The Dragon in the Library

by Louie Stowell

  Faith just smiled. “Why don’t we have something to eat?”

  “Magic food?” asked Alita hopefully.

  “Definitely not,” said Faith. “Never eat magical food if you can help it. Unless you enjoy being turned into something slimy. Oh, and before I forget… Sec!”

  “I’m dry!” gasped Alita. She patted her arms and grinned. “Magic!”

  *

  The wood continued onwards for a while and the children looked around them at the gnarled, carved trees. Dogon flapped behind them, staying close to Alita. Kit sniffed the air. It didn’t smell entirely like a wood. There was a musty, dry smell too.

  Like books.

  The book forest gradually thinned out and eventually they reached a clearing with one very large tree in the middle. Faith placed a palm on the trunk and said something that sounded like “Hoogah!”

  A door slid back, disappearing with a ripple of bark. Inside, Kit caught a glimpse of a cheerful, messy room.

  Faith led them inside the tree and the door shut behind them. On the inside it looked like an ordinary wooden door, not a tree at all. The walls were covered in wallpaper, decorated with stars.

  The room had some very scruffy armchairs, a desk with messy piles of paper, a small fridge, some cupboards and a sink with a kettle next to it, along with teabags, spoons and a biscuit tin. There was a shelf of what Kit thought must be spell books – they were certainly very old, with gold bound into the spines, and writing in languages Kit didn’t understand.

  “Welcome to the common room,” said Faith. “It’s where we take our breaks.”

  “Couldn’t you do a tidying spell?” suggested Josh.

  “What do you mean?” said Faith. “Everything’s exactly where I want it.”

  Josh looked dubious.

  Faith gestured them towards the armchairs. Kit sat in a huge, squashy-looking one. She felt something lumpy behind her and reached around until she pulled out a ring with a gemstone in it.

  “Ah, I’d better take that,” said Faith. She got up and scrabbled around in a drawer in the desk.

  “What is it?”

  “Ring of great power. Belonged to an evil wizard. You probably shouldn’t touch it. Evil wizardry can be catching.” She reached out with a pair of tongs and plucked the ring out of Kit’s hand, dropping it into an envelope and putting it into her pocket.

  “I thought you said everything was where you wanted it?” said Josh.

  “Perhaps it was there so that I could teach you the importance of not touching magical rings?” Faith gave Josh a look. He shrank back a little.

  “Would anyone like some lemonade?” asked Faith, bustling to the kitchen sink in the corner and taking a jug from the cupboard. “Ginger cake? They’re home-made.”

  Everyone raised their hands. Discovering that magic exists was hungry and thirsty work.

  Faith took some lemons and limes from a bowl and started to squeeze them into the jug. She opened a tin with a moist-looking cake inside. A warm, gingery smell wafted through the air as she put it on a plate, then went back to squeezing the fruit. “So. Does anyone have any questions?”

  “You said the light spell you did was elemental magic,” said Josh. “What other types of magic are there?” Josh took out his notebook, pen poised.

  As Faith juiced and talked, Josh scribbled.

  “So,” interrupted Kit, “I could turn into a bear or a lion or whatever if I wanted to?”

  “One day,” said Faith. “Although I’d recommend starting with slightly less dangerous animals. Maybe a ferret? Or a woodlouse?”

  “No fun,” huffed Kit.

  “What type of magic does Dogon have?” asked Alita. The creature was licking Alita’s hand and she was batting him away. “No, Dogon.”

  Dogon stopped licking, his pink tongue sticking out goofily between his pointed teeth.

  “Wild magic,” said Faith. “That’s the most dangerous kind.”

  “Should Alita be petting him?” asked Kit, suddenly worried.

  “Awww, Dogon’s not dangerous. Look at him. He’s so fluffy!” said Alita.

  “Alita’s right,” said Faith. “Dogon only has a little wild magic. But if it’s found in large quantities, unless it’s tamed it can cause all kinds of problems.”

  “There are magical animals with enough wild magic to power a city,” said Faith. “I can promise, you wouldn’t want to meet them on a dark night.”

