Page 75 of Legends and Librarians
Her lips twitched. “Guess we should check it out then.”
Wait, I’d had Nyssa all to myself and I let a bubble get in the way?? I sighed. What’s done was done. There would be plenty more time for us to be alone, especially now that I’d agreed to stay, because this was my home now.
Home.
It was funny to even think about, but it felt so right as I gripped her hand, following her down a trail of bubbles. Nyssa and this library were definitely all the adventure I needed.
The bubbles seemed to be coming from outside where a thin man with glasses and suspenders fiddled with some kind of device. I groaned. Oren was back and he’d brought a bubble machine.
“Hey Oren,” Nyssa said, joining him by the machine, “what treasure did you bring us this time?”
She winked at me as she said the word “treasure” like she’d actually enjoyed our last bubble encounter. Maybe she had, but I did not want to repeat it. Her and I with a hot bath to soak away our troubles? Great. Magical bubbles that would pin you down?Hard pass.
Oren turned some dials on the machine, almost like he was tuning it for something, then stood up with a smile. “There. Should be all ready for a test.”
“A test?” I shook my head, taking a step back. “Whatever you’ve got planned, we don’t need it.”
“Are you sure?” Oren asked, readjusting his glasses. “Nyssa said you were desperate for a way to get patrons up the mountain.”
I blinked, looking from her back to him, trying to make sense of that statement. Her furrowed brow made me think she had no clue either.
“And a bubble machine is somehow the answer to that?” I asked, a pit forming in my stomach. I’d seen far too many people play around with magic and the pieces were starting to fall together. “No, you wouldn’t. Nobody would do that.”
Nyssa tilted her head. “Wouldn’t what?”
“Make people fly...on bubbles?” I could barely get the words out, but when Oren started grinning like a fool, I just shook my head. “No. That can’t be a real thing. Who would even make something like that?”
“Well...,” Nyssa glanced at Oren and then away quickly, fiddling with the edge of her shirt. “A novice relic engineer?”
I thought he was just a researcher, but now he was meddling with relics too? I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. I said I’d wanted an adventure, but this was just plain dangerous.
“Hey now, of course nobody’s going to fly on bubbles,” Oren said, waving a hand at me. “That would be silly and dangerous. They’re going to flyinsidebubbles. Safe and sound, protected by a perfect bubble shield.”
Nyssa raised an eyebrow. “Well, they did seem pretty sturdy before...”
“Not you too!” Then her words sank in. “Wait, why would you link the bubbles from before to these? Did you give him that wild magic infused laundry crystal to play with?”
“For research, yeah,” she said, shrugging. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
The two of them started chatting about what dials did what, about how the bubbles could change shape and size, and about how the connection between start and end point was the key to making sure the bubbles didn’t fly off course.
The old me would have dragged them both in to the guild, but the new me? Eh, maybe I should just let them do their thing and see where it went. A few bubbles couldn’t be that bad, right?
An icy chill swept down my spine, remembering that bath. They could definitely be that bad, but maybe Nyssa was right and I just had an aversion to bubbles at this point. If this could actually help the library, I should at least consider it, right?
While I debated, Nyssa stepped inside a giant bubble.
“Hey, wait!” I called out, but she was already rising up in the air, a gleeful smile on her face as she waved at us.
“It worked!” Oren exclaimed, practically jumping for joy.
“Why do you sound so surprised?” I asked. “Is this your first trial?”
“Don’t worry.” He waved his hand at me again, like it was no big deal. “I tested it loads of times on myself, but this is the first time I’ve used it on anyone else.”
Nyssa landed back on the ground and the bubble popped immediately as it touched the device. She rushed over to Oren, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a hug. Together they danced and cheered.
“It really worked!” she said, happiness tinging her voice. “This is the coolest thing ever. Even if people are worried about the library, they’ll want to visit just to ride the bubbles.”
