“We are the new owners,” I point out. “Surely that comes with autonomy over the guest list?”
“We can try,” she concedes as she glances around. “You think we need to bleed every time?”
I shrug. “I bleed more diurnals than not. For me, it’s not an issue.”
“No bleeding,” Hart snaps. “Find another way.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop being a baby. I can spare a little of the red stuff.”
Nash slides a dagger from his belt and offers it to me, handle first. “A drop,” he tells me.
I grin and prick my finger before handing it to Gwyneth to do the same. The room shrinks, and that same passageway appears. The knights stretch into the distance.
“Don’t worry, we just need to speak to the All Knowing,” I shout.
We make our way down the dark passage, eventually spilling into the library teeming with life. It looks brighter, more bustling than our previous visit.
“You have returned so soon,” the booming voice humming with power and knowledge states.
Too soon,is what he really means.
I wave the trident around. “I want to store this here for safekeeping.”
“Not possible. Idol artifacts cannot be held in the living library.”
“Why?”
“Because they can trace them, and that would lead them to this place.”
“And that’s bad?” Gwyneth wonders.
“It is. This place is sacred, untouched by the whims of those on power trips hungry for more. I cannot allow their insidious souls to taint it.”
“Okay, no trident storage. No problem, I’ll take it wi—” The trident spins in my hand before it launches down the dark passage behind us.
“Did Daphne try to skewer you?” Malachi’s faint voice asks with a chuckle.
“Hey, don’t injure my knights,” I warn the All Knowing. “I’m rather attached to them.”
“Even the grouchy one?” the All Knowing asks with a hint of amusement.
“Yes, all of them. Speaking of the knights, they need access.”
My gaze tracks a large rainbow-colored book which leaks glitter all over the floor as it floats past.
“That has never been done before,” the All Knowing answers.
“Never been done doesn’t mean can’t be done,” Gwyneth points out.
“For what purpose?”
“They are my support system,” I tell him. “Without them, I seem to get into more and larger messes.”
“They are your protectors.”
“That’s right.”
“You are in no danger here, so their presence is not warranted.”
