Contents
Title Page
More from Casey White
Copyright
Dedication
- Chapter One -
- Chapter Two -
- Chapter Three -
- Chapter Four -
- Chapter Five -
- Chapter Six -
- Chapter Seven -
- Chapter Eight -
- Chapter Nine -
- Chapter Ten -
Title Page
- Chapter Eleven -
- Chapter Twelve -
- Chapter Thirteen -
- Chapter Fourteen -
- Chapter Fifteen -
- Chapter Sixteen -
- Chapter Seventeen -
- Chapter Eighteen -
- Chapter Nineteen -
- Chapter Twenty -
- Chapter Twenty-One -
- Chapter Twenty-Two -
- Chapter Twenty-Three -
- Chapter Twenty-Four -
- Chapter Twenty-Five -
- Chapter Twenty-Six -
- Chapter Twenty-Seven -
- Chapter Twenty-Eight -
- Chapter Twenty-Nine -
- Chapter Thirty -
- Chapter Thirty-One -
- Chapter Thirty-Two -
- Chapter Thirty-Three -
- Chapter Thirty-Four -
- Chapter Thirty-Five -
- Chapter Thirty-Six -
- Chapter Thirty-Seven -
- Chapter Thirty-Eight -
- Chapter Thirty-Nine -
- Chapter Forty -
- Chapter Forty-One -
Acknowledgements
To Read More
- The Librarian - Chapter One -
More from Casey White
THE Library
- A Remnants of Magic Novel -
Casey White
More from Casey White
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Independent Series
————————
The Flameweaver Saga
Chosen
Charred
Nightsworn
Ascendant
-
Reverie
Halfway to Home
Unknown Horizons
Richard “Quickdraw” McCallister
A Eulogy
Shorts
Black Skies
Worlds that Never Were
Deposition of the Departed
The Aedanverse
————————
Remnants of Magic
Silvertongue
Wanderer
Legion
The Library
The Library
The Librarian
Spark of Divinity
Survival’s Edge
Fortune’s Fool
Terra Rising
This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, certain characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
The Library
Copyright © 2017-2020 Casey White
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9798669516680
For all of those who gave up on seeing this come alive.
- Chapter One -
The taste of blood filled her mouth, lingering at the very edge of her senses.
She stumbled forward, putting one foot in front of the other. Her chest burned, sending pangs of searing agony through her lungs with every breath. Her hands shook. She shoved them into the pockets of her windbreaker, willing the thin spring jacket to hide the motion from sight.
Something was horribly, horribly wrong.
But the park was only a few short steps away. She fixed her eyes on it, drank in the sight of the swing set and the slides in the corner and the grass growing everywhere she looked. The forest pressed in close, with the distant glow of houses lending a gloomy air to the whole scene.
There were people there, yes, but not many. She scanned the clustered groups, desperate to find her answer.
An older couple stood under a street light, their hair as silver as hers. She smiled, tight-lipped. No. That wouldn’t work. That wouldn’t help anything.
A throng of teenagers huddled around a water fountain, at the edge of a makeshift soccer field they’d carved out of the grass. Their laughter drifted over to her on the still-chilly breeze, raucous and unconcerned. She hesitated, letting her gaze settle on them.
And then she sighed, tearing her eyes away. No. It would be too risky. They might be willing to accept the truth, but they’d never be able to accept their fates. Worse still was the thought of them letting it all slip. All of her hard work would be for nothing.
No, no. She swallowed hard, willing her hands to stop shaking. They didn’t listen.
She stopped.
He was just a tiny figure, a huddled shadow right on the edge of the trees. He’d found a tree to lean against, and even though he had to lift his book up to catch the little remaining light, there was a smile on his lips.
Her heart sank. But before she knew it, she was walking.
This is a bad idea, she whispered silently to herself. Her hand rose, pressing flat against something hidden under her shirt. The sign she’d been dreading. But... This will get me in trouble. He’s too young, besides. Untrained. He never agreed to something like this. He doesn’t even know.
Even as she thought it to herself, though, the pain in her chest burned brighter. She already knew. It didn’t matter. None of it did. The time had come, and ready or not, that little boy she saw sitting at the edge of the woods was the last option she’d be given.
Gathering herself, she straightened. The mask slid into place with practiced ease. When she started walking again, her steps were as smooth and sure as ever. Her gaze swept over the child, cold and assessing. But there was no putting off the inevitable.
“Hi,” she said, smiling down at him.
He looked up, flinching a little at the sound of her voice. His eyes went round, the brown of them nearly shading to black in the faint light. “H-Hi,” he said.
She fought off a sigh, hiding it behind her ever-present smile. He was young. Damn it, he was too young.
“That’s quite the book you’ve got there,” she said, forcing the doubts away and crouching down to tap at it. “Not bad, for a kid.”
His eyes narrowed. He scrunched his nose up, scowling at her like she’d insulted him. “I’m not a kid,” he said. “I’m seven.”
“Oh,” she said, letting her eyes widen dramatically. “Oh, I’m sorry. Well, I think that’s still something, don’t you?”
“I can read the whole thing,” he said, his voice rising insistently. “It’s not hard.”
“All of it?” she said.
He grinned, then, flashing a mouthful of missing teeth at her. “All of it! Even the big words.” His excitement faltered. “B-But sometimes I have to ask mom what they mean.”
“Well, that’s fine,” she said, chuckling softly. “That’s how you learn, isn’t it?”
“Right!” he said. And then
