“I hope, some information about a blood contract and how to break it. There is a book in the forbidden section of the library that talks about this type of black magic. We’re going to take it and leave.”
Maggie looked at me as I stared back with a smile.
“Are you game or nah?”
“Yes,” I agreed with a mischievous grin. Maggie peered suspiciously at me.
“You’re a little too excited about this.”
“Right now I would be married off to an abusive tyrant and would have found a way to sneak off for good. This is no different.”
“Uh huh…” She let out before sucking her teeth. “I think I got too comfortable in having friends that I forgot what it feels like to be an only child. I can do this on my own without their help, or yours.”
“Fine, I will not argue, nor will I pretend to help you or want to help you,” I said with my nose in the air. “I am just here for the adventure.”
“Good. That means you won’t be in my way.”
Maggie Grey
The library was always deceiving. A small building with a lobby the size of a square and a large front desk that nobody was manning at the time. We stood inside the flickering lamp light as we looked around.
“Hellooooo?” I called out as I leaned my arm against the desk. Ayira looked around, eyes wandering on the paintings and wall as she adjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder. “Somebody is usually here at the desk to sign us in.”
I leaned over the counter to look at the computer still freshly on, a half-eaten donut because where in the hell did you find that at such an hour, and some paperwork. The doors were just beyond the desk with the lanyard key by the printer. I looked at the back double doors where the labyrinth maze of books and knowledge were being held. Looking back at Ayira, she chipped at one of the fake plants before jumping back with a startled expression of a child.
“These are not real!” She said, amazed before laughing. “These are fake!”
“Yes, they’re fake. It’s for decoration.”
She pinched the plastic leaf with a laugh before touching another.
“So strange…this place… Our library looks nothing like this. Where are the books?”
When she turned to look at me, still pinching the plant I decided to go for it. I snatched the lanyard up and walked around towards the double doors. Fuck it. Once I get a hold of my parents, I settled with the idea of not ever coming back to Drew Collins. I could get a basic teaching job above ground or below without finishing a degree here, especially since I technically already have one.
“Come on,” I said.
Never mind that my head wasn’t in the right mental space. Maybe after a few hours of digging around books, I’d go sobbing back to Namir and begging for forgiveness.
“Yeah the fuck right,” I muttered as the doors unlocked.
The stairs that went down gave us a view of the library’s core center through the glass walls, showing what looked like a hive of books and shelves that just went on for miles below ground. Everything was in dark blood red from the carpet to the dim lights and furniture. Nothing short of a vampire’s lair but the black art was astounding to say the least. We stepped onto the sixth level of the library, walking into a thick scent of paper and wood with the cold air wrapping around our skin like a blanket.
“I think we’re the only ones in here,” I said as I walked over to the main rail that overlooked the rest of the floors from above and below.
“Where is the forbidden section?” Ayira asked. I pointed down to where it was nothing but darkness as we shared the same look. “Do the lights not work there?”
“No because we aren’t meant to go there,” I whispered as if to say duh. “I brought a flashlight.”
Digging into my bag, I pulled out the small light and tapped it a few times to pop it on. When nothing happened, I shook it again, hearing the batteries rattle and tried to click it on and off. Still nothing.
“We have phones, yes?”
“Right,” I said with a nod before pointing to the stairs. “Let’s go.”
We took the side steps that led all the way down, passing each level of books from myths to Gods, slavery, wars, and culture. Everything you needed to know that touched black skin, it was in this library. There were rumors and whispers of spirits lingering and others from different places around the world coming to this very library which meant there was a door…or several working doors here.
It was also the reason I came because I could easily leave without being noticed and come back without being missed. I just needed to find a working door.
