by Casey White
“It’s...not that simple,” Leon said. One of his hands traveled to his side, squeezing at something beneath his coat. The pipe, Daniel knew. What would it feel like, to have a magical connection like that to an object so ordinary? “There’s…” He sighed again, leaning forward to scrub at his face.
“Sorry,” Daniel whispered. “I don’t mean to-”
“This book,” Leon said, and hoisted The Basics higher. “It keeps going on about what my wish was. I keep looking for a way to figure out what powers I’m going to get, any way, and...it just keeps going straight back to that.”
“Your wish?” Daniel said. He sat up a little straight. “What’s that mean?”
“I don’t fucking know,” Leon muttered. “Apparently the things read what you want from them when you first pick ‘em up. Wish I’d known that before.”
Daniel’s spine prickled, shivering with flickers of electricity. “Then-”
“We were getting shot at,” Leon said, again making a face. “How the hell am I supposed to remember what I wanted right then? I wanted them to stop shooting at us. I wanted them to go away.” The corners of his lips twitched, and he smiled faintly. “I just wanted it to stop. You know?”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. For a moment, his friend’s eyes flicked over, locking onto his own. “That’s totally normal. I was scared too. It’s...It’s only natural.”
Leon nodded, his gaze dropping again. “Yeah. So...That’s all I’ve got. It’s not worth a damn.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Daniel said. “We’ll...We’ll see. When we get back out there. I promise.”
He was the Librarian. He’d been using magic since he was a preteen. He’d be able to help. Somehow.
Leon didn’t look convinced, but the look in his eyes softened a fraction. “Yeah.” And then he cleared his throat. “S-So. How about you? Are you getting anywhere?”
Oh, Daniel could recognize the subject change being thrown at him. He nodded, though, reaching out to pat the stack of books beside him. “Yeah. I’ve...I’ve got them, I think.”
Alexandria hadn’t been happy at all at the notion of him unchaining the books. She’d thrown a fit in her own way, rocking the ground beneath his feet and rattling the chandeliers hard enough droplets of wax splashed down across his arms. But he’d insisted—with one leg ruined, he wasn’t in any shape to stand in front of each shelf reading the hours away.
With that temper tantrum behind them, he had what he’d come for: the books belonging to each of the ‘demis’ attacking them, and a few more biographies besides.
“Merv,” he said softly, raising the pipe-owner’s book one more time. And then his hand drifted over to two more, patting their covers. “Ian—that bastard who shot me, I think. His ability was listed as farsight. And...Cyril. He had ‘isolator’.”
“That was all?”
Daniel stifled a laugh. “There was a lot of other stuff,” he murmured. “Just...none of it was useful. Those were the ones chasing after us. And then…”
He glanced sidelong to a second, smaller stack. “That one’s for the guy who attacked us at your house,” he said quietly. “An earthworker, it says. And…”
His eyes lingered on the final book—the one that made him deeply uncomfortable. A tiny blade lingered on its cover, little more than a pen-knife.
It looked innocuous enough. But when he looked at it, when he opened the cover, he could only see that man from before. The one huddled over the grass, watching him.
“That one said ‘finder’,” he said softly. “And below that...tracker.”
“Tracker?” Leon’s voice pitched higher, losing the sleepy, frustrated tone of moments before. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it really doesn’t. And the things it said inside…yeah.” He licked his lips, still staring at the book’s cover. “If I’m reading it right, he can latch onto people with a touch. And then…follow.” He smiled grimly. “He touched me, all right. Or my blood, anyway.”
He watched between the books as Leon shook his head. “But...we’re so far away. Maya was driving fast, and we have a head start. We’re in a car, and they were still on foot.” He smiled tightly. “I think we’re probably fine, don’t you?”
“...I guess,” Daniel said, nodding slowly.
“Yeah. Their magic has got to have limits. Even if the guy got a whiff of you, we’re miles away by now. It’ll be fine.”
“Maybe.” His chin dipped to his chest. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
Too late, he saw Leon swallow, and shook his head hurriedly. “I-I mean, I’m sure you’re right. It’ll all work out.”
