“Wooo~ow, he’s kinda cute,” Suhail whispered as they passed by a handsome man in long robes. “But what’s up with his dress? Is it some kind of library dress-code?”

Xisa rolled her eyes internally.

It’s not a dress, its robes. Anyone could see he’s a Taoist monk.

“Hey frog-girl, we made it to the bottom floor! So many people are coming and going…”

Xisa followed Suhail’s gaze to the set of wide doors that stretched upwards. People meandered in and out through the open entrance, most of them in similar robes as the man they had just passed. Beyond the doors, streetlamps flickered warmly against the starry night sky and a bustling crowd filled the streets.

Is it another illusion…? Xisa wondered as she looked at the dark sky outside. She had gotten to the bookstore in the morning… there was no way it was already nighttime… right?

“Since when was Cyewen so crowded…?” Suhail muttered to himself.

Suhail grabbed the hem of Xisa’s shirt and began dragging her towards the door. As they passed through the more crowded region by the entrance, Xisa sucked in a breath. She hadn’t been able to tell from afar, but now that she was closer she could see that aside from the people in robes, many of the individuals around her were more creature than human. Some of them were humanoid animals similar to Suk, while others were more ghastly like that three-mouthed woman that had spoken to them earlier. And while she had grown somewhat used to Suk, seeing so many bizarre beings around her made her feel somewhat intimidated. For once, Xisa felt a little glad for Suhail’s companionship.

Though I still wish Morg was here instead…

“Where… are we…?” Suhail asked when they finally made it outside, his eyes dazedly flitting left and right. Xisa twisted her way out of Suhail’s grasp and swiveled around, taking in their surroundings. They stood at the top of a long staircase leading up to the entrance of the grand building they had just left. Large pillars stretched up to arching rooftops and pale marble tiles covered the floor of the entranceway. Below them, hundreds of people bustled about the lively streets. Warm lamps lined the twisting pathways, and softly glowing lanterns hung from the various vending stalls scattered amongst the people, vibrant against the night sky. Xisa caught snippets of conversation as the peoples’ voices drifted up through the crowds.

“Hotpot! Fresh hotpot here! Beef ribs! Pork belly! Come try our world-famous broth!”

“Brother, this is the place I was telling you about. They really do make excellent broth.”

“Right this way, right this way. Hehe, you won’t be disappointed!”

…

“Summer festival masks! Made to fit any and every head shape!”

“Summer festival… What summer festival? Mister, are you making thing’s up?”

“Ah… M-me? Make things up?! Well I… never!”

“Haha, just goes to show, you can never trust a demon…”

…

“Selling that here? In front of LingXing Library? Are you crazy, this place is crawling with monks, you’ll be caught in an instant!”

“S-selling what? This is pigs’ meat, pigs I say, I wouldn’t dare sell something… illicit as you seem to be suggesting.”

“Pigs my ass, this is clearly a human foot! Look, I’m telling you this for your own good, anyone with eyes can see that-”

“What is this? Selling human parts, I see? You demons never learn your lesson, do you.”

Shiiiing!

Xisa watched, enthralled, as a willowy man in flowing robes drew a gleaming sword and slashed a nearby vendor’s stall in half. The owner of the stall, a pig-faced demon with beady eyes and floppy ears, snarled in anger, uncannily human-like teeth shining from behind its lips and spittle leaking from its mouth.

“Fine, so it's human meat! Humans ate my brothers and sisters, why shouldn’t I eat the humans in return?!” the demon cried in a distinctly feminine voice. “Where is the justice in that, huh?”

As she spoke, the rotund demon dodged the man’s sword with surprising grace, even managing to lash out with her teeth in an attempt at chomping the man’s leg. The man easily countered, swinging his leg out of the way of the demon’s teeth and landing a kick in her stomach all in one motion. So entranced by the action was Xisa that she didn’t even notice when Suhail grabbed up the hem of her shirt in his fist again. Just as she made up her mind to get a closer look, Suhail abruptly yanked on her clothes and began dragging her back inside.

“Hey!” Xisa shouted angrily, punching at the fist that grasped her shirt.

