by Casey White
Magic. It was magic. He knew it at a glance, even if he’d never seen anything of its like before. His gut churned - but he stared across the distance, locked in place with wide eyes.
“Holy shit,” he heard Olivia breathe from alongside him. She still clutched his shoulder, clinging to him for stability. “O-Owl. What’s-”
“Go back,” he said, reality returning in a seething rush as though Olivia’s words had broken the spell over both of them. “Get back to the exit. Now.”
“O-Okay,” she gasped, lurching to her feet.
What if she didn’t make it back there? The thought screamed through Owl’s mind. What if something happened? What if the magical blaze spread, cutting off her path, and-
Olivia yelped, lurching as his hand snapped out to catch her by the wrist. “No,” Owl said, surging to his feet. “Don’t go alone. Sorry. That’s stupid. I’ll-”
His words died in a hiss. He turned, eyeing the ever-growing destruction. An entire wing. The clouds of blue and white were spreading, coating an entire damn wing, and the horrible wind hadn’t stopped yet. He needed to get over there, now. Whatever had caused this, whatever was going on, it was his job to handle it.
But he was the Librarian. He had a responsibility to his guests as much as to Alexandria. She was capable of handling herself. Olivia?
Olivia was white as a sheet, all of her fervor and intensity from minutes before wiped clean by the shrieking of the magical hurricane gusting through the Library. She seemed smaller, somehow, as though all of her usual energy had been sucked away.
He couldn’t turn her loose in this mess. And- He winced. Somewhere out there, Will was every bit as vulnerable.
Helping Alexandria was important. But he had to make sure his guests were safe first.
“Come on,” he spat, hurling himself forward. “Stay close. And hurry.”
“But what’s-”
“Just come,” Owl snapped.
When she followed after him, ashen-faced and quiet, he let go of her hand so that they could run. Stay close, he pleaded silently. Don’t wander off.
Back into the Library they ran, the grass turning back to hard tile under his feet.
Owl fixed the location of the storm in his mind, but he didn’t have to. The roar of it screamed through the halls just as clearly as a beacon, and even within the walls, the wind never stopped. It pushed against him, tearing at his clothes and threatening to topple him.
A storm. His thoughts ran circles as he pushed them deeper into Alexandria, struggling to find...something. An answer. An explanation. Some way for him to categorize the chaos. He’d called it a hurricane, before, and that seemed as accurate as anything. A storm. Of magic?
The words seemed to fit. They seemed right, as though he’d heard them before. Owl clenched his teeth, dashing down another aisle. Once they got to the main hallway, they’d-
He skidded around the end of the bookshelf, and lurched to a stop.
There was no hallway. No grand, towering passage of stone and glass, ready to lead him back into Alexandria’s heart. An archway waited in the wall alongside him, warm and inviting even in the maelstrom - but its wooden-timber opening gave way to a multi-level study lined with warm furs and massive, haphazardly-stacked books.
Not the way back.
“Shit,” Owl breathed.
“What?” Olivia said, her voice a single step removed from a shriek. “W-What do you mean, shit? Where’s the-”
“The path isn’t here,” Owl said. His heart hammered in his chest. “So...just...”
“What do we do? Why isn’t it-”
“Just let me think,” he said, grabbing her hand again and squeezing. The back of his mind was still in chaos from her and...from what she’d hoped to do, but he couldn’t help but offer that tiny bit of comfort. “We...We can...”
Alexandria wasn’t changing to suit them anymore. She wasn’t responding to their need. Which - near as he could guess, anyhow - meant that Alexandria was not here. She wasn’t watching, or if she was, she couldn’t change herself for them.
They were on their own.
He turned his face toward the door, square to the ever-rushing currents of air. “We’ll go back on foot.”
Olivia’s hands tightened about his arm. “Is that even possible?”
“Of course it is.” He hoped it was. They’d come this far by winding through Alexandria’s maze of studies and shelves. There’d be a way back - or a way to the source of that horrible storm, more importantly.
Hopefully he’d find a passage back to the sitting room before it got that far.
Hopefully the sitting room was still safe for her and-
“Will,” Owl gasped, stiffening. “He might still be out here. He might be-”
“He’s back in the study,” Olivia said, raising her voice over the ever-increasing din. “Go!”
“But he could have gone out. He might’ve-”
“He’s there, okay?” Her hand braced off his shoulder, pushing hard. “Just trust me. Go!”
She knew? How could she know? Owl took an unsteady step forward, still unsure, but groaned. Even if Will was still out here, there was no way for them to find him. Not until Alexandria calmed down and started listening to him again.
He broke into a shambling run, unsteady at first but picking up speed. Olivia hovered at his side, her breath ragged in his ears.
One way or another, he’d make sure both of them came out the far side safe.
Somehow.
“This way,” he called, pushing harder. The shelves towered on either side of them, rising to a roof of exposed timbers. It was tall, yes, but the room itself was short enough he could already see the opening to another passage on the far side. A cave entrance, rough-hewn and coated with markings painted in a thick, vibrant pigment.
The temperature dropped as soon as they crossed the threshold - as did the wind, slowing to a distant roar. He seized the sudden silence left by its absence, dashing past pile after pile of scrolls.
