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

him.  “We’ll keep looking,” he said, more gently.  “If you’re not finding it here, then let’s look...over there?”

The dreamer grumbled, but didn’t argue when Daniel tugged him away from the shelf.  They never argued, in fact - and try as he might, Daniel could never find any sort of rhyme or reason to their search.  Of course, the fact that the Library appeared to be shelved entirely at random didn’t help matters any.

In the end, all he could do was guide the dreamer along, be there to comfort them as they wandered.  That was enough.

It didn’t stop him from casting a pleading glance up to the gothic arches rising over them.  A little help? he whispered silently.  Not that I mind, but...this is starting to carry on.  Are you waiting for a sign, or am I just totally missing something?

The Library seemed to sigh, all of the candles flickering in unison.

Daniel winced.  Sorry.  Just being honest.

Somewhere ahead of them, leather scraped against wood.  Daniel’s head snapped up - and he watched a  book quiver more and more violently, finally tipping over to fall to the stone floor.

“Hey,” he said, tapping at the dreamer’s shoulder.  “How about that, hmm?  Let’s go look.”

He’d never had much reason to be around children, and he’d certainly never had any of his own thus far in his mortal life - but as he towed the dreamer onward, still mumbling complaints and straining to look down other aisles, he couldn’t help chuckling at the notion that dreamer-herding had to come close.

“Oh,” the old man rasped, his eyes lighting up.  “Oh, that’s...”

“Look familiar?” Daniel said with a smile, stepping clear and letting the dreamer have at it.

The man lunged for the book on the floor, ripping it open.

Daniel winced, throwing an arm up over his eyes as the aisle flared into brilliant, blinding light.

There, he murmured, cracking an eye and peering out at the rest of the wing.  That did it.  Thanks.  That could have taken all day.  The dreamer was already all but gone, blurred out in a glowing pillar.

One job done.  He nodded, letting his eyes linger on the dreamer’s form for another moment before backing a step away.  Time to get back to the rest of it.

The light faded out into the Library’s usual mix of murk and glow as he stepped away, already moving on to the next task that needed doing.  He needed to keep working on some additional defensive measures for Alexandria.  Couldn’t let Lenny happen again.  Needed to start looking into...he sighed.  Some sort of AI system, perhaps. He could simulate her personality in the outside world, stock her with as much data as he could carry.  If he couldn’t bring Alexandria with him to the outside, that’d be the next best thing.

His skull pounded.  Daniel pressed a hand to his face, trying to rub away the tired, but it wasn’t helping.  He didn’t have long, he knew.  He’d been back to reality a handful of times already since his last duty shift.  More than a handful.

Before long, Alexandria was going to insist he bring another batch in.  His lips settled into a frown, crows’ feet etching into his forehead.  As much as the thought of starting another shift did not appeal to him, he couldn’t let it go for as long as it had last time.  No matter his personal feelings on the matter, he’d have to-

“Holy shit.”

“What’d I tell you?”

Too late, Daniel heard the whispers.  His foot was already in midair for the next step, the shelf passing him by.  He was already half-exposed, poised at the very cusp of the hallway.

There was no way for him to stop as he crossed into the open air beyond - and saw the figures creeping up the hall toward him.

- Chapter Nineteen -

In that single, horrifying moment, Daniel could only teeter in place, gaping down the hallway.

A pair of figures stood equally frozen in the adrenaline-fueled nightmare of his mind, eyes round and faces beaming with nervous smiles.  One was a complete mystery to him.

The other was Leon.

Well, shit.

And then the moment unfroze, and Daniel lurched to the ground.  In the hallway.  The very, very open hallway.  They jumped, their heads snapping up.

He moved on instinct alone - and truly, it was remarkable just how quickly his hand closed about the mask hanging from his upper arm.  The straps binding it to the jacket were meant to snap if necessary.  It was necessary.

Leon’s eyes were just starting to focus when he slammed the mask home, jamming it onto his nose so fast the tip gave a horrible crunch.

The two visitors stared at him.

He stared back, torn between charging, running away, or locking all of them in a giant, escape-proof box.

He settled for staring - until finally, he remembered himself, and started scrabbling for the hood to his jacket.

“S-Shit,” he heard Leon stammer.  “This guy again.”

“Again?” his friend said.  “You’re saying-”

“He showed up last time,” Leon said, and through the cracks between his fingers, Owl saw the man start to back away.  “J-Just, uh.  We can-”

“No running in the Library,” Owl said, the words slipping out of him on some perverse habit.  “I, uh.  I mean, let’s...don’t run.”

Leon grabbed his friend’s shoulder, though, still backpedaling.  “Guy came after me, James.  So hurry up and-”

Damn it, he wasn’t sure if it was the clumsy hood or his own clumsy fingers, but he just couldn’t get the thing up while keeping the mask in place. The straps for his mask were all tangled up in it, utterly preventing the fabric from moving.  Owl let it fall for a moment, throwing his hand palm-first toward the pair.

Every fiber of his being screamed to throw a wall up behind them, to box the pair in like the intruding rats they were.

“Wait,” Owl said instead.  “I won’t chase you.  I’d like to...I want to talk.”  Actually vocalizing the words hurt.  Somewhere outside the windows lining the Library, he heard the soft tinkling