  Kit immediately wanted to meet all of them.

  She opened her mouth to ask what kind of magical animals had lots of wild magic, but Josh got in another question.

  “I’ve got the first six types – including wild magic. But what’s the seventh kind of magic?”

  Faith continued her explanation.

  “Kit,” said Faith, “do you have any questions about your powers?”

  Josh opened his mouth.

  “I said Kit,” warned Faith.

  Kit thought about this. “Why did I get my powers so early?”

  Faith was looking thoughtful. “Honestly? I’m not sure. It’s possible that your powers came when they did because the world’s wild magic knew that you were needed.”

  “Nice to feel wanted,” said Kit. “Even by wild magic.”

  Faith smiled. “Well, whatever awoke your powers, you’ll need to learn how to use them.”

  “So what happens next? How do I learn how to use them?”

  “I need to speak to the Wizards’ Council in Wales,” said Faith. “If they say yes, I’ll train you. They’re the… Well, I imagine they would say they’re my bosses. I’m not sure I’d agree. Anyway. They make sure all the wizards in Britain don’t misuse magic, and generally keep an eye on things.”

  “They sound like teachers,” said Kit. She didn’t like the sound of them.

  Faith smiled. “A little. Though, with an average age of a hundred and two, they’re a bit older than most teachers.”

  The children’s eyes were wide. “Wow. My gran is sixty, and she’s the oldest person I’ve ever met,” said Josh. “She’s so old, she remembers what it was like before the Internet!”

  Faith let out a little coughing laugh. “The members of the Wizards’ Council are definitely older than the Internet. A couple of them are still adjusting to the idea of television. And the Chairwizard is even a bit iffy about radio.” She stirred the jug of lemonade, making the ice clink. The whole room smelled of citrus. “Anyway. As soon as I’ve spoken to them, I’ll start training you.”

  “Shouldn’t she go to … wizard school or something?” asked Josh, sounding disappointed.

  Faith poured out lemonade for everyone and shook her head.

  “Kit can’t go to the Wizard Academy yet – that’s for eighteen-year-olds who’ve already finished normal school. I’ll have to train you myself. In a less –” Faith waved her hand – “Formal way.”

  “What am I training FOR though?” asked Kit.

  “Oh, you know. Running the library. Saving the world from evil. That sort of thing.”

  The lemonade might not have been magic but it definitely tasted it. It was syrupy-sweet and cold and made Kit’s entire mouth zing.

  “Mmmm,” said Kit. “That’s delic— Wait, saving the world from what?”

  “Evil,” said Faith.

  “Evil what? Evil wizards?” asked Josh.

  Faith nodded. “Among other things.”

  “Are there a lot of evil wizards?” asked Alita.

  “A few, yes,” said Faith. “Dogon! No!”

  Dogon was sniffing at Alita’s glass. He ignored Faith, but when Alita shook her head and wagged her finger he lowered his head apologetically and was soon snuggled into a snoring ball on her lap. Faith looked impressed.

  “I wouldn’t worry about evil wizards for now,” Faith went on, taking a sip of her own lemonade. “The first step is to help you gain control of your powers and learn some spells. And, of course, learn how the library works. Which is at least half of a wizard’s job.”


  “Why DO wizards work in libraries?” asked Alita.

  Faith looked at her. “It’s our duty to guard… Well, let’s say to keep things running smoothly. Also, I need the money. Wizards still have to pay bills, you know.”

  “Couldn’t you cast a spell to make people think you’ve paid your bills?” suggested Josh.

  Faith gave him a horrified look. “That’s the kind of thing EVIL wizards do! What a thought!” She peered closer at him. “Are YOU evil, Josh? Should I be talking to your parents?”

  Josh looked at his hands. “Just trying to be helpful,” he mumbled. “Not evil. Please don’t tell my mum.”

  But Faith started laughing. “It’s OK. I’m just messing with you. You look about as evil as Dogon here.”

  Faith turned to Kit. “How do you feel about training with me for the rest of the summer holidays? Or are you going away?”

