Page 69 of Anarchy
“I was there through all your training. I was here every year you ran this library. So I can help you fix this.”
“And bonus points, there’s no jizz on your work computer,” Balthazar said.
“You don’t just need to put books away and deal with the sentient books,” Ravyn said. “Silvaria and Dorian made promises to the spirits of this library to corrupt the system here. So you’re going to have to deal with that.”
“Allow me,” Reyson said, giving me a little bow.
I told Ravyn all about how Reyson addressed spirits, but she’d never seen it in person before. She hated dealing with them just as much as I did. There was so much prep work and ass-kissing involved any time you were dealing with ghosts. Reyson just skipped all that. Ravyn was going to lose her shit.
Reyson didn’t even so much as light black candles or put a protective circle of salt around us when he got to work. I had seen him do this before, and it was still amazing. He used that sexy voice that bounced off the walls and commanded respect.
“I need every spirit in this library to listen to me! A witch and a stupid human sold you a false bill of goods. Dorian Gray used the witch for his own purposes, then betrayed her. That witch is rotting in jail with a good bit of the wealthy supernatural community wanting her death.
“Dorian betrayed many people, and he kidnapped the caretaker of this library. I killed him myself. Whatever they promised you would never have happened. They aren’t capable of doing the rites on any of you. If they promised you I could do something about it, I can’t.
“None of you are my creations. I can’t do a damned thing to your souls. I can’t force them from this place and move them to the Aether because I didn’t make any of you. But, if Icoulddo something about it, I would for those of you that want it.
“There are plenty of spirits out there that weren’t given the rites or a purpose with their afterlife. I’m not saying you don’t have to be bitter about your lot, but I am demanding you put the library back the way it was. My witch was hurt because you manipulated the system here and allowed Dorian Gray into this library. I can’t move you to the Aether, but I can’t be killed. I can make your eternity miserable if you hurt my witch and her library.”
Ravyn was just sitting there with her mouth open. Everyone knew better than to talk to ghosts like that. That was when they went full poltergeist. They’d start flinging shit and wailing if you so much as offended them. They never did that with Reyson.
The same drowned puritan boy who addressed us the first time came back. Plenty of adults had died in the massacre, but he seemed to be their spokesperson.
“We heard you, ancient one. Many of us are happy with the jobs they gave us on these unholy sites, but some of us are very tired of not touching or tasting. They gave us an option, and we took it.”
“Let me tell you all something. You might not be able to touch or taste, but you can communicate. What do you think happens when you leave this site? You move to the Aether. You still won’t be able to touch or taste, but you lose the ability to communicate with anyone. You just are.
“You’ll be that way until the Aether decides it’s time for you to be reborn. You’ll remember nothing of your previous lives. Anything you might have learned will be forgotten. You’ll have all the senses you lost when you are reborn, but that also includes pain and heartbreak. You could experience a violent death and not be given the rites again. This time, you wouldn’t have the buildings on this site.
“I get what you want. I do. I’m just saying life is hard and unexpected. People are violent no matter what century you live in. It might not make things better. Do we have a deal?”
“We do, but only because we have no other option, ancient one. We’ve always liked our current caretaker and never intended for her to be harmed. This will not happen again.”
The spirit disappeared, and Ravyn fell out laughing.
“Holy shit. The next time I need to deal with the ghosts at the museum, I’m calling Reyson.”
Reyson squared his shoulders and tossed his hair over his shoulder.
“Now that’s settled, I think I’d like to get my nipples pierced like Bram.”
That was just so Reyson. After everything we went through in Hell, me flipping out at the state of my library, and him spanking the ghost into cooperating, he was just ready to move on.
With nipple piercings, apparently.
48
Ripley
My first day back at work wouldn’t be a huge one. It was Friday, so I’d be off for two days after this. When I woke up, everyone was gone except Balthazar. He was rubbing his nose and erection into me. I rolled over and kissed him.
“Hello, my love. Can I say how much I adore waking up next to you?”
“Reyson is cooking breakfast, and Felix, Bram, and Gabriel snuck downstairs to get a head start on putting your library back in order.”
I bit his collarbone.
“Thanks for the update, but I have you all to myself right now. Do you need to feed?”
