Page 19 of Broken Destiny

In the next minute, my mind flashes to Kodi. He doesn’t have blood; he won’t even be able to hold the pen. My heart sinks. Does that mean he can’t apply? I can’t wait to see him that night, reminding me that I didn’t spend many days at the orphanage without seeing him. We’re closer than I’d thought, something that's made very clear in his absence.

Nervousness shivers through me. What if he isn’t good enough? What if he’s stuck with his new master? My stomach shrivels with disgust and foreboding. It doesn’t matter if the library doesn’t accept him; I won’t leave him in his new role. I’ll find a way to free him, even if it means letting him pass on to the next world.

I possess every morsel of knowledge at my fingertips. If anyone can find a way to free him, it will be me.

Chapter Nine

Zosia

After Avery signs the book, I’m suddenly nervous again and retreat to my apartments in an attempt to recuperate. Not only have I been thrust into this strange, sudden role, but I’m also not used to companionship that isn’t in ghost form. I need a minute to adjust to all of the world-shifting changes.

Alone in my calming apartment, I slide back the curtains an inch and sit on my bed, looking out the crack that I’ve made. This side of the library looks onto a copse of woods. I’ve lived in the city the entire life I remember, and I’ve never seen such untamed beauty. I want to explore those woods, with the towering trees and sprawling undergrowth, but the hope is dashed within minutes. Even if I could navigate the paths with my crutches, my arms would soon grow tired and I’d become prey for whatever creatures wait within. Ansel had made it very clear. While within the library, I have some semblance of power. Without, I have none. And I have enemies, both from my past and created by my new position.

Thinking of Ansel reminds me of the cream he left. I slip off the strange, magically stretchy pants to rub the salve into my aching legs. My muscles are knotted over my improperly healed legs, and I hold back a wince as I rub one mass of hot, agonizing tissue into submission until my hands are aching as badly as my legs.

I can feel Avery now. I focus on his spot of energy in the library as I absently tame another knot. He’s not alone, and I assume one of the library goblins is giving him a proper tour because he shoots up the stairs faster than I can track him and starts exploring the space of the floors above. I only hesitate a moment before closing my eyes, exploring my connection with the library to see if I can glimpse him like I’d seen Dighit from outside.

My vision snaps immediately. I look around, blinking slowly, feeling strange as heaviness settles around me. I’m in the walls, I realize, after a quick glance to get my bearings. I can feel the physical body I left behind, lying back on my bed. But the library fills me, surrounds me, even stronger than usual because I’m a part of it. My nonexistent eyes follow Avery as he examines the floors and stacks, effortlessly switching viewpoints from one wall to another as he trails up another staircase. Through my strange vision, I’m able to see parts of the library I couldn’t reach before.

A library might seem like a boring place, but a magical, sentient library? It’s something else altogether. Each floor is designed differently, with cozy nooks and crannies, window seats and towering shelves of books. Avery examines it all with his inner senses, paying particular attention to the exits and entrances into the building with Duggar at his side. I’m awed by the magic simmering through each wooden bookcase and chair. The trees gave willingly to build this library. Their happiness to serve vibrates within each grain and knot.

Not only is the floor design of each story different, but the coloring scheme is as well. From the inner courtyard, I could tell that each floor was marked by differently colored marble columns. The color scheme extends into the levels themselves. The history floor is red, the magical level is black, the home of creatures and shifters is green, etc. I make a note in my mind, confident that the colors will help me remember where books belong. The carved wooden railings are also unique to each floor.

After watching Avery’s lithe form bound up yet another staircase, I feel like a stalker and snap back into my body. I’m so surprised to see a face hovering above me that I yelp and flop backward on the bed, my heart going into overdrive.

Kodi flies back, just as surprised as me. He lands soundlessly on the floor of my apartment but gets up as if nothing happened. “What happened just now? Where were you?” He narrows his eyes, and I realize I’m sitting there in nothing but my panties and t-shirt. It isn’t the first time he’s seen me undressed, but I remember berating him the last time he popped in on me half-naked.

“Damn it, Boo, can’t you knock or something?” I complain as I pull the blankets over my thighs and try to control my racing heartbeat.

“Um, not really.” Kodi’s lips tilt, but it’s a bitter smile as he holds out his hands. He looks more drawn today, not as solid as he appeared yesterday.

“What happened?” All interest in my modesty flees as I note the lines that shouldn’t be etched on his face. He hasn’t changed in the seven years since I first glimpsed his ghostly form. Yet today, he looks older.

He shakes his head. “I asked first. Where the hell were you? It’s like you weren’t even in your body.”

I shrug a shoulder. “I wasn’t, not really. I was in the library. Well, in her walls. I’ve become the new librarian.”

“I know. It’s all anyone can talk about, how an Abram has returned to watch over the library. I’m proud of you, Zo, and not surprised at all. I knew yesterday when you told me that it would happen.”

He sits beside me on the bed, the blankets not even wrinkling beneath him. I frown and poke him again, but he doesn’t react to my touch. He feels like he isn’t there anymore, although I can clearly see the silver collar glowing around his neck. I pick up the salve to hide the anxious shaking of my hands. Something is wrong, and I don’t like it.

“Tell me what’s going on, Kodi,” I demand, my voice stronger than it’s ever sounded, besides earlier when I threw the beastmaster out on his ass.

My friend laughs once, abruptly and bitterly. “I guess ghosts have life left in them, life that can be drained out of them.”

“What?” The word screeches from me, and Kodi winces even though he doesn’t have eardrums for me to break.

He shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. “They’re draining me, Zo. Evidently, this after-death life energy is special in some way. They do it to all the ghosts they encounter and manage to trap. They say we’re not supposed to be here anyway, that we have no rights because we’re not living. Once they’re done, I’ll be free.”

“Oh, no,” I say. “No, no, no, no, no…” I continue, my voice rising in pitch. Before I can say anything else, someone knocks on my door. A quick check with my inner awareness tells me who it is even as the ghost glances at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Are you alright? You seem distressed.” Avery’s voice floats through the door, and Kodi’s jaw tightens.

“Who is that?”

“That’s my first guardian,” I answer distractedly. “Come in!” I call out as I rearrange the blankets again, even though Avery can see less than Kodi. The vampire opens the door in the next second, and I’m relieved to see Duggar behind him.

“Good. Duggar, we’re going to need that book.” The male goblin glances at Kodi and then back at me. The expression on his face makes my heart sink into my stomach.

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