by H. Duke
“They’re coming!” Dorian said. When April turned around, six men were barreling towards her.
On the other side of the shelves, she heard the thwakthwakthwak of semi-automatic gunfire followed by Rex’s pained yelping. She had to hurry. She turned back to the gate. It was now about a foot across at its widest point, still growing, but not fast enough. No time left, she thought, and then hurled herself at it sideways. She felt a stinging tingle on her skin as she passed through. Sharp edges cut into her shoulders and hips.
She landed on rocky sand, the taste of dust in her mouth. Her elbow which had taken most of the shock, throbbed. She rose, her heart skipping a beat as she realized she didn’t recognize her surroundings. The gate had dropped her in a different spot than last time.
Panic rose in her chest, but she forced herself to breathe, reminding herself that time in the library was travelling more slowly than time here. She had to think about this clearly. Otherwise, she might lose it altogether.
She’d opened the book to the same page as last time, or thought she had, so she couldn’t be that far away. She looked around, trying to get her bearings. She was again in an alley, but it looked different than the one from before. There was a small courtyard… and the well! The well where she’d met the genie!
She stumbled towards it, remembering at the last second to look back and note where the gate was. It was in a doorway to a house. A worn piece of cloth hung up over the frame served as a makeshift door.
Satisfied that she wouldn’t lose the gate, she ran over to the door to the magician’s house. She banged on it.
“Genie!” she yelled. “Genie, come out! You owe me a favor!”
There was no answer, but she continued to bang for what felt like ten minutes. Eventually she collapsed on the ground with her back against the door. Why would he be here, anyway? She’d set him free. He had no reason to be here.
She didn’t want to give up, but what else could she do? She’d tried so hard and still it hadn’t worked. Some of the people were starting to gather around her, staring and pointing. They didn’t look happy. Still, she didn’t have the energy to try to leave. What would getting back to the library do, anyway? Thaddeus would either kill her or lock her up.
She grabbed her legs and pulled them into her chest, resting her forehead against her knees.
She sat with her head in her hands for several minutes, listening to the chatter of the villagers. She didn’t know what they were going to do with her and she didn’t care. She closed her eyes, trying to tune them out, but their voices got louder and louder, until it was almost a roar. But the sound wasn’t voices anymore, was it?... it was more like the roar of wind. And why was she feeling the warmth of the sun on her back when she had been sitting in shadow…
The support from the door on her back disappeared. She fell backwards with a squeak, soft sand catching her fall. Her eyes popped open, and she blinked in the brightness. She sat up and looked around. The only thing visible in all directions were miles and miles of sand, rising and falling from the desert floor in monolithic waves.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
She turned to the source of the words and found the genie sitting next to her in the sand.
She looked out at the desert. Beautiful wasn’t the first word that came to her mind, but, with the sun dipping towards the horizon on the distance, casting reddish light over the dunes…
“Yes,” she said. “It is.”
The genie nodded. “Why are you here, sorceress? Those people were about to hang you.”
She explained everything that had happened. When she’d finished, she said, “I need to set everything right. I need your help.”
The genie laughed. “And why would I help you?”
“I set you free!”
He crossed his arms. “Yes, but you forbid me to use my magic for anything fun. What is the point of my existence now?”
She sputtered. “You’re unhappy because you can’t hurt people?”
“I am unhappy that you tricked me. Now I sit here in the desert, free, but an outcast from my own kind. What kind of life is that?”
“You owe me a favor.”
“I owe you nothing,” the genie said. “I promised to bring you to your companion, nothing else. Is it my fault he showed up on his own?” He rose to his feet, brushing the sand from his arms.
She scrambled to her feet. “Forget the favor, then. You still owe me.”
“No.”
“Then why did you bring me here? Why save me from the villagers?”
The heat waves flashed in his eyes again. “Maybe I brought you here for revenge.”
“You can’t hurt anyone!”
“No, but I can leave you here. Without food or water, the desert will have its way with you in a matter of days. Less, maybe. You look soft. Maybe you can magic yourself out. Or maybe not.”
She looked out at the desert around her. Was this going to be how it would end, baking to death in some far-flung universe? Her throat was already parched, and her skin felt warm and tight. What would happen to Gram?
Gram. She wouldn’t want April to give in to fear. April lifted her chin and looked the genie in the eyes. “Fine. I guess you can’t do it, or maybe you’re afraid to do it. Either way, I have to help my friends.”
She slid down the side of the dune and started walking. A few seconds later, the genie materialized next to her.
“Do you even know where you’re going?”
“No. But it’s better than staying up there.”
“You aren’t a sorceress, are you?”
She snorted. “Gee, you think?”
“Stop.” He was suddenly in front of her, gripping both of her shoulders in his hands, his face only inches from hers. His touch burned even hotter than the sun. “I do not understand you. You show up, pretend to be a sorceress—”
“I never said I was a sorceress!”