  Kit shook her head. She hadn’t been on holiday for years – there were too many of them to fit anywhere, except camping, and her parents HATED camping. They had no idea where Kit came upon her love of the outdoors.

  “Right then, shall we say ten a.m. tomorrow?” asked Faith.

  “Can we come?” asked Josh.

  “Of course. It’s a public library!” said Faith. “And Kit will probably need a little help keeping her feet on the ground. And I mean that figuratively. I won’t be teaching her levitation spells for a while.”

  “What does ‘figuratively’ mean?” asked Kit.

  “It’s the opposite of literally,” explained Josh.

  “And ‘literally’ is?” asked Kit, wanting to thump Josh for talking in circles.

  “There’s a dictionary on the shelf over there,” said Faith. She pointed to a row of heavy books in a corner of the common room. “You can look it up whenever you like.”

  “I don’t see why I should be punished for Josh being annoying,” grumbled Kit.

  “What’s wizard training like?” asked Josh, ignoring her.

  Faith answered all of Josh’s questions patiently.

  Much more patiently than Kit would have done.

  After they finished their lemonade, Faith walked them out of the stacks and back to the ordinary part of the library. Dogon stayed in the corridor of the tree books, but not before giving Alita a goodbye lick on the cheek, making her giggle.

  “That’s GROSS!” said Josh. “It’s also dangerous. You remember he breathes fire, right?”

  “It’s cute!” said Alita. “Bye, Dogon!”

  They emerged into the bright striplighting of the main library. Kit thought it all looked absolutely … normal. Shouldn’t the world look different now?

  *

  All the way home Josh and Alita talked about what they’d seen and what it meant.

  “This is huge,” Josh was saying. “This changes everything.”

  “We know this enormous secret,” said Alita. “Something almost no one else knows. I’ve never had this big a secret before! The toilet thing is nothing compared to this!”

  “I’m still hungry,” said Kit. “Shall we go to mine for tea?”

  “Aren’t you too excited to eat?” asked Alita.

  Kit looked at her as if she’d grown an extra head. “What does being excited have to do with being hungry? I can be both!”

  “You don’t seem that excited,” said Josh.

  Kit gave a shrug. She was excited. But putting it into words felt … too big. How do you explain something like that? Her tongue felt tangled just thinking about it, like headphones that had been in your pocket too long and wrapped round and round themselves in a nest of chaos.

  When they got home, Kit’s parents were busy feeding the baby. Well, Kit’s mum was feeding Baby while her dad stopped Toddler from breaking things and putting gloopy things inside other things that shouldn’t have gloopy things inside them, like ears, or the DVD player.

  Kit’s mum glanced up from spooning goop into Baby’s mouth.

  “Oh, hello, Kit. You look very clean!”

  “We were at the library,” said Kit.

  “Not the cemetery?” asked her father. “Please don’t put that up your nose. It’s not meant to go up your nose. Nothing’s meant to go up your nose except air. Your nose is for down and out only.”

  It took a moment for Kit to realise he wasn’t talking to her.

  “Can we have some food?” she asked.

  Her mother gestured to the kitchen counter, where there were some sandwiches, then turned back to Baby.

  Clearly no one had given her mum the message that Kit was Special.

  Kit, Josh and Alita took their sandwiches, along with some orange juice and fruit, and went upstairs to Kit’s bedroom.

  “If Dogon was here we could make these into toasted sandwiches,” said Alita.

  “Hey, maybe you can learn some spells that do that? Like, fire spells?” said Josh.

  Kit’s eyes lit up. “Fire spells, yesssssss.” She took a bite of sandwich. “I wonder WHY wizards run the library. Faith didn’t really say. I mean, if they want to fight evil wizards, shouldn’t they have a super-cool fortress with armour and shields and stuff?”

  “Maybe they have invisible shields?” suggested Alita.

  “Maybe that’s why those doors are so hard to get into? Maybe that IS a shield,” said Josh.

  “Or maybe the doors are just broken?” said Kit.

