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

by time-worn lacquer and delicate, long-dried papers.  Owl grabbed for him, ignoring the heat that lapped at his hands, and twisted Alan so that the worst of the fire faced him rather than their guest.

Alexandria.  Come on.  Now.

An ominous gurgle filled the air - and then something slammed into the back of Owl's head.  Something heavy and wet, that cascaded over him and Alan in a tidal wave of cool, frigid relief.  Owl shuddered, driven forward under the pressure of it, but watched from behind the shield of his mask.

Alan's shrieks of protest died away in a gurgle - alongside the fires coating him.

Owl grinned.  There.  One thing down.

Even if he could still see the angry red scorch marks coating the man's arms, and the black soot burned into the fabric of his sweater.  The fabric had started to melt in places.  He winced.

"Come on," Owl gasped, pushing himself upright and grabbing Alan's arm.  The man moaned, wobbling dangerously, but didn't resist as Owl hauled him to his feet.

Dylan still stood in the narrow center of the wing, white as a sheet and shaking.  The candelabra was still clutched in his hand, all of the candles but one twisted and broken.  The one flickered merrily still, a stark contrast to the chaos of the scene.  The roar of shelf after shelf slamming down echoed about the room.

Owl shoved Alan toward his friend, only half watching the drunken scholar.  "Get out of here," he spat.  "Out into the hall.  Now."

Leon, he realized with a jolt.  Leon had been here, too.  Had he gotten out?  Was he still watching?

He was smart, Owl told himself.  He'd see what was going on.  He'd get clear - or stay hidden.

"How?" he heard Dylan cry.  "There's-"

Owl spun, heart in his throat.  Dust flew from each shelf as the chain reaction continued, hideously slow and inexorable.  It filled the air in choking clouds, turning the air around them all but opaque.  Should I have been dusting you all these years?

Through it all, a little voice whispered that this was too much, that the destruction went way beyond what a few bookshelves should have done.  Is this your doing? he whispered desperately.  Another shelf wobbled, then overbalanced.  He gaped.  Did- Did you just tip that over?  Alex?

His hands flew out again, though, arms extended in both directions, and his fingers clamped down.  This was going to stop.  He was the Librarian, and his job was to keep everyone here safe, and it was going to stop, before-

A terrible noise tore through the wing, shrieking like a demon.  Owl's head spun around.

A support.  More than one row of shelving was tumbling down by then - Alexandria was nothing if not excessive, especially around guests - and one of the rows had reached its end.  Well.  It'd reached the pillar waiting at the end, that was.  With each of the shelves standing as high as two men and carrying untold tons of leatherbound paper, the tiny column of wood didn't stand a chance no matter how beautifully it'd been carved.  It snapped through in an instant, crashing to the side and smashing into one of the yet-standing shelves.

Which overbalanced, starting the whole process over again.  Sweat rolled down Owl's back.  Because of course it did.

The whole wing was groaning by then, echoed by the distant sound of nails screeching against their wooden homes.  Owl's fingers tightened.  The two visitors huddled farther down the study, frozen in place as the chaos grew around them.  Another shelf slammed down.  The cunningly-worked chandeliers from overhead danced back and forth, dropping glass and fire down into the study.

Gritting his teeth, Owl fixed the scene in his mind - and dug in his heels, twisting his fingers.  Stop.  Just stop.  Just for a minute.  He didn't know if Alexandria was angry at him or if she really was helpless to stop any of this, but damn it, he needed a path.

The destruction continued around him, but ahead, he saw the space around the two come grinding to a halt.  Fragments of glass hung in midair.  Books hovered, halfway off their shelves.  Another shattered support column wobbled, caught in the collapse.  For a moment, amidst the chaos, a moment of quiet rang true.

"Run," Owl hissed, his teeth clenched together.  Damn it, why were they just standing there?  "Run, damn you."

The two flinched, their eyes wide and terrified - but somehow, in the middle of it, the situation seemed to reach Dylan.  He stumbled forward, grabbing hold of Alan's arm, and towed him toward the distant shape of the double doors.

Owl panted, his eyes fixed on their backs.  The sound of glass shattering overhead rose louder and louder, and one of the chandeliers tore free at last.  It crashed down between him and the pair.  They jumped - and that seemed to be the final straw.

They ran.  Without looking back, they bolted, leaping piles of books and shoving their way past a ruined desk.  A handful of steps, and...

And they were gone.  Owl exhaled.  His skull was ablaze, like someone had hit him with an axe handle.  The tension left his fingers, and the chaos resumed before him.

He wet his lips, looking around.  Alexandria wouldn't hurt him, no matter what strange temper tantrum she seemed to be having.  There'd be a way out.  He just had to find it.  He'd make a way out.  But before that...

"Leon!" he screamed, rocking back and forth.  "You still here?  Hey!  Le-"

A dark shape burst from the dusty, smoky haze, tearing toward him.  The knot in his chest loosened.  Leon.  He'd stayed, which sucked, but at least...

At least he was still here, alive and moving.

Leon skittered, dodging wide as a timber fell from overhead.  Owl cursed under his breath, shooting a look at the ruined wing.  You could stop this, he screamed silently.  There's no reason for it.  You're Alexandria.  You're the Library.  You could stop all of this.

Just like it hadn't stopped Lenny from blowing up the lab.  Owl's breath