“She’s talking to the book,” Talton says, the tattletale.
“Stop that,” Roane commands, pointing a finger at me. “Give me that book.”
I bristle at the tone. “Relax, Mr. Almighty Guardian. I was bringing it to you.”
“No, you weren’t. It has to be quick, human.” He gestures at it. “Hand it over before it does something drastic.”
“Olm would never. He’d?—”
Ardruna jumps on me, and I yelp, stumbling back. Not fast enough, though. She grabs the book from my hand in her jaws and lopes away.
“Hey!” I yell. “Give it back!”
“Good girl, Druna.” Roane’s eyes flash at me, assessing, forbidding. Narrowing when I run after the lioness. “Give it to me.”
The damn lioness obeys, trotting over to him and dropping the book right into his hands.
I swear under my breath as I race to catch up with them. “Wait!”
“Stay back,” Roane says, approaching the wall and pushing Olm’s book into a niche, between two other books. Then he lifts his hand, the light intensifying. “Book of Olm. I bind you to this wall, to this library, to this world. I bind your contents, your characters and your soul to the Book of Areon and its roots andbranches. I bind your hands and feet, your body and mind, your heart and life, I?—”
“Aline!” Olm shrieks. “Don’t let him do that to me. It will hurt!”
“No, Roane!” Finally reaching him, I grab his arm. “He says it will hurt.”
Roane’s jaw clenches. “He’s not a person. He’s not real.” Shaking me off, he lifts his hand higher. “I bind you forever, I chain you to this wall?—”
“He’s real to me!” I shout.
“He’s just a character,” Roane hisses.
“Oh, I can see you are a real book lover.” I inject my voice with venom. “Give the book back to me!”
Roane sighs. “I can’t do that. You?—”
The book starts to shake on the shelf. It shakes faster and faster until it frees itself and falls to the floor. I watch, uncomprehending, fear snaking up inside me like a tendril, winding around me, paralyzing me.
What in the hells…?
“Fuck,” Roane breathes, shoving me back. “Take cover!”
“What? But?—”
“Take cover!” Talton squawks, flying about, black feathers showering us, “take cover!”
“Come.” Ardruna closes her teeth on the hem of my dress and drags me away, growling.
“But I can’t…” My mouth drops open at the sight greeting me. “Oh Gods!”
A gigantic serpent is slithering out of the book. It’s jade green with black zigzag patterns on its back, its triangular head big like a dog’s.
It doesn’t make sense. The book is too small for the creature exiting its pages. My head hurts at the impossibility of it. I standthere, frozen, watching as more and more of its enormous body appears.
Then Roane draws his scimitars free of their scabbards. “All of you, get the hell back!”
“Come, girl.” Ardruna tugs on my skirts. “Move away.”
“Olm!” I yell. “No, don’t do this! Olm!”
