Chapter 22 - Thorne
Thorne
I stepped out of my book and immediately stumbled as the floor of the library moved, groaning and sliding like something was ripping the library in half.
The shelves quivered and the books huddled together like an earthquake was trying to shake them apart.
I made my way downstairs, pausing every time the floor shifted, until I found the others.
Every story spirit was circled around the great book tree, hands on its bark as they murmured words of encouragement.
Lisa waved me over as Mochi ran high into the branches to console the tree.
The golem wrapped its arms around the tree too, the side of its face pressed against the bark like it was holding on for dear life.
“Everything’s okay,” the golem said loudly. “It’s all okay, Misty. We are here. For you.”
I stormed over, feeling Misty’s panic in my chest like it was my own.
Our connection flickered but calmed a little when I added my own hand to the tree’s bark.
I closed my eyes, trying to bring our connection into focus.
Bright green wild magic surged through the tree, twisting around the golden library magic like roots that wouldn’t let go.
“It’s all the patrons,” Lisa whispered. “There’s been so many people reading here every day that Misty’s magic has exploded. None of us know what’s going to happen next.”
An ache swept through my chest, for Misty and for Willow.
She was stuck inside a book with no way of getting out.
I’d assumed that Misty and the librarians would figure it out, but if the library’s magic was this chaotic, then who knew what would happen to her.
I couldn’t let her get stuck there, never to see her Gran again.
“Misty.” My voice was hoarse, full of emotion for this library that had believed in me enough to call me here in its hour of need once again. “It’s time to embrace your magic, all of your magic. Just let go and see where it takes you. We’re all here. We’ll help however you need us to.”
Lisa nodded. “Don’t fight the wild magic, it’ll just get more chaotic otherwise.”
The tree shuddered, clinging to us with its branches. Another rumble, far greater than the rest, rocked the library as the sound of creaking wood and fallen shelves made me wince. The floors were expanding, growing larger and larger by the minute. The library was growing!
Nyssa ran towards us, breathing heavily. “The patrons are all outside and Roan’s leading them down the mountain. We’re fine, so do whatever you need to do.”
“About time you showed up,” I grumbled. She was the librarian, but she seemed to care more about the patrons than the library itself. “What happened to set this in motion?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too, Demon Lord. Are you here to mock or to actually help?”
My connection to Misty warmed, like the library was seeking me out for something.
It reminded me of the first night I’d woken up in the library when the wild magic storm was raging out of control, ripping holes in the roof with lightning crackling all around us.
Misty had felt desperately alone then and terrified of the storm that was hurting it.
The library had summoned us not just to protect it, but to keep it company. Maybe now Misty needed us for more. Needed us to be its strength.
“Join hands,” I commanded, turning back to find the dragons clinging to the shelves. “And you guys, come over here.”
One by one they flew over to us, landing on our shoulders, heads, horns, anywhere that they felt safe.
The knights came next, lining up along the base of the tree and climbing up the golem’s arm until they were securely in place.
I reached out my hands, putting them on either side of the great book tree on top of Lisa’s hand and the golem’s.
Mochi rushed down, booping his nose against our hands as well.
Together we encircled the tree with love and trust. We wouldn’t exist without the library and we wouldn’t ever forget it.
Misty was part of us, the best part of us.
We’d all been so focused on other things, from the overflow of new patrons to the story contest, that we hadn’t had as much time for the library as usual.
I leaned forward, bowing my head against the great book tree’s bark. “Misty, we’re here for you. You have nothing to fear. I’ll slay anything that tries to harm you, scare off any foe. I’ll be your shield and your protector, just like I’ve always been.”
“I’ll be your librarian and your friend,” Lisa whispered, resting her forehead against the tree as well.
The knights lifted their swords as one from on top of the golem’s shoulders. “We continue to be at your command. We will fight for you and stay by your side. We are your friends.”
“Library is my friend,” the golem rumbled, gripping the tree even tighter. “Best friend.”
