4. Livy

CHAPTER FOUR

LIVY

I t was the crack of dawn and I was a wolf on a mission. I'd had all night to mull over the events of the last several hours and I'd concluded, I'd fucked up big time.

I rushed down the south wing hallway of Malek's castle. Raising a hand, I was blocking out the bright sunlight that filtered in through the glass windows on the left.

I needed to stop Malek's war. Millions of innocent lives depended on it. Yesterday, I made a deal with Malek that if I didn't fall in love with him within two months, he would abandon his war plans.

Anyone with eyes could see I'd never fall in love with Malek. But you know what they say, demons could make lawyers look truthful. I'd be a fool to expect the Demon King to honor his word and not go through with his plans just because he lost a silly little bet.

He was ruthless and determined. There was no way he would be so easy to stop. I'd need to do more than just wait around for two months to pass and hope he kept his promise when he lost.

A wooden plaque hung at the fork in the hallway up ahead. It read, ‘Library, fifty feet away.' A red arrow points right at the fork set beneath it.

I took the right, my strides growing wider as I picked up speed.

Malek had been expanding his territories for almost four years.

I needed to learn more about him, discover his fears, his past, his weaknesses and everything that made him who he was. Only then would I know just how to stop him.

I burst in through the library door, tall shelves packed with books stretched out forever. I combed the aisles for the history section, following the signs. This place was colossal with a ceiling thirty feet high, and a bright light overhead that could rival the sun.

It was hard to gauge just how many rooms this library held, as every couple steps I took, I uncovered a new section with shelves of different colors and books of varying designs on the covers.

I passed a reading corner with four comfortable looking accent chairs for reading. Cutting between the chairs, I dove into the French language books section.

I inhaled deeply, savoring the woody scent of the old books on my left. These smelled particularly nice. God, there was no aroma better than this, I thought, as my mind floated back to the book shop Aurora works in.

On slower business days, Aurora and I used to sit around for hours reading romance novels together. We chatted, describing how we thought our future husbands might look, dreaming about the day we would fall in love and all of our dreams would come true.

"Find what you're looking for?" A womanly voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned around to see a beautiful woman in thick glasses. The embodiment of feminine cuteness, she wore a frilly black dress that flowed just below the knees. Her shoulder length hair was red as fire and her large eyes were a majestic sapphire. Her tiny face was heart shaped, with cheek bones as high as they were sharp .

"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.

"Relax, Lady Sunny. You have nothing to worry about." Senya took my hands from the doorknob, calmly leading me away from the candy house.

"Why aren't we doing anything?" I insisted as she stroked my hand soothingly.

"That witch is actually quite friendly once you get to know her. The characters only last for a few hours. Characters must play their parts like actors in a movie. Regardless of their true personality, they have to play out the story. Nobody ever really gets hurt because no creation is inherently evil," she explained.

"Okay, so the children aren't in any danger, they're just acting out the story. Got it." I nodded.

"Exactly. I've got something else to show you. This one's a real crowd pleaser. The King of Jordan was here last month and he nearly fainted when he saw it." Glee set fire to her eyes as she removed a copy of Moby Dick from the shelf marked, ‘Adventure.'

Instantly, the image of a whale the size of an SUV floated above us, as if he were drifting through water instead of air. The majestic, light gray creature demanded attention with his harmonious whale song.

It was truly a sight to behold as its smooth motions were like a dance, as it swam with the grace of a ballerina, leaving a trail of blue glitter fluttering behind its tail. I'd never seen a whale before, or any sea creature, except for fish. My eyes followed the beautiful creature until I could no longer see it behind the tall shelves in front of me.

"By the gods. I love this place. Can I live in here?" I said in an open-mouthed daze.

"I thought you said you'd only be here for two months." Senya gave me the side eye.

"Maybe I can stay a little longer." I took a step back, trying to see the whale again, not realizing how close I was to the shelf behind me.

I bumped a book loose and it fell to the floor, opening to page three. A picture of a dark ghoulish monster with charcoal black, red eyes that took up half his face was illustrated on the right page, story text on the left. The ghoul's mouth gaped as if he were screaming and he threateningly held a rusty machete over his head.

"The boogie man." Senya rushed over to me as fast as her glass heels would take her. "Maybe it's best to put that one back."

Miserable groaning flowed into the passage along with chilling gray mist.

The ghoul from the book stepped out from behind the shelf several feet away, entering the walkway. He stalked closer, dipping under his cloak he brandished a rusty machete, screaming like a banshee he made a mad dash for me and Senya, machete first.

Senya grabbed the book, dropping it in flight.

Mellow jolted awake as I went on high alert from the impending attack.

