose.”
Jess’s father hesitated for a long moment, then turned his head and said, “Good luck, Jess.”
“Da! No!” Brendan shouted, and tried to break free. Callum Brightwell held him tight. “Jess—”
“Kill them,” Kate said, “if they don’t leave now.” One of her Burners pulled a weapon and pointed it, and Brendan finally stopped fighting. He and Jess’s father ran.
Jess tried to acknowledge that it was the smart thing to do, the Brightwell thing, but all he could think was, You left us. You left me.
And it hurt.
Kate sat on the couch, put the helmet on her head, and looked at Morgan. “Take us to the Philadelphia Serapeum,” she said. “We are going to the City of Freedom.”
Philadelphia. The stronghold of the Burners.
Jess looked at Wolfe, at Santi. “We can’t do this,” he said. “We can’t.”
Wolfe said, “I don’t think they’ve left us any choice.”
They were going to America.
Continued in Volume 3 of
The Great Library
SOUND TRACK
As always, I like to have some motivational music for the book. You might also enjoy checking out the songs! Remember: musicians need love and money. So please buy the music, attend the concerts, and buy the T-shirts.
“Ticking Bomb”
Aloe Blacc
“Dark Horse”
Katy Perry
“Seven Nation Army”
The White Stripes
“Where’s the Girl”
Terrence Mann
“Mugs Away”
Seven Nations
“Sundirtwater”
The Waifs
“The Engine Room”
Runrig
“Beggin for Thread”
Banks
“Crazy in Love (Chilled Edit)”
L’Orchestra Cinematique
“Bandida”
Audra Mae
“Flicker (Kanye West Rework)”
Lorde
“The River”
The Waifs
“Scarlet Town”
Gillian Welch
“Ain’t Gonna Do It”
Kane Welch Kaplin
“Falcon in the Dive”
Terrence Mann
“Lighthouse”
The Waifs
“Sheila Put the Knife Down”
Junior Prom
“Ship to Wreck”
Florence + the Machine
“Graveyard Whistling”
Nothing but Thieves
“You and Steve McQueen”
The Audreys
“Can’t Feel My Face”
The Weeknd
“Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)”
Taylor Swift
“Juliet”
Emilie Autumn
“Across the Sky”
Emilie Autumn
“Clockwork Heart”
Abney Park
“Give’em What For”
Abney Park
“Pity the Free Man”
Abney Park
“On the Fringe”
Abney Park
“Born at the Wrong Time”
Abney Park
“Sleep Isabella”
Abney Park
“I Am Stretched on Your Grave”
Abney Park
“Virus”
Abney Park
“Herr Drosselmeyer’s Doll”
Abney Park
“This Dark and Twisty Road”
Abney Park
“The Secret Life of Dr. Calgori”
Abney Park
“The Emperor’s Wives”
Abney Park
“Airship Pirate”
Abney Park
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