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

Or is this you punishing me for looking into stuff you didn't want me to?  The thought crept in at the back of his mind, tiny and guilty and frustrated.  He didn't want to think that of Alexandria.  She'd pushed Leon at him so hard - and now, he was just...gone.  He hated to admit it, but it left him feeling off-balance.  He'd already gotten used to having a regular visitor, one he could talk to.

A stack of books waited at the end of a shelf, pointedly tall and right on the verge of tipping over.  Owl groaned.  "Dammit, Alex, if this shit falls on me, I'm going to be upset."  Wincing at the thought of the heavy texts tumbling down on his feet, he reached out, tentatively grabbing one off the top and then skittering back.

When the stack didn't fall, he sighed, relaxing.  An open slot waited on the bookshelf.  He thrust the book into place, rolling his eyes.  "Fine.  Don't talk to me.  It's fine.  I'm fine."  He grabbed another book, passing it across his front and shoving it onto the shelf alongside its fellow.  A tiny, wry smile waited on his lips, though, safely hidden behind the mask.  It was just another of her moods, he told himself.  This too would pass.  Soon enough, life would return to normal, and-

He froze, his hand still outstretched toward the heap of books.  His eyes widened, then narrowed.  He didn't move, didn't even breathe.

It was quiet, but...he was sure he'd heard it...

A low noise rippled through the Library, like a rubber sole against wooden floors.  He jumped, eyes going round again - and then smiled.

So Alex had just been waiting for him to complain, eh?  He bit back a laugh, stepping away from the books.  It'd taken visit after visit, months after months, but she'd let Leon back in.  About time.

After so long spent out of the Library, there was no way Owl would let his friend get the jump on him. Not this time.  He crept closer to a wooden rack, each step slow and careful.  Each time he came to an intersection, he paused, letting silence fall over the wing again - and each time, he heard the quiet steps ring out again.

His grin grew as he slid closer and closer.  Soon.  Any minute now, he'd come around a corner, and be face to face with-

Owl flinched, lurching dangerously.  He grabbed for a shelf for support, his eyes wide.

A woman walked through the Library, halfway across the wing from him.  A young woman, he amended quickly, one who looked a bit younger than him, even.  Her brown hair had been clipped to her chin in a straight, no-nonsense line.

Owl gaped at her a moment longer, his mind blank.  Who?  Who was it?  He'd never seen this woman before in his-

Leon.  A tiny groan slipped between his lips.  Leon had mentioned a friend of his - a female friend.  Someone he wanted to invite to Alexandria alongside him and James.  He'd said no.  Apparently, that hadn't changed Alexandria's mind on the matter.

"You could have at least kept them together," Owl muttered.  "You don't have to keep dropping guests all over the Library like Easter eggs for me to hunt down."  This...wasn't the first time.  He only hoped this friend of Leon's had a better sense of humor on the matter than James did.

She was still walking, still drifting through the aisles, and so Owl stepped out into the candlelight.  "Hey!" he called, striding forward.  "New girl!  Look, don't worry, but-"

The woman continued without so much as glancing at him, vanishing behind a rack.  Owl stopped.  He could just make out the top of her head over the books, bobbing along.

Had she not heard him?  He ground his teeth together, breaking into a jog.  "Hey!" he cried, more loudly.  "Hold up!  I need to talk to you a second!"

Her silhouette didn't change course, didn't even slow.

Owl hurried through the aisles, dodging past a stack of books piled alongside a shelf.  "D-Damn it," he mumbled, snapping his eyes back to the woman.  Closer.  He was getting somewhere, at least.  "Come on!  Don't run, miss.  I'm not- I won't hurt you or anything."  The words came out a huff as he picked up the pace.  He couldn't very well sprint through the wing, not with shelves blocking his way, but he could try.

Yes.  He, a masked, leather-coated man who looked straight out of a fantasy movie, was running after her, a confused stranger, through a magical, constantly-shifting library she'd never seen before.

Really, it wasn't hard to figure out why she wouldn’t stop.

Can you cut her off? Owl whispered, cursing under his increasingly-short breath as the woman rounded the corner at the end of the wing.  She was dressed plainly, her faded graphic tee oddly out of place in the mystical Library.  Owl's feet pounded along the wood toward her.

And yet - it didn't seem to matter how fast he was, or how slow she was.  Every time she crossed behind a shelf, fading from sight, it was like she gained another thirty feet on him.  "Hey!" he hollered, his voice starting to go hoarse.  "Would you- Would you just-"

The woman kept walking, strolling with easy nonchalance toward the doorway.  Owl grinned, picking up the pace.  He'd catch her, soon - once she turned that door, she'd be out into the main hallway.  There'd be nowhere for her to go.  Close off the doors, will you, Alex?  I don't want her getting lost.  She's probably scared enough already.

Not that she looked scared.  She wandered as though lost in a dream, doing an impressive job of completely disregarding his every cry.  As he watched, his eyes fixed to her back, she turned the last corner into the hall.

Gotcha.  Owl's grin widened.  He charged forward, summoning up every last ounce of speed he could, and tore after her.  The doorway flashed past.  He spun, planting his feet hard, and-

And stopped.