“Y-Yeah.”
“B-But. Yeah. The ones that really have me confused are...these guys.” Daniel thrust his hand toward a second pile, teetering atop the table they’d claimed for their impromptu study session. “These are the other people who were there with Olivia. The ones in your house, and James.”
“Oh?” Leon managed a smile, but his eyes darted toward the heap. That look, Daniel could understand. It was a lot of books. “W-What can they do?”
“Nothing.”
Leon blinked. His brow furrowed slowly. “Say again?”
“They’re ordinary,” Daniel said, laying his hand flat atop one. The cover was blank, just plain blue cloth over a basic bookboard. “They...don’t have any magic at all. They’re...I don’t know why they’re here.”
“Indira’s people, maybe?” Leon said. “She probably brought some scholars with her.”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “Some of them, for sure. That makes sense. But..” He hesitated. A muscle in his jaw was starting to throb. “That’s where the rabbit hole starts,” he muttered.
“Spit it out, already.” Leon was doing a good job about keeping his cool, but the tension underneath his words grew stronger by the second. “What’s going on?”
“Some of these look like scholars,” Daniel said. “Those are Indira’s people. The rest?” He shook his head. “I just see a reference to the ‘Bookbinders’. That’s all.”
“Like I said. Isn’t that-”
“It’s not Indira’s group.” He watched Leon go quiet, his face screwed up. “They’re the Booklender’s Guild. I...I don’t know. I’m looking into it.” He chuckled, the sound low and soft. “But that’s where I’m at.”
“Gotcha,” Leon mumbled. “I guess...I’ll keep working, then.”
“Maybe you’ll find something else,” Daniel said.
“Maybe.” He didn’t sound hopeful about the possibility, but Leon offered Daniel a tiny smile, his expression softening. “Gotta keep at it, right?”
“Yeah,” Daniel said, returning the smile. “Back to it.”
He watched Leon bend over The Basics again, the good cheer fading from his friend’s face.
And then Daniel turned back to his own books. He’d looked into the mages. He’d looked into their attackers. And now…
Now, he had to dive down that same rabbit hole he’d spotted.
Reaching over the rest of the books, he lifted the one with the name Indira written in delicate script across the front.
With a flip, he yanked it open to the back, starting to read.
* * * * *
“Rickard,” Daniel whispered.
The hidden library was as quiet as ever. Leon was too occupied with his own worries to respond, then—or he’d returned to sleep, making the most of their timeless hideaway. Either way, Daniel didn’t mind. The name hadn’t been meant for him.
His thumb traced over the lettering within Indira’s book, right at the bottom of a paragraph.
I didn’t know what else to do. When the damn brat closed the door in my face, I...what was left for me to try? I contacted Madis. I didn’t want to. But then, even he seemed...disinterested. And so now I’m stuck with his ‘lieutenant’, like they’re some sort of army. Ridiculous.
The man seems a good sort, but even still, I’m not interested in playing games. I’ll work with Rickard
, but this is my show. Not theirs.
Rickard. He knew that name—he’d heard it...somewhere. Someone must have mentioned it. One of the countless voices blurring together in his memories of their chaos-filled rescue. This Rickard was someone important.
Daniel stood with a groan, wincing as the pain in his leg surged back in.
Leon’s head snapped up. “Daniel? What are you-”
“I’m fine,” Daniel whispered, limping back toward the shelves. “Just need to get another.”
His thoughts had already turned outward, toward the structure overhead. He paused, his hand coming to rest against a pillar. Hey. Alex.
Daniel waited—but the Library didn’t respond. The walls groaned around him as consistently as ever, and he could still hear the shrieking of the wind high above. He sighed. I know you’re upset still. But...work with me. This Rickard fellow...he’s important. He’s a ‘Bookbinder’, whatever that is, and Indira was working with him.
Indira was working with Madis—another name that concerned him more than a little. But he’d never heard of Madis before. He needed to walk before he could run.
