Page 11 of Dark Captivation

“If this is what demons call fashion, you can sign me up.” I exclaimed, catching sight of her ‘cinderella-esque’ glass heels.

“Oh these? I always dress like this on Fridays.” She smiles, rotating one foot to the side, giving me a better look at the thin glass heel.

“I’m Senya. You must be Lady Sunny. It is a pleasure to meet you.” She curtsied with the grace of a princess.

“I don’t know about that ‘lady’ stuff but you can call me, Livy.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare refer to my future queen so casually.” She drew her shoulders in tightly, seeming nervous.

“I don’t know what Malek told you, but I am not your future queen. As a matter of fact, I shouldn’t be here for more than two months.”

“Two months. Right. Gotcha,” she gave an exaggerated wink, as if she were humoring me.

I pursed my lips, clasping my hands. “Anyway, can you point me to the demon history section?”

“Absolutely, my Lady. Right this way.” She bowed her head, fingering the open space between the shelves, behind me.

She took the lead, and I followed her past several bookcases as we explored deeper recesses of the library.

A whistle tooted, and I watched in delight as a toy train rode along a small platform that traced along the library walls. It was modeled after an old-style English steam train. The engine pulled five open topped train cars packed with books.

“What is that positively magical looking thing?”

“That’s the library delivery system. King Malek orders a few books every day. The book sources search for the books and puts them on the train. The train then carries his order straight to his study. Even the palace staff are allowed to use it if their searches are related to their duties.” Senya explained as the train departed through a tunnel in the wall.

“Speaking of magical, would you like to see the fiction section?” Her voice went up an octave, her nostrils going wide in excitement.

“Show me.” It had been ages since I had the chance to read a good book. I hadn’t the time to do more than look, but mystery and magic bled from every shelf here and I wanted to see more.

We entered the fiction section and the only difference I noticed was that while the previous section’s shelves were mahogany brown, these were black. They held all the greats, everything from The Great Gatsby, to all the works of Hemmingway.

“Well, aren’t you going to take one?” Senya asked, with an eager smile tightening her cheeks.

“Okie dokie.” Reaching out a hand, I removed the closest book from the shelf. It was a dusty old novel that read ‘Hansel and Gretel’ on the cover.

I was about to put the book back when two children ran by. A little blond boy and girl in overalls.

I jumped, trying to understand what just happened. The children giggled loudly as they turned the bend and dipped into the next row.

“Hansel and Gretel?” I asked, my eyes growing wide.

Senya jerked her head up and down.

“You mean the characters in these books can come to life? How is this even possible?” The book fell at my side.

“This entire section was enchanted by mages years ago. It cost the king a pretty penny, but this is the place every palace guest can’t stop talking about. Everyone wants to come and experience what it’s like to hang out with their favorite story characters.”

Hansel and Gretel retraced their steps, coming back down the passage, springing back. Senya and I giggled. They dropped breadcrumbs along the way.

“No, children! I already told you to stop it with the breadcrumbs. We just got rid of the rats from last time.” Senya ran to them, finger wagging like an irate grade school teacher. “Now pick them all up and put them in the garbage. Come on now children!”

Hansel and Gretel ran circles around Senya. Giggling mischievously, they ran into a small candy house that completely blocked the pathway between the science fiction and thriller shelves.

Senya sighed, hunching over onto her knees and catching her breath. An old witch in a black cloak poked her head out from behind the science fiction shelf and stared right at me. Licking her lips, she set her sights on the candy house and cackled fiendishly. Taking a glance left and right, she darted into the candy house and shut the candy cane door behind her.

“My god! We have to help the children.” I rushed for the door, grabbing a hold of the candy cookie doorknob and yanked at it desperately, but it seemed to have been locked from the inside.

“Senya, you must know what happens next in the story. She’s going to attack the children,” I wailed.

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