The hallways wouldn’t work. He had to find his own way. Since he already knew the direction, all he had to do was keep moving that way and-
With a shriek of stone shifting against stone, the cave shuddered around them - and a section of it chipped away entirely. Olivia’s scream disappeared into the howling wind, suddenly back stronger than ever. Her hand batted at his arm. He grabbed her hand again, locking his grip about her wrist. “Don’t stop!” he roared.
It probably didn’t need to be said again - and yet, he’d seen the blue flames lapping at the ceiling, melting away the stone like it was no more solid than foam. Rivulets of blue poured from the destroyed sections, splattering into the air to whisk off into the wind.
His eyes snapped to the blue - to the liquid that glowed from within. Just like...He swallowed, still charging onward.
Just like magic. Like Alexandria’s magic. Whatever this storm was, it was tearing her apart in its drive for-
“Down!” Olivia shrieked, and her arm became an iron bar slamming his shoulder groundward. He tumbled, bent double at the waist while his feet struggled to keep up.
Something flew over his head. The scrolls - and books. Lots of books. They shot away faster than his eyes could follow, inches from his head.
The hand that’d dragged him down a few moments before shoved him back into motion. “Go! Go, Owl, before-”
“I know,” he said, forcing himself to a run again. Just a few more steps. A few more, and-
The cavemouth disappeared from around them with a brilliant surge of light. Owl bolted out into the next chamber - a library wing as traditional as any he’d seen, with a high ceiling and one wall covered by the intricate pipes of an organ.
His eyes lingered on the shelves of books, though, sudden trepidation lacing his steps. The magic back there...it’d torn a hole in the wall, in the ceiling. To get at the books. That itself opened the door to a whole host of questions. Not least of which was “How many books to the head
does it take to kill a Librarian and his guest?”
“Hurry,” he gasped instead, clutching at her wrist and towing her faster. “Hurry, hurry.”
Left. Back in the courtyard, the magical storm had been kitty-corner to him. They’d already crossed a substantial portion of the Library to make it this far, even if they’d only been through a few wings. They had to be getting closer. Which meant that now, if they turned left, they should-
Arms flailing wildly, they twisted around the corner of what looked like a mundane librarian’s desk, and-
Owl’s heart froze as the doorway out appeared before them - and he saw the unmistakable glimmer of blue lightning dancing through the next wing.
This is the way out. His steps slowed as his brain threw on the brakes. This is the way, but- but can I get out through...through that?
Olivia’s grip on him tightened. “O-Owl. Where do we-”
“We go through,” he growled, eyes glued to the doorway - to the door, and the hallway beyond. It wasn’t the right hallway - it wasn’t the hallway - but he knew it at a glance. There wasn’t another way out.
“Through?” Olivia shrieked. “B-But, the damn hallway is on-”
“We’ll make it.” Owl pushed himself back into motion, lurching forward, but Olivia clung to his arm.
When he glanced back, he found her frozen in place. She’d been pale before. Now, she looked like she was right on the edge of shock. Her eyes were starting to get the glassy, fogged-over look that told him if he didn’t get a grip on things right now, he’d lose her entirely.
“Hey,” he said, shaking her hand. “Hey.”
Olivia’s eyes snapped back open - and she looked at him.
“Trust me,” Owl said, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the cacophony. “We’ll get through. Believe me.”
Slowly, she shook her head. “B-But there’s fire,” she whispered. “We can’t.”
”Trust me,” Owl said.
“But we’ll-”
“I’m not going to let you get hurt,” Owl said, smiling faintly. His nostrils were starting to fill with a strange, acrid tang - not smoke, exactly. But something. Something bad. They didn’t have time to sit around and talk through this. He squeezed her hand more tightly. “We just have to keep moving.”
Her eyes flicked to the storm-filled hallway - then back to him. “I...I don’t-”
“No guest will come to harm in the Library. Not while I have any say in the matter.”
Please. Please work with me.
He didn’t think it was possible, but what little color Olivia had left started to drain away. But, there - she nodded. It was a tiny motion, barely visible, but it was there.
He squeezed his hand around hers again. “Come on.”
When he turned toward the doorway, this time, he felt her fall into line behind him - even if her fingers dug into the sleeve of his jacket forcefully enough to be painful.
They ran.
His eyes were glued to the hallway beyond the door - and the blue-laced flames that lapped at the ceiling, the walls.
Keep moving. Don’t stop. He took a deep breath, holding the image in his mind. He’d have to be fast and strong. He couldn’t pause to work it all out. And if he slipped...
He didn’t want to think about what’d happen if he lost control in the midst of the maelstrom.
As the doorway shot past, he pushed out hard with his free hand. His fingers arched, gripping the air. And from his palm-
The first flickers of storm swept down toward them, and were met by the wall of light pouring from his hand.
Fire above - and a thin barrier between it and them. Owl smiled thinly, with a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Here in this position, caught underneath a sheen of falling flames, something rattled at the back of his mind. A voice, a scene. A memory, just beyond the edge of remembering.
Olivia’s fingernails dug in deeper. He shook his head, plowing onward.