“It’s already dark outside, we’ve been gone for too long!” Suhail exclaimed as he tried grabbing Xisa again. “If we don’t get back soon, Dante… Dante might…” Suhail trailed off, his eyes glazing over slightly. Xisa’s heart skipped a beat at the reminder.

If we don’t get back soon, I might be in trouble with Maisha!

“Ha, what does it matter?!” Suhail laughed mirthlessly, a wild light flickering in his eyes. “You’re right. Come on, let’s keep exploring.”

He grabbed Xisa’s wrist and started down the stairs, but stopped when Xisa dropped into a crouch and refused to move.

I can’t let him drag me around any longer, we have to get back soon or Maisha might be upset!

Suhail glanced back at Xisa with a frown. Much to her surprise, Suhail finally let go of her.

“I can just explore on my own, the pendant will probably become useless soon, anyways! See you later, then!” he exclaimed cheerily before moving towards the steps.

What, he’s just going to wander around here alone?!

Rolling her eyes, Xisa grabbed the boy’s wrist this time and began dragging him back into the library. Unexpectedly, he let her, though not without complaining about it.

“What, we’re going back already? But this place is so interesting! Come onnn~, we should keep exploring, we might find something really neat!”

You’re the one who suggested leaving in the first place, Xisa thought grumpily.

“Have we really been gone so long? It seemed like it was only a couple of minutes, how could it be dark out already?” Suhail muttered. Xisa glanced over at him.

“Ah!” he suddenly exclaimed, stopping mid-stride. “No, we can’t have been gone for that long, because this pendant stops working after only two hours! Hey frog-girl, you can still understand me, right?” he asked, turning to stare at Xisa.

Xisa briefly considered not answering just to mess with him, but upon seeing his expression, simply nodded. Suhail’s shoulders relaxed for a moment before tensing up again. The two sank into silence, for which Xisa was eternally grateful.

After a while of meandering up the building’s twisting stairs and along the pathways winding through the rows of books, Xisa and Suhail found themselves back by the very same shelves they had entered through. The secret ‘door’ was thankfully somewhat hidden away from the immediate view of passerby, tucked amongst rows and rows of books. Sinking to his knees, Suhail began pulling books off the shelf.

This library is surprisingly navigable- I can’t believe we found the door again so quickly! I was certain we would get lost in-

“Uh…” Suhail frowned, “Are we sure this is the right place…?”

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Xisa groaned internally- of course the universe would spite her like this! The young witch sank to her knees beside Suhail and stared at the solid wall behind the books.

Ugh.

With a sigh, Xisa peered around. They were on the ninth floor- she had double checked before they went downstairs. And the nearby painting on the wall was the same- a vibrantly colored bird soaring over the mountains. There was no way they got the location wrong!

“Guess we had better keep exploring outside, then!” Suhail cried cheerily. Xisa grabbed his wrist before he could escape and began dragging him around the floor. She first triple checked that they were indeed on the 9th level- the sign by the staircase said so- before wandering through the forest of shelves looking for any paintings similar to the one she remembered.

But after a long while of searching, the kids quickly realized that the situation was hopeless.

“Wow, I guess we really are stuck here!” Suhail grinned, though he seemed a little more subdued since earlier. Xisa sighed. Actually, she had another option. Though she hadn’t quite been able to put it into practice yet, Songbai and Maisha had recently taught her how to work the Wandering Runes. The rune for Cyewen wasn’t complicated, and her mentors had insisted on her memorizing its pattern as soon as possible. Wherever they were, she should be able to get them to Cyewen’s portal gate, on the outskirts of the village. This way, she could also pretend she had been wandering around the village rather than snooping around a hidden library world. The only problem was…

“Xiaoha. You must never show your magic in front of anyone other than us. If you do, we could all be in danger.”

Xisa pursed her lips. How was she supposed to use them without this boy noticing?

Well it's not as if we have any other options at this point. I’ll just… make him cover his eyes or something.

Xisa led Suhail around a corner near a set of small secluded rooms. Perhaps there for solitary reading? She was unsure. Xisa took up Suhail’s hands and covered his eyes with them, then spun him around so that his back was to the door.

