Page 28 of Legends and Librarians
“Why do you think that?”
His eyebrows raised skeptically. “Because you barely know me, you don’t seem to like the story spirits, and Nyssa obviously wanted you to stay and eat with her. All of that points to you having a reason for asking me to talk alone.”
“I’m really that easy to read, huh?” I said with a laugh, walking outside to find the lending libraries. They were slowly hopping around the empty book cart, their roofs drooping and their doors hanging open. “Hold on a minute.”
I ducked back inside the library to grab a few books, remembering how the lending libraries got excited when Nyssa gave them each one. It would be much easier to talk to Oren if the lending libraries weren’t depressed and causing problems. I’d just give them some books and ask them to sit still while we repaired them.
When I walked outside, they turned to me, racing over in big leaps like they were dogs who’d caught the scent of meat.
“Calm down,” I said, holding a book in the air. “If I give you these books, will you sit still while we repair you? We’ve got new latches and paint to freshen you up.”
Oren frowned as the lending libraries stood stock still. “Huh,I didn’t expect that. You’re really good with them.”
“Just doing what Nyssa did.”
If I treated them like puppies, it was much easier to ignore the fact that they were inanimate objects moving with a wild-magic fueled life of their own. Oren ushered them over to a picnic table while I grabbed the sandpaper, paint, hinges, and latches from the cart. This cart was starting to feel like one of those magical bags that never ran out of space and you could find anything in.
“So about these...story spirits,” I said. “Do you think they’re dangerous?”
I grabbed a piece of sandpaper and started sanding down the old rough paint on the lending libraries. They stayed true to their unspoken word and didn’t move very much, which was nice. I could almost pretend they were normal.
Oren took a piece of sandpaper and joined me. “Well, I’ve only been here a day, but I don’t think so. They seem like they’re connected to the library somehow, none of them willing to leave it or do anything that might damage it. The way they talk about this place feels like they’re talking about their best friend.”
“And that means...?”
“That they wouldn’t do anything that would risk harming the library,” he said, moving to the next lending library. “If that’s true, then they probably wouldn’t do anything to hurt people inside it either.”
“Probably?” I paused, sanding an extra rough spot smooth. “How can we be sure though? Nyssa is determined to stay here and get patrons back. I can’t let that happen if it means putting people at risk.”
I hadn’t said that to anyone yet, but it was the truth. Sure, I’d turned a blind eye to the wild magic here for now, but I had to know if it was dangerous before anyone else got involved. The guild would knock me down to E-rank if I let a library full ofpeople get attacked.
“What does Nyssa think about that?” Oren asked as he opened a bucket of paint. When I didn’t answer, he looked up at me. “Wait, you did tell her, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly, but I will.”
Oren shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but she seems happy. Don’t screw it up by keeping secrets.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea about us,” I said, brushing sawdust off one of the lending libraries. “She’s happy because she’s back in the library she loves and I’m just here helping out for a bit. I’ll be gone once I’m sure this place isn’t a danger to anyone.”
“Okay.” Oren raised an eyebrow. “I’ll do more research. See if we can find a solid answer for you.”
We worked in silence for a bit after that, sanding and eventually painting once the sawdust blew away. Oren was supposedly a great researcher, so if I let him handle the wild magic research, then I could keep focusing on the physical repairs. But my mind kept drifting back to Nyssa, wishing she’d walk out here and check on us or wondering what she was doing inside.
That woman was always doing something unexpected...
“So, how well do you know Nyssa?” I asked.
“Pretty well,” Oren said, spreading a not so perfect line of paint across a lending library. “I was kind of a mess when I first joined the guild, always dropping things and miscategorizing books, so she ended up helping me out a lot. She’s always been kind like that, helping anyone who needed it. We became friends after that, helping each other become the best librarians we could be.” He smiled softly. “I’m glad she finally found her way back here. It was all she talked about for years. I had thought she was going through a breakup when she called me one nightdevastated, but she’d just heard how rundown this place was.”
“Sounds like her,” I said, remembering how excited she was on her way up the mountain the first day. “I really want to trust these creatures for her sake, but I also don’t want anything to happen to her. You didn’t see how the golem reacted when she tore down its patchwork. It was furious.”
Or how the bubbles pinned me down in the bathtub, but I wasn’t about to admit that one.
“If there’s one thing I know about Nyssa.” Oren raised his paintbrush. “It’s that if she says she can do something, she’s going to do it. She’s not a foolish risk-taker. If she thought she couldn’t handle the story spirits, she wouldn’t be doing this. Give her a little faith.”
That was true. She certainly didn’t back down from a challenge.
I’d have asked more, but a chivalry of knights appeared at my feet. “How can we help, Sir Roan?”