Mochi chittered the same, producing Misty’s favorite tea to pour onto the tree’s roots. The dragons soared, dipping in and out of the branches. We’d all come from different books, but there was one thing uniting us: our love for this library.
“You’re safe with us.” I tried to send as much warmth and reassurance through our bond as I could. “Just relax and let the magic flow through you. Share it with us if you need to. We can handle it.”
Golden light fell from the branches above us like little orbs of sunshine, floating through the air and bathing us in a brilliant light.
My connection to the library grew stronger, even more vivid than before, as we each took a bit more of its magic, stabilizing it.
Misty would never have to bear this burden alone.
We were just as much a part of this library as the shelves and the books.
We were story spirits.
The floor slowly stopped shaking and Misty’s branches relaxed, resting lightly on our shoulders. I pulled back with a smile as Lisa and the others grinned.
“That was amazing,” Nyssa whispered, her eyes wide as she spun around to take in the new library. “It’s so much bigger! Look at all those new rooms!”
She was right, there had to be at least six new areas and a double wide set of stairs that looked like it led to a lower level that hadn’t existed before.
The Misty Mountain Library had grown, that’s for sure.
A sense of calm washed over everyone as they wandered around to explore the new growth, but I stayed by Misty, not ready to walk away just yet.
This all could have gone much worse, but we weren’t totally out of the woods yet.
Willow was still stuck in my book against her will.
A book flew past my head with a tiny knight riding on it like it was a horse, whooping and hollering like the library hadn’t just gone through an emotional and magical crisis that changed the entire shape of the building.
I shook my head, watching as the purple dragon who so loved perching on my horns chased after the knight.
He flipped tail over head when he saw me though, flying back as quickly as he could.
The dragon cried out, spreading his arms wide to latch onto my shoulder with tiny little claws.
“You again.” I patted the flying lizard’s head reluctantly, knowing they never left unless I showed a little affection first. “Now go back to chasing that knight of yours.”
The dragon nuzzled against me for a moment before taking off, flying after the knight to continue their game.
The dragons and knights were always up to something from tag to wrestling to some kind of fireball game.
Maybe this was a race and my distraction would make the purple one lose.
Hmm...I didn’t love that idea. I followed his flight long enough to see him pounce on the book carrying the knight.
They all went down, landing on a soft couch that I didn’t remember being there before.
“You’re something else, Misty.” I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, getting lost in our connection.
It felt like the library was still a little unstable though, like it hadn’t given us as much magic as it could have.
I ran my fingers across the bark. “Were you worried you’d overwhelm us earlier?
That’s nonsense, I’m the Demon Lord. Give me as much magic as you want. ”
Our connection warmed as the library did exactly that, trusting me to protect it like I always had.
My entire body felt like it was lighting up, humming with magic like never before.
I kept my eyes closed and relaxed into the tree, letting myself drift off as Misty and I shared a dream filled with beautiful library magic.
After a while, I woke up, blinking in the soft light of the library.
How many hours had passed? I stood up, my body stiff like it had been at least a few hours.
I stretched my arms, loosening the tension that had built up in my muscles.
The library was so quiet, like it used to be before all the patrons had returned, and I found myself feeling quite at home again.
“Nyssa was looking for you.” Lisa sipped a cup of tea at a table nearby, giving me a strange look. “I’ve never seen you fall asleep like that. You seemed so peaceful and content. We didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
I sighed. “Well you should have. I needed to talk to her about Willow.”
Lisa shrugged. “Well, go find her then. She’s holed up with Oren researching just that.” When I was almost out of earshot, she called out one last thing. “And thank you for coming back. We all appreciate it, Demon Lord.”
My eyes widened, but she was already back to reading her book when I turned to look at her. I hadn’t done anything special, but it felt like we were closer somehow. Like family. I didn’t hate that idea and felt myself walking back.
“My name’s Thorne now,” I said softly. “Not Demon Lord.”
She lifted her gaze, smiling brighter than I’d ever seen her smile. “That’s wonderful to hear. Thorne is a good name.”
