Aisling stumbled forward. She put a hand on the doorframe, staring out into the distance, then retracted her head, examining the doorframe instead. “A World Door!”

“A whatsit huh?” Oz asked, tilting his head.

Her eyes wide with excitement, Aisling rounded on Oz. “This door. It’s a World Door!”

Oz nodded slowly. Whatever that is.

Seeing his look, Aisling continued. “This door leads to another world. Most likely, this is a secret realm Madame Saoirse found or even created herself. Secret realms often have great treasure or valuable experiences hidden within. Most of the time, secret realms can only be accessed at certain times, under the right circumstances. A World Door allows one to lock down an entrance to a secret realm and enter that realm any time, regardless of circumstances.”

“Treasure?” Oz asked, perking up. A second later, he shook his head at himself. “Any treasure would have been looted long ago, right?”

Aisling nodded. “That’s often an unfortunate consequence of a World Door. I can use it to train in, though. Thank you, Oz.” She quickly saluted to him.

“It’s nothing. All I did was open a door,” Oz said, scratching the back of his head. He hesitated.

One foot across the threshold, Aisling looked back. “Is something the matter?”

“Can I enter it? Without some high-level wizard one-shotting me?” Oz asked.

“It’s a completely different world from the real world. It would take a mage at Madame Saoirse’s level or higher to attack you in this space. A mage that powerful likely wouldn’t find Madame Saoirse’s library worthy of their notice, so you’re safe.”

“Oh,” Oz said quietly. There’s mages that powerful out there? Somehow, that makes me more nervous, not less.

He looked at the doorframe, then took a deep breath. Swinging his arms, he pumped himself up. I’m safe. This is fine. With one last breath, he stepped through, ready to jump back through the second any magic hurtled toward him.

The wind blew gently through golden grasses. All around him, in every direction, before and behind, long grass undulated under the darkening blue sky. Cool wind lifted his hair and swirled his robes around his ankles. Overhead, storm clouds promised rain, and the wind carried the damp with it, as if the whole world yearned for it.

Sid ran past him, chirping a hello as she bounded into the fields.

He turned. Through the door, he could see the library, but in every other direction, the grassy realm extended infinitely.

“Whoa,” Oz muttered. Seeing it from outside and stepping into it are totally different. I’m actually in a different world right now.

Aisling grinned. “Your first time using a World Door?”

“Yeah.” Oz turned again, slowly, taking it all in.

“I remember my first World Door.” Aisling’s eyes sparkled with wonder, then clouded over a moment later. Her lips pursed. “Never want to go back to that hellhole.”

“Oh. Was it bad?” Oz asked.

She shook her head, smiling again. “What was Linnea doing over?”

Oz raised his brows. Changing the subject? I’ll play along. “She wanted to come into the library.”

Aisling laughed. “Who wouldn’t?”

Shaking his head, Oz waved his hand. “She was using this weird perfume. Made my head fuzzy.”

“It doesn’t surprise me. Linnea is known for her beauty, and for using her beauty to get her way,” Aisling said ambiguously, looking off to the horizon.

“Is that kind of thing normal here?” Oz asked. I get it. She’s a gold-digger, huh?

“There are those who pursue the arts of seduction, male and female both. Although it’s fine to pursue them, be wary,” Aisling warned.

Oz snorted. “I don’t really want to pursue her. Actually, I broke up with her today.”

Aisling hummed neutrally. Her lips quirked a little bit upward. “Oh.”

Walking idly through the grass, Oz let his hand drift over the bobbing heads of grain. If Linnea is a gold-digger, maybe her perfume triggering the caterpillars was a coincidence.

Even if she did trigger the caterpillars deliberately, there isn’t really any evidence to connect her to the summoning. Her motivation might be as simple as gold-digging for access to the library. Putting her on the list in the first time was far too eager of me. I’m leaning toward taking her off the suspects list when it comes to my summoning.

