Page 38 of Legends and Librarians
One of the dragons rolled over, glancing at me with a tongue lolling out of its mouth. Another pounced on a knight, who stabbed at it in return. Hmmmm....the dragons reminded me of cats wanting to play. Could all those attacks the knights mentioned just be the dragons wanting attention?
“Hey Lisa? What’s the dragons’ book about?”
She smiled at me behind her tea cup. “Dragon hatchlings that destroy everything until people play with them.”
“Couldn’t have told me that sooner, huh?” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“You never asked.”
That was fair. I’d have to do a lot better if I was going to manage these story spirits.
“Okay knights,” I said in an official-sounding voice, “I command you to play with the dragons. No slaying, just playing.”
They groaned, but the dragons leapt into the air with excitement while I went back to my nice cozy chair to read. We had a mission: read as many books as possible to give the library more magic.
Mochi wandered over to hand me a cup of hot cocoa that melted my heart. “Thank you, Mochi.”
He chittered and bounded back to Lisa, snuggling up on her lap to read with her.
“You’re good with them,” Roan said. “I think you’re doing a great job, honestly. You’re a fantastic librarian.”
“Thank you,” I muttered, diving into my book so he wouldn’t see how much that made me grin.
Roan thought I was a good librarian. Things were all coming together. Maybe we could actually pull this off if we worked as ateam.
A few dragons settled on my lap, their warmth sinking into my body. This was the life. A good book, a kind man, cozy drinks, and warm dragons. I couldn’t ask for more.
Chapter 14
Roan
Sunlight warmed my skin as I finished my morning workout and washed up in the stream nearby. We’d spent the past few days working hard on the library repairs and reading every chance we got. Things were really starting to come together and it felt good to make progress.
Cerbie was waiting for me at the edge of the water, practically vibrating with excitement as he nudged a ball my way.
I picked it up with a grin. “I’ve got something better today. Come on.”
Cerbie woofed and followed me back to the library, bounding along the path like a puppy full of too much energy. I’d been playing fetch with him every morning to calm him down, but throwing balls for a three-headed dog was more difficult than I expected.
If I threw a single ball, Cerbie’s heads would either fight over it or the middle one would snatch it up and the others would be sad. If I threw three balls, they’d inevitably end up in different places and Cerbie wouldn’t know which one to chase after. He’d literally fallen over a few times trying to run after too many at once.
So today I had a new plan. I’d made a toy just for him, oneperfect for a three-headed dog. I reached under the bench where I’d hidden it earlier and held it out to the dog like a grand prize.
“What do you think, Cerbie?”
His tail wagged faster and faster as he sniffed the new toy, which was really three of his old toys put together. I’d strung rope between three balls so none of them could roll away and each of Cerbie’s heads could carry one. I really should have thought of it sooner.
I threw the toy as far as I could, watching it sail through the air as Cerbie raced after it. He jumped, catching the toy midair. Instead of each head getting one, the greedy middle head came back with all three balls in his mouth like a squirrel gathering nuts.
“Cerbie, that’s not how it works,” I said, but couldn’t stop laughing. “Let’s try again.”
We kept playing until the sun was clear over the trees and Nyssa poked her head outside.
“Time for breakfast,” she said, smiling warmly. “Looks like he enjoyed the new toy, huh?”
Cerbie barreled into her, showing the toy off proudly. She laughed and knelt to pet him, but her gaze was on me. Something about the way she was looking at me warmed me more than my workout had. It felt nice being here, helping her. Almost too nice.
“He loved it, yeah. Let’s go eat.” I motioned for her to lead the way to the table at the back of the library where we’d been eating our meals lately.
