Page 44 of Saving Destiny

I bank sharply and land on the pedestal closest to the stairs. This landing is smoother than the last, and my talons don’t dig as deeply into the thick leather. The covering isn’t pristine like everything else in the library. It shows signs of age and displays the puncture marks of talons that have come before mine. The library has purposefully left this area untouched to show me that my ancestors once stood in the same place I am standing. They glided along these air currents and landed here throughout their lives. My chest tightens with unnamed emotions.

I focus on something else while I wait for my guardians to reach me, afraid that I’ll have tears in my eyes if I continue to think about my grandmother or mother.

The top floor only has three landing pads as opposed to the usual six on every other floor. There’s one here, at the top of the stairs, one in the middle, and one toward the end. Unlike the other floors, this one doesn’t wrap all the way around to meet the stairs again. It ends with another balcony overlooking the stairs, which means this is the only entrance and exit.

My three guardians who possess lungs bound up the last flight of stairs, and I’m amazed that they’re not gasping for breath. Even Garrett, who seems more equipped for strength than stamina, isn’t struggling. I remind myself that they aren’t magicless. Supernaturals have better health due to their genetics. The more I’m around them, the more I realize that the scales aren’t balanced.

Before his brother can step onto the etched floorboards, Bren bars his progress with an outstretched arm. “Take off your shoes,” he scolds.

Garrett sighs dramatically, but the command feels appropriate, and all three of them bend to slip off their shoes. When I ask the library about my paws, she assures me it’s not a problem. I don’t walk outside, so my paws shouldn’t be any dirtier than their socks.

Although the men are in their stocking feet now, they still stand on the top step. They’re in a line beside me as if waiting for a sign that it’s okay to enter. Kodi hovers on my other side, and his feet dangle several inches above the solid surface. My claws instinctually dig into the leather beneath me when I dare to look down. I return my gaze quickly before vertigo can unbalance my body.

The first ten bookcases don’t appear any different from the ones on every other floor except for the color. The black wood appears as natural as the blue-painted wood on the literature floor or the green wood on the natural sciences level. These shelves glow with more yellow-orange-red runes, though. They look like tiny flames in the darkness.

Beyond these shelves, though, the remainder of the level appears shrouded in fog or shadow. I can’t decide if it's my brain or magic that tries to trick me into believing nothing exists beyond that point, but both war with the truth. I can see the end of the floor behind me, so I know it continues. The enchantment shielding this floor is more powerful than the one I saw when I first entered the library, however. It requires more than a blink to dispel it and see the reality.

“What do you see, Avery?” I whisper although I’m not sure why I’m being so quiet. It’s unnecessary.

“Magic,” the vampire says definitively, “but it looks like a shroud. It's so thick that it looks like a wall in front of me.” Although his voice is firm, it’s equally soft and reverent. “I can only see the energy of one bookshelf, the one nearest us, so I think my sight is affected by the strength of the magic shielding this floor. What do you see?”

“It’s misty,” Garrett grunts. His tone carries suspicion, but I think the emotion acts like a cover to hide awe or intimidation. “I can see the first two bookcases, but a thick fog shields the rest. I know there’s more, but I can’t see beyond that.” He rubs his palms up and down his bare arms. “The magic is so concentrated here that it makes my skin itch.”

“Only two?” I ask with surprise. “One …, two ….” I finish counting silently. “I can see eleven, and I think that leads right up to the middle or perhaps a little before it.”

Bren is grinning. The smile has been persistent since his earlier visit to the floor, and I realize how much I missed it. “You’re the librarian! It makes sense that you can see more! I see four and a hint of the fifth, but I’m a mage, and I’ve been here before.”

Kodi shrugs when I glance toward him. “I only see two.” His tone is sullen, as if he hates having anything in common with the shifter.

I nod but don’t leap off my perch. In fact, none of us moves. The forward momentum Garrett had captured when he bound up the stairs has faded. Are we waiting for something? Or are we being restrained by an invisible boundary? For the briefest moment, I fear we’re unworthy of being here and my spirits plummet toward the floor far below. What did I do wrong?

