Nyssa's Point of View

Chapter 8

The sounds of metal clinking pulled me from my dream, but my eyes were too heavy to open. I rolled over. Five more minutes. Something pounced on my bed. I jerked awake as a slobbery dog tongue licked my face.

"Cerbie!" I said with a laugh, petting the three-headed puppy with vigor. "How'd you get in here?"

The room didn't look familiar. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I was in the library. Right. And the little knights climbing up the bedsheets as if they were a castle wall were totally normal. And so was the giant golem staring at me from outside the window even though we were on the second floor. Yup. It was all so normal that I didn't even blink an eye at the demon lord lounging next to a very fast asleep Roan.

Except, I somehow doubted an experienced adventurer would sleep that deeply.

"Uhhhh....Roan?" I called out as the knights finally made it to the top of the bed and started slapping each other on the backs like they'd won a great victory. "Roan!"

He jerked awake, stumbling to his feet. "I'm up, I'm up..."

"Ruining all my fun." The demon lord shook his head. "It took me a while to get those poppies from the golem for that sleeping spell, you know."

"You...you..," Roan's words were sluggish, "demon!"

I winced. Not his best insult, but it would have to do. Cerbie snuggled under the covers with me, heads resting on my stomach. He was so adorable I couldn't help petting him, but I really didn't like the feel of all these other eyes on me. Had the story spirits been watching us sleep?

One of the knights bowed to me. "Good morning, Lady Nyssa."

"Good morning," I said slowly. "Mind telling me what you're all doing here?"

The demon lord pushed off the wall. "I'm here to see what you're capable of, librarian. And they're here to escort you or something gallant like that."

He waved at the knights, who were bowing with a bit of a wobble because of the soft bed.

"Leave her alone," Roan said, shaking off the last of the sleep spell. "And don't use magic on me again."

Cerbie whined, heads looking between me and the demon lord.

"It's okay, Cerbie," I said, glaring at the demon lord. "We're all good, right? But if you're going to wake us up, you should at least tell us your name."

"Demon lord is fine," he said, but his eyes hardened like I'd hit a nerve. He sighed, petting Cerbie abruptly before turning to leave. "Just follow me, you've got work to do."

Right, of course! I was supposed to be pulling all the patching down from the windows and roof to prepare for the contractors. They'd fit me in on short notice for a good cause, but I had to do as much as I could before they got here in a few days. They said they'd send over temporary sealant too.

"You're such a good boy," I said, petting Cerbie one last time before getting out of bed, trying not to jostle the knights. "Even the demon lord can't resist him."

"I'm sure he could if he wanted to." Roan stared after the demon lord, not moving to follow him. "I shouldn't have let them get past me. I'm sorry."

So much chaos and I'd only been awake a few minutes. I stretched my hands up toward the ceiling, then patted him on the shoulder.

"It's fine," I said. "They were probably just curious about us. I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

He frowned, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know about that. Why'd the demon spell me then?"

"They did say they'd had troubles with adventurers before," I said. "So maybe that has something to do with it?"

Recognition flickered in Roan's eyes and his lips parted slightly, like he'd just put something together.

"That makes sense," Roan said, nodding. "I'll do better from now on."

Apparently he wasn't going to share whatever he'd learned with me. It probably had to do with the rumors about this being a haunted library, but I knew those were false, so I let it go for now.

"Let me just get cleaned up quick and then we'll head downstairs," I said.

"Remember not to wash your clothes."

I clamped my lips together, resisting the urge to laugh at the image of him stuck in the bath covered in giant bubbles. That had been unexpectedly fun.

"I've got extra outfits in the cart downstairs," I said.

"I'll go grab them while you get ready," Roan said as he shooed the knights and Cerbie out the door ahead of him. "I'll be right back."

I hurried to get ready, gratefully accepting my bags when Roan came back, and then headed downstairs to start working. We had so much to get done so I wanted to start off strong.

The library was already bursting with liveliness as the story spirits chatted and wandered around. Roan's back tensed, as if he was getting ready to go into battle. Ever since we woke up, he’d been on his guard, like he didn’t want to get caught unaware again. His dedication was admirable and it did make me feel a bit safer, just in case something strange happened.

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"Let's start with the windows," I said.

Wooden planks covered the damaged windows, but they weren't nailed on like I expected. I wedged my finger between them and the window, tugging to see if they'd come off easily, but the wood just creaked. It was like...they'd grown out of the library's wall and looped over the window.

Libraries often repaired themselves, but not like this. This patch was sloppy, thrown on top of the library instead of blending in. Something else did this, probably because the library was too low on magic to heal, but figuring that out wasn't really important right now. We just needed to fix it and move on to the next item on the list.

"We're going to have to saw these off," I said, glad the contractor had lent me tools. "Without damaging the walls too much, hopefully."

Roan nodded as he started sawing away at the planks while I held them steady. In no time at all, he had all the wood off the window and the sun was shining through brilliantly. I knocked out the broken glass panes as well, making sure they landed safely outside to collect later, and put up a temporary seal on the window.

I stood back, admiring our work. "That wasn't so hard. Only six to go!"

Thundering steps crashed through the library as the golem raced toward us, eyes wide. It roared loud enough to make my bones tremble. Uh oh. What did we do to upset it this time? I thought we'd worked everything out, but apparently not.

"Hello, I was just--"

Another roar drowned out my words as the golem's giant hand swept me up. My stomach lurched as I swung through the air, a feeling that was all too familiar. It was going to throw me out just like last time! No way. Not again.