Frustratingly, that puts me back at zero suspects. Oz sighed, suddenly feeling the full weight of his exhaustion.

“Something troubling you?” Aisling asked.

“Nothing. I’m just tired.” Oz gazed off to infinity, then retracted his gaze. He nodded at Aisling. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

In the distance, the grass shook. Sid briefly appeared, her pupils fat, chasing after a small furry creature.

“Yes. I’ll keep an eye on Sid.” Aisling closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She raised her fists, focusing on the distance.

Yawning, Oz headed back through the doorway. He tossed Aisling a last wave, then shut the door behind him.

--

Quiet scratching woke Oz. He shifted, brows furrowing. “Another five minutes, Sid…”

Something tickled at his forehead. Eyes still shut, he swiped at it blindly, trying to snatch the hair off his forehead.

His hand closed around something firm, with a slick body. Oz’s eyes shot open. He sat bolt upright, pulling the thing away from his forehead.

A cockroach struggled in his grasp, fighting for freedom.

“Fuck!” Oz threw it away from him. The cockroach bounced off the wall and plopped down, into a veritable sea of brown-backed bugs.

His eyes widened. Backing away from the edge of the bed, Oz turned left and right, searching for something, anything. Bugs. Nothing but bugs, everywhere.

Tap-tap-tap.

“And there’s someone at the door?” Oz muttered. A part of his heart suddenly longed to be at the door himself, away from the sea of cockroaches. They crawled over one another, shiny dark carapaces occasionally splitting open to reveal fluttering wings.

He gritted his teeth. Nothing I can do about it. Let’s go.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Slamming his bare feet down into the bugs, Oz sprinted out of the dormitory and down the hall. More bugs awaited him there. Grasshoppers, many-legged silverfish, worms and flies, bugs of all descriptions filled the hall. Oz raised his arms, bulling his way through.

Bursting out of the dormitory, he came out into a mercifully bug-free library. Oz slammed the dormitory door behind him before the worst of the bugs could escape. Back to the door, he panted. Wiping his brow, he glanced over his shoulder at the closed door. What the fuck? Why is this library infested? Is this why Madame Saoirse ascended and left the library to me? Didn’t want to deal with the bugs anymore?

The knock sounded again. Oz glanced up, then narrowed his eyes. He marched toward the door, his hands faintly curling into fists. “Come on. Who is it now?”

He pushed the door open.

Linnea stood outside, hands on her hips, a smug look on her face. Unlike last night’s chiffon, today she wore a simple, practical outfit, leggings, a shirt, and a cutely short tunic dress. “Oh no, does someone have a little infestation problem? I wonder what could have happened?”

A vein throbbed in Oz’s forehead. He glared at Linnea. “What do you want?”

“I heard you might have a bug problem. I came to help,” she offered, fluttering her lashes.

“Uh huh. A bug problem… you caused?” Oz asked. This is the second time you’ve come after bugs happened to the library. Anyone would get suspicious.

“Me? Oh no! I don’t know anything about bugs. But I can help remove them, if you let me in,” Linnea said, beaming.

Oz took a deep breath. He put his head in his hands. “If you want to come inside to read, you could just ask.”

“Huh? Really?” Linnea furrowed her brows disbelievingly.

He gestured. “Really. You don’t need to be my girlfriend, or seduce me, or… or convince unscrupulous disciples to hide cocoons in the stacks and activate their beast mode with your perfume. You can just ask.”

Linnea’s eyes widened slightly. Oz raised his brows. Got it in one.

Quickly recovering, Linnea put on an exaggerated expression of disgust. She shook her head emphatically, waving her hand. “Me? I wouldn’t do anything like that. You’ve got the wrong girl, if you’re talking about bugs. I detest the things.”

“Uh huh,” Oz remarked dryly.

“But… really? Can I come in, then?” Linnea tilted her head, still a little suspicious.

