Page 47 of Legends and Librarians
“Library?” I called out, not sure what to actually call it. Maybe using its proper name would be better. “Misty Mountain Library?”
Roan’s lips twitched.
“Do you have a better idea?” I asked him.
His gaze fell on a pile of books next to one of the reading chairs. “Even if it’s sentient, it might not be able to talk like you and me. Try asking for a book instead.”
Asking for a book, huh? When I was younger, books used to fly through the air like beautiful birds, flapping from the book tree to the shelves like it was the most natural thing in the world. Had the library been directing them even back then?
I walked over to the great book tree, reaching my hand out to touch its bark. Magic thrummed under my fingers, warm and inviting. If anything was the soul of this library, it was the tree, so I should talk to it here.
My throat felt tight. What if I asked it something and nothing happened? I could be wrong about the whole thing and make a fool of myself. Roan stood behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder. I drew from his strength, his confidence filling me. This was my library and I had to know the truth.
“Library,” my voice was barely above a whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m looking for a good romance novel. Do you have any suggestions?”
I closed my eyes, too anxious to even look, but the sounds of the book tree’s branches swaying made me open them again. One of the branches brushed against my shoulder where Roan’s hand was. That had to be the wind. Right?
A book flapped through the air, hovering in front of me like a curious bird waiting to see if I had any seed. I reached out for it and the book settled into my hands, no longer moving. The cover was vibrant and eye-catching, the titleDivine Duelistscrolled across the top. It was a romance novel about magical card game players mixed up with mythological gods.
The library had sent me a romance novel. Just like I’d asked.
“You’re really alive,” I said, happy tears filling my eyes. “I’m so happy to meet you.”
Roan’s grip on my shoulder loosened as he moved to examine the tree. “Well, I’ll be damned. It really can understand you. Is that because you’re the librarian or does it listen to everyone?” He tilted his head. “Library, could you find me a good action-adventure story?”
He’d accepted my theory so quickly. No arguing, no mocking. Nothing but trust. My heart swelled as I blinked back tears of relief. His trust reassured me as stoutly as his sword protected me. He’d probably seen all sorts of magical things as an adventurer, so if it made sense to him, then I couldn’t bethatcrazy.
Another book that looked like it was about one thousand pages flapped through the air, dipping low every once in a while since it was so large, before dropping in front of Roan like a rock.
“That is so cool.” Roan grinned as he took a seat, flipping through the book.
I ran my hands across one of the book tree’s leaves. “Thank you.”
The branch curled around my hand, magic tickling my senses.
The library wasalive.
No matter how many times I thought that, it still felt monumental, like one of the world’s great secrets had been entrusted to me.
“I have so many questions,” I said, not sure where to even start. “Is there a better way to communicate with you? Writing maybe?”
“I can help with that,” Lisa called out from behind us.She smiled, giving me a knowing look. “We thought you might want to talk in person.”
My mouth dropped open. “Then you really can communicate with the library! Why’d you kept it a secret all this time?”
“It’s all very new,” she said, taking a seat beside the tree, “and I didn’t want to put the library at risk if the wrong people found out. Who knows what they’d think of a library that could think.”
A library that could think. What a beautiful concept.
Roan nodded. “That was a good idea. I’ve never heard of another library being alive like this one and people always get weird when new or strange things happen. Just look at how they’re treating you guys.”
“Exactly,” Lisa said, pouring herself a cup of cold tea that Mochi must have left out. “So we decided to be cautious and keep it to ourselves.”
I frowned at the book tree. “Why tell me then? And why now?”
“Honestly?” Lisa sighed. “We pushed you away at first because we didn’t trust you. You could have gotten our hopes up, torn the place apart trying to improve it, and then lost interest and left. That would have crushed what little spirit the library had left and we wanted its last months or years to be happy. We had no hope of it coming back to life. But the harder you worked, and the more joy you brought to this place, the more we thought it might be possible.”
I blinked away more tears, feeling far more emotional than I’d expected. These story spirits believed in me enough for the library to reveal its greatest secret.