His fingers trembled. He clenched them tighter, the heel of his palm thrust toward the ceiling as though he could keep them safe by will alone. He could. He had to. Every time the shield flickered, growing a little dimmer, he focused his thoughts in tighter. And every time, it seared back to life, holding strong.
Just a little more. The path ahead of them was still clear, but for the ever-eroding ceiling and the gusts of wind that carried waves of glistening blue into their path. Droplets of that same blue liquid as before were dripping from overhead, landing on the stonework floor with an an angry hiss.
Olivia was panting behind him, a sob just underneath every ragged gasp. He could feel it too - the burning that crept into their lungs, the tang of something filling the air. When she stumbled, he yanked her back upright, dragging her on, until-
The world exploded into clear, clean light around them. Owl’s shock was so complete he nearly tripped over his own feet.
The hallway was past - and it’d dumped them out into a low-ceilinged, shelf-lined room. His breath caught in his chest at the sight of the magical storm sweeping in from the far corner. The ceiling there was gone, but the books...
The books remained on their shelves. His gaze snapped forward, to a set of doors half-hidden by the clouds and dust and debris stirred by the destruction. Something screamed in the back of his mind to look, to watch. That he’d seen something.
As if on command, one of the doors wobbled again - and pushed inward. A figure stood in the doorway, all but obscured by the chaos.
Will. Owl’s heart leapt. Will was here - which wasn’t great, all things considered. It’d be better if their guest was safe and sound in Alexandria’s heart. But him being with Owl was a close second.
Books cascaded across the room like missiles. Owl tugged Olivia closer, shifting his shield. The tomes bounced off it with one heavy-sounding thud after another, hard enough to send ripples of agony down his arm. His eyes were wide. One good hit from those things would be enough to knock Olivia out. Or him.
But Will was across the room. The path they were following put them running across a narrow, dangerous path between the books and the storm, which was not a good place to be. Not when the Library’s texts seemed to be drawn to him as though magnetized.
But Will. He was there.
And he’d found them a way out. The sight of a familiar stone hallway was a palpable relief. Owl laughed hoarsely, pulling Olivia on behind him. Once they were in the main hall, it’d be a mostly-straight shot back to the sitting room. Olivia and Will would be safe, and-
The wall alongside them groaned ominously. Owl froze, the world slowing about him as his eyes lifted skyward.
A section of the wall loomed over him.
Ah.
He could see it in an instant, now that he was looking - the way the timbers had bowed out, teeming with the powers they kept restrained. And when they’d finally given out, the storm had nothing left to keep it in.
Blue fire spread across the ceiling, crackling with lightning and setting the hair on his neck to standing. The wood and stone it touched vanished one scrap at a time, worn out.
And in the end, it’d worn through the end of one massive timber entirely.
Shit. Owl could only stare at the chunk of wall as it plummeted towards him. Olivia still clung to his arm - and the other was occupied with keeping the book-sized missiles at bay. A magical shield, a desperate run - and now a wall tumbling down on them, burning with magical fire?
Even for the Librarian, there were limits.
He didn’t have a hand. And he didn’t have the mental composure to react fast enough. He just had enough time to slow his run, tucking Olivia against his back where she’d have a chance of being sheltered, and-
A figure darted out of the billowing smoke and debris in front of him, swinging wildly.
No. Owl’s mind turned to horror in an instant. Will. No.
The piece of wall crashed down onto them - and he saw the faint shape of Will’s hands rising from out of the smok
e.
It was impossible. It was a piece of wall. It was on fire. But somehow, when it crashed down, the figure held. The heavy wood shuddered to a stop. And-
The storm swirled dangerously, parting for an instant - and the figure it revealed was...not Will. Definitely not Will.
It was a woman.
Owl gaped as the chunk of wall fell aside, missing him by inches.
Run, a voice snapped in his head, angry and sharp. Don’t just stand there.
He ran, remembering himself in an instant. Every blow of the books smashed against his shield with new strength, sapping at his energy. After a step, though, his head snapped back around. Whoever it was, whoever had helped them, if she stayed here, she’d be swallowed whole.
“Hey!” he cried. “Come on! We’re-”
The Library behind them was empty - just a mess of seething energy and flying books. There was no one there.
They were alone.
He stared for another moment, dumbfounded, until Olivia shoved him forward again. “Go!” he heard her cry. “Keep going, damn it!”
She was right. He forced himself to turn back around, charging forward. His eyes traced out the distance between him and the door, counting every step he had to take. His arms ached. His legs ached. His head ached, seething with an agony that burned deeper with every second.
Just one more step, he willed himself. Just take another.
His eyes glued to the door, he staggered onward, willing himself to keep moving, until at last-
Owl fell through the double doors into the hallway beyond, hitting the far wall with a gasp. Olivia hit his back a moment later, still gasping for air.
He stood there for a moment, his hands flat against the stone, and just...breathed. In and out.
You’re not done yet. Grimacing, he turned his head side to side, peering down the hallway in either direction.
Down one way, the path lay open - and he recognized the familiar trail that’d lead straight back to safety. The knot in his chest loosened fractionally.