Chapter 25

Zosia

The air abruptly shifts, and the familiarpopof a goblin’s arrival distracts me from my spiraling thoughts. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the strange creatures until one stands in front of me. He seems older than Gilly or Duggar; his face is craggier and he carries himself with an aura of dignity – if it’s possible for hairless garden gnomes to look dignified.

“Good morning.” I greet the newcomer with a smile that doesn’t betray my previous thoughts. “You must be Finatan. Bren mentioned that you guard this floor.”

The goblin’s wings barely make a sound as he hovers at eye level. “That is correct. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady.” He executes an elegant bow in mid-air as he greets me. When Kodi snickers, Fin’s piercing gaze fixes on him. “Welcome back, young ghost. I’m afraid I was preoccupied when you previously ventured onto my floor.” Although there’s no obvious reproach in the goblin’s voice, my best friend looks like he’s just been scolded by a beloved authority figure. The rebuke could be for a number of things – his irreverent snicker, his previous visit, or anything else really. Kodi doesn’t typically respect anyone or anything, but this particular goblin makes all of us stand a little straighter.

“Welcome back, young mage,” Fin says to Bren before he eyes the remaining people in my party. As if sensing the goblin’s attention, Avery echoes his bow with his feet firmly on the floor.

“Greetings, sir goblin. My name is Avery DuClair, and I am at your service.”

I brace myself for Kodi’s mocking reaction to the vampire’s formal introduction, and I’m amazed when he remains silent.

“Master DuClair,” Fin returns politely. “And you must be Garrett Kennard.”

The shifter’s muscles are tense, and I swear I sense his alpha-ness arguing about offering this goblin the respect he commands. Garrett’s power-hungry father bred certain habits into him and many were probably enforced by threats. It’s not easy for the shifter to overcome them. After a second, however, Garrett lowers his gaze and nods. It’s not a bow, but it’s a significant gesture for an alpha. “I am. Pleased to meet you, sir goblin.”

It’s only then that a smile twists the creature’s perfectly shaped lips and his shoulders relax. When he glances toward me again, I notice that his eyes are different from the others’. Gilly’s and Duggar’s dark eyes lack the depth of a human’s; they resemble buttons or stones. This goblin’s eyes appear more reflective but also deeper, as if he’s more than a soul stuffed into an ill-fitting suit. The comparison startles me. I’ve never considered the goblins like this before, but it fits them. They have bodies, but their bodies seem inadequate or incongruous with the rest of them. It brings to mind one of Frankenstein’s creations or clay golems.

“Excellent. Now we’ve been introduced, but please call me Fin. Finatan is a mouthful.” The increased cheer in the goblin’s voice pushes my distracting thoughts aside. “This be your official welcome to the tenth floor . We call it the arcane level for lack of a better title. Here ye shall find all manners of mysteries – relics and treasures that are centuries old, texts that date back to the creation of words, stone tablets bearing the first scribbles of man, and more ….” Fin’s voice burrs and lilts occasionally. The shifting accent is fascinating, but the substance of his words is what grabs my attention. What is the more? What else could there be?

I hesitate on the pedestal as I consider shifting back. Since becoming a sphinx was one of the requirements of the job, I decide that it’s acceptable to wander around while in this form. I don’t have my chair or my braces, but that's a flimsy excuses because I know the library can provide them. Honestly, I enjoy my animal form’s strength and ease of movement, even if I have to tilt my head back to see the upper shelves.

Fin turns in mid-air, gesturing for us to accompany him into the stacks. Bren follows with an eager grin, and I barely restrain my laughter when I see his stockinged feet clear the landing. One of his socks is purple and the other is yellow. It’s so like him that the sight fills me with joy, and I automatically survey the others’. Garrett wears gray athletic socks and Avery sports thin, black dress socks. I once read a magazine article that claimed shoes represent women. Do socks represent men?

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