“—you free me from my master, then command that I can’t use my power freely. By all intents, I should despise you. I spent weeks imagining the terrible things I would do to you if I ever saw you again. But now you are here, and I don’t want to do any of those things. I am drawn to you.”
She stared into his eyes for a moment, not sure what to say. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. They tasted like smoke and flame, the smell of him like the searing heat of a fire on a cold night. The heat was painful, but it came with the surprisingly pleasant feeling of being consumed.
She pressed her hands against his chest, pushing him away. He pulled away reluctantly. “What do you think you’re—”
She saw where they were and stopped talking. They stood in front of the gate. He smiled broadly, enjoying her confusion.
“I have decided to honor your request,” the genie said.
Her eyes widened, the fury she’d felt from the kiss dissipating along with the heat waves. “Really?”
She looked through the veil. She could see the library inside. Dorian was being held by two of the guards, and Randall was crouched over a sandy colored form—Rex. Thaddeus was mere feet away from One Thousand and One Nights, reaching for it as though to snap it up and close it.
“We better hurry,” she said. “If he closes that book, we won’t be able to cross back over.”
“Hmm,” the genie said. “There is less power to draw from there. I can feel it. This task will be difficult.”
“You can’t do it?” She asked, her heart skipping a beat.
“Of course I can do it. I just feel a little cheated now. I should have taken more than a kiss.” He glanced back at her, his eyes flames. “Maybe next time.”
They ran through the gate, the action on the other side speeding up with each step. Moments after the genie’s sandal-clad foot stepped over, Thaddeus had the book in his hands and closed it. The gate began to hiss shut.
The triumphant look on Thaddeus’ face melted when he saw her standing there.
“You!” he said. “You’re t
oo late!”
“No,” the genie said. “We are on time. By my power, you will never bother this place again.” He clapped his hands together, and the entire room was filled with flames. She barely had time to feel the scorching heat before the flames melted away.
“Rex! You’re okay! Good boy, good—” Randall’s happy, surprised tone was at odds with the catch in his voice; he’d been crying.
The two men closest to Dorian looked down, surprised to see that he now stood a few feet away from them, no longer in their clutches. They reached out to grab him again, but their hands bounced away about an inch from his body, as though Dorian was surrounded by an invisible force field.
“They can’t touch us!” Dorian yelled.
April walked over to Thaddeus and pulled One Thousand and One Nights from his grasp. “I’ll take that.”
“What did you do?” Thaddeus said, his tone murderous.
“I made it so you can never step foot in my library again, day or night. And, by the way, I’m the Pagewalker again.”
“You—” Thaddeus said, but he stopped when he realized that he was sliding backwards towards the stairs, as were the rest of his men. He tried to walk towards her, but was unable to fight whatever force was pushing him. The same thing was happening to the rest of the goons.
When Thaddeus got to the double doors, he grabbed the doorframe. “This is not over!” he yelled. “This—” but he was thrown backwards towards the stairs, almost tumbling downwards.
“I don’t know what they are whining about,” The genie said. “If you hadn’t put this terrible restriction on me, their fates would have been far less bearable. They should be thankful.”
“Merciful, as well as a man of your word,” she said.
He smiled. “Djinni, not man. Now, if you think your terms are met, I would very much like to return home now.”
She opened the book. They watched as the gate reopened itself. The genie walked towards it, turning back towards her a few feet in front of the shimmering veil. “I hope to never see you again, sorceress.”
“I don’t know,” April said. “You’re growing on me.”
The genie laughed at this, then crossed over, disappearing once his feet touched the sand beyond.
Chapter 10
“Seventy-eight percent, nowhere near your original score—” Barbara gave April a pointed look “—but you passed. The cut-off was seventy-five.”
April had hoped that Barbara might postpone the test in light of the whole gas leak debacle, but no such luck—she’d been waiting for April when she walked into her office on Monday afternoon, the day the library reopened.
April blinked. She’d been sure she was going to fail the test. She almost hadn’t even tried… but if the Werner Room had taught her anything, it was that you couldn’t succeed if you didn’t try in the first place.
“Really?” she said, surprise coloring her voice.
Barbara nodded, thinking that her disbelief was over the disparity between the two scores. “Perhaps Mae incorrectly marked some of your answers on the first test.”
She rose from her chair and extended her hand. “Thank you for being so accommodating, Ms. Walker,” she said. “With Mae’s illness, we just had to make sure everything was above board.”
“Of course.” April stood and accepted her hand. “There is one more thing I’d like to talk to you about while you’re here,” she said.
“Oh, really?” Barbara smiled. “You’re not asking for a raise already, are you?”
“No. But before I start talking, there’s one more person who needs to hear what I have to say.” She picked up her phone and pressed one of the speed dial buttons.
“Janet? Do you mind coming in here for a minute? I talked to Becky earlier and she agreed to watch the desk. Thanks.” She hung up the phone, and a few seconds later Janet appeared in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” she said. “Hey, Barb.”