He leaned into the pillar, pressing harder. I don’t even know what his focus looks like. Whatever they’re called. I don’t know anything. I’m so out of my depth, and I’m going to wind up shot again if I don’t figure it out. His forehead brushed against the smooth stone, sending goosebumps rising across his skin. Could you help me out? I just need a little more information. Please don’t make me stumble around looking for another hour.
Again, he hesitated, glancing around. Alexandria seemed to pause, going quiet for a moment—followed by a surge of noise as the wind and groaning resumed in full.
Daniel’s teeth gnashed together. Before he could start arguing with Alex, though, the shelf alongside him shifted. The books fell to one side with a clanking of chains.
A book waited at the end, in the empty space left behind. Daniel reached for it, then stopped.
He’d expected another book like the rest, bound in black leather and gold with a magical tool emblazoned on its cover. Instead, it was one of those oddly-normal books, wider than the pamphlets left scattered here, wrapped in plain cloth.
“Rickard isn’t a mage?” Daniel said, furrowing his brow. He took hold of it at last, pulling it into his grasp. “Then...how the hell does he connect to this?”
Madis, his thoughts whispered again. It’s the only thing that’s left.
“How about it?” he said out loud, pitching his voice low enough he wouldn’t disturb Leon. “Could you do me a solid, Alex? One more time?”
The chains holding the chandeliers up clattered as they swung back and forth. The shadows pinwheeled across the walls. From behind him, he heard Leon mumble in surprise.
“Think of it like this,” Daniel whispered, fixing a desperate grin to his face. “The sooner we get the answers we need, the sooner we’ll get out of here and stop asking questions.”
For a moment, the tiles beneath his feet groaned, as though she truly was debating if she wanted to simply swallow him whole. He grabbed at the shelf, his face going pale, and the book in his arms shifted.
When he clutched it to his chest, cursing under his breath, the shaking stopped—and a light gleamed from farther down the hidden library.
A blue light. Just like...Just like that day. Daniel looked up, his eyes going wide.
One of the lanterns all the way at the end glowed, its flames burning with that vivid, otherworldly color. It hung over the desk sitting against the wall, but...more importantly…
Daniel swallowed.
That lantern hung next to the archway leading to that room. The blood room.
For a moment, his nostrils flared. The smell of rot and decay filled his lungs, burning away his senses behind the horror of it.
Just as quickly as it’d appeared the blue light winked out, filling the room with mundane warmth again. He rocked back onto his heels, exhaling, and stared at the doorway with newfound apprehension.
“So...he’s in there,” Daniel whispered. “Is that it, Alex?”
He hadn’t spent long in there. That first day, he’d only peeked in for a moment, and, well...he hadn’t felt any need to go back since. But even from that glance, he could remember the shelf sitting along the far wall.
And he could remember the hulking tomes sitting on its shelves, organized into neat rows and labeled with names.
Daniel snorted, letting his eyes slide closed for a minute. “At least he’ll be easy to find,” he murmured.
“Daniel?” he heard Leon say from the table they’d claimed. “What is it?”
He lifted his head, clutching the ‘Rickard’ book closer to his chest, and fixed his eyes on the archway.
“I’ll be right back.”
Step by step, Daniel advanced toward that archway.
He didn’t want to. He really didn’t want to. It’d been years in Alexandria-time since he’d first crossed into that foul, dark room, and once had been more than enough.
But if it had the answers he needed, he didn’t have much choice on the matter.
He came to a stop in the gap, one hand braced against the stonework. And...there it was. His nostrils flared, already complaining.
It was just like he remembered. Cages, lining the walls. Coagulated, half-dried blood coating, well, everything. Symbols littered the floor, and despite his impressive catalogue of learned languages, he had no clue what they said.
His eyes were drawn to the far side of the room, though—and the heavy, broad bookshelves waiting there.
Nothing for it. Taking a deep breath and wishing a fond farewell to clean air, Daniel stepped forward.
One step at a time. That was the trick. He inched forward, placing each footfall on the narrow slivers of clean stonework he could find. One step, and then another.
