I slowly unwrap the gauze from around my cut, placing the blood-soaked fabric in my hand.
“And I want to see you so badly.”
The creature’s head moves close enough for me to reach out and touch it.
I grasp the fabric in my trembling hand and throw it with all my might in the opposite direction. The wet fabric, filled with my scent, slaps against the end of the bookshelf, prompting the creature to hiss and whip its giant head around before quickly moving in that direction.
“I’m coming, little one. There’s nowhere you can run in my domain that I won’t find you.”
I push myself from the shelf and sprint in the opposite direction. I crash through a few books in a panic, but I don’t slow my speed as I round the corner, doubling back to race down the next bookshelf. My legs bark in protest, but I never slow my pace. Maybe if I can twist between these shelves, I can lose it.
I hear the creature hiss loudly, discovering the bloody cloth with no body attached.
“Devious little thing. You won’t fool me again.”
The slithering becomes so loud that my instinct is to cover my ears. As I sprint past each bookshelf, I scan the walls, desperately praying that I’ll see worn, red leather. I check my hands, thankful to see each Rigil still pronounced and dark on my skin.
Each bookshelf looks the same, and I start to feel hopeless thoughts creep into my mind, but I press on. Each winding shelf pulls me deeper into the library, making me fear I may never escape this place alive.
This was a very bad idea.
I hear the slithering a few aisles over, maintaining an even pace with me. I turn left out of the passage and feel a similar icy breeze cover my body. The creature is behind me.
I turn right into another long hallway filled with books and see it: a bright red book glowing over twenty shelves up in the dim lighting around us. The necklace around my neck begins to vibrate and warm. My senses flare, and I grab the jewel, as if it’s tempting me to move forward—to keep going in that direction—so I listen. With all I have, I know that is the book. That’s what I need to escape with if we want information.
I rush under the glowing leather book and look up. There is no way I can reach the book, so my only option is to begin climbing. I grasp onto the bottom shelf and carefully lift myself. My arm throbs against the weight, but I climb higher and higher, making sure each hand and foot placement is perfectly balanced on the old shelves.
I’m close, but not close enough to grab the book I’m so desperate to reach. The air in the passage shifts, and a strong, cold wind makes my body sway on the bookshelf. I look before me and pause. The creature’s long, serpentine body snakes below me, its black tongue tasting the air. I don’t let fear overtake me, and I move. Only a few rows separate me from the book. Maybe I can continue to climb up and use the tops of the shelves to rush back to the entrance.
I extend my arm and stretch my body toward the red book. My fingers barely graze the book's spine, so I plant my right foot and lift my opposite leg to lean toward the ancient text. Beads of sweat cover my brow, and horror fills my core. My lifted leg bumps into another book, causing it to leave the shelf and tumble to the ground. I watch the book descend into the darkness below me, and my world freezes.
The giant below me pauses and lifts its head using its wide, sharp claws at its side. The beast’s face becomes eye-level with me, invisible and frozen on the bookshelf. I’m trapped. If I move, it’ll know I’m here, and if I fall, it’s likely to do more damage to my body than good.
My chest heaves as I reassure myself that it can’t see me. It doesn’t know I’m here. Its long tongue flicks in and out, tasting the air.
I swallow and reach for the book, but I’m still not close enough.
The creature gazes directly into my eyes, and it smiles, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
“Hello, little one.”
Chapter 36
I’m too shocked to speak, and I’m too terrified to open my mouth.
The creature can’t possibly see me. The Rigils still show on my hands, gripping the shelves. I should be invisible; I should be undetected. This can’t be happening.
I stare into its hopeless eyes. My heart races, my legs feel numb, and I can’t blink. The markings are dry and sealed to my body.
Realization travels through me.
My face is covered in sweat, and my forehead is soaked. It’s not sweat that’s dripping down, it’s blood. The blood that is supposed to be guarding me from the creature staring directly into my eyes.
I open my mouth to speak, but words don’t come out.
“Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?”The words echo in my mind.
The creature’s mouth doesn’t open. It only stares, and I realize it’s speaking only into my mind, not into the open. My hands tremble, and sweat now pools around my palms. I won’t be able to hold on much longer. I cut my eyes to the book, still glowing in the darkness around us.