Oz gave her a look. “Are you stupid? No. Not after you infested my library twice over.” He shut the door in her face.

She slammed the doors so hard they jumped. They slammed louder than Roan’s thumping had ever managed. “Fuck you, Ossian! I’ll fucking kill you! You can’t keep me out!”

Facing the shut doors, Oz took a deep breath and let it out. He put his hands on the sun-warmed wood. If I want to become a librarian, I can’t keep people I personally don’t like out of the library. Libraries should be open to everyone, regardless of their personality or ideals, as long as they’re willing to partake of knowledge and share that knowledge. These books shouldn’t sit here growing dust. They should be read. Used. Shared.

Linnea’s just a kid. She’s a brat, but that doesn’t mean she should be excluded. She can’t learn to not be a brat if I just turn her away and never allow her to read and expand her knowledge. It’s true that she’s attempted some horrible things, but she’s fifteen or something. Everyone makes mistakes at that age. I can turn her away and punish her for her mistakes, or try to show her a different way.

He opened the door.

Linnea froze, mid-scream, fist still raised to slam on the door. She looked at him, startled. A second later, her lips curled. “Did you remember your sweet Linnea after all?”

Oz sat down on the top step. Patting the step beside him, he invited Linnea to join him.

She hesitated a moment, then gathered her skirt in a way that suggested she was used to a more voluminous dress and primly perched on the edge of the stair. She smiled blandly at him. “What is it?”

“None of that fake nice stuff. Just be yourself for a moment,” Oz encouraged her.

Linnea wrinkled her nose. “No one likes that.”

Oz leveled her with a look. “Are you going to let them tell you how to live your whole life, then?”

Linnea stiffened. She narrowed her eyes at him.

Sighing, Oz shook his head. “Listen, Linnea. I want to let people in. My goal is to make this library public. When I say you don’t need to do anything special to get in, I mean it.”

“Public?” Linnea stared at him as though he’d just suggested running naked through town square.

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“That’s—all the knowledge Madame Saoirse gathered—and anyone can access it?” she clarified.

Oz nodded.

“What about poor mages? What about low-level apprentices and disciples?”

“Everyone. Mortals, even. Why not?” Oz said, shrugging.

“Mortals?” Linnea asked, aghast. “Next, you’ll say fey can enter.”

Oz glanced over his shoulder, only to remember Sid was with Aisling in the secret realm. He gestured instead, drawing the outline of a cat. “There’s already a fey inside.”

“A real fey. A High Fey. One who can read, talk…” Linnea leaned in close and whispered, “cast magic.”

“Yeah? Seems like they’re the kind of fey who’d benefit the most,” Oz said, nodding.

“You’re insane! People would kill for that knowledge. And you’re giving it away? To anyone? To mortals? To fey?”

“Yep,” Oz confirmed, quietly noting the order in which she expressed surprise. Fey are considered lesser than mortals, huh? Interesting. I’ll have to do more research.

“Right now?” Linnea asked.

At that, Oz hesitated. “Not yet. I still need to reorganize the shelves, and come up with a lending system, or at least a way to track the books within the library, and get strong enough to safely let mages into my library, and clean up a bug infestation a certain someone set inside the dormitories…”

Linnea flinched.

“How’d you manage that, by the way? How many disciples did you promise high spots in your sect to?” Oz asked, leaning his head on his hand.

“I didn’t do anything,” Linnea said quickly.

“Right…”

“But if someone did do something like that, they probably would have had an easy time of it. Many of Madame Saoirse’s disciples were angry that she’d kicked them out with such short notice, and be pretty easy to convince to leave a little prank behind. Hypothetically, anyways.”

“And that high position in your sect…? Didn’t you make a pact, or something, too?” Oz queried.

Linnea snorted. “Hypothetically, that person might have only made a pact on the silence part of the deal, and not specifically the promised rewards.”

Oz chuckled. “Guess that’s a reminder to not trust Roan to sign contracts.”