I nodded and cleared my throat, not sure why I’d even told her that or what else I should say.
So I said nothing. I just walked away so I could look for Nyssa.
Lisa hummed behind me, and it made me smile for some reason.
It felt like I’d been gone for months instead of weeks, and seeing the story spirits again wasn’t so bad.
Walking through all the open areas felt surreal though, like this was an entirely different library than before.
There was so much room for extra shelves and hundreds more books.
Maybe even thousands. All I needed right now was answers though, and there was only one person who could give them to me: Nyssa.
I found her and Oren surrounded by books, all flipped open in a circle around them as they sat cross-legged on the ground.
Ink stained Nyssa’s hands and smeared her face as she wrote notes on various pieces of parchment scattered around.
Her hair was tied up with a string, but wisps of it were falling out like she’d been tugging at it.
Roan sat outside the circle, leaning against a pillow wall with his eyes closed as he calmly pet the three-headed beast everyone loved so much.
Cerberus’ tail started wagging when I stepped closer.
I gave him my best stern look to remind him to stay put, but he hopped up and came by me anyway, licking my hands and jumping up so his paws were on my legs.
His mouths were open in big goofy puppy grins.
He’d start drooling on me soon if I wasn’t careful.
I scratched behind his ears before pushing him down.
I’d forgotten what a handful these story spirits were! But it was nice that they’d missed me...
Roan opened his eyes, inclining his head when he noticed me. “Demon Lord.”
“Adventurer,” I answered back. We hadn’t bonded like him and the other story spirits had, but I respected his desire to protect them and the library. Plus, he had been useful at times. “I’m looking for an update on the Willow situation.”
He motioned at Nyssa and Oren with a shrug before closing his eyes and apparently going back to sleep.
Okay, maybe he wouldn’t be so useful this time.
I turned to the others who were bent over books, so lost in whatever they were reading that neither moved to answer me.
I absently pet the three-headed beast while I waited for one of them to snap out of it, but after a few minutes, I’d had enough.
Each minute we wasted was another Willow had to spend away from her family.
“Can you rescue Willow or not?” My shadows crossed the little book circle of theirs, sweeping over the text they were trying to read. “That is what you’re working on, right?”
Nyssa finally glanced up at me, her forehead scrunched up. She rubbed her eyes and tilted her head like she was coming out of some kind of trance. “Yeah, we’ve been working on it a bit each day.”
“So can you get her out or not?” I asked.
Oren took his glasses off to clean them as they shared some kind of silent conversation, staring at each other and shaking their heads.
“Well, about that...” Nyssa stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of her clothes. “We’ve tried a few things, different artifacts and spells, but nothing’s worked. And with the library’s magic going a bit haywire lately, we haven’t had as much time to figure it out as we’d like.”
Logically, that made sense, but I didn’t like hearing that she wasn’t their priority. She deserved better than that. “She’s literally stuck in a book. If word got out about that–”
“Don’t even think about it.” Nyssa shook her head firmly. “I am still trying to get Willow out, yes, but the library’s growth needs to be looked into as well. I’m guessing it’s all connected. Misty has never had this many patrons before and the tree is literally overflowing with magic.”
I knew that, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
Misty obviously didn’t know how to control its wild magic, not yet, so I couldn’t force the library to bring Willow back.
All I could do was rely on these librarians to figure something out.
I needed somebody who could see the big picture, but they were too overwhelmed to do anything but put out fires right now.
“Just get her out.” I took a deep breath and forced myself to walk away. Threatening them wouldn’t get me anywhere. “I’m going to visit the apothecary.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you.” Nyssa grinned, waving goodbye. “Tell Mable we say hi and we’re doing our best for her granddaughter.”
If only their best was a little better. At least Willow was happy, getting all the information she could ever want from the hero.
They’d been thick as thieves the past few days, laughing and brainstorming better than I ever could.
They’d find a good ending to my story, I could feel it.
Even if the hero had done nothing but irritate me since he arrived.
Willow was too good of a writer to fail.