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

Owl hesitated a moment longer, eyes fixed on the man’s back, but he might as well have gone invisible for all the attention Alan gave him.  The dismissal was obvious.

And so Owl backed up a step, his thoughts still racing.  The man was...odd.  Too interested in Alexandria by half, for one.  He nodded, though, and turned for the door.

A plant? his thoughts whispered.  Someone who slipped in to try and milk us for information?  Is it a threat?

Underneath it all, the possibility that he’d screwed up and let one of the real-world mages get inside left a pang in his chest.  He couldn’t quite remember the words anymore, but he remembered his lessons clearly.  Keep them out.  Keep them away.  Keep yourself safe - and protect the Library.

A warm breeze brushed against his cheek.  Owl forced himself to relax, forced his hands to unclench from their balled-up fists.  Alexandria wouldn’t let someone in if she thought there was a danger.  She wouldn’t let a mage trespass in her halls.  She’d have kept them out.

Surely.

It didn’t matter that such a thing had never happened. Logically, he knew how unlikely it was for someone to slip past his own background checks and Alexandria’s watchful eye. Even still...He took in one breath after another, easing the study’s door open and slipping back into the hallways beyond.

Maybe he should review their biographies one more time before he returned to check on them.

* * * * *

With every day that passed inside the Library, Owl’s fears eased a little more.  The two were odd - weren’t all of the guests? - but Alan was just...different.  Too attentive.  So he told himself, and no amount of digging through the records could reveal some sinister history of the man.

So he watched. Carefully.

The wheels on the cart squealed as he pushed it along, savoring the burn of his forearms.  With the pair making their demands of his time, what few hours he’d normally have claimed in the practice yard had vanished.

“You just had to make up the difference, didn’t you?” he grunted, digging in his boots and pushing a little harder.  The books stacked on top of the cart wobbled dangerously.

Alexandria hummed around him, the soft notes of a wind-chime singing somewhere beyond its windows.  He grinned, trying to pretend there wasn’t sweat pouring down his face.  “Could you turn the temp back down?”

The next push of the cart sent a particularly lively squeal from the wheels, like a metallic raspberry.  Owl sighed, hanging his head.  “Fine.  Whatever.  You know I don’t care if those two get cold.  They can put on damn coats.”

There was no reply, and with one final shove, Owl straightened, groaning.

He leaned against the bookshelves, then, casting a look from side to side.  He’d been sent to the upper floors, this time. If he peered down the long, ominously-tall set of shelves, he could see straight through to the balcony’s edge and the studying scholars below.

“So you’re not comfortable either, hmm?” he murmured, letting his gloved fingers drag against the bookshelves.  All morning while he’d worked, in fact, it’d kept him close at hand.  Even when a dreamer had appeared a few hours ago, he’d only had to lead it through a few racks before it found its desire.  The whole time, he’d been within shouting distance of their guests.

Again, Alex didn’t respond - but he thought he felt the shelves quiver under his fingers.

He stared at the pair a moment longer, squinting through the glow.  The study was brightly lit, with chandeliers overhead and lanterns below.  Couldn’t have the researchers straining their eyes, after all.  He snorted.  The shelves, on the other hand, were sunken and dark, with just enough light for him to make out the names on the spines around him.

Alan and Dylan would never see him, in other words.  He smiled, his pulse quickening.  Right.  Time to get to work.

One book at a time, he heaved the tomes off the cart and slotted them onto an empty shelf.  Alex was being kind, at least.  He’d take care of the day’s racking in minutes, at this rate.

Standing on tiptoes, he peered over the shelf, letting his eyes scan the rest of the library wing.  Only darkened shelves waited beyond.

His nose wrinkled.  Dropping back to flattened feet, he grabbed another book and pushed it onto the shelf.

Surely he wasn’t wrong.  Surely he’d picked up on the signs by now.  The location was perfect, and he’d been in Alexandria for almost half of the pair’s six-month stay.  Alex never kept him waiting that long, and-

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.  With his ears pricked, straining for the faintest scrap of noise, he could just barely make the sound out.

Footsteps.  Somewhere in the shelves, the sound of footsteps fractured the silence.

Owl smiled - and then shook his head, wiping the expression carefully blank.  His hands spread across the leathery covers of the books, and then dragged away.  He took a step back, slow and soft.

Careful not to make a sound, he crept back through the shelves, scanning the darkness.  Damn it, the place was so dark even he couldn’t-

There.  His eyes narrowed, fixing on a tall figure wandering the shelves.  One that didn’t glow from within like a dreamer.

A figure that had become quite familiar over the myriad nights. And quite welcome.

The hem of his coat swished out behind him as he darted forward, the cured leather brushing gently against the shelves and their contents.  His hood fluttered, clipped securely to his mask.

He stared fixated at the figure, wide-eyed, as he stalked up behind him.  His hand came up, and-

“Jesus!” Leon yelped, spinning around as Owl’s hand dropped onto his shoulder.

“Shh!” Owl hissed, smothering a laugh and clapping his hand over the man’s mouth.  Leon froze, blinking desperately.

For a long moment, the two stood poised in the darkness.  Owl glanced back over his shoulder, back toward the