19. Paige
Paige
M y mind is whirring. Thoughts racing faster than I can even begin to grasp them. At the top of the list? Why the hell was Morris holding a book from the Vetus collection that only Hoc has access to?
Followed closely with: Why the hell was I able to open it—and close it for that matter? Only the head librarian has the power to access that particular section. And for good reason.
“You should have let me rip his spine out,” Aries growls as I drag him toward the back of the stacks where I can return this book and we can hopefully get away from here unseen.
“Yeah, because that would be an easy mess to explain.” As soon as we reach the open glass cabinet, I stop. We’re far enough back that no one will hear us, so I release his hand and fold nearly in half as I suck in a deep breath.
The book remains firmly clutched in my hands, silent now.
“What’s wrong?” Aries demands. “Are you hurt?”
“What? No.” I straighten again. “How did you even get here? You’re supposed to be in the basement, waiting for me to come get you.”
He shrugs. “I decided to check on you.”
I stare at him. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I can show you the tunnel if you like.”
I shake my head, too overwhelmed with what just happened to lecture him right now. “Never mind.”
“What’s wrong?” Aries asks.
“I’m just trying to figure this out. He shouldn’t have been able to even touch this book,” I tell Aries.
His brow furrows as he studies the simple leather jacket. “What is so special about it?”
“It’s full of ancient spells. Powerful alchemy that pre-dates even the library. The only person in the world who has access to the collection is Hoc.” I suck in another breath, and my heart rate begins to slow. “Why the hell does Morris want it?”
“If you’d let me catch the asshole, we could have asked him.”
I glare up at Aries. He’s clearly pissed that I didn’t let him destroy Morris right there for everyone to witness. “Fine. The next time that creepy-ass patron shows up, you can drag him into the shadows and rip him limb from limb. Deal?”
Aries is less than amused. “There shouldn’t need to be a next time.”
“There you are!”
“Fuck,” I mutter as Blossom jogs over. How she found us when we’re hidden so far out of sight is unsettling, but at least it’s not Morris. Or Hoc.
Aries turns to face her, and the unicorn looks him over appreciatively, gaze lingering on his impressive abs. Jealousy heats my cheeks. He’s my shirtless dragon. She can get her own.
“You are not supposed to be up here,” she says to Aries.
“My apologies.”
She turns to me. “Why is he here? Not that he’s not fantastic to look at, but Hoc is going to freak even more than when he finds out tall, dark, and delicious here is fucking you senseless every night and visiting you at work every day.
” Before I can come up with a reasonable response to either accusation, her gaze levels on the book in my hands and darkens. “Why do you have that book?”
“Morris had it,” I say as I hand it to her. “He was trying to open it.”
“This is from the...” Her eyes land on the symbol and then immediately dart to the open cabinet. “Holy shit. Did he unlock that?”
“I think so,” I tell her.
Her gaze turns molten. “That piece of... Where is he now?”
“The wizard ran off,” Aries replies. “Paige would not allow me to chase him down.”
“Wizard?” Blossom and I both echo.
“That perv isn’t a wizard,” Blossom says warily. “He’s a druid. He told me so.”
“My senses don’t lie,” Aries says simply, and Blossom’s eyes narrow as she mulls that one over.
I bite my lip. If he lied about being a wizard, why? And what did he mean about wanting to get free?
“What is it?” Aries asks, and I realize they’re both watching me, which means my expression must have given away my concern.
“He told me he wanted my help to get free,” I say.
“Free of what?”
“I don’t know. He said he wants to get out. He seemed desperate and, for whatever reason, believes I can help him with it.”
“He was going to attack you,” Aries says in a dangerous tone.
“Well, he’s damn sure getting out of this library.” Blossom’s expression borders on murder, and I have a feeling she intends to do exactly that if she catches up with Morris before he portals home. She nods at Aries. “You need to get him back to your apartment. I need to find Hoc.”
“I can find my own way.” Aries turns and hoists himself easily up the towering shelf until he’s perched on the top. Above him, the ceiling tiles are already slid aside to reveal the opening he used to come down.
“Don’t get caught,” Blossom replies. “And while I have no idea how you’re getting in and out--”
“The tunnels between floors are—”
She holds up a hand to keep us both from responding. “Nor do I want to know. You’d damn well better leave the library or I’ll have to kick your ass. Please don’t make me do that.”
