The library was practically deserted the next morning, with so many students opting to sleep in rather than get up to study. Early morning light was flooding in through the arching stained-glass windows, illuminating the rows of floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Edgar was kneeling on the hard wooden floor, pulling out book after book from the lower shelves of the fairy tale section. They were forming a tottering pile beside him, and he hefted them into his arms, lugging them over to the table where the other three were already going through textbooks.

The pile of books fell onto the table with a thud, but fortunately did not totter over. Immediately Emmy reached for a new book, abandoning her open Demonologie textbook, and Lee did the same. For once Joy had no George R. R. Martin books on her, and she had her nose in a slim book that Emmy had sworn was on the Myths and Legends reading list. She was turning the pages over slowly, drinking everything in as Emmy and Lee rifled through thick old tomes for the index, completely in her own little world. Edgar fiddled with the cigarette packet in his back pocket for a short moment, before throwing himself into the seat beside Lee and grabbing a heavy book from the top of the pile.

"So what are you looking for?" he said as he flicked to the back of the book. "Fairy legends? Demonhunter legends? What d'you reckon it'll be under?"

Emmy looked up from her page for a fleeting moment. "Try 'Ephemeral Chalice'." She returned to her book, leaning close to the page and squinting to read the tiny text. "I've tried fairy legends, and it doesn't seem to be here." She turned another couple of pages, still squinting – Edgar pondered that it might be a bad time to tell her that he could see the beginning of wrinkles between her eyebrows.

Silence fell over the four of them as Mrs Cherrywell strode into the library, the clicking of her boots echoing in the high-ceilinged space. She only glanced at them for a moment before heading over to her desk and disappearing behind what looked like a romance novel. Edgar found the section on myths regarding the Ephemeral Chalice – nothing here was new, and he let the familiar words of the old stories wash over him as he skimmed for any hint of the fey amongst demonhunter legend...

Joy tentatively cleared her throat, and she flattened her book out on the table, probably carving a line into its spine. "I think I've found something." She pushed the little book towards the other three, all of whom looked up, curiosity in their eyes. "It's pretty much what Marcus was telling me about. If you can brew a potion in the Ephemeral Chalice then it will grant you eternal life, since it's still imbued with angelic magic and everything." She pointed to a picture of a simply carved cup, which was engraved with words and rimmed with jewels. "Legend says that if you fill the cup with the blood of twelve immortals – of fairies, in other words – and a mortal with angelic blood, like a demonhunter, then the person who drinks it will live forever." She looked up at the three of them for approval, looking rather hesitant without a fantasy novel to hide behind. "Maybe that's what the killer – Marcus – is doing?"

Emmy had gone white. She took the book from Joy with shaking fingers, and she held it up so she could read for herself. "That's what's gonna happen to Noah?" Her voice shook as much as her fingers, as much as a solitary leaf quivering in a strong breeze. "That's what Marcus has been doing?" She handed the book on to Lee, who started to read intently. "We're in over our heads. We've got to pass it back to Lesley."

Edgar shot her a dark look as Lee handed the book onto him. "And what if she's involved too? There might be a reason she hasn't cast suspicion on that moron." His eyes skirted over the page – just a wordier, illustrated version of what Joy had paraphrased. "There might be a reason why we've got the case in the first place. Perhaps the two of them thought we'd have no chance of stopping them."

"Perhaps." Lee was biting his thumbnail, and his forehead was creased in concentration. "But perhaps not. It's pretty stupid just to go running down to Marcus's office without anybody knowing what we're doing." He looked over at Emmy. "How 'bout you take the case file to the headmaster? We can track Noah to find out where he is, and you can come and find us when you've explained everything." He shot a sideward glance at Edgar. "That sound all right to you?"

Edgar shrugged, setting the book down on the table and running a hand through his hair. Though it was ordinarily the colour of freshly picked chestnuts, the wintery sunlight made it seem as though he had auburn highlights. "Personally I thought we'd promised 'not to yield', but whatever floats your boat, Wagonwood."

Emmy ignored him – she was looking at her parabatai, who was twisting her long caramel-coloured ponytail around her finger. "You all right with that?" she said, raising a tentative eyebrow.

Joy nodded. "You can track us using one of my books if you need to, right?" She cocked her head to the side as Emmy nodded.

She pushed herself to her feet, and she tightened up her own ponytail before pushing her glasses up her nose. "Well, good luck, I guess." She grabbed her Demonologie textbook and gave an odd little wave before hurrying out of the library, her ponytail swishing from left to right.

