Arnie shook his head. “The time it takes differs every time. If you follow the process, it always works, no matter how long it takes a character to arrive.”
A shiver rippled over Stella’s body.
Arnie continued, “If you bring out more than one, they interact with one another, and let me tell you, they don’t always get along. Captain Ahab is a challenging man with a singular focus, and Elizabeth Bennet couldn’t stand him at all. His arrogance nearly undid her good manners on multiple occasions. At the same time, I’d also brought out Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Scarlett O’Hara, and Atticus Finch.”
Stella blurted, “What were you thinking?”
Arnie almost laughed. “That was probably the most complicated two weeks I’ve ever had with a group of characters. I could have sent someone back early, but that’s an unpleasant choice. After that, I decided I would bring no more than four here at a time. Much more and they’re difficult to control. But I’ve also brought out only one at a time, depending on who it is and how much one-on-one time I want.”
Stella closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Was it possible she’d released characters into the library today?
“Listen, kiddo, Iknowhow it sounds. Like maybe they have me on too many meds. I get it. This is partly why I never told you.”
Were Captain Hook and Robinson Crusoe roaming the library right now? With unsuspecting Vicki and Dan alone with them?
“Jack!” Stella said, remembering how she’d told him to leave. Would he,could he, leave?
Not understanding her sudden alarm, Arnie nodded. “I suggestedBeyond the Southern Horizonto your dad. Did you know that? I always loved that story. Your dad enjoyed some military fiction, which was why I suggested the book to him, but I didn’t know he’d pass thatlove on to you and Percy. I can’t remember the first year I brought Jack out, but we bonded. That doesn’t happen with all the characters, but Jack and I formed a friendship. He has a special interest in Blue Sky Valley, since it’s his birthplace, and of course, I talked about you and Percy a lot.
“From the first time he arrived, Jack was taken with you and Percy. I thought, in time, I might share the library secrets with both of you, and Percy could meet one of his heroes. I knew you had a crush on Jack, but what young person doesn’t have a fictional girlfriend or boyfriend? You were too young for any of that nonsense for years, but the other day you mentioned wishing there was a clone of Jack, which was oddly coincidental since I’d brought him out a few days before. I thought maybe it was time to tell you the truth and you could meet him.”
Stella lifted her cup of coffee with a trembling hand. The liquid had gone cold, and the bitterness sat on her tongue before she swallowed. Her pulse quickened at her temples. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper. “This is... a lot.”
Arnie’s features softened for a moment and he nodded. “Stella, I’m not making up fairy tales here. As unbelievable as it all sounds, it’s still true. The world is full of the impossible. You know what Roald Dahl said.”
Stella stood from the bed and walked over to the window. “Yeah, yeah, if we don’t believe in magic, we’ll never find it.” She stared down at a long stretch of asphalt rippling in the summer heat. Her heart filled with a tickle of hope. After a couple of years of heartache and loss, shewantedto believe the world might hold a little bit of wild magic.
Stella looked at Arnie. “Why have you waited all these years to tell me?”
“Kiddo,” he said, “I’m sorry I haven’t been honest with you aboutall of this, but I wasn’t sure you’d want this life. Once I realized what was possible with books, all other paths for me evaporated. I felt responsible to the magic, to the library.” Arnie sat up straighter. “There are warnings. Consequences when things go wrong.”
Stella sensed a shift in Arnie’s mood. “Like what?”
“Icouldhave used the magic anywhere, and I did. But being in the library allows me the ability to keep the characters safe,” Arnie explained.
Stella’s mouth went dry. “Safe from what?”
“The world,” Arnie said. “Do you know why I asked you to keep them in the library?” Stella shook her head. “If they get out in the world, they could get lost or hurt or worse. They can die.”
Stella’s forehead wrinkled. “After two weeks, wouldn’t they just disappear back into their books?”
Arnie’s shoulders sagged. “No. They can’t get too far from the source of the magic.”
Stella returned to the bed and sat on the edge. Arnie’s distress filled the air with a suffocating heaviness. “What happens if they do?”
“If they die, they’re gone. Forever,” he said. “They disappear forever from every book, every article, every piece of history. Except”—he tapped his fingertip against the side of his head—“from in here. People hold on to the memory of that character for as long as they have it, but it feels like a dream, and no one in the future will ever be able to know those characters or love them. Even the authors who wrote the characters are forever separated from their creation. It’s terrible.”
Stella hesitated before saying, “You sound like you’ve experienced it.”
He met her gaze. “Do you rememberThe Treasure of Ruby Lou?”
“Yes!” Stella said immediately, and then a cloudy sensation pulsed through her brain. “Well... I think so. Two best friendswent on a treasure hunt in an enchanted forest, or was it a quest for a wishing well?” The harder Stella tried to remember, the more evasive the memory became.
“Remember the author?” Arnie asked.
Stella shook her head. “No.” Her chest tightened. It wasn’t like her to forget books or authors.
“One day I brought out Ruby Lou and her best friend, Pearl,” Arnie said. An expression of immense guilt tugged his features downward. “They were witty and adventurous... and rebellious. They snuck out of the library, and I searched for them all over town for days. I never found them, Stella. I hoped they were living somewhere, happy and unharmed, but a few days after the two-week mark, their book disappeared from the library. After an extensive internet search, I realized they had vanished from existence. Their book never written.”