The corners of Aries’ lips twitch in a half smile.
“Understood.” His dark gaze flicks to me, and my breath catches.
“I’ll see you back at your place.” I nod, understanding what he can’t say out loud—that it must be safe to return home tonight, which is at least some good news—and then watch as he hoists himself through the hole in the ceiling and disappears.
I watch as the ceiling tile slides back into place like he was never here at all.
The moment Blossom seems satisfied that he actually left, she whirls on me.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I came up here and found Morris trying to open that book from the Vetus collection. When he saw me, he freaked and started babbling about me freeing him.”
“How’d he get the case open in the first place?” she muses, eyes darting to the glass cabinet again.
“No idea.” She looks back at me, and I know what she’s thinking.
The only creature remotely powerful enough to do it is a wizard. Which is why wizards are banned from the alchemy section in the first place.
“Did he open it?” she demands. “The book?”
For some reason, I hesitate. “What do you mean?” Blossom is on my side for now, but at the end of the day, she’ll always choose herself and her own freedom. Opening a book I shouldn’t have the power to open seems like a surefire way to put us on separate teams.
“I heard you yell the incantation to close a book. Did he open it?”
I swallow hard. “Yes.”
The lie is vile on my tongue. But she can’t know that I somehow managed to open it.
Not yet. Not until I understand just how in the hell an intern like me was able to open a powerful book like that.
Besides, who’s to say it wasn’t Morris pulling some trick?
A whispered spell or a charm cast before I arrived upstairs?
Not that any of his magic should be possible inside the library, but he did manage to open the case, so who’s to say he didn’t find a way to use magic?
“Shit.” Blossom reaches into her pocket and withdraws a small communicator. “Hoc, I need you upstairs in the alchemy section ASAP.”
“On my way,” he replies, the scratchy sound of his deep voice echoing through my ears.
Panic surges through my veins. “You aren’t going to sound the alarm so everyone can search for him?”
She shakes her head. “If he’s managed to get his hands on the Vetus collection, protocol dictates I alert only the librarian. This has to be handled delicately.”
Delicately. In other words, his fate will be determined by the library itself.
And chances are, he’s not going to live much longer.
I might have been fine with that if it didn’t mean getting caught up in the crossfire.
And considering I’d been standing beside the guy when it happened, there’s a good chance I’ll have to answer for this too.
“He didn’t read any of it. I caught him just as the book opened.”
Her gaze lands on me. “That’s good news.”
A portal opens just beside us, and Hoc steps through right as it closes. His long robe dusts the floor, his leather shoes peeking out from beneath the hemline. His expression is hard, his brows furrowed in worry. “What is it?”
Blossom hands him the book, and Hoc’s eyes widen. “Where did you get this?”
Blossom nods at the unlocked cabinet, and Hoc’s expression deepens with worry.
“Paige walked in on Morris trying to open it.”
“Morris?” Hoc asks sharply.
“A visitor.” She sighs. He’s been requesting Paige show him around the last couple of days.”
Hoc’s gaze darts to me. “How did he get this?”
“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “He already had it when I came upstairs earlier.”
“What exactly has this Morris been looking for?”
“He said he was writing an article on ancient alchemy and getting back to the old ways of magic,” I say, my voice wavering ever so slightly. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
Hoc reaches out and clasps my shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Paige. You couldn’t have known he had nefarious intentions.”
“Sir,” Blossom says tightly, “you should know that I have reason to believe the visitor might have lied about his origins.”
Hoc drops his hand from my shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Blossom hesitates, and my stomach clenches while I wait to see if she’ll reveal her source. “He came in as a druid...but new information suggests he might be a wizard.”
“I see.” Hoc frowns.
I swallow hard, guilt settling on my shoulders like a boulder.
“We will put the library on high alert,” Hoc says.
“Do we close the library down?” Blossom asks.
Hoc considers her question then shakes his head. “Not yet. That would only deter him.”
“Isn’t that the point?” Blossom asks.
“Not quite. If what you say is true, this Morris could be a credible threat. If that’s the case, I owe it to the library to pursue him. We want him to come back.”
“We do?” I squeak the two words out, hoping I’m not giving too much away with my fear.
Hoc smiles though it’s not a friendly one. “We do,” he repeats. “Because that’s how we’re going to catch him.” He holds his hand over the cover and whispers, “Semita ipsam Apertio.”
Track the opener.