"So, now what?" Marc asked. He still managed to sound ruder than I would've liked but I couldn't help but be grateful that he was asking the very same question I was thinking.
Having had something to eat, I felt a lot steadier on my feet. And I was so ready to be done with all the stalling and non-answers. Not enough that I would've signed up to go back into the story I’d come from, but enough that I was beginning to contemplate taking my chances on my own out there in the city.
That didn’t seem to be an option anymore. We weren’t being given any options at all.
Eliza was being great, but if her job was to keep us busy so we’d stop asking questions, it wasn't going to work for much longer.
"We’re meeting Archivist Nyce. She should be able to tell you what’s next."
From the entry hallway, we climbed up a narrow flight of stairs that took us up to yet another collection of rooms. The first room we passed was empty, at least of people. Two rows of simple wooden desks faced a chalkboard on the far wall.
"Is this a school?" I said.
"Sort of. At least, it used to be an academy for new librarians. But in the last few years we've been running out of space to store actual books, so we’ve started moving some of the lectures across town to a separate building, turning classrooms into offices and conference rooms, so the offices closer to the library could be opened to the public and store new fiction that comes in. We know we're going to end up using this area for more bookcases, or a new genre, or something eventually. And sooner rather than later. So, they’re trying to stay ahead of things."
It wasn’t long before we heard a murmur of voices coming from up ahead. A minute later we stopped in front of the door to one of the classrooms right as a group of six streamed out of it. They ranged in age from young adult to middle-aged, but all were holding stacks of textbooks as though they were students.
Joanna Nyce, the stern looking woman I’d met yesterday, sat behind a desk at the front of the newly empty room, flipping through a stack of papers. "Good, Eliza. You’re here," she said without looking up. "I know this wasn’t exactly what you were expecting for your rotation with the councilors, but we appreciate your stepping up as a tour guide this morning."
Eliza nodded respectfully and approached the desk. "Happy to help. If you need me to stay on past this weekend…" Eliza stopped talking when Joanna finally looked up at her, eyebrows raised.
"Ambition is good, but don’t push your luck. Now more than ever we need to stick close to our traditions. They are what will see us through the other side of this. Now, let’s see what we’re dealing with." I felt like a deer in the headlights when the woman’s dark eyes focused in on the corner where Devon, Marc, and I had positioned ourselves. Authority had always made me nervous, and the idea that this woman had some serious sway over what happened to me next wasn’t making it any easier.
"Which brings us to the question of what to do with you all now. There's been quite a bit of debate, and suggestions range from leaving you to your own devices to see what the Archive has in store for you, to keeping you in the rooms we provided until we know more, for your own safety, of course."
Devon raised his hand beside me, looking a little sheepish.
"Yes?"
"Keep us safe from what exactly?" He paused for a second, pressing his lips together. "Nothing was really explained to me yesterday. And I’m sure you’re like, mucho busy, but if you could clear any of this up…"
Not speaking, Joanna flexed her fingers out in front of her, her gaze dropping to watch the joints move. "That is fair," she said finally. "I shall do my best to put this in terms you will understand."
"Great," Devon answered with a grin. I nudged him to be quiet.
"As librarians, we monitor the After through the Archive. Your unexpected, and unprecedented arrival yesterday represents a shift in the Archive’s plan, one that we don’t yet understand. Your presence potentially represents a chance, though there has yet to be a consensus on how we are expected to react to this shift. Above all, we serve the will of the Archive. Our new aim is to determine how you factor in to that will."
"And you’re keeping us safe from the black-coats from yesterday," I said, thinking out loud.
Joanna nodded. "Those black-coats, as you say are members of The Order of Pheneus. Mercenaries. We suspect they were hired by those who believe that it is not the Archive and the stories it holds that should shape the After, but the people who are in it. By removing you, they would have thwarted the will of the Archive. Until we know more, we must ensure that doesn’t happen. By any means necessary."
At that, I stood up a little straighter. There was no part of me that wanted to spend any more time behind a locked door, and especially not by myself. "In the end, we've come to something of a compromise." Joanna continued. "If the Archive has brought you here, we must assume it's for a reason. But since there are still sightings of mercenaries out in the city, we can only assume that their intention is to thwart that will and return you to where you came from. So, you'll need to stay here for the time being. It will give us time to learn more about you, and to uncover why you of all people were brought to Sanctum."
"No, no," Marc said, raising one of his hands up as though to ask a question but not waiting to be called on. "You can't treat us like prisoners. We haven't done anything wrong. I want to get out of this place, and now. I can figure things out for myself, thank you very much. I do appreciate the help you provided yesterday, but enough is enough. I need to go."
"You really don't. At this point, your safety is paramount, and everything else can wait. As I was saying, you'll be staying here in the Archive. But we will give you free access to the building, an honor rarely bestowed on non-librarians, let alone prosaics such as yourselves. But because your abilities are limited, we expect that there is little damage you can do."
