Page 18 of Legends and Librarians
Speaking of, I should update the guild. I pulled a piece of paper out of my jacket, jotting down a quick note. “I got inside the library. No signs of a haunting. More details soon.”
I held the note in the air until flames licked the edges, sending my message to the guild like ash on the wind. There. That should hold them off for a bit. Now time for that bath.
My jacket was caked with mud and my clothes were dusty from the long trek here. I’d been sleeping outside for the past few weeks so I was really excited to have an enchanted laundry basin. I dropped my clothes in, brushing my hand over the cleaning crystal. Bubbles engulfed my clothes, lifting them in the air and spinning them so I could relax and take a bath.
I stepped into the waist high tub as water seeped through the stones, fulfilling its purpose before I even had to ask. Magic really was a wonderful thing. Before I could settle down, ice cold water touched my skin. I yelped. It was freezing!
“Everything okay in there?” Nyssa called out.
“Yeah, just fine!”
I searched for the heating stone, but the rune was already glowing. My breath caught in my chest as the freezing water rose up to my knees. I would not jump out of this tub and have Nyssa hear me. I would not.
When shivers swept through me, I pressed the stone for cold water on a whim. Glorious heat swept through the water. The runes were backward. Figures this rundown library would have mismatched runes too. I’d have to watch out for that elsewhere.
Steam curled around me as the water rose up to my waist. I sank into it, sighing with contentment. The heat dug into my muscles, easing the aches and pains from travel. It was always nice to rest and relax after a mission. The tub even had an angled top so I could rest my head back comfortably. It almost made up for that freezing water. Almost.
Something wet pressed against my cheek followed by a pop. My eyes snapped open. Shimmering bubbles filled the room, swirling around me like playful sprites.
Their iridescent sheen reminded me of wild magic storms,which might be why the tub was messed up. Magitek used careful programming to bind magic to crystals and runes, but wild magic liked to tweak that, causing all sorts of mayhem.
The bubbles pulsed in the air, growing bigger and smaller like they were breathing. Music chimed whenever they touched and light glinted off them like rainbows. Maybe this would be like the rest of the library and play nice? It was kind of cool looking.
I ducked underwater, running my hands through my hair quickly to clean up, but in that short time, the bubbles had gotten closer. They pressed up against me, popping explosively when they touched my skin. It tingled like my arm after lying on it too long, but it didn’t hurt.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nyssa asked, her voice right outside the door.
The bubbles merged around me, strengthening and pushing against my skin like they were searching for dirt to clean. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but sit here. I reached for my sword, but realized I’d left it in the bedroom. Blast it.
This was why I should always take my sword with me to the bath. People laughed at me for it, but now I had a good reason. Wild magic frickin bubbles.
“So um, on second thought,” I called out slowly, “could you, uh, bring me my sword?”
“Your sword?”
“Yes, and hurry,” I said as the bubbles grew and multiplied. Soon there wouldn’t be room for both of us in here.
The door opened after a few moments and Nyssa walked in, biting her lip to stop from laughing when she saw me. She had my sword though, loosely grasped in her hands.
“Now what?” she asked, gracefully not saying anything about the bubbles.
I sank deeper into the bath, face on fire. “Pop them with thesword. It’ll absorb their magic.”
At that she did laugh, but she went around the room popping bubble after bubble, dancing and laughing like a nymph in a bubble forest. When she got to the ones on me, she slowed, holding my sword out to me.
“Here, you can do these,” she said.
I tried to take the hilt, but the bubbles wouldn’t budge. They’d gone from easily poppable to firm. I stopped struggling, admitting bubble defeat.
“You can do it,” I said, “but don’t ever tell anyone about this.”
“Whatever you say, big guy.”
Mirth danced in her eyes as she carefully sliced each bubble, starting at my shoulders and working her way down.The bubbles had been covering me up pretty well, but the more she popped, the more naked I was.Her amusement turned to something else. That pretty pink blush was back as her gaze slowly traveled the length of my body.
“Think that’s enough?” she asked, holding the sword out to me. “Your hands are free now.”
Free to do what with? All thoughts of bubbles left me as steam dampened the curls around her face. She’d run in here without a thought, ready to help me with whatever wild magic was around. And now she was kneeling right beside me, making sure I was okay. If these bubbles weren’t locking me in place, I might have kissed her.
