Rev saw the movement and didn’t ask.
The lower archive door was made of dark wood banded with iron. No Mark decorated it. No brass plate named the room. The lock looked newer than the hinges.
Rev crouched beside it.
“Are you about to do something illegal?”
“I am about to check whether someone else already has.”
She touched the lock with one finger, then stood.
“Open.”
The door swung inward before she touched the handle.
Aldric stood inside with a lantern in one hand and a file box under the other arm.
He had been expecting us.
Rev sighed.
“I hate punctual men.”
“You hate being anticipated,” Aldric said.
“That too.”
His eyes moved to me.
“Verita.”
“Professor.”
“Cosima sent you.”
“She did.”
“And LeJoi joined you?”
“I was hoping for a more interesting door. You took all the fun out of it.”
Aldric set the file box on the long table in the center of the archive.
The room was smaller than I expected. Fewer shelves. More locks. Cabinets lined the walls, each drawer labeled by year and number. A basin sat in the far corner under a gray cloth. The cloth had been tied down at the rim.
I wasn’t sure if I liked that or not.
Rev stayed by the door.
Aldric noticed.
“You can come in, LeJoi.”
“I can whatever I want, most of the time.”
She didn’t move.
“Cosima said you know more than you’ve said,” I told him.
