Arms flailing wildly, they twisted around the corner of what looked like a mundane librarian’s desk, and-
Owl’s heart froze as the doorway out appeared before them - and he saw the unmistakable glimmer of blue lightning dancing through the next wing.
This is the way out. His steps slowed as his brain threw on the brakes. This is the way, but- but can I get out through...through that?
Olivia’s grip on him tightened. “O-Owl. Where do we-”
“We go through,” he growled, eyes glued to the doorway - to the door, and the hallway beyond. It wasn’t the right hallway - it wasn’t the hallway - but he knew it at a glance. There wasn’t another way out.
“Through?” Olivia shrieked. “B-But, the damn hallway is on-”
“We’ll make it.” Owl pushed himself back into motion, lurching forward, but Olivia clung to his arm.
When he glanced back, he found her frozen in place. She’d been pale before. Now, she looked like she was right on the edge of shock. Her eyes were starting to get the glassy, fogged-over look that told him if he didn’t get a grip on things right now, he’d lose her entirely.
“Hey,” he said, shaking her hand. “Hey.”
Olivia’s eyes snapped back open - and she looked at him.
“Trust me,” Owl said, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the cacophony. “We’ll get through. Believe me.”
Slowly, she shook her head. “B-But there’s fire,” she whispered. “We can’t.”
”Trust me,” Owl said.
“But we’ll-”
“I’m not going to let you get hurt,” Owl said, smiling faintly. His nostrils were starting to fill with a strange, acrid tang - not smoke, exactly. But something. Something bad. They didn’t have time to sit around and talk through this. He squeezed her hand more tightly. “We just have to keep moving.”
Her eyes flicked to the storm-filled hallway - then back to him. “I...I don’t-”
“No guest will come to harm in the Library. Not while I have any say in the matter.”
Please. Please work with me.
He didn’t think it was possible, but what little color Olivia had left started to drain away. But, there - she nodded. It was a tiny motion, barely visible, but it was there.
He squeezed his hand around hers again. “Come on.”
When he turned toward the doorway, this time, he felt her fall into line behind him - even if her fingers dug into the sleeve of his jacket forcefully enough to be painful.
They ran.
His eyes were glued to the hallway beyond the door - and the blue-laced flames that lapped at the ceiling, the walls.
Keep moving. Don’t stop. He took a deep breath, holding the image in his mind. He’d have to be fast and strong. He couldn’t pause to work it all out. And if he slipped...
He didn’t want to think about what’d happen if he lost control in the midst of the maelstrom.
As the doorway shot past, he pushed out hard with his free hand. His fingers arched, gripping the air. And from his palm-
The first flickers of storm swept down toward them, and were met by the wall of light pouring from his hand.
Fire above - and a thin barrier between it and them. Owl smiled thinly, with a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Here in this position, caught underneath a sheen of falling flames, something rattled at the back of his mind. A voice, a scene. A memory, just beyond the edge of remembering.
Olivia’s fingernails dug in deeper. He shook his head, plowing onward.
His fingers trembled. He clenched them tighter, the heel of his palm thrust toward the ceiling as though he could keep them safe by will alone. He could. He had to. Every time the shield flickered, growing a little dimmer, he focused his thoughts in tighter. And every time, it seared back to life, holding strong.
Just a little more. The path ahead of them was still clear, but for the ever-eroding ceiling and the gusts of wind that carried waves of glistening blue into their path. Droplets of that same blue liquid as before were dripping from overhead, landing on the stonework floor with an an angry hiss.
Olivia was panting behind him, a sob just underneath every ragged gasp. He could feel it too - the burning that crept into their lungs, the tang of something filling the air. When she stumbled, he yanked her back upright, dragging her on, until-
The world exploded into clear, clean light around them. Owl’s shock was so complete he nearly tripped over his own feet.
The hallway was past - and it’d dumped them out into a low-ceilinged, shelf-lined room. His breath caught in his chest at the sight of the magical storm sweeping in from the far corner. The ceiling there was gone, but the books...
The books remained on their shelves. His gaze snapped forward, to a set of doors half-hidden by the clouds and dust and debris stirred by the destruction. Something screamed in the back of his mind to look, to watch. That he’d seen something.
As if on command, one of the doors wobbled again - and pushed inward. A figure stood in the doorway, all but obscured by the chaos.
Will. Owl’s heart leapt. Will was here - which wasn’t great, all things considered. It’d be better if their guest was safe and sound in Alexandria’s heart. But him being with Owl was a close second.
Books cascaded across the room like missiles. Owl tugged Olivia closer, shifting his shield. The tomes bounced off it with one heavy-sounding thud after another, hard enough to send ripples of agony down his arm. His eyes were wide. One good hit from those things would be enough to knock Olivia out. Or him.
But Will was across the room. The path they were following put them running across a narrow, dangerous path between the books and the storm, which was not a good place
