Zachary (3)

''This article is about the chapter. For the character, see Zachary Ezra Rawlins.''

"Zachary (3)" is the eighth chapter in the first book of The Starless Sea. It is the third chapter from Zachary's point of view and the eighth chapter overall.

Summary
Kat invites Zachary to accompany her and Lexi to the Gryphon for a drink. They continue to discuss the nature of stories as they drink and eat. They hear a tray of drinks crash to the floor.

Zachary goes to the bathroom. When he returns, Kat mentions that someone had been checking him out, but when she tries to point the man out, she finds he has left. Zachary returns home, though he feels like he is being watched.

The next morning, Zachary returns to the library and asks for Elena. She gives him the list of the other books that were donated by the Keating Foundation. He pulls them, but none appear to be related to Sweet Sorrows. Zachary leaves them on a table with a sign asking that the books not be reshelved, but when he returns, one of the books is missing. He returns to the circulation desk to ask Elena if it has been checked out, but it has not.

Back in his room, Zachary tries to research Sweet Sorrows on the internet. He finds nothing, but an image search reveals a photograph of a woman wearing a necklace of a bee, a key, and a sword. The photo was taken at the Algonquin Hotel Annual Literary Masquerade the previous year, and the current year's event is in three days' time.

Major Characters

 * Zachary Ezra Rawlins
 * Kat Hawkins
 * Dorian - mentioned, though not by name; also appearing in the photograph
 * Mirabel - appearing in the photograph

Minor Characters

 * Lexi
 * Elena
 * Gentleman at the circulation desk
 * Librarian shelving books



Trivia and Connections

 * The Gryphon is a real pub in Burlington, Vermont.
 * When the tray of drinks falls, Lexi remarks that she hopes it wasn't their next round. It was; Dorian deliberately upset it to prevent Zachary from being poisoned.
 * Dorian is also responsible for stealing Age of Fable, the book that went missing from the table at the library.
 * Mirabel is the woman in the photograph, and Dorian is the man in the tuxedo.

Analysis
Zachary is in danger, although he does not know it. He has possessed Sweet Sorrows for a bit more than twenty-four hours, and already the Collector's Club has tracked him down and attempted to poison him. Only Dorian's timely intervention saved his life. It is likely that when Zachary thought he was being watched, it was because Dorian was watching and trying to protect him.

Meanwhile, Zachary continues to research Sweet Sorrows. Looking at the other books donated by the Keating Foundation is a dead end, but internet searching leads him to a photograph of a necklace with some very familiar symbols, and a new direction to explore. This sort of coincidence is exactly the sort of thing that Fate would arrange. It is still Zachary's choice to pursue the investigation, but the arrangement of circumstances makes the trip to Manhattan feel like the next right step in the story.

Quotes

 * The old-school jazz playing at a comfortable volume outside is amplified in this tiny space and Zachary feels uncomfortably as though he is falling through time.
 * "Sad face," Kat says[.]