by H. Duke
“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.”
“Really?” she said, raising her eyebrows. “We get breaks?”
“Yes. The gate’s not that unstable—yet. But it’s straight back to work tomorrow.” He stood. “There’s a small pub down the street that I’ve always liked—Kelly’s, it’s called.”
April raised her eyebrows. “So you can leave the library? I guess I thought…”
“That I was stuck in here?” Dorian smiled. “I can go out as long as I’m back in my study when the gate closes.”
“Can you even drink? You look kind of young.”
Dorian smirked. “Mae got me a fake I.D.”
“Who knew Mae was such a badass?”
“She got to be very well-connected over the years. She had to.” He held out his arm to her.
“Fair enough.” She stood, linking her arm through his. “We should stop at St. Mary’s and see if Randall wants to come.”
~~~
Andre was almost at his apartment when he realized he didn’t have his phone. Damn it. He needed to call his son, Rico, tonight; he hadn’t spoken with him in nearly a week. Meredith would give him hell if he didn’t call.
He sighed. He’d have to go back to the library and reset the alarm, which meant extra paperwork in the morning explaining why he’d been at the library after close. Normally they wouldn’t care, but after the “gas leak” they were looking for someone to throw under the bus and he’d be damned if it was going to be him.
He remembered exactly where he’d left his phone—on the third-floor reference desk when he’d been talking to April.
He was surprised to find April’s car still in the parking lot. It was past ten now—she should have left already. Maybe she had extra work to do. Still, he sensed that something was off. In any case, he’d get a chance to check on her when he grabbed his cell phone. Maybe he’d even get a glimpse of her mysterious after-hours duties…
He made his way up the stairs. “April,” he called. “I’m coming up. Forgot my cell phone.” He didn’t want to startle her.
No response. He walked up onto the third floor and entered the Werner Room. “April?”
The lamp was still on in Mae’s—April’s—office. She must be in there doing paperwork. He walked over to the reference desk. His cell phone was there, exactly where he left it. He pocketed it and started to walk back towards April’s office. It felt less clandestine if he told her that he was here—not to mention that he wanted to know what had kept her so late on a Monday night.
A book on one of the study tables caught his eye. He grimaced. Though it wasn’t his job, he’d pick up abandoned books as he walked around and return them to their shelves. He liked to leave the library tidy for the morning crew.
He picked the book up. It was thin, more magazine than a book. It had an almost 1940s comic book-like cover. The paper was cheap and thin, which explained why one of the pages fluttered out onto the ground.
He looked at the cover—The Most Dangerous Game—then reached down and picked up the loose page. He’d bring it to April. She’d know what to do with it. Normally damaged items were removed from circulation, but the rules were different with items from the Werner Room.
The air filled with a hissing, staticky hum. Could that be the heating system? He’d need to send a memo to the maintenance team. It didn’t sound good. First Mae, then the “gas leak”… they didn’t need anything else to go wrong.
He touched the side of his head; it suddenly felt like his sinuses were blocked. He shook his head and his ears popped—he hoped he wasn’t getting a cold. He started walking towards April’s office again, but then the sound of a man clearing his throat made him turn around. April’s voice wasn’t that deep.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Who’s there?” he called. “Show yourself, or I will call the police!”
A form entered the aisle between the stacks. A tall, muscular man prowled towards him, dressed in khaki-colored clothes and cap. He looked like he was going on Safari. The musket he held in his hands did nothing to dispel the image.
Oh, no, Andre thought. Some crazy had broken into the library. It suddenly made sense why April was still here. The man must have entered the library, and she was hiding in her office. Why had he let her work late at night on her own? He knew it was a terrible idea!
But why hadn’t she called the cops? She had a phone in her office. Something wasn’t right about the situation.
“Run,” the man said, speaking with a thick Russian accent. “I give you chance to save yourself. Then, I come.” He raised the musket to make sure there wasn’t any doubt about what he meant.
If the man hadn’t gone after April yet, that meant he probably didn’t know she was here, Andre thought. Maybe he could distract him.
“No,” Andre said.
“No? You will not try to save yourself?”
“No, I—” Before he could finish his sentence, Andre was distracted by the same hissing hum. He turned towards it, looking for the source, and gasped. There was a hole in the east wall! That must have been where the man got in; he must have climbed up, somehow. But there was something wrong. The lighting was off. The light coming through was that of the late afternoon, not the deep cold night outside. And there was ground there, and trees and plants… how was that possible from the third floor?
“Pathetic,” the man said. “Afraid even to run. You deserve death.”
Andre heard the bang from the musket, and then there was a stinging warmth in his chest. He tried to stand up but couldn’t. He fell, his head coming to a rest on the wooden floorboards. A pool of red flowed on the floor in front of his eyes.
The last thing he saw before the world dimmed was the man walking towards the hole in the wall. Andre thought he would plummet to the earth below, but he continued to walk into the distance, like a ghost in the night.
~~~
Thanks for reading Pagewalker, the first book in the Library Gate Series. I hope you enjoyed it!
Want to read the story that sparked the Pagewalker universe? Do you like freebies, deleted scenes, and personalized book recommendations? Do you want to know when the newest book in the Library Gate Series comes out?
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More books by H. Duke
Fantasy
Jeremiah Jones Cowboy Sorcerer Series
Jeremiah Jones Cowboy Sorcerer: The Complete First Season
Season One Episode One
Season One Episode Two
Season One Episode Three
Season One Episode Four
Season One Episode Five
Season One Episode Six
Season One Episode Seven
Season One Episode Eight
A Cowboy Sorcerer Christmas (reader group exclusive)
Taming the Wolf (reader group exclusive)
The Pagewalker Series
Pagewalker
Spinebreaker
Wordeater
The First Adventure of Braddy Evers
Horror (written as H. H. Duke)
Things on the Shelf: Three Tales of Christmas Terror
Find an up-to-date list at http://www.hdukeauthor.com
About the Author
H. Duke has written over ten works of fiction, including the weird west serial Jeremiah Jones Cowboy Sorcerer and the Library Gate series.
These days, she can be seen travelling the United States in her travel trailer with her husband Giru and a shiny black dog named Jupiter. To see an up-to-date list of her works and find out where she’ll be writing next, visit http://www.hdukeauthor.com.
> Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
More books by H. Duke
About the Author
Table of Contents
Pagewalker
© 2018 by H. Duke
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, places, or events are used fictitiously. Other places, names, characters, and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to actual places, events, or people (living or dead) is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any format, without the express written consent of the author. An exception is made for short excerpts used for educational or review purposes.
Cover image © 2018 by H. Duke
ISBN-13: 978-1-947094-17-8
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