April pointed to the seat next to Barbara’s. “Please, have a seat.”
Janet did so, a suspicious look on her face. “What’s this all about?”
April gestured to the test neatly folded in Barb’s hand. “As we’ve just proved, I am qualified to perform the job tasks of a librarian.” She looked between them. “However, I do not believe I am the best candidate for the job of collection curator. When I accepted this position, it was not made clear to me exactly how much I’d be working with the Werner collection’s ancient artifacts.”
“I don’t understand,” Barb said. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re not qualified for this job?”
“Let me finish,” April said. “I thought I’d be able to learn what I needed to about that aspect of the job from Mae before she retired. As you know, that didn’t happen. Now, I’m sure that I could easily pick up the skills needed…” she glanced at Janet. “But it doesn’t seem worthwhile or fair when there is already someone who is qualified for the job.”
“What?” Janet said.
April smiled at Janet, then turned to Barb. “Janet explained to me her vision for the future of the Werner collection. In fact, she has several excellent ideas about the third floor in general, including a rotating exhibit of items, and maybe a second computer lab utilizing the extra storage areas.”
“As a proponent of technology in the library, as well as utilizing the resources we already have, my interest is certainly piqued,” Barbara said. “but what is it, exactly, that you’re proposing?”
“I believe that Janet and I should share Mae’s duties,” she said. “Janet will be in charge of the upkeep of the collection in the vault, while I oversee the books.”
Barb turned to Janet. “What do you think about this?”
“It’s a shock,” Janet said. “But I would be thrilled for the opportunity. Of course, I’d want an appropriate title, and the subsequent raise.”
Barb glanced at April. “I really shouldn’t be discussing this with you two, but Mae had worked for the library for a long time. Paying both of you a starting librarian salary would still be far less than what we paid her. It’s doable.”
April glanced between them. “So, do we have a deal?”
“Well,” Barb said. “The details need to be ironed out, but it seems like a viable solution.” She rose. “I will be in touch with both of you.”
Janet watched her leave, then turned back to April. She looked shocked. “Did that really just happen?”
“I believe it did.”
Janet looked down at her lap. “Thank you. Especially after how I treated you.”
“You deserve it. Really.”
Janet stood, a huge smile on her face. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to get started! I have so many ideas…”
~~~
That night, April watched the gate open while sitting on the table nearest to it, her feet resting on one of the wooden chairs. Randall had asked if she wanted him to stay after, but she told him that she wanted to speak to Dorian alone, at least for tonight.
Dorian stepped through and nodded when he saw her. “I wasn’t sure I was going to see you.”
“You think I’d go through all that work to save your butt and then not show up?”
“No—but wasn’t your test scheduled for this afternoon?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she sniffed. “For your information, I passed. There’s no way they can fire me now.”
“That’s spectacular news.” She tried not to take his look of happy shock as an affront.
“You shouldn’t be surprised,” she said. “I did just save the gate and your butt last week, like, against all odds.”
“May I remind you that if it weren’t for your questionable choices we wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place?”
“I think you mean that if you had been up front with me from the beginning.”
Dorian looked like he was about to argue, but he sighed instead. “You’re right. I was afraid that if you knew you could forsake
your Pagewalker status, I wouldn’t get the chance to convince you. It was a fearful and selfish act, and I’m sorry. I won’t mislead you again. You have my word.” He paused. “That is, if you still want the job.”
Could she leave this, now? Maybe she could find somebody to take her place. Dorian could continue his mission, and she could return to her normal life… but was that what she really wanted?
“Can you I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“Why do you do it? Is it really because you made a promise to Mae?”
He thought for a moment before he answered. “Yes. But it’s more than that.” He sighed, his breath shaking. “You know where my story goes. It’s set in stone, nothing you or I can do about it. I can put it off, but eventually I will become that… thing in my portrait. I guess I’m hoping to make up for it, somehow.” He looked away. “Stupid, I know. Nothing can atone for the things I will do.” He smiled. “Mae didn’t care, though. She took the spoiled brat I was and taught me to be better.” He swallowed.
Before she knew what she was doing, April reached out and grasped Dorian’s hand in hers. He looked surprised, but he didn’t pull away. They sat that way for several minutes, staring into the cobblestone streets of nineteenth century London.
Finally, Dorian spoke. “Well, that’s enough feeling sorry for myself.” he pulled his hand away. “There’s something else.” He undid the leather strap of the timepiece from his wrist. “Here. You need this more than I do.”
She stared at the timepiece. “Don’t you need that to know when the gate is going to open so you can cross over?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been passing back and forth for so long that it’s fairly predictable now. I spend most of my time in my study, anyway.”
She took the timepiece and put it on. They sat in silence for several minutes before she spoke.
“So, what’s the plan for tonight? A visit to Frankenstein’s lab? Lunch with the Bennet sisters?”
“While I am very impressed that you know that the Bennet sisters exist, I think a break is in order. We should take some time to celebrate.”