Clearing her throat, Linnea sat up. She pursed her lips sweetly and glanced at him from under her lashes. “So? Are you going to let me in, now?”

“I already told you, you don’t have to do that,” Oz said, making the cute face back at her.

“Mmhmm,” she said, smiling at him.

“Linnea, even if you seduce me, you won’t get access to anything that the rest of the world won’t.”

Her expression bittered. A second later, it went back to sweet. “Are you sure?” she purred.

“I’m pretty damn sure,” Oz confirmed. He stood. “Linnea, we don’t have to knock each other down. We can help each other. Share knowledge. Lift each other up. That’s what I want to do. Lift up the entire world.”

“You’re a madman.” Linnea crossed her arms.

Oz shrugged. “I’m fine with that. What about you? Do you want to be part of the foundation to lift up everyone around us? Or do you want to keep butting heads with everyone around you? Struggle to take a single step forward without getting dragged two steps backward?”

“I want access to the library,” Linnea said, looking up from where she sat on the step.

Oz extended his hand to her. “Then come with me. Stand with me. You don’t have to be my lover. You don’t have to be anything. You just need to be willing to help everyone else who comes after you.”

Linnea looked at him. She looked at his hand. Abruptly, she took it. “Fine.”

Oz smiled. I’m not stupid enough to think that this changes everything. She still sees me the same way she did this whole time. But it’s the first step. The first step in a long journey toward changing this world.

“So, about the bugs…?” Oz reminded her, still holding onto her hand. His gaze bored into hers, the smile on his face more than a little stiff.

Linnea covered her mouth, mock-shocked. “The bugs? Oh, right! It’s a good thing I’m a master exterminator. I’ll have them out of there in moments.”

“Good, good.” He looked her in the eye. I’m still not sure this is a good idea, but I have the barrier, I have the controls. She’s one person. It’s minimal risk.

Sid jumped on his shoulder. She hissed ferociously at Linnea.

“Sid, come on. She’s friendly now,” Oz chided the cat.

Unconvinced, Sid kept hissing.

“Oz, are you hungry…?” Aisling’s voice trailed off as she caught sight of Oz and Linnea holding hands. Her brows raised.

Oz retracted his hand quickly, then paused. Why? It’s not like I was doing anything wrong.

Looking at Aisling, Linnea put the hand to her face and hugged it, rocking in place. “Sweet Ossian held my hand, how bold of him!”

Aisling’s eyes narrowed subtly.

“Linnea, come on,” Oz muttered. “And call me Oz.”

A blade scraped from a sheath. In a flash of yellow, Roan appeared, and Oz suddenly found a sword at his neck. “You dare to touch Linnea, after all you said?”

Oz put his hands up.

“After all he said?” Linnea asked, narrowing her eyes at Oz.

“What did he say?” Aisling murmured, half to herself.

Suddenly the center of attention, Oz shifted, uncomfortable. His throat dried up. He swallowed awkwardly, the ball of his throat scraping past the razor’s edge of Roan’s sword. Putting on a nervous grin, he tried, “Hey, hey. Why don’t we all calm down and talk it out…?”

Roan’s eyes narrowed. He pressed his sword to Oz’s neck.

Aisling narrowed her eyes at Linnea.

Linnea glanced between Roan and Oz, then moved toward Oz, a sly smile on her face.

“Lunch! Lunch. Let’s go have a picnic!” Oz said, stepping back. Lifting a finger, he carefully pushed the sword away from his neck. “How’s that sound?”

“Lunch? We don’t need to eat. Mortal,” Roan muttered.

“Lunch. Sounds good,” Aisling said, nodding.

“I’ll cook!” Linnea offered, raising her hand.

Roan’s head snapped to Linnea so fast he slapped himself in the face with his hair. He quietly lowered his sword. “Fine.”

Oz shook his head. This is the first and the last time I’ll ever invite someone to a picnic at swordpoint.