Page 86 of Legends and Librarians
“Anyone else joining me?” she asked. “It’s time we showed the town exactly how amazing we are and that there’s nothing for them to fear.”
Willow leapt forward. “Me, definitely me. How could I turn down riding on a sky whale?” Her eyes widened as she clasped her hands over her chest. “These story spirits are so amazing.”
“They really, really are,” I said, smiling as I climbed up next to Nyssa.
Now that Misty was happy, I could help Nyssa with a clear mind. Her plan to win over the town would work, I could feel it.
Lisa stood beside the kids, glancing back at the library. “I’m going to stay here with them, make sure everyone’s okay.”
“Actually, I’d like to go,” Cliff said, looking a little uncomfortable as he scuffed his boots in the dirt. “If you’re going to talk to the town, there’s a few things we should probably explain to them.”
“Mom’s going to be furious,” another kid moaned. “She hates when we lie.”
“Yeah, but she can’t bethatmad when she sees a giant whale, can she?” Cliff asked, grinning at the new story spirit. “She’ll forgive us, as long as we’re honest about it and take responsibility. That’s what she always says.”
The golem leaned down, offering another hand to the kids who climbed on with wide eyes. Eventually the Demon Lord stepped forward from wherever he’d been lurking.
“I won’t help you,” the Demon Lord grumbled, but then shook his head. “I mean, I’ll be of no help to you. They’ll probably just be scared of me.”
“Oh I don’t know about that,” Willow said, smiling at him.
If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn he blushed. Huh, so he did have other emotions besides grumpy. Who knew?
The dragons flew up to the sky whale as the golem lifted us up. The golem had gotten better at moving smoothly, so I barely even got dizzy as it deposited us on the sky whale’s back. A far cry from that stomach-churning ride I’d taken with the artists.
The moss on the sky whale’s back was soft and lush, pillowing my feet like it was made of magic. I could feel the whale breathing beneath us, moving slightly as it floated in the air. It was amazing and strange at the same time.
Moments like this were why I loved being an adventurer, but loved even more that I could still have those same adventures without even leaving home now. It still hurt that my family had abandoned me, but I think I was finally moving past it. Allowing myself to care about people again, to risk getting close to them, was the first step to healing.
I had a new family now, one full of love and kindness, and I couldn’t be happier.
“We’ll be back soon,” Nyssa yelled down, waving at everyone, “and we’ll bring lots of people with us.”
They waved back as the whale slowly turned, angling down the mountain. Nyssa threw her arms wide, embracing the wind as it swept over us. I wrapped my arm around her to steady her.
“I can’t believe we’re really doing this,” she whispered, leaning her head against my chest. “Thank you for being here. It helps with my nerves.”
“Always,” I said, kissing her temple.
The sky stretched out ahead of us like the ocean, with the city sprawling below like tiny toy houses. As the whale swam through the air, everything got bigger and bigger until we could see people pointing up at us with shocked faces. A group of kids raced after us, their parents screaming at them to come back.
Nyssa waved and shouted, “Come to the Misty Mountain Library today and see even more wonderful things!”
She was the true wonder here, confidently shouting from the top of a flying whale with her hair blowing in the wind and nothing but joy in her eyes. She was more beautiful than a magical bubble and more amazing than a flying whale. She made the impossible possible and I loved her for that. She never gave up, so neither would I. I’d spend every moment protecting that smile of hers and filling her days with as much joy as I possibly could.
The kids reacted to her voice, racing through the fields andspreading the word to other kids. Perfect. We needed as much word of mouth as we could get. The more people talking about the unbelievable sky whale flying through town, the better.
“This is awesome,” Willow said with a grin. “Thank you for choosing me to sponsor your library.”
“Thank you for accepting,” Nyssa said. “We wouldn’t be here without you.”
This festival was the starting point, the moment where we showed the world exactly what the Misty Mountain Library was made of.
We drifted over the town as the dragons flew down with flyers in their mouths, nudging them at anyone and everyone they saw.
“Meet us at the town square,” I shouted down over and over at the people we passed, “we have room to carry a lot of people. Come celebrate the Tales and Tomes Festival with the Misty Mountain Library!”
When we flew over the other library in town, Nyssa ducked down. I raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged.
