The clerk—or perhaps the proprietor, for his stare did seem severe enough to own the building—watched the action closely. When it was done, his lips lifted into a smile that could have been almost kind—if it weren’t for his eyes. “If you’re interested in browsing, I would suggest you visit one of our many libraries; they’re all about the country. You’ll know you’re in the correct place by the insignia, and the copies there are not so expensively bound. Fine to be tarnished by the touch of so many…hands.”
“I did plan to purchase—”
“Which did you plan to purchase? These shelves are catalogued. Give me the title, or at least the subject.”
At this, the other man grew increasingly ruddy. Lux guessed he hadn’t planned to purchase anything but had come to memorize what he could as quickly as possible. His embarrassment coaxed hers to the surface. She wanted to be gone from here, but she was trapped now in the corner.
“I… Only the…” And with his next breath, the man was gone, bolting through the door.
“Hmph,” grunted the clerk. Then he turned his assessing gaze upon her. “And you?”
Lux floundered for several heartbeats until— “Art.”
“Art.”
“Painting…specifically.”
The clerk managed a perfunctory glance down her person before turning on his heel. “Okay, then. This way.”
She followed him along the deep bookcases. While she did, she stole glances around her. The blue light cast a cold, eerie glow,reflecting off the shelves and silver titles. There was stillno sign of the bowler-hat man.
“Here we are,” said the clerk. She stopped a single step before smacking into his side. “The arts. Painting, as you said. But in what capacity?”
“Oh. Maybe—”
The clerk sighed. “History. Catalogues. Journals. The brilliant technique itself…”
Lux, her teeth grinding, promptly said, “The technique.”
He climbed up two rungs of a ladder before reaching toward the elegant bindings. “Brilliant Brushstrokes.” He descended again with the book in hand, but when he went to hand it over, he paused. “Now, I know you heard the exchange I held before. These books are extremely well-preserved. They are meant forownership.Not for thumbing through. Do you agree?”
Lux felt her lip begin to curl and quelled it. “I cannot even look inside?”
“No.”
She opened her mouth but found no rebuttal would come. She’d never heard of such a thing in all her life. But then again, they did not have bookshops in Ghadra, and maybe this was how things were done? Itwasan exceptionally beautiful binding.
“And the price?” she asked.
“Only a single goldquin.”
Only. Lux rubbed her forehead.Is everything priced beyond comprehension in Loxlen?“Saints above…”
A hiss left the clerk. “None of that. We are not to invoke the Saints in anything but blessings and prayer.”
Lux’s hand dropped away. Her brow rose. “May I say, ‘devil below’?”
“Do you wish to invoke the Devil instead?” The man’s stare narrowed to a sinister level.
“No. If such a creature exists, I prefer they stay where they are.”
“If such—creature.Bah.” The clerk rolled his eyes, and his unyielding glare finally granted her a reprieve as he looked instead to the shadowed rear of the shop. “Do you wish to purchase the book or not?”
“It’s a book of instruction? It will further this particular brilliance?”
The man stared at her, unblinking. “Yes.”
And Lux, thinking of the only painter she knew, of the crow currently flying an endless journey in her pack, said, “I will take it.”
