Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria

Chapter 52: Things left unsaid

The fire had been quelled before any major damage occurred. The entire newspaper section was reduced to ashes, but it was the smoke which created the greatest hazard, and the library had to be closed for several days. Cicero slept uneasily in the magnolia tree, which did not suit him in the least. Marco kept him company.

“Were you scared?” asked Marco. “Didn’t it remind you of the fire at Alexandria? I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Bait setting the fire. How could he change so much? I swear, he looked like a raccoon at first. And up on the roof, he was talking to a shadow who wanted him to kill you. The whole thing was so weird. But I stopped him! I would never let anyone hurt you, Cicero.”

“Thank you, dear Marco,” Cicero said wearily. “You have proven yourself worthy. I have chosen well after all.”

Marco had stopped short of telling Cicero about his own conversation with the Whisperer. He couldn’t tell him how close he’d come to walking away from the whole thing. It was impossible to think of it now without cringing. If it weren’t for Lily, well… he didn’t want to think about it.

Cicero wasn’t telling everything, either. He never told Marco about his own encounter with Bait, preferring to let Marco enjoy his victory. He would need this triumph to build on for the future.

But why hadn’t he used the power of the book to do something? He’d gone after Alaniah, but he could have done something else. Why was he so incompetent? Was it age? Was he losing his power so gradually he didn’t even notice? No, he’d had the presence of mind to use it to defeat Bait. Still, he was alarmed at how weak and tired he felt.