I grimaced a little at that one. We hadn't done anything to warrant being treated like pests, as far as I knew. It didn't sound like we were going to be kept as prisoners any longer, but we weren't exactly honored houseguests either.
"You'll be able to visit any section of the Archive that is open to those who work here. We ask that you be respectful and stay out of the way as best you can. But even if someone should come looking for you here, they will not be able to get to you because of the protection of the Archive. You'll be safe for now, and hopefully within a few weeks’ time we will know enough to put you somewhere more permanent. Somewhere closer to where you belong," she said, the last part with a bit of a condescending sneer but I did my best to ignore it. Even though no, I didn't have any magic to speak of, I was already beginning to resent the term prosaic, and the penetrating stares cast my way.
"What are we supposed to do with ourselves then?" Devon asked. "Just read all day, every day? I know this is the wrong crowd for this, but I'm really not much of a book person."
"How you entertain yourselves during your private time is up to you, but we intend to take full advantage of your presence here in the coming days."
"You’re going to study us," Marc said, his expression wary.
"We are librarians. Study is what we do. We will learn as much as we can as quickly as we can, and then take what we learn and utilize it. And while we can’t stop you from interacting with those who come in from the city to enjoy the Archive, we would highly recommend that you keep to yourselves. Your ignorance of Sanctum is readily apparent, and we’d like to avoid any further attention."
Joanna stood up from her desk, picking up the stack of papers as she moved. She handed one to each of us. "We have put together extensive questionnaires to learn as much about your backgrounds as possible. Have these filled out by tomorrow. Beyond that, your time is your own."
I took my survey and folded it in half, not bothering to look at it yet. It was heavier than I expected, several pages long. I was a little impressed that they’d managed to come up with something that quickly.
With a wave, she dismissed us, leav
ing me feeling both worthless and heavily scrutinized at once. It was clear that no one at the Archive would be rolling out the welcome wagon for us, but at least I had somewhere to stay, that from the sounds of it wouldn’t involve being locked in my room again. Which was something.
I still couldn’t guess whether I’d come to regret not getting on that train when Grayson had given me the chance, but the people in the Archive seemed to want answers about what was happening to me as much as I did, so as far as I was concerned, that meant we were all on the same side. At least for now.
CHAPTER TWELVE
"This is where we have to say our tearful goodbyes," Eliza said after she had returned us to the main section of the library, only taking us so far as the door that separated the staff-only academy, and the part of the building that is open to the public. "I only get one week assigned to the councilor’s office, so I have to get back to it. But thanks to you guys, I’m pretty sure I got the best week possible."
She waved goodbye, promising to meet up with us again later, leaving Devon, Marc, and I standing together, awkwardly huddled in a group.
"I think I'm just going to go back to my room for a while," Marc said, shoving his hands in his pockets and not looking Devon or me in the eyes. He stayed, standing like that for a few seconds. I guess he was waiting for one of us to say more.
Part of me wanted to just let him go without speaking up, already looking forward to a chance to hang out with Devon without a wall between us, and without Marc making snide comments at every turn. And really, I wouldn’t have guessed Marc wanted to spend any more time with Devon or me than he had to, since the guy had been a bit of a jerk so far. But he was one of us. And from the look of him, he wasn’t enjoying what was happening to us than I was.
And if it was me, there was absolutely no way I’d volunteer to go back to my room and be alone for a second longer than I had to. And it wasn’t like I had a giant gaggle of friends to choose from. I needed every ally I could get.
"Did you want to meet us for dinner?" I asked, right as he gave up and started to turn away. "We can meet in the cafeteria or something." I did my best to look like his answer didn't matter to me one way or the other. But after losing Harper I was more intent than ever on building up some relationships in this place. If I could lose anyone at any moment, I couldn't afford to be picky.
A big part of me expected Marc to say no but instead he answered, "Are you sure?"
"Why not? We all have to eat, right?" I guess I should have asked Eliza before she left how exactly we were to go about getting food for ourselves while stuck in this building. But since we've had delivered pizza appear out of nowhere, I was at least a little more confident that I’d get to eat again before the end of the day. It was something.
I looked at Devon, hoping for backup and got nothing. "Maybe we can all run over what happened to us yesterday. Exchange information and see what we know. Because at this point, it seems like information is the only weapon we are going to get. Everyone here can do all these incredible things that none of us ever imagined. And we don't even know which way is up." My little speech had started out as an attempt to engage Marc enough that he wouldn’t retreat from Devon and I entirely, but the more I spoke, the more I had to say. "And if we're looking for information, we are in the best possible place to get it, right? If we had arrived where we were supposed to, our lives would have been way more boring. We would probably already be back to lives exactly like our ones before. At least here, we have access to more."
"I was perfectly happy in my life before," Marc said. "But your first point is valid enough. I don't want to be stuck in this place forever, and I'm not loving the lab rat vibe that people seem to give off when they're around us. Plus, I'm not totally convinced anyone here actually knows what they're doing. Or what's going on. So, if getting some answers of our own is the fastest way out of here, I'm all for it."