“What’s this about?” he tried asking, peeking through his fingers and over his shoulder. Xisa grabbed his head and turned it back the other way. He was… surprisingly compliant. Then she began drawing the rune on the door, hoping she was using her mana in the right way while she did so. Maisha had said that the Wandering Runes were the most basic of spells, that the runes did all the work and mana only had to be present- there was no need for direct control over anything because the gates themselves had already been infused with generations of witches’ magic.

When she finished drawing the symbol, she reluctantly reached for the doorknob and turned the handle. Warm light poured into the library.

“Wooaaahhh~!” Suhail praised in awe, his fingers cracked as he peeked behind his shoulder. Xisa sighed. Trying to keep this from him had been a silly endeavor. She should have known.

Xisa approached the boy and pointed to the door emphatically while holding a finger over her lips in a shushing motion and crossing her arms in a big X shape.

“Ohh~ you want me to keep this a secret? Sure, I swear on my life not to tell a single soul about this ever. I’ll take it to my grave!” Suhail declared, his loud voice cutting through the silence of the library like a knife. Xisa winced. Grabbing the boy’s hand, she quickly dragged Suhail through the door and back into their village of witches.

*

Not long after they returned to a surprisingly sunlit Cyewen, Suhail’s translation pendant ran out of juice. Dante had only given him five, telling him to use them sparingly, and even though the frog-girl hadn’t said much at all to him, he felt this use had been worth it.

Although they couldn’t communicate as easily anymore, Suhail still followed Xisa all the way back to the bookstore. She was still fun to pester, even when she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Somehow, the dark-skinned woman that had gone to the bookstore with Xisa was still preoccupied when they returned, which Xisa had seemed relieved about. But when she did eventually emerge, Xisa had immediately gone and hid by her side, thus ending their playdate.

Suhail hummed as he wandered along the cobblestone paths of Cyewen, making his way back. Clear skies filled his vision with blue as a soft breeze fluttered his hair. As he crossed a short bridge over the canal that ran through Cyewen, Suhail caught a glimpse of his reflection in the waters below and paused. The sunlight dancing across the water’s surface made his eyes shine a pale lilac, and his soft brown hair fluttered in the gentle wind.

How long will I be able to stay here? He thought in a daze, staring down at the quiet waters. In his rippling reflection, his smile smeared into something more akin to a grimace.

Suhail shook the annoying thoughts out of his head and continued on his way. He may as well enjoy his time here, regardless of the future! Romping down the cobblestone roads, he reached Dante’s townhouse in no time.

BANG!

The building trembled slightly when Suhail slammed the door open, a broad smile spreading across his face.

“DANTE, I’M HOME!” he shouted, causing Dante to drop the tools in his hands. Suhail ignored the ensuing clattering and continued speaking. “You’ll never guess what happened to me today! Some girl with a funny pet frog drew a strange symbol on a door and made it open to a completely new place! How exciting!”

Dante looked up from his work and turned his attention to the young witch. Something in his icy gaze made Suhail flinch. Before he knew it, his mouth was moving on its own.

“I-I-I mean,” Suhail choked out, “I’m sorry for disturbing your work…”

“Don’t go around saying useless things,” Dante said in a neutral tone, turning back to his workbench. “In our world, a careless word can cost a life.”

Suhail shuddered, unable to tell if Dante had meant it as advice or as a threat.

“Right,” Suhail half-whispered before slinking up the stairs of the townhouse.

So just go ahead and get rid of me, then, Suhail thought as he entered the small bedroom Dante had lent him. You think I care?

Suhail sank into the plush blankets of his bed and buried his face into the frustratingly soft pillows. The unfamiliar comfort made his heart itch.

Kick me out or kill me- I promised myself a long time ago that I’d stop caring about that sort of stuff.

Suhail ignored the wetness gathering around his eyes and buried his face deeper into the pillows. He had promised himself long ago that he would never cry again over such things.

But he had never been good at keeping his promises.

*

“Maisha.”

Maisha groaned internally. She had evaded Songbai all morning and had hoped that her fellow witch had forgotten about whatever it was she wanted to speak about, but it seemed she had not escaped. Maisha sat at the kitchen table and gestured for Songbai to speak.