The cloak fell from his head, showing his jagged teeth that twisted and turned every-which-way. His smell preceded him, it was so foul it made my nostrils sting.

I snatched up the book, slamming it shut and swinging it back, preparing to clobber him with it.

The boogieman screamed louder as he crept and sped up to a dash. His machete sliced through the entire top row of the adventure section and the harrowing look on his face said he'd planned to do the same to me and Senya.

Senya snatched the book from my hands and quickly shoved it back into its place on the shelf.

The boogieman fell apart, disintegrating like powder in water. His dark ashes dusted the carpet.

Senya's and my eyes met. Her face was covered in a layer of sweat.

"I thought you said that no creation was inherently evil." My chest caved in.

"They aren't, but some choose that path, nonetheless." Her arms rose and fell in front of her in a sweeping gesture. "Most of the story characters aren't like that, I promise you."

This was all very interesting, but it was time I got back to business and did what I came here for. To do some research on Malek and figure out how to stop him from starting a war.

"So about the demon section," I glared down at the ‘boogie dust' then averted my gaze to Senya. "Do you have any books in here about the Demon God?"

"I thought you might ask. Follow me." She gestured in front of her and leaped over the dust. I followed her as we delved past a few more shelves and into an open area with tables and chairs.

She stopped suddenly, and I almost ran into her back .

"All books related to our king are in the restricted section." Her arm shot up 90 degrees at her side as she pointed to a door made mostly out of iron bars, several feet to her left.

With so many bars, you'd think that room was a prison cell. The biggest lock I'd ever seen sealed the heavy latch.

Every polished inch of this library appeared fancy and regal. That door was partially rusted over and spangled with cobwebs, like it hadn't been disturbed in a year. What secrets were hidden behind all that steel and cobwebs.

"Okay, and just how do we go about reading books in the restricted section?" I walked over to the door, trying the lock, and just like I thought, the lock alone weighed forty pounds. A behemoth couldn't break it.

"I'd have to request the key from the king directly. Then there's a short 10 week waiting period." She tilted her head to the side, as she smiled in a way that said she was eager to help. "Would you like me to make the request?"

"Thanks, Senya, but maybe I'll find something helpful somewhere else in the library." I copied her smile.

Ten weeks? I couldn't wait that long. Besides, I didn't need Malek knowing I was trying to dig up dirt on him.

"Okay, well," her eyes cantered back in the direction we came. "The history section has plenty of historical information on demon history, including carefully curated snippets about our king and his rise to glory. The history section and archives are just a few rows back the way we came, on the right."

Her head dipped, and she bit her lip like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it.

"I know you've only just arrived, and you may be nervous being the only wolf among demons. But enjoying the love of our king is a huge blessing. Before you came along, no one thought he would find a bride. Now that you're here, I've never seen him so happy. He may seem scary to some and he may be a bit rough around the edges, but at his core he is a good demon. Maybe all he needs is your patience, then he will soften up a bit."

"Soften? I'm not sure that's possible. I watched him rip his own demons to pieces this morning. It was like something out of a horror movie."

"There is more to my king than meets the eye, an entire history we are forbidden to discuss." She shook her head, dark shadows roaming over her face.

"You mean you're not allowed to even talk about your own king's past?" I pried.

"Well sure. But nothing before the arrival of demons on earth," she whispered, glancing left and right, making sure we're still alone.

"Well, now you have to tell me!" My ears pricked up as I beamed with intrigue. "If there's one thing I love, it's a good mystery. What happened before Malek came to earth? What was his childhood like? Was he born in the same way shifters are?"

"If you're interested in getting lost in a good mystery, I suggest you check our mystery shelf of the fiction section. I think you'll find it quite satisfying." Her voice shook like a saltshaker; and was that fear I saw in the tremble of her eyes. "But please, steer your curiosity away from our king's past, at least if you don't want to upset him."

A minute ago she was so bubbly and carefree and now there were half a dozen lines wrinkling her forehead. What was she hiding and why did it make her look so scared?

"If that is all, Lady Sunny, I really have to get back to sorting the new arrivals. Please let me know if you need anything else." She curtsied and turned away, hightailing it back the way we came.

Oh, this rabbit hole went way deeper than I thought. Any details of a Demon God before he came to earth was forbidden to talk about?

My eyes flew over to the restricted section. Behind those steel bars was the very history it was forbidden for anyone to discuss .

The greatest wolf packs in the world, and the Grand High Mage herself had been trying for years to throw a wrench in Malek's plans, and so far, none had been able to slow him down.

Malek was hiding something. Something big, and I needed to figure out what. Uncovering Malek's past was the key to stopping the war and saving millions of lives.

Good thing for the world, Livy the champion sleuth was on the case.