Page 2 of Myths and Manuscripts
“Nyssa forced me to run errands. A demon lord running errands.” He scoffed, pushing a bag of books at me. “Guess she’s really growing into that head librarian role, but here, these are yours. You put them on hold last week but never came to pick them up. It was uncharacteristic of you, so everyone was worried.”
“That’s so sweet you were worried about me.” I looked through the books while his intense gaze swept over me. “And thanks for bringing these.”
“I never saidIwas worried,” the demon lord grumbled, but he moved closer instead of leaving now that his errand was complete. “So you’re an apothecary?”
His voice sounded more curious than usual, so I motioned for him to come inside. I honestly didn’t know very much about him beyond that he was the tall, dark, mysterious kind of guy, but he had come all the way out here just to drop off these books. The least I could do was show him around.
“This is my Gran’s shop.” I nodded at her as she pickedup her mortar and pestle again. “Her name’s Mable and my Grandpa always said she was the most beautiful flower.” I leaned closer to whisper. “He also said she was a bit prickly, so she’s actually the bloom and the bramble in our shop’s name.”
The Demon Lord gave me a small smile as he browsed our wares in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence though, more like he was so focused that talking would have interrupted him. His long dark hair brushed against the jars as he leaned closer, carefully examining each one.
He picked up a healing tonic, his slender fingers far more delicate than I’d expected, and held it up to the light. The green hue shimmered across his strong jawline, illuminating a genuine curiosity in his eyes that drew me in. He was entirely focused, as if the rest of the shop had faded away and that bottle the most precious thing in the world to him.
What would it feel like to have that intense gaze of his focused on me?
Heat crept up the back of my neck so I whipped around to help Gran before he caught me staring. I clearly read too much dark romance if I was getting flustered over the leader of a demonic army.
“Who’s your friend?” Gran whispered. “He’s very handsome.”
“Did you miss the demon horns?” I asked with a laugh. I knew she’d been having problems reading the tiny ledgers lately, but there was no way she missed those. “He’s one of the story spirits from the library. He’s the Demon Lord from the book seriesI Just Wanted a Peaceful Life, but Now I Have to Stop the Demon Lord and His Entire Army!”
Gran’s eyebrows shot up. “A story spirit in our shop? I didn’t think they left the mountain.”
That was a good point. What had Nyssa been thinking sending him into town on his own? Sure, the town had changedtheir tune about the library, but the Demon Lord was still the scariest of them all. At least, to most people he was.
The barest hint of a smile touched his lips as he noticed the mossmew curled up in the lavender. He pet the tiny cat-like creature so quickly I would have missed it if I hadn’t been watching.
Did the Demon Lord... actually like cute animals? The way he acted at the library made me think they were all a bother to him, but maybe that was an act. Like the big grumpy type of character with the heart of a cinnamon roll?
No, that was what Gran would say was my imagination running away with me again. He was the villain of his story, not some romance hero about to woo anyone who crossed his path. Not that I’d want that anyway, not even if that little smile of his gave me butterflies.
“So he’s not your friend now,” Gran said slowly, “but you’d like him to be?”
I laughed, pouring the ground herbs into a pouch. “No, nothing like that. He just dropped some books off for me.”
“Riiight.” She got to her feet, wandering over to the Demon Lord before I could stop her. She was still pretty spry when she wanted to be. “Hello, can I help you with anything?”
The Demon Lord bowed his head. “No, wise one. I was just browsing.”
I would have been annoyed if he’d used his usual sass on my Gran, but him being polite was kind of shocking. I didn’t know he had it in him. Maybe there was more to him, a quiet puzzle to solve if I had the time.
“You seem at home here, dear.” Gran patted his hand. “Feel free to stay as long as you like.”
“Gran!” I hissed, clamping my lips closed when the Demon Lord glanced at me. “I mean, yes, stay as long as you like.”
That little smile tugged at his lips again, but this time, hiseyes were on me. I rubbed my palms against my pants, suddenly feeling warmer than usual. Maybe too many mossmews had come inside, filling the air with their humidity.
“I think I will stay a while, thank you. It reminds me of....” His brow furrowed and he turned away, studying what we had on the shelves instead of finishing his thought. “The library is too noisy lately. It’s refreshing to be somewhere quiet.”
Gran gave me a look that said get over there and talk to him. I sighed, doing what she wanted just to stop the conversation I knew would come if I didn’t. She always wished I’d find a nice man to share my life with like her and Grandpa, but she didn’t realize how risky that was.
I couldn’t even handle sharing my book with anyone, let alone my heart. One harsh note from the story gods and I was like a wounded animal in need of a life-saving tonic. The pain just wouldn’t go away. The thought of going through that again, but multiplied by however much I cared about another human being, was unimaginable.
There was no way I wanted to let myself care for somebody, not for real anyway. Gran was the only person I needed in my life.
I still knew how to be pleasant to customers though, so I smiled at the Demon Lord and picked up my inventory logs to keep my hands busy. “So the library’s doing well then? That’s great.”
He scowled. “It’s terrible. The place is crawling with humans all wanting to talk to me.”