  “You’ve got NO imagination,” grumped Josh.

  “No, but I’ve got magic powers,” pointed out Kit. “Apparently.” She looked at her hands. “I don’t feel magic.”

  “Maybe that comes later?” said Josh. “Maybe you only start feeling magic when you start learning spells?”

  “We’ll find out more tomorrow, won’t we!” said Alita. “I can’t wait!”

  When Kit arrived at the library to start her training the next morning, she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She didn’t know how wizards trained. Perhaps it was like learning martial arts – you had to wear black and wave your hands around, practising moves. Perhaps she’d be learning some spells off by heart. Maybe— THUMP!

  “Here.” Faith plonked a huge pile of books on to a desk in one corner of the library. “These books need shelving. You just need to match the number on the spine to the right number on one of the shelves. There’s a list of where you’ll find each number, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it quickly.”

  Kit looked down at the pile of books. “But … aren’t we going to do spells? Did you talk to the Wizards’ Council? Am I allowed to do magic?”

  “I’ll give you a hint. The answer rhymes with ‘mess’,” said Faith.

  “Yessss!” said Kit. “Brilliant! What else did they say?”

  “They said a lot about how the existence of such a young wizard was ‘unheard of’ and ‘shocking’. Then one of them said, ‘Gladys, give me my pills. I think I’m going to have a heart attack.’ He didn’t though, luckily,” said Faith. “Have a heart attack, I mean. Because Gladys DID give him his pills. But I don’t think I’ve seen the lot of them this excited since I took cake to the last council meeting. What was I saying?” Faith shook her head, braids whipping back and forth. “Phew. Their long-windedness is catching.”

  “You were saying about me doing spells?”

  “Ah, right,” said Faith. “What I was going to say was, you’re allowed to do spells as long as you get to grips with the library first. It’s just as important as magic.”

  “But—” said Kit.

  Faith held up a finger. “Shhh.”

  “And later,” she went on, “you can help with Storytime.”

  “Storytime? But …when am I going to learn to do magic?”

  “When I think you’re ready,” said Faith. “Now. Go on.” She made a shooing motion towards the pile of books. Alita and Josh were already enthusiastically burrowing through them, checking the numbers on the spines against the list of shelves.

  “But I’m a wizard. It’s not fair.” She turned back to Faith, but the l
ibrarian had gone. “This isn’t magic,” Kit finished.

  “No. But it’s BOOKS!” said Josh. “Look at all these books! I haven’t even HEARD of these ones.”

  “Me neither,” said Alita. “Look, this one’s about zombies! I’m not allowed to read books about zombies. Which must mean they’re good books. Adults never bother telling you not to read the boring ones.”

  “I’ve got one about knitting here,” said Josh. “No one’s ever told me not to read about knitting.” He pulled the book open. “Yeah … and I can see why.”

  The two of them picked up armfuls of books and scurried about the library.

  Kit sighed and picked up a book. It was about the Second World War and had a boring-looking black-and-white photo on the cover. She noted the number on its spine, checked the list, then wandered over to the “ADULT NON-FICTION” sign.

  When she’d popped the book back in its correct place, she wandered slowly back to the table. On the way, she passed the office at the side of the library. She spotted a familiar book on the table. A book about gardens.

  Well, I’m sure Faith would want me to re-shelve that…

  She picked it up.

  Remembering what happened last time, Kit took the book off to a reading corner and propped it up on a beanbag chair. She looked around, to make sure no one was watching, and began to read, this time from the beginning.

  She was standing in a garden. This time the garden had a lush green lawn and tall trees all around it.

  A fountain tinkled. She could smell freshly mown grass. Kit grinned. This was better than shelving books. And she could go back to work in a few minutes.

  She strolled around the garden, bending down to peer into a pool full of large fish. At the edge of the garden there was a thick woodland grove. She walked through the trees and found herself in an open meadow littered with wild flowers.

  “I shouldn’t stay too long,” she said to herself. “I might just have a little lie-down on this soft grass. I’ll just close my eyes for a moment…”

  *