Southwest Days (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 2) by Kal Aaron (ebook reader for manga .txt) 📗

to head toward the main doors. The best way to investigate was to go to the scene of the crime. Somebody pulled a trigger in this library, and she needed to find clues.

An excited-looking man approached her with a clipboard as she neared the entrance. “Excuse me, ma’am. Do you have time to hear about a new refer—”

“No,” Lyssa said and walked past him. “I don’t care about anything or anyone,” she lied. “Better luck next time.”

A woman tried next. “We’re doing a survey about your favorite movies, and you can win free movie tic—”

“Don’t care,” Lyssa replied. “All movies are terrible, especially the ones I like.”

The woman cocked her head to the side with a puzzled expression, then backed away slowly, a worried look on her face.

Lyssa’s harsh tone and cool gaze scared off two other people with clipboards and a tween uniformed Arbor Scout who scurried back to her table and hid behind another smiling Scout.

She slowed as she passed the Scouts’ table. The girl was selling sugar wafers, including strawberry flavor. That might be a treat for later, but first, there was a job to do. Rewards were for people who did their jobs.

Lyssa passed through the swarm of people and Scouts near the entrance and pushed into the main library through the double glass doors. A small café sat near the entrance.

She lingered near the café, listening for anything unusual and feeling for sorcery. There was nothing. Whatever sorcery might have taken place hadn’t lingered. She hadn’t expected it, but it didn’t hurt to check.

Damien was right. There were too many unknowns remaining in the situation. She needed confirmed facts.

Lyssa stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and walked past the café and the circulation desk. Her mystery rogue hadn’t come to borrow a book. He’d come to make a fake account on a library computer. She marched toward a row of computer desks in the back and slowly walked past the machines, trying to sense sorcery. The computer stations were filled with patrons tapping, clacking, and clicking.

Most people paid her no attention, but one woman scowled at her. A man gave her a bright smile and waggled his eyebrows. She ignored everyone and continued concentrating on sorcery but finding nothing. Lyssa walked over to the circulation desk, wondering if the whole thing would prove a waste of time. There was no guarantee there would be any lingering sorcery to find.

The librarian manning the desk offered her a bright smile. “How may I help you today, miss?”

“Is there another set of computers here?” Lyssa asked. “My boyfriend swung by earlier to check out the latest Martelle release, and he told me he left his hat underneath the desk. He loves that hat.”

“Oh.” The librarian pushed her lips together and puffed her cheeks as she considered the query. “I don’t remember seeing any hats in the Lost and Found, but if you go up to the second floor and take a left from the elevator, you’ll find more computers. I hope you find it. I know how annoying it can be to lose something you like.”

“Thanks. I’m sure I will.” Lyssa smiled and waved and headed toward the elevator.

She stepped off and spotted the computers, losing hope of finding anything useful. The upstairs computers looked far older and more worn than the machines downstairs, with half their screens dark and paper signs on the fronts reading OUT OF ORDER. A couple of teen boys sat in the corner, their chairs pushed together, laughing at some meme Lyssa didn’t understand featuring a cartoon character she didn’t recognize.

“Damn it,” she mumbled. “I’m only thirty. When did that become old?”

“I don’t consider it old,” Jofi said.

“I’m glad the non-human spirit entity has great insights into the aging experience.” Lyssa snickered. “But I’m not Samuel.”

“I agree with that.”

One of the teens looked Lyssa’s way. She walked down the back row of computers, earning curious stares from the teens before stopping close to the end.

Her heart kicked up. The pressure was faint, but there. Sorcery.

Lyssa frowned and looked around the desk for anything of interest before shoving the main tower to the side and finding a thin USB stick underneath. She snatched it and brought it closer to her face, narrowing her eyes.

The teens eyed her. One frowned.

“Are you, like, ripping off the library, lady?” he asked. “That’s lame. Go shoplift from a store.”

Lyssa grimaced. “Lady? How old do you think I am?”

“I don’t know. Old.” He shrugged. “Like, twenty-five?”

She grinned. “Twenty-five? Okay, I’ll take it. I like you.” She shook the stick. “And I’m not stealing. This is mine. I forgot it earlier. It’s a miracle it’s still here.

“Oh.” The teen turned back to his friend and the screen.

She was glad they didn’t press her on it or take her picture. That let her concentrate on her new find.

The sensation was unmistakable. She’d found a shard, an enchanted USB stick.

That was a first for her. She wasn’t the only Illuminated out there who believed they needed to accept more technology. That made her rogue dangerous.

“Samuel’s going to hate this,” she muttered, walking back to the elevator. “But I’ll give Damien first crack.”

“Why would you do that?” Jofi asked.

“Sorcery-enhanced or not, a USB stick is a technological device,” Lyssa replied. “I’m not sure Samuel even knows what a USB stick is used for. This could have useful information on it.”

She tucked the stick into her pocket. The boys cackled at a video. A familiar voice came out of the speaker: Lucky Nardi’s.

“Get ready for the ultimate prank,” he said. “We’re going to convince this guy aliens stole his car! Remember, as always, if you love what we’ve done, you need to smash those Like and Subscribe buttons!”

Lyssa stepped into the elevator, shaking her head. She’d avenge him and his partner.

A desperate college kid didn’t deserve to get shoved into a monster nest. It might not have had anything to do with her before, but now that she had the contract, she’d see