Rule No. 5: Never read and walk inside the Leatherbound. Reading sections are clearly marked for your safety. The Leatherbound is not responsible for loss of limb or life resulting from patrons or staff who unknowingly wander into restricted sections or lose their way in the stacks.
- Guide to the Leatherbound, One-hundred twenty fifth revision
The next day I returned to the Leatherbound and found Maria waiting for me outside the shop. She handed me a small scrap of paper and announced she had some business nearby. Before I could get a word out, she walked past me, rounded a corner and was gone.
I wish I were surprised. It was only my second day of working at the Leatherbound, but I felt like I was getting used to Maria. As much as one could get used to a rude librarian who governs a magical library.
Your first assignment is to organize the hearthome (the fireplace). That's where our returns get dropped off so we need it cleared out to handle the backlog.
To get to the hearthome, hug the wall to your right and walk straight until you hit the corner. Follow the corner left and go straight. Do NOT get lost.
Surprisingly, it only took a minute to find the hearthome. On the mantle, Maria had left me another note.
Good job. Didn't need you getting lost in the stacks. Now, pick up around this area and clear off as much of the floor space as you can.
PS. Don't open any of the books. As a rule of thumb, if it tingles, you're fine. If it jingles... run. If anything should happen, think like a book.
What.
The hearthome was worse than ever. There were more books piled next to the fireplace along with papers strewn all over. All it'd take was a stray ember and the entire place would be kindling.
I started by moving the books away from the fireplace and placing them in the library carts that were nearby. Once those were filled, I found a few other carts in the aisles to hold the books.
Just like Maria said, some of the books left a tingling sensation in my fingers when I picked them up. Sort of like the door when I first opened it. Thankfully, nothing "jingled." I wasn't in a rush to learn what wondrous horror would require me to run for my life.
Curiously, the papers strewn about were something else entirely. I tried stacking them neatly on the carts, but... it didn't work. I'd turn away and go back only to find them strewn about again. I did what I could, but in the end, I settled for placing them on the floor side-by-side in a sort of tiled pattern. The papers seemed to be okay with that form of organization so I left them to it.
It wasn't until I found the black book that I'd remembered what sort of library I was in. The second I picked it up, I knew I shouldn't have. It hummed and rumbled in my ears. The binding shook so hard in my hands that I dropped it. Then, the most curious thing happened.
It landed open and the words on the page bled out onto the rug. Like ants they crawled along the fibers leaving scorched grooves in their wake. Soon the carpet was a sea of tiny lines growing into an ominous pattern as the rumble grew into a roar.
I covered my ears and panicked.
"What the hell is this!?" I cried out at no one in particular. The shelves shrugged with not a hint of concern (the rug swore to remember this for later). Meanwhile, the letters had completed a maze work of lines on the carpet and now the lines were beginning to glow. I spotted a copper bell on the mantle of the fireplace slowly start to sway as the roar began to pick up and build a rhythm.
I swatted at the pattern on the carpet which did nothing but amuse the chair by the fireplace. I looked around for a rag or a spray or something to stop whatever spell I'd unleashed from it's home. I could make out the letters in the words as they continued to crawl along. The book and it's pages fluttered weakly as the spell continued to drift off the pages of the book.
Then it hit me. Think like a book.
I grabbed the book which lay face up and slammed it face down into the heart of the pattern. Slowly, the roaring faded and the patterns withdrew from the carpet back into the book. The book started to shake violently so I pressed my full weight on it, holding it fast as it threatened to throw me off.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Slowly, the pattern receded and the rumbling stopped.
"Nicely done." I turned to see Maria standing by the fireplace. Smirking. What the hell.
I voiced my thoughts before she could read them. She smiled wider, "It's a book. Books hold knowledge, but occasionally that knowledge leaks out. And knowledge let loose without a book to hold it or a person to understand is a recipe for disaster. The easiest way to stop it is to get it back in the book."
I slowly picked the book up off the floor and closed it. The cover read Intermediate Spells for Reckless Summoners. "What would have happened if I guessed wrong?" I asked.
She took the book from my hands and placed it on the nearest cart. "A small demon, maybe. Nothing that I wouldn't be able to air out by opening a few windows. In any case, that book's bindings are cracked."
