Page 47 of Shattered Darkness

Out of the corner of my eye I see Sage pull her lip into her mouth and start chewing on it as she worries. I squeeze her hand, getting her to look up at me while everyone else falls into their own conversations.

“Please be careful. I don’t like it.” She tells me earnestly.

“I promise that I will,” I reply and then add, “I wouldn’t go knowing that it worries you if it wasn’t for the fact that I need to. My Siren needs it.”

“I know that’s why I’m not asking you to stay; I’m just asking you to be careful and look after each other.”

I nod and then lower my head, pressing my lips against hers.

“Hey guys,” Erin greets happily, causing Sage and I to pull apart as we come out of our little bubble and back to the here and now.

“Hey, sorry it took us a while. Dean was determined to find his artifact papers,” Maria says, rolling her eyes.

I chuckle as Dean holds up a handful of papers triumphantly. “I found them.”

“Yes, but we were late and it was unnecessary because Asher said that he could just print more off for you,” Yates reminds him.

“Yes, but I found them,” Dean argues back.

“As amusing as this is, I think we should probably get inside,” Cain says, interrupting their banter.

“Yeah, of course,” Dean replies, and then adds, “sorry.”

We all sort of look at each other since the door is usually locked by now, and none of us have tried to open it, and we have all heard the stories of the kids who have tried to get in after hours and the magical backlash that they’ve received from it. I think I heard about one kid who ended up with pens for hair for a week, and no one could work out how to undo the spell. They had to beg the library to undo it itself.

I personally thought it was hilarious at the time, but standing here now, I really don’t want some sort of backlash like that. That was one of the milder stories of what happens to people who try to trespass, and I know that it depends on the intention of the person getting in. which is why I’m hoping that our intentions of wanting to help the library and give it back the control of the whole space will mean that it will let us in.

“Why are we all just standing here?” Sage stage whispers, making me smile.

“I imagine because of the stories of what the library does to people who try to get in after hours,” Cain replies with an amused smirk.

“You’re the teacher, you ask?” Kai suggests with a smirk of his own.

“Er, no, I’m okay actually,” Cain replies.

“Oh, for fuck sake, I’ll ask,” Asher says, rolling his eyes like we’re all being ridiculous, but he can’t completely hide his nerves.

We all move out of his way, and he slowly approaches the door.

Just as he gets there, Jett says with a teasing smirk, “If you get pens for hair or lose your eyebrows, I’m going to laugh. I just thought it was right that you know.”

Asher flips him off, “Thank dude. That was surprisingly unhelpful.”

“You are welcome,” Jett replies with a grin that has me trying to hide my own.

“Could you let us in, please, so that we can help you get rid of the thing that’s stopping you from occupying the whole of your library?” Asher asks the library door, looking a little bit like he’s lost it.

There’s a resounding click that signifies that the door has been unlocked and Asher slowly reaches forwards, no doubt trying to make sure that he’s not about to get tricked and end up missing eyebrows. I think we all breathe a sigh of relief as the handle turns, and he pushes the door open with no adverse consequences.

At least that’s what it looks like.

“So far, so good,” Asher says as he looks back at us and then turns back around, stepping over the threshold.

The rest of us all wait to see if anything happens to him, and when it doesn’t, we all head in after him.

Chapter Sixteen

Sage

---