The Library (The Librarian of Alexandria Book 1) by Casey White (surface ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Besides...he could remember the dreamer.  And the fires.  He could remember it burning through him, igniting the very fabric he wore.  No one had removed his jacket, it’d simply burned away.  And then-

Daniel glanced down, reflexively, lifting his arms - and exhaled at the sight of his pristine, unbroken skin.  He hadn’t actually been burned, then.  That was...good.

The longer he wasted down in Alexandria’s chamber, the more his head cleared.  And the more his curiosity grew, alongside his worries.  When he’d passed out, Alexandria was in crisis.  An entire section had been destroyed by a magical storm.  And in the middle of all that, he’d been separated from his two guests.  He needed to fix that.  He needed to get on top of this whole nightmare.

Grimacing, Daniel rolled to his stomach, collecting his strength - and lifted himself off the ground with a groan.  When he stood, it was with a wobble, but his legs held.  He rested one hand against the wall, feeling his stability returning, and then started to walk.

Before he could pass outside the portal, though, he glanced back to Alexandria’s statue.

“Thanks,” he whispered.  “For...For that.”

He didn’t expect a reply, and he wasn’t surprised when none was forthcoming.  She’d appeared to him once, now.  He wasn’t foolish enough to assume she could pull such a feat a second time.

The cool light pouring off her well followed him out of the room.

The stairs, Daniel discovered, were a process of their own.  His legs shrieked the first time he lifted his knee to climb - and there were a great many more steps to follow.  He clung to the wall of the staircase with one hand, clutching a lantern in the other.  Just one more, he kept telling himself.  And every time he took that step, it’d be now another.  It didn’t help, not really.  But it made him feel better.

It might have been a few minutes or a few hours later, but when he rounded the final corner and saw the backside of a bookshelf blocking his way, he couldn’t help but grin.

Another few shambling steps, a push and a groan, and the hidden door gave way to reveal his room.

Everything was right where it should be, he saw at a glance - his bed, and his books, and...he smiled.  A familiar jacket hung from the rack.  She’d even put his mask back in its place.

Taking a deep breath and staggering forward, he reached for the jacket.

* * * * *

His door creaked open.

Owl stepped out, trying to look as though he wasn’t in agony.  He was pretty sure it wasn’t working.  But the contortions necessary to clothe himself had stretched his limbs out, at least, and he could walk without grimacing.  Mostly.

Something clattered to the ground nearby.  “Owl!” he heard Olivia shriek - and looked up.

She and Will stood around a table, pale and tight-drawn.  Her chair.  That’s what he’d heard.  It’d toppled over behind her, forgotten in her need to stand.

She beamed, though, relief plastered across her face.  “O-Owl,” she said again, taking a step away from the table.  “Thank god.  You- You’re all right.  You’re here.”

“What?” Owl whispered. She was supposed to be gone. Her and Will both. “Olivia? Why are you-”

“W-We couldn’t find you,” he heard Olivia say.  She was halfway to him by then, her voice wobbling dangerously.  “And then, t-the Library wouldn’t let us leave.  We w-were stuck. And you were gone, and-

“You were stuck?” Owl whispered, glancing over. Sure enough, iron bars sat over the entrance to the main Library, like a mall that’d been closed down for the night. The main entrance, and the study, and the exit. Both of them had been trapped inside the sitting room, unable to leave.

Something twisted in his gut, filling him with unease dread. Alex? Why would...why did you do that?

Alexandria valued the safety of their guests. It was the rule of the Library. Sure, if he was around to look after them, she got a bit cavalier. But...she’d been damaged to the point she couldn’t even change her hallways for them.

And stuck in that condition, she’d mustered up the strength to lock Olivia and Will inside?

A weight slammed into his front.  Owl groaned, stumbling back, but grabbed hold of Olivia before they collapsed.  She hung from his neck, her cheek pressed to his chest.  “I-I was- I was so worried.”

“Y-Yeah,” he said. His mind was racing, though, struggling to keep up with the thoughts spinning around him.

Her arms tightened about his shoulders, pulling him closer.  “Are you hurt?  What happened?  Did you-”

“I’m fine,” Owl whispered.

“Oh.”  Her weight settled against his chest more fully.  “Well...good.”

Owl rocked back on his heels, supporting both of them with his exhausted legs.  He couldn’t muster up the will to embrace her back.  Besides...

By now, the realization that something was horribly, horribly wrong burned in the forefront of the mind.

His pulse quickened when he heard a quiet noise - and looked over to find Will opening the door to his quarters.  “You’re leaving?” Owl said, raising his voice a fraction despite the cries of his too-raw throat.

He was leaving - when Owl had just now emerged.  When they’d watched the Library burn around them.  Why?  What could be so important Will would have to return to his room?

Will flinched, his head snapping around.  His eyes fixed to Owl’s.  “U-Uh,” he stammered.  “I just- I thought maybe you’d want to-”

He stopped, then, but his gaze dropped to Olivia.  A faint flush entered his cheeks.

The warning bells in Owl’s head were pealing loud and clear, by then.  “I’d want to what?” he said.

“Um,” Will said, taking another step backward.  He was in the doorway of his room by then, shadow falling across his face.

Olivia’s hands slipped from around his shoulders, tightening against the front of his jacket.  “I-I was so convinced you were gone,” she whispered.  “That storm.  The fire.  I-”

She continued, murmuring away her worries into the leather front of his overcoat, but Owl didn’t hear a word