Edgar turned back to the other two, who were already closing books and getting to their feet. "Reckon we can sneak some gear?" he muttered as he lifted up most of the large pile of books. Lee grabbed the rest, and the two of them headed back to the fairy tale section. Joy stayed at their table, hovering a little awkwardly.

Lee shrugged. "Maybe." He knelt down at the right shelf – he could easily tell where the books needed to go, as Edgar had practically emptied the whole bottom row. "S'pose we could say we're heading out to investigate again. Appleweather should let us have weapons too, if we say that." He started sliding books back into place, and Edgar followed suit, though the two of them were completely ignoring the filing system. "I'm thinking seraph blades'll be no good if we're dealing with a demonhunter, so maybe we should try a couple of swords? Maybe I should get a crossbow, too."

Edgar nodded, pushing the last of his pile into place on the shelf. "Yeah. Joy can take some of her throwing daggers too, and then we have a sorta ranged weapon. I'll just take a sword, if you don't mind." He drew out his stylograph, and he pressed it into Lee's hand as they made their way back to Joy. She followed the two of them out of the library, past Mrs Cherrywell's watchful gaze – Edgar caught her eyes glinting over the top of her novel.

The weapons room was just around the corner. With exclusive access to sixth- and seventh-years and the staff, it was usually empty on a Saturday morning, and it proved to be so as they tiptoed inside. Even Appleweather, the P.T. instructor who was responsible for minding the room and keeping out the younger years, was absent – probably having a lie in.

The room looked much like one would expect, considering its name. There was a rack of various parts of gear just under the huge curving window, but otherwise the room was full to bursting with weapons. The high ceiling was arched, like a cathedral's, and an iron wrought chandelier hung from its centre – lit despite the daylight streaming in – casting the bright white light of glowing stones onto the various blades, making them glitter. Blades of all sizes – ranging from great swords to bastard swords to katanas to scimitars – hung from the walls from wooden racks, all engraved with angelic runes of protection and killing, and all polished to perfection.

Lee went to grab some gear jackets, and, while Joy was filling a belt with throwing knives, Edgar sidled over to the wall where the European swords were hanging – the katana was too thick a blade for him, and he was poor at handling curved swords. He ran a finger over the hilts, a small smile creeping onto his face; the killing machines had a sort of macabre beauty.

He selected a particular blade that allowed him the option of fighting either one- or two-handed, where the blade wasn't too thick and heavy to be unwieldy, and wasn't too thin that it might bounce off harmlessly. He slipped it into its scabbard, and was just buckling it around his waist as Lee came over. He had a crossbow in his hand, with spare bolts on him if he needed, and he handed Edgar a gear jacket that was a little too large for him.

"What runes d'you want?" He held out Edgar's own stylograph, and he let his hand hover a few inches above Edgar's forearm, poised to draw.

Edgar pushed both sleeves up as Joy made her way over, her belt full of throwing daggers. She was already scrawling runes onto her bare skin. "Ah...I dunno. Farsighted? Surefooted? Good luck?" Lee obliged, beginning to ink the various designs onto Edgar's unblemished skin. The stylograph prickled a little, but the pain was bearable – preferably to that of ichor, anyways.

When Lee had finished, Edgar took the stylograph back, and he began carving designs onto Lee's milky white skin. He could already feel the extra power coursing through his veins that came from your parabatai drawing runes on you rather than any other demonhunter, and he took extra care in keeping his runes neat and precise, so Lee would gain the same benefit – courage, protection, endurance, good luck... He tried to squeeze as many in as possible, though his hand was beginning to cramp up, so soon Lee looked as though he'd spent many an hour in a tattoo parlour.

When he'd finished, he took a step back, to allow himself a minute to admire his handiwork. The runes were mostly symmetrical, and but still looked like hastily sketched, lopsided versions of the perfectly inked versions in their textbooks. No matter – they would work just as well.

After a quick glance at the other two – both of whom gave him knowing nods – Edgar pulled Noah's broken stylograph from his pocket. He clenched it tightly in his fist, and he etched the tracking rune into the small square of free space on the back of his hand, as carefully as he possibly could. He completed the rune with a flourish, and the familiar tugging sensation started in the pit of his stomach. He followed it, letting him guide him, and he set off at a slow jog through the school corridors. He could hear Lee's and Joy's footsteps as they tried to keep up with him, but mercifully they stayed relatively silent, only conversing in whispers.

The tugging sensation increased to a proper pull as they turned into the Demonologie corridor. Edgar took a couple of tentative steps. He could sense the other two behind him, flanking him, as he walked past Marcus' office – immediately the pulling changed direction, urging him through the polished oak door.