I looked at the book and there were faint cracks to the binding, but nothing I hadn't seen in the many books I'd organized just minutes earlier.
"You'll see it, soon enough. I've marked a section for you to read from your uncle's book that should help you see better. Take it with you and drop the black book off at Joseph's office. I don't have much else for you today, so you can go when you're done."
She handed me my uncle's book and turned to a page near the center of the tome. "Head into the stacks and find a nice spot to read. Should take you about four hours to get through that section," Maria said behind her. She was already walking away.
---
My second day of work was full of surprises. The first being the demon book which had attempted to tattoo itself into the floor. And the second was the knowledge that I was not the only page at the Leatherbound.
"My name's Hanna, I've heard lots about you." She and Joseph had been whispering in hushed tones when I arrived at the bookmaker's office. Upon seeing me, her eyes went wide and she waved excitedly.
"Hanna 'ere's the First Page of the Leatherbound," said Joseph proudly. "She also 'appens to be my niece." Hanna blushed, but I was relieved. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only person my age in the Leatherbound. Joseph was clearly in his late-forties while Maria could have been thirty or ninety.
"It looks like Soo has a new project for you, uncle."
"Right," I said, remembering my whole purpose in coming here. "Maria mentioned a crack in the bindings and I figured you might be the best one to do something about it."
Hanna gingerly took the book from my hands and eyed it curiously. "There, see?" She traced a faint line along its spine. At first I thought it was a fold in the leather, but the more I looked, the more I noticed it interrupted the pattern of the book. As if one side had shifted a few centimeters above the other. A gap.
"You brought this in yourself, boy? Must've been a struggle getting it under control," Joseph remarked with a grin. "I'll handle it myself. Hanna, why dontchu take Soo to a nice spot so he can read his book. Don't want 'im getting lost again."
Hanna smiled back at her uncle and led me off. A bit abruptly as I'd wanted to ask what kind of conversation I'd interrupted. Then again, I didn't want to be rude (actually, I did) so I let Hanna lead me off.
Before the awkward quiet could find us walking in the maze of the library, I asked, "So what exactly is a first page?"
Hanna grinned at the question, "It just means that I'm the most senior page. Of course, that's a lark, considering."
It was maddening talking to people here. Every time they answered a question, I came up with hundreds more. "Considering what?"
"Well, there are only two active pages at the moment," she paused at an intersection before thoughtfully walking down a narrow corridor of gilded books. "This way."
"So are there inactive pages?" I ventured.
"Of course! Most take on a summer position or work part-time before moving onto a different library," she said, a little too quickly. "I'll be taking on an apprentice-ship in a month or two so I'm glad you're here."
"You said most. What about the others?" I was getting better at listening.
Her smile faded a bit. "Well, others..." she trailed off. There was a quiet, but it wasn't awkward and it wasn't empty. If anything, it was telling. I held it and stared.
"The truth is, for all the protections we have here, people do get lost in the stacks." My mouth went dry and we started to slow down.
"Oh, that reminds me!" she reached into her pocket and produced a circle of beads with colorful square tied to a golden tassel. She handed it to me and I took a closer look at it. A bookmark.
"Right," I said. "What is this?"
"This is a bookmark, here. Put it on your wrist and hold it up." I obeyed dutifully, slipping the beads around my wrist and holding it in front of it.
"I don't see how-" is as far as I got before the golden tassel let off a soft glow and pointed back at me. I turned my body and the tassel kept pointing in the same direction. "A compass?"
"Exactly," Hanna said. "It points back at the hearthome. Maria asked me to give you this one."
I looked closer at the beads which were cherry wood. Each one was engraved with tiny letters, too small to read. The square was a vibrant blue with the insignia of a chess piece laid out in gold. A knight piece.
"Hey, we're here," Hanna called out.
I looked up and just kept on looking. We'd left behind the rows of bookshelves and I was standing in a garden full of lush green trees covered in moss. The air was fresher here, like we'd walked into a forest. One minute we'd been in the library and the next, we were in a forest full of trees and flowers.
"Welcome to the Garden."
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