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

selection, hand-picked from old visitors who were non-problematic and scholars we place the utmost trust in.  Nevertheless, we wanted to give you more notice than usual.  And...there is another reason.”

She gestured toward the sheets, her skin a few shades paler than before.  Owl blinked.  Something she wanted him to look at?  He raised the stack, furrowing his brow.

Olivia’s cautiously-smiling face stared back up at him.  He blinked again, nonplussed.  All of the information was there.  Everything was laid out nice and neatly, just like she-

“You’re submitting yourself as a candidate?” he blurted out, glancing to Olivia.

She reddened.  “I did say I wanted to visit. And I said I’d do it the right way.  I want to learn.  And I want to see.”

“More than that....she could provide some level of recompense on the behalf of the booklenders,” Indira said.  Owl looked back to her.  She was pale, but there was strength in her dark eyes.  “Alexandria is majestic indeed, but there are still tasks that require your attention.  Distractions.”  Her hands tightened about each other, until the white of her knuckles shone through the skin.  “Having help on the inside would lessen the demands on your time.”

“You want Olivia to be my hired help,” Owl said, his mind spinning.  What was she proposing?  That wasn’t the whole of it either, he knew.  She’d said it at the start - she wanted this exchange to be the first step toward something larger.  Was she trying to interfere in Library business?  “It’s...a thoughtful offer, Indira, but-”

“I would like you to consider something else,” Indira said.  Her eyes were locked onto his, somber.  “What happened to you was a tragedy.  One that cannot be allowed to repeat, for the sake of whoever is to follow.”

Owl went very still.  What happened to him?  “I’m afraid I don’t quite know what you-”

“I apologize, but with all of this mess to unravel, I find I’m not in a mood for delicacy,” Indira said.  “You were too young to be taken as an apprentice, let alone as the Librarian.  Surely you’re aware of that much yourself.”

Ah.  That.

Owl inclined his head, his gaze never breaking from Indira’s.  “The situation was difficult.  But, in the end-”

“I don’t know what happened,” Indira said.  “I know that something must have happened, though.  We have records of prior inheritances, and none were as abrupt as this.”  Her expression softened.  “I can’t imagine the pressures Librarian Crow was under, to act as she did.”

Owl’s pulse quickened, his breath catching at her name.  “Yes, well-”

“You were too young to take the mantle and the mask - and yet, she must have felt she had no other option,” Indira said.  “What would have happened if she had no candidate at all when the moment came to pass it on?  What would happen to Alexandria?”

“I...don’t know,” Owl said.  He shifted from foot to foot, his discomfort with the current line of conversation building.  All of it rang sour in his head - the talk of Crow as well as discussion of the Library itself.  He shook his head, trying to collect himself.  Couldn’t let Indira stomp over the top of him.  He was the Librarian, not her.  “I’m sure a solution can be found, and it’s something I’ll be happy to investigate.  But that’s a matter for me to worry about, not-”

“We’d never dream of interfering,” Indira said, raising a hand.  “It merely seemed a best-case scenario for all parties involved.  Olivia has studies of her own to pursue.  Her service to you would allow us to demonstrate our continued goodwill.  And the knowledge she gained would put her in good standing should you require further aid in the future.”

“Your secrets can remain secrets,” Olivia said.  Owl glanced back to her at last.  She stepped forward, no longer quivering.  “I’m not interested in- in any of that.  I know you have good reason to be worried about your identity, and that’s fine.  But let me help undo the damage our people caused.”

The candles overhead flickered.  Owl lifted his eyes, letting them sweep across the entryway.  Alexandria had been...shockingly neutral about all of this, so far.  Was she still thinking about it?  Or was she in favor of the arrangement?  He’d assumed she would’ve already put her foot down, if it was a ‘no’ from her.  Letting his breath hiss out, he turned back to the pair - and to Olivia in particular.

“That’s all?” Owl said.  “You just want to help?  You’re that altruistic?”  He chuckled sourly.  “Getting inside Alexandria has nothing at all to do with it?”

The flush spreading across her cheeks worsened.  “It’s a factor,” she muttered.  “But I care about the guild, too.  And Alexandria.  I want to help.  Is that so hard to believe?”

If he wasn’t wearing a mask and a hood, he would have torn at his hair, rubbed his face.  They were putting him in a difficult position, damn it.  He could...he could see what they were saying.

And yet, he could still remember Adrian charging across this same room.  He could still remember the terror at seeing metal fly through the air toward him.

Indira and Olivia seemed earnest enough.  Why, then, was he still uncomfortable about this?

“Let me consider it,” he said, hefting the papers.  “I couldn’t possibly decide something like this right now.  I’m...not sure about it.  But, let me look, and-”

“Of course,” Indira said, and she shook her head furiously.  “We’d never try and hurry you, Librarian.  Like I said, we want to make sure you have all the time you need to consider it.”

“Right,” he said, unconvinced.  “In that matter...if you don’t mind, I’d like to properly take a look at this.”  He gestured toward the door - which slid open, exposing the wall of light that lay behind.

Olivia drooped.  Indira reached out to take her elbow, shooting an irritated glare at the younger woman.  “Come, then,” he heard her mutter.  “Don’t sulk, girl.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia said.  She looked back to Owl, though, and flashed a smile his