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

He pushed off hard, swaying as he stood, and grabbed for the edge over him.  Every movement hurt.  He’d been thrown around before, but somehow...somehow, it being the Library instigating matters made the ache all the worse.

“I don’t deserve this,” he mumbled, hurt soaking through every word.

The rattling of the windows continued, though, following him as he stalked back toward his quarters.

* * * * *

Daniel fell to the plush mattress with a groan, sucking down a breath of cool, fresh air.  Every touch of the air against his skin was bliss, his reward for a shift well-worked.

Time inside Alexandria worked...differently.  And, as he had to struggle to explain to each set of visitors, reality was little more than an illusion there.  They were little more than dreams when it came right down to it, and dreams didn’t need little things like ‘sleeping’ or ‘eating’.

But his guests were human, and humans had habits built around their needs, actual or perceived.  He’d long since given up on telling them they didn’t need to retire to their chambers every night - and indeed, he’d come to enjoy the hours of his own internment he could while away in blissful unconsciousness.

This was different, though.  He grinned, glancing back toward the rack alongside his bed.  His coat and mask waited right in their places, ready for the grabbing should he need them in a hurry.

He wouldn’t.  The Library was closed, after all, and even if strangers were finding their way in, he doubted Alexandria would let them into his bedroom.

Probably not.

Surely not.

Daniel tore his eyes off his uniform, rolling to the side and stretching out to his full length.  The world beyond his windows was dark and perfectly quiet.  He smiled, burying his face in the pillow.

Sleeping while guests were in Alexandria was a luxury.

Sleeping when they’d left meant he got to go outside.  He’d get to be free again, if only for a day.

His eyelids drooped, betraying the exhaustion building within him.  More than ever, he needed a break.  Just a day, and he’d be ready to come back and face...whatever was going on within the Library.

The warmth of the blankets lulled him under, his chest rising and falling steadily.

Just for a little bit.

* * * * *

A gentle breeze wafted through his hair, tickling at the individual strands.  Daniel shivered, nestling deeper into his blankets.  Something chimed in his thoughts at the touch, at the first inklings of awareness.  It screamed to life, calling him awake.  Morning.  It was morning, which meant it was time.  Smiling, with a yawn building in his chest, Daniel rolled over.  His eyes slipped open, and-

The knotted-wood boards of his room’s ceiling stared down at him.  His room in Alexandria.

Shock rippled through him, jolting him back to wakefulness.  He sat bolt upright, blankets flying free.

A grand fireplace waited at the foot of his bed.  Windows lined one wall, exposing an elegant garden beyond.  Carved bookshelves lined the walls, stacked high with the journals of his predecessors.

He stared at them, mouth hanging open.  Black hair hung around his face in a tangled, matted halo.  He couldn’t bring himself to so much as brush it aside.

Alexandria.  He was still in Alexandria.

“What the hell?” he breathed, kicking his legs free of the sheets and pushing himself toward the edge of the bed.  His arms quivered with the motion.  “Why the hell am I-”

He toppled over the edge with a cry, catching himself before he could hit the ground.  Clambering back upright, he stood - and stared at the rack alongside his bed.

The mask and jacket he’d hung there what felt like moments before stared back silently.

Daniel sat down heavily, his mind racing.  Why?  The guests were gone.  That was how things worked. He arrived in the Library.  He opened the doors, and took in guests, if it was scheduled.  He helped them through their visit, however many months that took, and then saw them out.  When his work was done, he got to leave.

So why was he still here?

“Alexandria?” he said, his voice numb.  “What’s going on?”

The fireplace crackled, popping cheerfully.  That was all - no handy note left for him, no message painted on the walls.

Just a damn fireplace, and the same secretive Library as ever.  Daniel stood in a rush of fabric, turning toward his coat and mask.

He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.  He just snatched his uniform free and stalked out into the Library.

* * * * *

Around and around they went.  Each time, it played out the same.  Owl searched the Library like a man possessed, hellbent on finding something about the mysterious intruder in his domain.  The answers he found never changed - or the lack thereof.

The silence filling the halls fell heavier and heavier, broken only by his occasional cry of “Hello?” or “Anyone there?”  When his frustrations grew too much to contain so sedately, an occasional “Leon?” would join the rest.

Every night, he flopped down on his bed, exhausted and confused but relieved that this time, this time, it would be over.  He’d wake, and have his day of freedom, and return to the Library assured that it would be normal again.

Every morning, he awoke back in Alexandria’s clutches.

He couldn’t get out.  It was hard to say when the thought took root, wearing past his stubborn frustrations and planting the seeds of fear.  Alexandria had him, and it wasn’t letting him out.

Owl smothered the insidious whispers of his doubts, diving into his work with new fervor.  He flitted between patrols and coding sessions with frenetic energy, hurrying back into the wings at the slightest rustling of paper or shifting of wood. If he couldn’t leave, he’d at least be productive, he told himself. It didn’t help. Without a way to connect the ethereal Library with the mundane world, progress was impossible.

With every passing day, though, the battle between them rose higher.  Doors locked at his