Page 22 of Legends and Librarians
Roan wrapped his arm around me, clinging to the vines to keep us from falling. My heart pounded in my chest as my head spun from looking down. That would be a long fall.
“Thanks,” I said, squeezing Roan’s arm.
He tightened his grip, securing me to him and the golem. “Just try not to make it mad or excited or anything else until we’re back on the ground, okay?
“Deal.”
We rocked against the golem as it took long strides back into the middle of the library, Roan’s arm was warm and comforting around me. He’d raced up this golem without a second’s hesitation. I’d read about people like that, sure, but never thought somebody would do something like that for me in real life. My chest warmed, feeling a bit giddy over having my very own hero.
Once the golem’s steps slowed, Roan helped me climb up by its neck. Above us was the largest hole in the roof, complete with golem-made patching over it. It really was pretty nice that the golem had done that, otherwise the library would have been flooded and even more warped over the years.
“Stay,” the golem said. “I’ll fix.”
Then it reached its massive hand up to the ceiling, dim green light glowing around it. As it grew brighter, the wood patching curled away from the ceiling, twisting and coiling around the golem’s hand before settling into its arm like bones inside a skeleton.
“That was awesome,” I said, breathless.
The golem reached out his glowing hand to me. “New patch?”
Right. He must have seen me use the temporary patching before. I carefully scooted down its shoulder, landing softly in its palm. Roan followed me, both of us fitting on the golem’s hand without a problem. My stomach flipped as we moved closer to the ceiling, high enough for me to assemble the temporary clear patch.
“All done,” I said, gazing out at the library below, my arm on Roan’s to stay balanced.
Even though it was warped and damaged, it was still the most beautiful library I’d ever seen. I could spot my favorite reading nook from here and the children’s section that had held so much adventure for me. Was the golem’s book still there, perfectly placed on the shelf? I should go read it again.
The Demon Lord looked small from up here, like all the world’s problems melted away from another perspective.
“Beautiful,” Roan whispered. “Absolutely beautiful.”
“I know, right? This library is amazing.”
He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his hand brushing softly against my cheek. “I meant you.”
My lips parted as I stared at him, hand still grasping his arm as my heart thundered in my chest. He thought I was beautiful?
“I mean yeah, the library is great,”Roan said, dropping his hand as he laughed awkwardly. “You’re doing really good work here!” His voice was overly enthusiastic, and a faint blush rose on his cheeks.
I bit my lip to stop the grin from spreading across my face. “Thank you. For that and for coming up here after me.”
His smile felt warmer than the sun shining down from the hole in the roof. Maybe there was more here for me than fixing the library.
Chapter 9
Nyssa
I leaned back against the book tree’s withered trunk with a sigh. We’d spent the entire day pulling down patches, but the view from high up on the golem had made one thing clear: this library was in dire need of more repairs than I could count.
From the windows and the roof to the floor and the bookshelves, it seemed like everything was at least a bit damaged. That’s what happened after years of neglect, no matter how hard the story spirits tried to prevent it.
Would I have the money for all these repairs? Not to mention the money for improvements and books too? The Tomekeeper’s Endowment could only cover so much.
If I couldn’t manage all of those things perfectly, nobody would make the long trek here and this library would fade away so a new library could be born. As if it was that easy to replace something important. I wouldn’t let all the wonderful memories I’d had here as a child fade away too. I’d visited other libraries, sure, but none of them felt like this one.
I’d met my first real friend in this library, learned to read, and got lost in so many wonderful stories. If I let that go, then nobody else would get to experience that like I did. They’d miss out on all the wonder the Misty Mountain Library had to offer and that would be such a monumental loss.
This library had helped me so much growing up, giving me a place to belong and feel welcome no matter what was going on in my life, so I wanted to help it in return. It deserved to be saved.
But what if I’d bitten off more than I could chew? Books were my thing, not damaged floors and withered book trees. Reading would help bring the magic back a bit since it recharged book trees over time, but I was only one person and could only read so much. This library needed serious help, maybe more than I could give it.