“You know I left that tree as it was. The one Morg covered in eyes? It looks enough like a normal tree with its eyes closed, and Morg seemed to like it, so I thought we might be able to use it somehow to help her practice with her magics,” Songbai rambled, gesturing outside with her folding fan in the direction of the infamous tree. Maisha tapped her fingers against her arm impatiently, waiting for her fellow witch to get to the point.

“Not even Dante had noticed it when he came up here, so I figured it would be fine to leave it.”

“Even if someone did notice, it shouldn’t be a big deal, right? What’s your point,” Maisha grumbled, a sense of nervousness growing in her stomach.

“Morg mentioned that she saw a trio of men snooping around the island last week. What’s more, she thinks they spotted the tree and rather than looking surprised, looked as if they had found something they had been searching for. I’m worried they were with the church, and I’m worried they’re up to something. But why would they have been looking for something like that?”

Maisha’s expression darkened.

I thought I had taken care of these troublesome lines of fate. Henry himself set the gears into motion. Their attention should have been diverted.

“I understand. Leave it to me, I’ll take care of it.” Maisha stood, her mind already turning, looking for ways to prepare, what lines of fate she should attempt to peer into, how best to utilize the pawns at her disposal. But before she could step away from the table, Songbai grabbed her wrist.

“Take care of it how? You know something, right? You have a plan? Let me help you.”

Maisha snatched her hand back, not bothering to hide her scowl.

“Enough. Stop meddling in my affairs,” Maisha responded flatly.

“How are these not my affairs?” Songbai asked in desperate frustration. “I’m on your side, just let me help you.”

Maisha’s mouth twitched, her scowl shifting into a more complicated expression.

“We can talk later. I need to speak with a friend.”

And with that, Maisha rushed out the door.

*

Maisha issss here.

At Ua’s hissed phrase, Henry glanced around the church as nonchalantly as possible. People lined the pews, listening avidly as Father Isiah gave his Wednesday sermon. Children dozed off as their parents nudged them awake. Elderly people watched with wide eyes, nodding their heads with serious expressions from time to time.

Though she stood in the shadows near the church’s entrance, Maisha was not difficult to find; she was the only person in the entire building who was not white. As soon as their eyes met, Maisha turned around and left as quietly as she had entered. Not even Father Isiah noticed her coming and going. Henry himself only noticed after Ua tipped him off.

Half an hour later, the evening sermon ended and Henry slipped out of the church with the leaving churchgoers. As he got closer to the entrance, various murmurs reached his ears.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Does she not know that the colored church is down the street?”

“Maybe she can’t read, poor thing.”

“Even if she can’t read, I’m sure she can see. Tut tut, she should know better.”

Henry clenched his jaw at their words, his heart pounding anxiously.

“M-Maisha!” he called loudly, as soon as he spotted her. Several heads turned his way, burning gazes watching his every move. “It’s good to s-see you,” he said evenly when he reached her side and put a hand on her shoulder. “What b-b-brings you here?”

A woman visibly cringed when he touched her, as if the once righteous deacon had suddenly become tainted. Henry let out a sad sigh. He himself had preached countless times about the virtues of kindness and compassion, but these people were so stuck in their ways that they didn’t seem to understand how to extend that to those outside their own demographic.

Maisha lightly patted his clenched fist, as if feeling sorry, but the action only made him feel more miserable. Was she worried about him? Apologetic as if she had done something wrong? Meeting openly shouldn’t be a problem like this.

“L-let us h-head inside,” Henry said coolly, turning to glance at the dark gazes watching them. “‘For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks upon outward appearance, but the Lord looks upon the heart.’ S-Samuel 16:7. It w-would seem some of you have forg-gotten the Lord’s t-teachings.”

Several members of the crowd turned away in shame, their gazes flitting to the ground. Others continued looking at them in mild confusion, while others still gazed at him with open contempt. But Henry didn’t continue wasting time on the follies of man. Maisha wouldn’t have appeared out of the blue if there wasn’t something important.

Henry turned and followed Maisha away from the cold eyes of the crowd.