The Library (The Librarian of Alexandria Book 1) by Casey White (ebook reader 8 inch .TXT) 📗

but didn’t say anything.  Owl nodded back, slowing respectfully, and continued on his way.

Every time he tried to work, it was the same.  He couldn’t focus.  Couldn’t think.  He had one job - one job.  Keep the Library and its guests safe.  And now, the Library itself was toying with him?  How was he supposed to do anything with that?

If he couldn’t focus in his office, then he’d walk until his head cleared.  And if his head didn’t clear, well, at least he’d have kept his patrol.  The sitting room passed in a blur, and his expression softened at the sight of the overstuffed chairs.

Soon enough, the others would be gone, and he could relax again.  He could be himself again, whiling away the hours in front of the fire with a mug of coffee and a good book.  His nose wrinkled.  A book that had nothing at all to do with market prediction or shares trading, preferably.

His thoughts steadied as he slipped out of the Library’s heart, descending into the wings.  The visitor’s area was stable - this part of Alexandria was not.  Every hallway was new, every doorway a possible hiding place for someone that shouldn’t be here.

And it’d been a corner of the Library like this that’d hidden Leon.  Owl’s fists tightened at his sides, his steps quickening.

On he went, peering down every nook and crevice.

What if Leon comes back?  Owl pushed through a beaded curtain, pausing only long enough to let his eyes adjust.  The stink of incense filtered through his mask, but only heaps of elegantly-scribed scrolls waited within the chamber.  The beads rattled again as he slipped back out.

Another hallway.  Another wing.

If Leon came back, then he’d know. He’d know that the intruders would keep coming, that they were a repeat thing and not just a one-off mystery.  And he’d know that Leon had lied to him, that he knew the way in more surely than he’d said.

Unease prickled in Owl’s gut.  He grabbed a torch from the wall, thrusting it through a jagged stone gap.  Parchment lined the dusty floors within, coated with sand but still legible.  Not there.

The torch rattled against the bracket as he dropped it back in, going on his way.

Worse yet, if Leon came back while guests were visiting, if anyone saw him...Owl sighed, drooping.

Indira would hear of it.  Someone would surely tell her, if they remembered on the far side.  It might not be immediate.  Word would probably take time to wriggle back through the chain to her ears.  But the guildmaster wasn’t stupid, and she’d always been...involved.

She would hear.  And then she’d expect answers out of him.

His steps came slower and slower, like his boots were made of lead.  Finally, Owl came to a stop with a groan.  A window cut through the stonework walls of the Library, showing the courtyard outside.  Despite his own dark mood, he smiled.  Somehow, he’d wound up on the second floor, despite never climbing any stairs.

Training dummies lined the edges of the field, right where he’d left them.  Some were all but new.  Some had been singed nearly to black.  Owl let his eyes linger on them, still smiling faintly.  Practicing would clear his mind.  He normally didn’t like to practice magic while there were guests in the Library.  It was too hard to hide the display, too easy for someone else to witness.  But maybe, this time, he’d make an exception.

“Creepy,” someone muttered.

Owl jumped, flinching, and spun - to find Lenny standing at the window’s other end.  The chemist jumped too, his eyes going wide and his hands snapping up.  “S-Sorry,” Lenny stammered, grinning nervously.  “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Owl licked his lips, nodding.  “It’s...It’s fine.”  Inwardly, his frustrations screamed loud and clear.  He’d let someone sneak up on him?  It wasn’t acceptable.  Not even a little bit.  “...Creepy?” was all he said, though, leaning against the sprawling window.

Lenny made a face, glancing back through the glass.  “Yeah.  Isn’t it?  It’s like...there’s no sky.  No clouds.”  He chuckled.  “Or maybe it’s like being in a cloud.”

Owl turned to the courtyard, confused.  The same blurred fog as always pressed in around the edges of Alexandria.  If he squinted, looking past the elegant glasswork of the greenhouse, he could just barely make out the point where the Edge took over.  “No sky?” he said, his confusion growing.

“It’s weird,” Lenny said, more insistently.  “There are no birds.  How do you stand it here, anyway?”

Owl faltered, his eyes flicking between the chemist and the scene outside.  “I don’t see what’s so weird about it,” he muttered.  “Your sky is what’s weird.  So tall.  So open.  Like you’re just going to up and fall into it at any second.”

Too late, he realized that Lenny’s expression had changed - and the chemist was watching him now with an odd mix of curiosity and pity in his eyes.  “You mean that, don’t you?” Lenny said.  “Your sky.”

Owl flushed, wishing he could snatch the words back.  “It’s...complicated,” he said, as cheerfully as he could.  “It’s just different.  But you get used to it.”

“I guess,” Lenny said.  “Hey.  Is it true you stay here even when there’s no one around?”

“W-What?” Owl stammered.

“Only, I was wondering, and Emma didn’t know either.  Or does it let you out?”  Lenny leaned in, his eyes starting to gleam.  “How old are you?  And if you’re always here, how much have you read?  Wait!  Wait.”  He held a hand up as Owl started to draw in a breath, pursing his lips.  “What’s your favorite subject?”

A laugh burst from Owl’s gut, rippling out louder and louder.  Oh, they’d reached this stage of the guests’ stay had they?  The point where the Library wasn’t quite so fascinating anymore - and they started looking elsewhere to sate their curiosity.

“That’s classified,” he said, the laugh still lingering on his lips, and grinned at the disappointed look that flashed across Lenny’s face.

“Well,” the chemist said, rubbing at his nose.  “Okay, fair.  Next question.  What do you-”

Someone screamed.