Arcanum by Simon Morden

him taking my books and holding three perfectly good sefer captive?”
    “He’s only borrowing the Maimonides, and he’s made certain that every other book the library has borrowed has come back, in the same condition, and quickly. He even had one of them rebound for you. Mr Thaler is your friend, Father, though I don’t know why.” She folded her arms. “You’re an irascible old devil.”
    Sophia was right: Morgenstern was upset, and not at him. He’d tried hiding it, and with someone less familiar he might have succeeded. But, while Thaler wouldn’t exactly describe the Jew as a friend, he was certainly an acquaintance of long standing.
    “Come, Mr Morgenstern. If I’m not the object of your ire, what is? Is it something to do with your festival preparation?”
    “What? Purim? No, no.” Morgenstern pushed his plate away. “Sophia told you about the Euclid, yes?”
    “Yes. You received three books. Josephus – we have both
War
and
Antiquities
already, the Maimonides, and the Euclid.”
    “I paid good money for the Euclid.
On the Balance
.”
    Thaler slowly sat more upright. “
Balance
? But that’s…”
    “Lost, yes.” Morgenstern tugged at his thin white beard. “Which might give you some idea just how much I paid for it.”
    “Can I see it?” The librarian’s palms were suddenly sweaty.
    “I don’t have it. They cheated me. Me, Aaron Morgenstern.” He threw his hands up in disgust. “I’ve dealt with these people for thirty years and they’ve never let me down. I send them this king’s ransom and I get some obscure Babylonian work no one’s ever heard of.”
    “Who did you pay?” asked Thaler. Euclid.
On the Balance.
Gods, it was legendary! And no one had seen so much as a page from it for centuries. He wiped his hands on his gown and gripped the edge of the table.
    “I can’t tell you. It’s a professional confidence.” He sighed. “I can’t even tell you if it was them who swindled me, or whether they genuinely sent it and it got switched in transit. All I know is I don’t have
On the Balance
.”
    “Have you questioned the bargemaster?”
    “Gone. Quickly, too. Downstream. If I find it was them, I’ll …” His anger slipped away, and Morgenstern seemed smaller and frailer than before. “I don’t know what I can do. I can complain, but who’s going to believe an old Jewish bookseller over a German bargemaster. I have receipts, a bill of sale, but no book.”
    “Do you even know who the bargemaster was?”
    “I don’t know his name,” said Sophia, “but if you give me a moment, I’ll remember the name of the boat.”
    “Wien is the obvious place to sell a stolen book,” said Thaler. “I can get a message to the Protector’s officials. You still might get your Euclid.”
    “And how will you get your message to them? Magic?”
    “That’s the way we normally do things. I know you don’t like it, but…”
    “Send a horse. Better still, send a man on a horse.”
    “All the way to Wien? Your bargemaster will have been, gone, and your book, if it ever existed, will have vanished into thin air.” Thaler, having offered help, was irritated. And also: a previously lost Euclid? It was far too valuable to let it slip from his grasp – Morgenstern’s grasp – without a fight. “You use the barges to move your goods. I mean, even if you think those tattoos are for show, how do you explain how the boats move upstream?”
    “How other people send their books to me is their business. How they want me to send them is also their business.” At least Morgenstern had the grace to look embarrassed.
    “Then how I send a message to Wien is my business.” Thaler knew he’d won that particular bout, and he swigged the last of his wine. “I’ll go and do it now. An apprentice will call in the morning for the Maimonides, and I’ll let you know if the Euclid is found. He pushed his chair back. “Good night to you, Miss Morgenstern, and you, Mr Morgenstern.”

8
    That