Chapter 17
Ollie slowly and tiredly trudged forward, down the dark hallway, using his phone light to guide him. He wanted nothing more than to lie down on the ground and sleep. Holidays in the library were always hectic and tiring, but he felt more exhausted than normal.
He was very thankful that Noble and Red had offered to finish the closing procedures on the third floor.
Though he wasn’t exactly sure how helpful Red would be, but either way, Ollie didn’t have to check the rest of the lamps, so it was a win.
He wasn’t sure if he just hadn’t fully recovered from what happened energy-wise, or if it was the nightly magic practice.
Of course…it could possibly be that he was extra tired because he’d been chased by a wax zombie that had come to life.
A wax zombie that they definitely were going to have to pay for now that it was goop—goop that had been cleaned up and tossed.
He was going to have so much fun explaining the expense to Elias.
Ollie was starting to think he might as well practice lying, as he was obviously going to have to do so much more of it going forward.
On spotting a flash of somewhat familiar, semi-translucent whiteness near the ground disappear through the door leading up to his home, Ollie’s face pinched as he stopped mid-step.
Hesitating for a moment, he stared at the bottom of the door and sighed. There really was only one thing it could be, and he honestly may be too tired to deal with it right now. But it wasn’t like he had a choice, as well…it was his home…and bed…
He just wanted to go to sleep! Was that really too much to ask?!
Sighing again, Ollie walked forward and unlocked the door.
Stepping into the small space at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes widening the longer he stared, watching what appeared to be a ghost kitten ‘hop’ up the steps.
Its light-gray striped fluffy fur made him think the cat had probably been orange in life.
As the kitten disappeared inside, on reaching the top landing, Ollie shook himself out of his stupor and jogged up, rushing to unlock the door.
Opening it, Ollie found the ghost kitten waiting for him in his kitchen.
As soon as the little thing spotted him, it took off again, so he followed.
Ollie trailed the ghost down the hall, toward the double doors of his private library, which were, for some reason, closed.
The kitten, once again, disappeared through them.
Without hesitating, he pushed the doors open, his eyes widening as he stared into the dark room.
Well, it was dark except for an odd glow that, based on its shape and size, would suggest it was from light peeking through the cracks of a door.
But that should have been impossible, because there were no other doors in the room, aside from the one he’d just come through.
Swallowing nervously, Ollie reached over and flicked on the lights.
His eyes were slow to adjust as light lit up the mostly wooden room with navy-blue accents, exposing the high bookshelves that rose with the spiral staircase that led to his bedroom.
But when they did, he just stared wide-eyed as the previous glow remained, clearly outlining a hidden door in the bookshelves partly concealed behind the spiral wooden staircase.
Despite his trepidation, he started to approach, only to come to a sudden stop near the stairs, a startled scream slipping past his lips when something achingly cold brushed against his pant leg.
“Ollie reading it out loud set it in motion, didn’t it?” Noble mused as he walked down the hall, past the circular center of the third floor.
Red sighed. “Likely. The spoken word, even if unintended, can put more power behind actions than those that are just thought.”
“What exactly is his grimoire’s problem? Because, so far, by my count, it has put him in danger at least three times. Which is sort of the opposite of its purpose, last time I checked. And it is quickly moving up my list of people and things I want to hurt and/or destroy.”
The familiar let out a clearly frustrated hiss. “I damn well don't know. I have never come across one so stubborn, or so purposely confrontational and aggressive towards its own witch. I assumed it was due to the delays, but that was hardly Ollie’s choice.”
“Is there anything we can do to fix its attitude?”
Red chuckled. “I’m thinking of setting it on fire.”
Noble laughed. “Would that actually work?”
“The type of fire I’m speaking of would destroy it completely, resulting in Ollie’s grimoire reforming. Sort of reborn from the ashes type of results.”
“I didn’t realize witches got a new grimoire if theirs was destroyed.”
“That is likely because you never gave the witches you killed enough time for theirs to reform. But no witch exists without one. Grimoires are born of a witch’s magic, and are connected to their very soul.
