“Shit,” I whisper. “I thought she didn’t have access?”
“She doesn’t. I made sure the—”
An alarm pierces the air, lights flashing, magickal cages lighting up around the file cabinets.
“Stay here.” Kirin bolts for the door and wrenches it open, punching a code into the keypad on the other side.
“Step back, ma’am,” he shouts. “You need to get out of the scanner so I can disarm it.”
Apparently she follows his orders, because he punches another code into the pad, and the alarm finally stops wailing.
“Goodness, such an ordeal! Are you Kirin Weber?” she asks, her tone dripping with condescension and annoyance. “I’m Janelle Kirkpatrick. The tech guy downstairs said you’d set me up with access to the archives—digital and physical. I wasn’t expecting to be treated like a common criminal.”
“Just security precautions, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. How did you get through the first door?”
“I scanned my hand and it let me through, but the man downstairs didn’t say anything about this scanner monstrosity.”
I can’t see Janelle from my vantage point, but I can see Kirin’s back, ramrod straight, his muscles tense. His protective energy is on high alert, his entire body filling up the doorway, blocking me from view.
Honestly I’m not even sure how he can stand to be so close to her. That perfume of hers is overpowering, and there’s something off about it—like it’s gone bad or something. You’d think a woman with money could get herself a better scent.
Petty, I know. But sometimes it’s the little joys of nitpicking your enemy that get you through the day.
“I can help you with your login credentials for the research databases,” Kirin says, “but the headmistress didn’t say anything about adding you to the security system here.”
I know that’s a lie, but it’s a good one. It should buy us a little more time, at least.
“I’m the new librarian and archivist, Mr. Weber,” she snipes. “I require complete access to the entire collection,especiallythe archives.”
“Fair enough. But until we get that straightened out with Miss Trello, I can’t do anything about it.”
“Let me in, Mr. Weber.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. If I let you walk through this machine again without proper clearance, the magick will see you as a threat and trap you in place. We’ll need tech support as well as three security mages to reverse the holding spell. The whole process could take hours.”
“I’ll wait.”
“As the new librarian and archivist, I’m sure you havemuchmore important things to do than stand inside a machine all day. We’re operating at diminished capacity as it is. The headmistress is relying on you to pick up the slack, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to disappoint her on your first week at work.”
I bite back a smirk.Go, Kirin.
“What are you doing in there, anyway?” Janelle asks, and I can just picture her shrewd face, those red lips puckering, her beady eyes narrowing. “Are you alone?”
“I’m working with Starla Milan, one of our first-year students. She’s shown an interest in ancient prophecy, and we’re quite busy, so—”
“Oh, Starla!” Her energy rolls over Kirin’s, barreling right into me. I feel the same annoyance apparent in her tone, but it’s mixed with jealousy and vindictiveness, too. Still, I don’t sense anything nefarious, which is crazy, considering what we saw on the video feed.
“Such a lovely girl,” she continues. “I met her yesterday. I’d love to chat with her.”
Kirin’s protective energy skyrockets, anger edging in. “I’ll be sure to let her know.”
“Well, it’s no trouble. Why don’t I just wait until you’re finished up? Outside the machine, of course.”
“Starla has another class after this, and your time would probably be better spent speaking with the headmistress about your security access.”
Neither of them speaks, and again I picture her lemon-sucking face. She’s definitely trying to intimidate him, but Kirin doesn’t back down.
That’s what you get for trying to spy on me, bitch.
