Page 73 of The Library of Second Chances
‘Yes, you can. Before they destroy the library.’ Chloe took Eric’s elbow. ‘C’mon, Eric. Animals are your strength, remember? No one can send purple monkeys and magical lions back to their worlds like you can.’
Eric’s skinny arm trembled in her grip as they both stepped into the non-fiction section. Cold air rushed through the broken window. For an awful moment, Chloe thought the lion and the witch had escaped into town, but then she spotted a glint of the witch’s gown around the corner of a nearby bookcase.
‘Send her back first,’ Chloe whispered. ‘She’s more dangerous.’
Eric’s hands trembled as he opened the huge book, finding her story and her last line. ‘I think that’s it.’ Chloe jabbed the page. ‘Nice and loud, now, Eric.’
A terrific crash sounded and the lion roared. All the hairs on Chloe’s neck stood on end and primal fear swept through her. She wondered if all of Wellbridge had heard it. ‘Hurry up!’ she urged.
Eric’s voice was loud and clear as he read out the character’s last line. He was halfway through when the witch appeared from around a corner, her white hair tumbling around her livid face.
‘What is this magic?’ she roared, marching towards them with speed. She raised the cruel-looking wand in her hand.
Eric’s voice went high-pitched as he read out the final few words. The witch snarled, her wand held high, then she vanished. Warm magic swept over them.
Eric gasped, looking stunned.
‘Well done, Eric.’ Chloe patted his shoulder.
‘I nearly peed my pants,’ he wheezed.
Chloe laughed, though she trembled too as she rose. ‘Now, where’s the king?’
The mighty lion now sat on a fallen bookshelf and Chloe gazed at him in awe. He yawned, showing dozens of sharp teeth,then shook his shaggy mane, calm now the witch no longer posed a threat to the library.
‘Your Majesty,’ Eric addressed him, and Chloe had to cough into the crook of her elbow to hide her laughter. ‘We’re going to send you back to your world now. The witch is still around there, so you’ll still have to fight her. Sorry.’ He swallowed.
‘Do not be sorry, son of Adam. You are very brave.’
Eric looked confused. ‘My dad’s name is Keith.’
‘Um, Eric, let’s get him back into his story,’ said Chloe hastily. ‘Goodbye. Thank you for protecting us from the witch.’
The lion bowed his enormous head as Eric read out his line. He faded at once, leaving not a trace of himself behind.
Chloe knuckled her eyes, sighing with relief.
‘Chloe, we have a problem.’
Chloe didn’t much care for new problems right now. They had spent the past three hours going through the glowing books, sending back the characters, willing or unwilling. She could see the issue without Harry having to voice it to her, though.
They had checked every inch of the library, every shelf, and even asked the library itself to confirm it by moving aside bookshelves. As of right now, there were only Chloe, Gwen, Mrs Cook, Harry, Clementine and Eric left in the library.
‘So why are there five books left?’ Gwen asked, her hands on her hips. She had rolled up her sleeves to the elbows, her long hair in a messy bun. She had done her part, reading several characters back into their books, and seemed to have embraced the library’s magic without any more resistance. Chloe could have hugged her.
Instead, she looked down at the books left on the table. They varied in sizes, some hardbacks, some paperbacks, one of them a ragged old comic. New-looking and worn. Varying genres. Theonly thing they had in common was that they were all still glowing.
‘The broken window.’ Chloe dragged her hand down her face. She was exhausted and hungry and was in no mood for this. ‘Somewhere out there, the characters are loose. We need to get them back.’
Gwen sank to the floor, massaging her calves. ‘How do we even know where to start?’
Eric wrung his hands, looking nervous. Even Mrs Cook had paled. Clementine was nowhere to be seen.
Chloe studied the books on the desks. ‘No dragons,’ she confirmed, mostly to herself. ‘That’s good, at least. Actually . . .’ She picked one up.
It was as she had thought. Almost all of these books had another thing in common: Chloe had pulled characters out of them before. She had talked to them about love, friendship, jealousy, forgiveness.
‘Five books,’ she murmured. The detective, the Scottish warrior, the nobleman, and the superhero. The fifth book was a children’s one, perhaps one Eric had read at the event. It was a story about a mischievous giant cat that entertained children on a rainy day.
