Page 74 of The Library of Second Chances
There had to be some meaning to this. She looked around the library, hardly registering the scattered books and papers, the mess the characters had left behind. At least all was quiet now, but . . .
‘These characters,’ she said, holding up the book, ‘they’re mostly . . . you know, normal-looking. No elves or witches or lions.’ A sudden image of the lion walking down a street in Wellbridge came to mind. She glanced at her sister, who was no doubt thinking the same thing, and they both giggled guiltily. ‘They’re all humans, except for this cat. So that’s something. Hopefully they’ll, uh, blend in until we find them, and they’llthink the last one is a fancy-dress costume or something.’ She grimaced as she said it, knowing how ridiculous she sounded.
‘Can you give us a clue?’ Mrs Cook asked, glancing to the ceiling. ‘Are they in places Chloe has been to before?’
The library’s lights flickered once.
‘Me?’ Chloe asked in surprise.
‘Oh yes, dear. I think since these are characters you’ve met before, they are going to be in significant places.’ Mrs Cook leaned against the lobby desk. ‘What did you talk to them about?’
Chloe glanced at the historical romance in her hand, recalling talking with a Scottish warrior about putting faith in something even if you don’t believe it yet. But where would that lead him?
Chloe’s phone rang, making everyone jump. It was Hannah.
‘Hi, Hannah,’ said Chloe, trying not to sound like she was dealing with a magical library and its escaped characters.
‘Chloe, there’s a guy here,’ said Hannah’s hushed voice. ‘Um, he keeps mentioning a library. He seems quite lost. Do you know him?’
Chloe nodded to the others. ‘Does he have red hair? And is he wearing a kilt, by any chance?’
‘Yes!’ Hannah sounded excited. ‘He’s quite cute, too. Though he keeps saying he’s trying to find his wife.’
‘I’ll be right there. Don’t let him leave.’ Chloe hung up and looked around at her team. ‘First stop, the Brew House.’ She grabbed the book and stuffed it into her bag.
When they were outside, Mrs Cook locked the library doors; they all agreed it was unlikely the characters would come back on their own, and it would be worse to have a passerby walk in and see the terrific mess. As for the broken window, there wasn’t much they could do about that at the moment. Chloe didn’t want to think about how long it would take them to clean it all up, but they had bigger problems right now.
‘Don’t let him leave’ had sounded natural at the time, but Chloe wasn’t sure how Hannah was going to stop a six-foot-something Scot who probably had a dagger and wouldn’t be afraid to use it if he felt threatened. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
‘We should hurry,’ she said. Harry strode beside her as they sped up. It was mid-afternoon now, the sun hiding behind clouds. A weekday. Not many people around. ‘Wait.’
They all skidded to a halt.
‘We don’t all need to go,’ she said, looking at them all. ‘We need to find the rest of the characters.’
‘I’ve got the other books.’ Eric held up his satchel. ‘Just got to make sure no one sees them glowing.’
‘But what if one of us finds a character but they don’t have the right book with them?’ asked Gwen.
Chloe groaned. She was right.
‘Let’s all keep in touch.’ Harry brought out his phone. ‘Here, I’ll make a group chat.’ Once they were all added, he said, ‘Just message the location if you find someone. Do we all know who we’re looking for?’
They discussed it and agreed. ‘I’ll go with Eric,’ said Gwen, raising her eyebrows to Chloe. Eric looked overjoyed at having been chosen. ‘Mrs Cook, are you coming?’
‘Of course. Good luck with your hero.’ The librarian winked at Chloe.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
‘LOOKS LIKE IT’Syou and me, Harry,’ Chloe said.
‘I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon,’ said Harry. ‘C’mon.’
There were a few people on the street where the Brew House was, and Chloe forced herself to walk at a normal pace, even though her heartbeat thundered. All it would take was a conversation with the Highlander to know he was not of this world. She had her bag tucked under her arm, could feel the warmth of the book as it rested against her side.
The bell above the door jangled as they entered the café. Hannah was upon them in moments, her eyebrows raised as she jerked her head towards the corner.
‘Oh, wow,’ breathed Harry.
