WHUMPF!

It's a strange feeling to go through a tunnel gate. It feels like you're falling, but there's no transfer of weight or volume.

But strange is a matter of perspective, and my perspective was tilted. And after days of running from demons and jumping through magic doors, this trip felt old hat. Stranger still, I landed on my feet.

My surroundings were unfamiliar, but I was still in the library. A haven for readers. A home for sociopaths. Beautiful books with dangerous secrets lining the walls, floors and ceilings.

I remembered the stranger and my lungs shook. I walked past an errant pile of books before thinking better of it and then stopped to pick them up. After all, I was still in the library. I should work where I could. It was a nice distraction for a few minutes until I realized I wasn't alone.

The soft carpet masked my footsteps, but not the footsteps of whoever was walking in step with me. That only meant one thing. I turned to my right and looked down the aisles and saw what I already knew was there. A restricted section.

A knock on a nearby shelf woke me from whatever trance I'd been placed in.

"Hello, there. Need any help?" they whispered. Whatever they were, it wasn't human and barely passed as such. Standing at nearly 6 feet high, they were taller than me. Dressed in a long reaching robe, there was a face resembling humanity but just outside its bounds.

"No, I'm fine," my voice was surprisingly calm. And confident.

The shade smiled wider, too wide for a human. "Are you now? Maybe you aren't and you don't even realize it?"

The words were hissed and the voice was raspy. Not as smooth or enticing as the stranger had been. This one was far and away different from my encounter with the stranger. Whatever it was, compared to the stranger it was... less.

"Maybe," I tasted the word on my lips. "What can you offer me?"

The figure smiled and beckoned. I felt the doubt, but a lingering curiosity tugged at my interest. Our footsteps on the hardwood floor formed a nice melody to listen to while we walked.

Eventually, we slowed and stopped. "Here we are, this might pique your interest."

I followed their gaze to a beautifully ornate book on display in the middle shelf. It was behind glass, but the gold-embossed lettering spoke of loving tribute to whatever knowledge lay within.

"Go on, take a look." The last syllable stretched on to fill the space in my head. I could think of nothing else besides how beautiful the words inside must be if the cover looked this brilliant.

The glass dulled the sheen of the book. I knew from a glance that it would be even more spectacular to see in my hands.

And there I felt it.

A light twinge leading to a larger realization. The curiosity that I felt wasn't mine. It felt foreign and while I was genuinely curious to know what the book was, it wasn't my emotions encouraging my thoughts.

"That's far enough, I think."

We both turned to see Arjay, standing upright. Resolute. He cupped one hand and poured the powdery contents of the pouch into it. The demon beside me visibly blanched.

"Ah, so you know what I hold," Arjay said. Still chipper. "In that case, I suggest you do as I ask."

A visible nod was all that was needed. Arjay carefully opened the glass casing and removed the book. He flipped the page open to an ominously blank page, "In you go."

The demon gave a half-hearted laugh and a slight-bow. Then it was gone.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Arjay placed the book back in its case and wiped his brow, "Well, then. Shall we go for coffee?"

The bookshelves had been waiting to see what the human did. Word spread about the new page and his encounter with the well-dressed, not-human being. Of the many visitors to the forest, none had been so ill-prepared for this encounter as he, yet he had extricated himself from the in-between unscathed.

The shelves whispered to one another through creaks and groans. The floorboards would have as well, but they were well-groomed and thus knew better than to creak. The boy was certainly not a chosen, nor was he particularly smart. But everything that an ethereal eye or ear watched him all the same as he slowly walked back out of the restricted section with the goblin.

"You handled yourself well. It takes more than three encounters for most people to stop the shaking in their knees," Arjay said pleasantly. I wondered at that, too. This encounter hadn't been as frightening as the last. And the last encounter felt less frightening now than it had then.

I sipped my drink while Arjay hadn't touched his. He wasn't just quiet, he was waiting. For me.

Come on, Soo. You've got this.

I thought back to my first encounter with the stranger. It felt like months ago (which it nearly had been depending on how you measured time in the Leatherbound) during my first trip through a tunnel gate. More than a bit lost and considerably worried about my prospects of finding my way back out of the stacks. Then again in the hatch when I was first faced with the prospect of entering the restricted section for a book.

"Fear." The word formed on my tongue and it tasted acrid. Bitter. "That's what the stranger was attracted to."

Arjay leaned forward and blew on his coffee. His smile was warm.

"But this time..." my voice trailed off as I thought back. I hadn't been afraid this time. In fact, it felt like an emotion had been brought out of me. "Curiosity?"

Arjay smiled wide. "Close. Greed."

I blinked in surprise which made Arjay smile more. "Curiosity is where the demon starts, but eventually it turns to greed. Had you opened that book, you would have consumed the knowledge within. And then another book. Then, more."

I nodded, "Then the demon would have fed off me."

Arjay was happy to see me putting the dots together. I was beginning to understand what the Leatherbound was and how magic worked. Magic wasn't amazing abilities or parlor tricks (although there were a few), magic was knowledge. Information that changed your view of the world and, therefore, how you lived in it.

"Soo, I'm sure you've realized that answers in our world are not freely given. They are earned," Arjay spoke softly. "I believe you've earned a bit for yourself today. Let us play the wizard's game."

The wizard's game, as I had learned, was when two players asked three questions of each other. Two questions had to be answered with the truth while the third had to be a lie. The trick wasn't in the game itself. The trick was learning which was a lie before you acted on the information you were given.

"I'll go first, Soo. How did you come to discover the Leatherbound?"

I thought back. "My uncle, Marvin. He had a book that he asked me to return which I did." I had answered and now it was my turn to ask a question.

"These demons... If I hadn't encountered the black book, would they have still been attracted to me?"

Arjay smiled. "Smart boy. No, the only way for demons to interact with people is if people know they exist to begin with. Since you had encountered the page demon earlier, you were then open to coercion by stronger forces."

"My turn again," said Arjay. "During your time at the library, have you ever knowingly broken any of the rules?"

I thought back to the guidebook. I'd finished it, but I still carried it with me. There were many rules, but they were easy to follow. "No, I haven't."

My second question. "Why were you the one tasked with finding the demon? You may be a goblin, but your day job as a life coach seems at odds with your work at the library."

"Does it?" Arjay flashed an easy smile. "We goblins have the innate ability to see physical manifestations of emotions. Happiness may appear to us as a golden earring or a post-it note. It's the same with guilt or shame. We can remove it just as easily which can take the burden off someone's shoulders, if only temporarily."

If Arjay could see emotions and demons feed off emotions, they'd be natural trackers. Still, a life coach by day and a demon-hunter by night? I could write fan-fiction.

The third question formed in my mind and I knew I had to ask, "The greed demon was barely formed which meant it hadn't fed off anyone or anything in some time. But the stranger was fully formed both times I encountered him. So who is the stranger feeding off of?"

Arjay's smile faded. "No one. The demon has grown too powerful to be trapped in a book and everyone else knows to stay away from him. It is the best we can do."

We sat in silence.

Finally, Arjay broke the silence. "How much does the Leatherbound scare you?"

I answered without thinking, "A lot."

Shit...!

I was supposed to lie at the end. I'd told two truths so the third had to be a lie. But...

Last week, every trip into the stacks was a struggle. I'd peer down each aisle and constantly check my compass to make sure I hadn't made a wrong turn or gotten lost. This time, I'd walked into a restricted section (most of my own accord) and even landed on my feet going through a gate. It took a second, but I realized I wasn't afraid of the Leatherbound.

My last answer had been a lie.