"Hey!" I shouted, slapping my hand against its vine and dirt shoulder. "The leaders and I made a deal. You can't throw me out, I'm just repairing the library like I told them I would!"

The golem ignored me, marching past the demon lord who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Mind helping?" I shouted at him.

"I think you're doing just fine on your own," he said, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Damn demons. I was trying to help and he knew it, so what was this golem's problem? It didn't charge over until after I'd pulled the first patch down. If the library hadn't made those, then maybe the golem did?

And then it saw me tearing them down like they meant nothing at all. I sighed. No wonder it was upset. I needed a golem-human communications guide.

Roan raced after me, stabbing his sword into the golem's leg and using it like a climbing ax. The golem didn't seem to notice as it trudged on, opening the library doors wide. I'd get thrown out before Roan even reached me.

What should I do? In the book, the golem barely listened to anyone except the little girl it rescued. How did she get through to it? Think, think. That's right, she asked the golem for everything, phrasing things in a way that it felt like it was being useful. That it was needed by somebody.

"Golem!" I shouted. "I'm sorry about the patches. You did a wonderful job with them, really."

Its steps slowed as it knelt to leave the library. "Ruined my work."

"You're right," I said as Roan climbed up to join me. I shook my head, not wanting him to do anything just yet. "I'm sorry, golem. It's my fault, but I needed to take them down so we could make the library even better. Could you help me with that?"

Its glowing eyes shone down at me. "How?"

Roan raised an eyebrow, as if asking the same thing. I mouthed, "I don't know."

He sighed, tilting his head to look at the ceiling. "You could help her reach the patches on the roof."

"That's right!" I nodded, grinning at Roan for the help. "Only a tall and sturdy golem could help me with that. There's no way I'd reach the ceiling otherwise and still feel safe. But with you helping me, I'd have nothing to worry about."

Its body shifted and groaned as it swung us back into the library, pausing to stare at the ceiling. "My patches are good."

"Yes, they're very good," I said. "But they were temporary to protect the library from the weather outside. Now they can get repaired fully, all thanks to your hard work."

"Really?" The golem's eyes glowed brighter as it headed back inside, open door forgotten. "No tricks?"

Sadness tinged its voice, reverberating through me as I remembered the times the golem had been tricked in its story. I should have been more careful, inspected the patches better before tearing them down. I could have asked who made them, but no, I'd been so eager to get the job done that I just rushed in and yanked them down.

"I promise, no tricks." I patted around one of the poppies on its shoulder, inhaling the rather earthy scent of them.

I might be the librarian here, but it was in name only. These story spirits had been living here for years. If I ignored that, they'd keep throwing me out no matter what deals I made. Maybe I should try working with them instead.

"Why don't we use those planks for something else?" I asked. "Like a garden?"

At that, the flowers perked up and the golem's eyes shined. "Really? For me?"

"Yup, you can tend to it however you want. It'll make the library beautiful, so you'd really be helping me out."

"Golem's garden!" It shouted as it lunged forward, almost knocking Roan and I off our perch on its shoulder.

Roan wrapped his arm around me, clinging to the vines to keep us from falling. My heart pounded in my chest as my head spun from looking down. That would be a long fall.

"Thanks," I said, squeezing Roan's arm.

He tightened his grip, securing me to him and the golem. "Just try not to make it mad or excited or anything else until we're back on the ground, okay?

"Deal."

We rocked against the golem as it took long strides back into the middle of the library, Roan's arm was warm and comforting around me. He'd raced up this golem without a second's hesitation. I'd read about people like that, sure, but never thought somebody would do something like that for me in real life. My chest warmed, feeling a bit giddy over having my very own hero.

Once the golem's steps slowed, Roan helped me climb up by its neck. Above us was the largest hole in the roof, complete with golem-made patching over it. It really was pretty nice that the golem had done that, otherwise the library would have been flooded and even more warped over the years.

"Stay," the golem said. "I'll fix."

Then he reached his massive hand up to the ceiling, dim green light glowing inside it. As it grew brighter, the wood patching curled away from the ceiling, twisting and coiling around the golem's hand before settling into its arm like bones inside a skeleton.

"That was awesome," I said, breathless.

The golem reached out his glowing hand to me. "New patch?"

Right. He must have seen me use the temporary patching before. I carefully scooted down its shoulder, landing softly in its palm. Roan followed me, both of us fitting on the golem's hand without a problem. My stomach flipped as we moved closer to the ceiling, high enough for me to assemble the temporary clear patch.

"All done," I said, gazing out at the library below, my arm on Roan's to stay balanced.

Even though it was warped and damaged, it was still the most beautiful library I'd ever seen. I could spot my favorite reading nook from here and the children's section that had held so much adventure for me. Was the golem's book still there, perfectly placed on the shelf? I should go read it again.

The demon lord looked small from up here, like all the world's problems melted away from another perspective.

"Beautiful," Roan said, his voice quiet. "Absolutely beautiful."

"I know, right? This library is amazing."

He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his hand brushing softly against my cheek. "I meant you."

My lips parted as I stared at him, hand still grasping his arm as my heart thundered in my chest. He thought I was beautiful?

"I mean yeah, the library is great," Roan said, dropping his hand as he laughed awkwardly. "You're doing really good work here!"

His voice was overly enthusiastic as a faint blush rose on his cheeks. I bit my lip to stop the grin from spreading across my face.

"Thank you. For that and for coming up here after me," I said.

His smile felt warmer than the sun shining down from the hole in the roof. Maybe there was more here for me than fixing the library.