As long as the witch survives, a new one will emerge.
At the same time, if a witch dies, then so does the grimoire, even if it continues to exist as an object. ”
“Which makes the actions of Ollie’s grimoire incredibly stupid. Is there a reason you haven’t burned it already?”
Red paused as they reached the already open door leading up to Ollie’s living quarters, his too-knowing eyes boring into him as he practically admonished, “You should know why already.”
Noble frowned, blinking before it dawned on him.
It honestly spoke to how tired he was that he’d even asked.
And Noble was tired. Dealing with the public for hours was not his thing.
He in fact liked his personal space, and hadn’t gotten to keep much of it for most of the day.
But the familiar was right, he knew exactly why Red hadn’t already done it.
As much as they may think a new grimoire would be better, or even safer, for Ollie, the fact was, destroying the one he already had would be devastating to his little witch.
As Red pointed out, the books were connected to their witches.
Noble knew for a fact that if they burned it, Ollie would experience every agonizing moment of it until the thing was reduced to ash.
He knew because he had witnessed it, or rather, he had done it himself and gleefully watched the results many times.
“Fuck…right,” he sighed.
Red grunted as he padded into the small space before the stairs, and when Noble stepped inside as well, the familiar asked, “Do you plan on staying the night?”
“I do.”
As he spoke, the door behind Noble closed ‘on its own’, the sound of the lock engaging loud in the silence. They had just reached the top of the steps when they heard Ollie screaming. While it cut off quickly, they took off running into the kitchen and down the hall.
“Ollie, are you okay?!” Noble yelled, just before reaching the open doors of his private library. But he stumbled to a stop as he rushed in and spotted Ollie.
With his back to them, the witch was crouched down near the spiral staircase. More alarming still, there was what looked to be a door in the shelving, partly hidden behind the stairs, cracked slightly open and glowing around the seams.
“Umm, that’s new,” he drawled slowly.
At the same time, Red snorted. “Have to say, of all the doors that could have unsealed, this is definitely one that I’d consider to be the most useful right now.”
Ollie looked at him sharply over his shoulder. “So you knew it was here?!”
The familiar shrugged. “Binding.”
The binding had been mentioned more than once before, but it sounded like there was a lot more to it than just someone trying to delay Ollie’s abilities from manifesting.
“Seriously?!” the witch huffed. “Like, I guess I realized something was wrong with the dimensions of my house, but like…?! How many doors am I missing, or rather, how many doors are there that I am unaware of?!”
Red opened his mouth, but…nothing came out.
“Binding?” Ollie said, monotoned.
“Binding,” the familiar confirmed.
“Ugh,” the man huffed as he stood up and faced them. Noble’s eyes widened when he spotted what appeared to be a translucent kitten in Ollie’s arms, which the little witch was definitely petting.
“Is that…”
A brilliant smile lit up Ollie’s freckled face as his Baby transferred the kitten to both hands and held it. “I found a kitten.” The smile dropped almost instantly after he said the words, his eyes becoming glossy and large with pure sadness, as he, with a small whimper, amended, “A ghost kitten.”
“I see…” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize you could pick up…or rather, touch ghosts.”
Ollie blinked. “I didn’t either.”
“He—” Red’s face scrunched up, as if he was in pain. “—shouldn’t be…able to.” A deep frown settled on the cat’s face, after clearly having to force the words out.
The reaction really just confirmed that there was a lot more to the binding that had been placed on Red than even the familiar might have known…
“Huh…well…I can,” Ollie pointed out, before gently placing the kitten down and looking back towards the secret door, as he rubbed his hands on his pants.
“Are you planning to explore tonight?”
The witch looked at him and hesitated before sighing heavily and sagging slightly where he stood. “It one hundred percent has magical nonsense behind it, and I just don’t think I have the energy or mental capacity to deal with it tonight. I’m tired.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” Ollie agreed. “Sleep first.”