‘No, not quite so literal,’ Seb said, smiling despite the situation. ‘Chalk must have secretly stamped Tilly that first time he visited Pages & Co. To put a library stamp on someone you just need to get a little bit of book magic to stick to them, and then you can trace that magic trail. As Melville said, it doesn’t tell anyone where you are in real life, it simply creates a sort of diary, or map of the books you’ve wandered into. It’s not harmful, but Melville’s plan to use so much book magic is deeply concerning. This magic is woven into the structure of stories, but extracting it is a violent thing. You have to break a story a little bit, cause a rupture, and then you can siphon off some of that book’s magic. In the Underlibrary our main source, when and if we need it, is from books that are out of print or that have a major error in them and can’t be sold or loaned. We buy them up and pulp them, and can distil a little bit of book magic from them. Our method may not extract such potent magic but it doesn’t endanger stories in the same way. Remember, books are just the holders of stories, not the thing itself. And so, if someone wants to be traced – say if they are going into a dangerous book – they can wear a little bit of book magic in a locket, or simply dab a bit on to their body. It looks a lot like ink. In fact, as you saw at the Ceremony earlier, the ink used there has book magic in it to bind the Librarians to the Underlibrary and vice versa.’
‘How long does it last?’ Oskar asked.
‘If you put book magic directly on your skin, it lasts a few months at most,’ Seb said. ‘And that’s the other reason we don’t need to worry too much about your grandparents. They just need to be careful for a bit, while we work out a proper plan.’
‘Okay,’ Tilly said, feeling a little calmer. ‘You know, when people talked about book magic, I didn’t realise they were talking about a physical thing.’
‘Same,’ Oskar said. ‘I thought it was all, like, ooooh, the magic of books! Reading is important! You know, like teachers say.’
‘Oh no,’ Seb said. ‘I mean, what teachers say is of course true, but our book magic is what runs through all stories and powers them. Did you hear what Melville said about fairy tales? They’re so unstable because they’re running on pure book magic that’s not contained in Source Editions and printed books. It’s ancient book magic – even Librarians don’t really understand how it works.’
‘But, Seb, hang on,’ Tilly started. ‘What did Melville mean when he talked about binding all the books? Does that use book magic too?’
‘Well, as Mr Underwood said, it’s not possible to take someone’s bookwandering abilities away from them – they’re a part of you. But you can stop people from accessing certain books. If a Source Edition of a book is “bound” then no one can wander inside any of the versions of it. It controls where people can wander. There was a group of bookwanderers back in the early nineteenth century who thought that bookwandering should be limited to only certain types of people – rich like them, mainly. Now there are some Librarians here who have taken their name, the “Bookbinders”, and are spouting nonsense about control being a good thing.’
‘But why?’ Tilly asked. ‘What’s in it for them?’
‘Power, mainly,’ Seb said. ‘If you control something it gives you power over the people who want it – or need it. People like the Bookbinders hate the idea of something being shared out and enjoyed. They think they deserve to have it all to themselves. And so it has always been.’
‘But just because something has always been that way doesn’t make it right,’ Tilly said.
‘Of course not,’ Seb said. ‘But it does make it difficult to change. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, though.’
‘Seb,’ Tilly said. ‘Do you think Melville really has found Chalk?’
‘It would seem so,’ Seb said. ‘And that’s a good thing, even if we don’t agree with anything else he’s doing. Bookwandering is complicated; it’s not as easy as people who aren’t for us being against us.’
‘I think it’s clear he is definitely against us,’ Oskar said. ‘Not sure that’s too complicated.’
‘But that doesn’t mean we don’t want some things in common,’ Seb said. ‘Such as finding Chalk. It’s in no one’s interest for Chalk to roam around stories, especially fairy tales. So let’s focus our energies on stopping Melville’s bigger bookbinding plans, and let him deal with Chalk.’
At that moment, they heard a door being slammed shut, and they poked their heads out of the room to see three very angry, flustered-looking people glaring at each other in the corridor.
‘I’m just doing my job, Mr Pages,’ Angelica was saying. ‘I didn’t make this decision. And now I’m leaving. Take it up with Mr Underwood if you’re unhappy.’
‘Have you considered maybe thinking for yourself for one moment?’ Grandad said crossly. ‘You don’t have to do everything you’re told.’
‘The thing is,’ Grandma said, clearly making a conscious effort to remain calm, ‘it’s important to think about what you’re being asked to do, and whether you think it’s right.’
‘This isn’t something I want to lose my job over,’ Angelica said. ‘Isn’t the whole point of the senior librarians to worry about this sort of thing for us, so we don’t have to?’
‘No!’
Grandad exploded.
‘Their purpose is to protect bookwandering! Not to be blustering, idiotic tyrants!’
He noticed the others, peering through the door behind him. ‘Finally! Tilly, Oskar, let’s go. I do not want to stay one more moment in an institution which has become the very antithesis of what it was set up to do!’ He took Tilly and Oskar by the shoulder and steered them out of the door, Grandma and Seb following.
‘To the Map Room, yes?’ Grandad said. ‘We need to get back to Pages & Co. as quickly as possible.’
‘Do you think that’s wise?’ Seb said nervously.
‘I could not care less at this point,’ Grandad replied. ‘Could you please tell Amelia to get in touch with us as soon as she is able to extricate herself from this place?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Seb said. ‘And don’t worry about Tilly and Oskar,’ he added. ‘I didn’t stamp them.’
Grandad softened. ‘Thank you, Seb,’ he said. ‘I should never have doubted you. Please come and see us with Amelia if you can. There is a lot to talk about.’
‘I’m still not sure I understand how we can travel from the Map Room home,’ Tilly said. ‘Is it book magic too? And can we get to the Underlibrary the same way?’
‘Ah,’ Grandad said, a little sheepishly. ‘Well, yes and no. It’s not exactly an approved transport method. And Pages & Co. shouldn’t technically still be on the network.’
‘When you’re the Librarian,’ Grandma explained, ‘you get a few favours from some of our fictional friends. One