Maggie Grey
The library was always deceiving. A small building with a lobby the size of a square and a large front desk that nobody was manning at the time. We stood inside the flickering lamp light as we looked around.
“Hellooooo?” I called out as I leaned my arm against the desk. Ayira looked around, eyes wandering on the paintings and wall as she adjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder. “Somebody is usually here at the desk to sign us in.”
I leaned over the counter to look at the computer still freshly on, a half-eaten donut because where in the hell did you find that at such an hour, and some paperwork.
The doors were just beyond the desk with the lanyard key by the printer.
I looked at the back double doors where the labyrinth maze of books and knowledge were being held.
Looking back at Ayira, she chipped at one of the fake plants before jumping back with a startled expression of a child.
“These are not real!” She said, amazed before laughing. “These are fake!”
“Yes, they’re fake. It’s for decoration.”
She pinched the plastic leaf with a laugh before touching another.
“So strange…this place… Our library looks nothing like this. Where are the books?”
When she turned to look at me, still pinching the plant I decided to go for it.
I snatched the lanyard up and walked around towards the double doors.
Fuck it. Once I get a hold of my parents, I settled with the idea of not ever coming back to Drew Collins.
I could get a basic teaching job above ground or below without finishing a degree here, especially since I technically already have one.
“Come on,” I said.
Never mind that my head wasn’t in the right mental space. Maybe after a few hours of digging around books, I’d go sobbing back to Namir and begging for forgiveness.
“Yeah the fuck right,” I muttered as the doors unlocked.
The stairs that went down gave us a view of the library’s core center through the glass walls, showing what looked like a hive of books and shelves that just went on for miles below ground.
Everything was in dark blood red from the carpet to the dim lights and furniture.
Nothing short of a vampire’s lair but the black art was astounding to say the least. We stepped onto the sixth level of the library, walking into a thick scent of paper and wood with the cold air wrapping around our skin like a blanket.
“I think we’re the only ones in here,” I said as I walked over to the main rail that overlooked the rest of the floors from above and below.
“Where is the forbidden section?” Ayira asked. I pointed down to where it was nothing but darkness as we shared the same look. “Do the lights not work there?”
“No because we aren’t meant to go there,” I whispered as if to say duh. “I brought a flashlight.”
Digging into my bag, I pulled out the small light and tapped it a few times to pop it on. When nothing happened, I shook it again, hearing the batteries rattle and tried to click it on and off. Still nothing.
“We have phones, yes?”
“Right,” I said with a nod before pointing to the stairs. “Let’s go.”
We took the side steps that led all the way down, passing each level of books from myths to Gods, slavery, wars, and culture.
Everything you needed to know that touched black skin, it was in this library.
There were rumors and whispers of spirits lingering and others from different places around the world coming to this very library which meant there was a door… or several working doors here.
It was also the reason I came because I could easily leave without being noticed and come back without being missed. I just needed to find a working door.
“This is it,” I said as we came up to a gated floor.
It was closed off unlike the rest of the floor and I could tell just from the feel that it was pitch black down here.
I tapped the lanyard key against the door, seeing the small green button light up before the doors magically unlocked from the top to bottom.
Without hesitation, I pulled my phone out to use the light but paused when I realized the light wasn’t working on my phone. Not even the screen.
“It is truly forbidden,” Ayira whispered. “They do not want anyone down here.”
The door was wide open, and it looked like we were stepping into the true color of pitch black.
You could not see your hand in front of your face type of black.
So she took a deep breath, inhaling hard before bits of blue light escaped through the corners and cracks of her teeth and mouth.
She stretched her hand out and the small bit of flame burning bright orange released like a small ball before growing into a steady flame that lit up the darkest section of the library.
“We are going to have to make this quick,” I whispered.
The door suddenly slammed shut behind us as the locks could be heard clicking back into place. We kept close as we took a few steps forward, seeing the tightly packed shelves stuffed with books on either side of us.
“What is the name of it?” She whispered. “The book?”
“Oh um…” I dug into my bag for the note as she held her hand against the shelves to read.
“Tongue binding,” Ayira began to read out loud as she walked down the row of books.
I had to follow given she was the only source of light, and every so often to keep the fire lit, she would release flutters of flame either through the corners of her mouth or nose like a soft exhale as the flame grew stronger in her hand.
It was as if she was holding her breath and would come up for air every so often.
“There is a book called The Devil’s Auction… Coven Wars…”
“The book is called Bloodwork…The Ritual of Red Binding…” I read out loud. “By Daniel Hammond. A law student at Montclair…back in 1986. He supposedly wrote a book about the darkest spells and curses known to man and the legalities of creating a contract with them.”
I followed as she used her other hand to touch a spine that said the Old World of Sakuran.
“This is my home,” she whispered with a smile. The low-lit flame danced in her eyes when she glanced at me. “This is where I am from…Sakuran…He was the king before my father, my grandfather.”
“Well pull it out,” I said. She pulled the book out just as we both jumped back at something black tipping across the spine.
She dropped the book as we heard the tiny legs of a spider crawling back into the darkness of the shelves.
There was a sudden sound of a door above opening and closing shut as we froze and looked up at the distant red lights of the levels above.
We quickly stepped further into the shelves where the ceiling started as she covered the flame with both hands to keep it low to her chest. Her eyes closed; she remained completely still while I did the same.
I could hear walking and a few voices before the door closed again and it became silent.
Ayira opened one eye, showing the bright flame of the sun before they blinked back to its natural color.
Her mouth opened for a second like she was finally able to breathe, and you could see the ball of flames go from bright yellow to blue as she released another breath to ignite the flame in her hand.
“You’re like a literal oven,” I whispered in awe. Reaching down to grab the book, I told her we needed to move quickly. We started to move around the shelves, winding in that slow circle that wrapped the lair of books, looking for the name Hammond, Daniel Hammond.
“Here,” Ayira whispered as she pointed to the small corner where she sat her things down. “It would have to be close to here…Let’s sit down and see.”
We sat down and began to read the row of names on the bottom shelf until we came across the exact book. Daniel Hammond. Smiling, I started to yank it out before remembering the spider creeping behind the spines and pages.
“Blood contracts, blood contracts,” I muttered, going through the pages.
Ayira held her hand in the center, exhaling another breath of flames through her nose as the flame continued to grow.
She sat her book in her lap and began reading in her language as she flipped through.
“I found it!” I hissed excitedly. “It says…No spell is truly unbreakable, but the cost is unimaginable…these are his notes! He wrote down his actual notes about a blood contract…”
“What else does it say?”
“Blood work is one of the oldest forms of human magic…It binds wills, manipulates identities, and can cross several generations in the form of a contract or deep spell…This is meee!” I hissed with excitement as I tapped her knee. “This is it! It says…only a witch…. can do and undo what is done…”
I grew quiet, feeling somewhat discouraged as I continued to read.
“I cannot hold it this long,” Ayira whispered before shaking her hand loose to cool off as it went pitch black. I could hear her release a shaky breath as we sat in darkness for a moment.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered, looking back. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear what sounded like…something crawling. “You think this place has rats?” I whispered as I scooted closer to her. Something was scurrying on the floor.
“I do not like this,” she whispered before muttering what sounded like a prayer in her language.
When she became quiet, that’s when the noise stopped.
I could hear Ayira lean forward as she gently released the smallest flame that had the biggest glow.
It was enough for us to work with but when she looked up at me, she gasped with the light going out just as I felt a hard grip on my shoulder of a dark hand with lengthy fingers.
Before either of us could scream, our bodies warped into the air, completely disappearing from the library altogether.