His response wasn’t exactly the rah-rah, go team enthusiasm I was trying to muster, but it was a start. I turned to Devon. "Are you headed back to your room, too?"
Devon shook his head, making his shaggy hair flow from side to side as he moved. "No. I don't really know what I want to do next. But all there is to do in my room is nap. I must've had four naps yesterday between being locked in and going to bed later that night. No thanks."
"Well, I'm going to go look around. See if I can figure out where everything is in relation to the lobby. I don't even think I could find my way back to the cafeteria at this point. I mean, worst-case scenario, I'm sure I can ask for directions but with the way everyone's looking at me, I'd rather just work it out for myself."
"I’m in," Marc said, though he hadn’t technically been invited. So much for him going back to his room, but I wasn’t going to turn down a little support.
"Sure, me too."
"Alright, so where do we go?" I asked, looking around me. We had exited back to the ground floor, and every direction seemed to offer little more than books, books, and more books. I knew if we walked straight for long enough we'd be near the front of the building, which I hoped would at least help reorient us toward the non-public areas like our bedrooms and food, but for now I was willing to try going somewhere else entirely. To see something new.
"We could go right out the front door," Marc said, and I didn't think he was entirely kidding.
"No way," Devon said. "I bet they have some sort of crazy magical system in place to make sure we don't go anywhere."
Completely on Devon’s side, I nodded. "Plus, if you leave now and get yourself killed, that's going to be on us for letting you go. So today we're staying put. Eliza said that this place is sorted by genre, so let’s see if we can get the lay of the land and figure out what goes where. It might make it easier to orient ourselves later if we have a decent idea of what the bigger landmarks are."
Nobody argued, so I took the silence as a signal that that was our plan at least until we came up with something better.
Soon, we took a random left turn into the stacks and started picking up books on the shelves closest to us, looking for a common theme.
"Hey, this one is set in Texas," Devon said, his accent more apparent than ever.
"Westerns maybe?"
"Nope," Marc said. "This one's about a widow in Ireland rebuilding her life."
"I wonder if any of us even know what the actual sections of a normal library are?" I said. "I mean, is there a chance we’re just in a general fiction section?"
Nobody answered, and I suspected that the others were as clueless as I was. A better plan probably would've just been to ask Eliza for a run down, but at least we were passing the time.
We moved slowly, picking up books one by one and pausing to read the backs or admire the covers. We eventually made it from one row to the next, to the next. It was at least an hour before I realized that Devon hadn't put down his Texas book.
"You're never going to be able to find the right place to put that back properly," I said, pointing to the title in his hands.
Devon looked down, an expression of mild surprise crossing his features. "Good point. I just kind of like having it with me. Maybe I'll read it tonight once I'm back in my room. It might give me a taste of being back home."
"You're from Texas?" Marc asked.
"Born and raised. I mean, I guess. As much as I was born and raised anywhere."
"Do either of you guys have any ideas about what kind of book you came from?" I asked on a whim, flipping through the pages of the book in my hands. "I'm pretty sure I was in a romance, or at least there was a romance involved. But I guess that could mean anything. Even taking out the possibility of magic, that still leaves so many options, right? It’s not like falling in love is all that genre specific."
I looked around me, trying to guess at just how many books were in this building, filling every nook and cranny. They were countless, and every single book that was here had brought its characters with it, populating the world outside the Archive.
&
nbsp; It was a lot to take in.
"Are you still stuck on the idea of finding your own book?" Devon asked, with an unreadable expression.
"I wouldn't say stuck. And come on, don't tell me you wouldn't love to read the story you came from just as much as I would. I mean, the things you could learn about yourself… Or, about the people in your life. It's worth considering."
"So, what’s the last thing you remember, then?" Devon asked.
It didn't take long for me to give both guys a quick rundown of the patheticness that was my life before, all the while pretending to be completely fascinated by each of the books I picked up so I didn’t have to watch any looks of pity come across their faces. So far, I wasn't really seeing any commonalities between the stories I was looking at, other than none of them seemed to be set outside a reality like I was used to.
"My life was pretty lame," Devon said. "The last couple of days I remember was just more of the same. Going to classes, hanging out with friends. I met these girls at a party a few nights ago, and they were telling me about this epic road trip they were on, visiting potential schools across the country and trying to decide where to go next year. But I only hung out with them for an hour, maybe less. I saw one of them a few days later, but she said like three words to me, and that was it. Then I was here."
"My last week was way more interesting than that," Marc said, setting himself to tell his story. "It was my first week on the job, and my partner and I ended up sucked into this epic manhunt for a serial killer. I'll say, I think I held things up more than I helped, and my partner was definitely the one saving the day. But I can say with some level of certainty that the book I came from was not a romance of any kind." I looked up at Marc just as his expression shifted from guarded to worried. "The last thing I remember was leaving the station to go home to my wife after we caught our guy."
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