“Hey, whats-” Leon’s voice cut off abruptly behind him. When his friend spoke again, there was a good bit more confusion in his words—and horror. “What the hell is this?”
“I don’t know,” Daniel said. He shuffled forward again, grabbing hold of a metal-barred cell wall to keep from falling. “It’s...It’s always been down here.”
“Is that blood?”
“I think so.”
“Jesus Christ.”
The floor rumbled beneath Daniel’s feet. He grimaced. Settle down. I’ll be in and out. No big deal.
Alexandria didn’t seem to appreciate his reassurances. The rumbling stopped, but slowly.
“I don’t think- I don’t think all the mages have played nice,” Daniel said, making a face. Another awkward lurch forward, and he’d passed by the worst of the pooled blood on the ground. Finally. He let go of his hand-holds, straightening, and turned to face the bookshelves more directly. “It matches what I was taught, Leon. Mages are dangerous. They do bad things.”
“But why’s it here?”
“Good question,” Daniel mumbled. He shook his head, striding forward. “It’s all information, I guess. There are books here, too. The biographies. There’s got to be something that sets these mages apart, and that’s about as much as I can tell you.” Another two paces and he stood before the bookshelf. He looked back, though, to where Leon waited in the archway, and smiled faintly. “I don’t like it either. Sorry. But...it looks like what I need is in here.”
“I guess,” Leon said, wrinkling his nose. “Be careful.”
“I will be.”
“Don’t catch anything.” Leon glanced to the room, his eyes darting between the rusted-out metal and the blood soaking through everything, and sighed. “If you wind up with tetanus or some bloodborne illness, it’s your own damn fault.”
Daniel snorted. “Pretty much. I’ll wash my hands when I’m done. Don’t worry.”
“Sweet.” Leon stepped back, raising a hand awkwardly. “Um. Well. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thanks,” Daniel whispered. “I’ll be back soon.”
Leon nodded once, already backp
edaling. His gaze met Daniel’s for a moment—and then he turned, trudging back toward the book-stacked table.
Leon was giving him space, Daniel knew. And he appreciated that. Being in this room already sent chills down his spine, leaving a sick feeling in his gut. Having Leon standing there observing would just make it worse. He needed to be focused and get this business done, not stand around on the edge of panicking.
So get it done. He swallowed, tearing his eyes off the filth-coated room, and squared off against the nearest bookshelf.
“Madis,” he whispered, stepping close enough to run his fingers along the spines. “You’ve got to be here somewhere.”
The books out in the rest of the hidden library were by and large thin, ranging from children’s novels to pamphlets with an occasional thicker tome mixed in. These books, though...Daniel licked his lips, his eyes tightening. Each one might as well be an encyclopedia, thick and heavy enough lifting them would take some doing. They were marked out in sets, unified by the names on their spines.
Just like the Librarian’s journals, Daniel realized. His eyes widened faintly. If he ignored the devastation around him and just looked at the books...he might as well be back in his own quarters, looking at the stories of Librarians long gone.
And they were alphabetized. He nodded, allowing himself a tiny smile. “Okay,” he whispered, allowing his eyes to flit past a Dagrún and an Ermo. “I can handle this much.”
He squatted, following the alphabet downward, then shifted sideway to a second bookshelf. His lips shaped out each unfamiliar, ancient-sounding name, until-
“Madis,” he said softly. His hand came to rest on the first doorstop-sized book of the set. “Found you.”
Now what? He chewed on his lip, still staring at the books. What next? Where should he start?
He needed to know what he was dealing with. That was the first and most important task. With a final nod, he grabbed the book with fingers that were only-slightly shaking, pulling it out into his grasp. A chain rattled from its spine, pulling out along with the text.
The cover fell open before him. He took the first page, hesitating for a moment as his fingertips hit the paper. Each was wafer-thin, filling him with the feeling that he’d rip the whole page in half with a wrong move. “You’ll fix the book if I rip it, won’t you, Alex?” he murmured, starting to turn.