2. Secret Public Library

Chapter 2

Secret Public Library

" S omeone told me there were dog barks coming from my library. I should have known it was you," Esmerelda Honeydew said as she entered her darkened library. "You know they make ladders now. You didn't have to fly up there."

Alice sat sidesaddle on top of Guinevere's brown leather seat, with her legs crossed. They hovered close to the top of the towering bookcases. A few candles hovered around her. Their flames flickered on the pages of the leather-bound book placed on her lap. She tore herself away from the book and glanced down at her friend. "I prefer this way. I can move around better."

Max sprinted around the corner of a bookcase to greet her friend. The long hairs of the playful golden retriever's tail waved high in the air like a flag. She held her toy cauldron in her mouth. Max gave two squeezes of the squeaker as a greeting.

Ez patted the rambunctious dog on the head. "Nice to see you too, good buddy. Is Alice treating you okay?" she asked.

Max sat down and wagged her tail aggressively across the hardwood flooring.

"I'll take it as a yes," Ez added. She turned her attention back to Alice. "You could use a little more light."

Ez snapped her fingers. The candlesticks around the library roared to life. Vintage lamps hung from the ceiling, pushing pushed back against the darkness with their yellowish-orange glow. The colorful leather spines of ancient tomes worn with age rested on the shelves of the floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookcases. The ceiling reached two stories high. A rail system connected multiple bookcases with a ladder reaching to the top.

"Kiddo, you look like hell," Ez said.

Alice ran her hand through her frizzy hair. A few purple strands fell in front of her face. Her eyes were strained and weary as they readjusted from reading the ancient text. Dark bags lingered under her eyes. Her normally bubbly personality was tempered with the weight of a soul on her shoulders. The restless nights had ravaged her appearance and drained her soul.

"She won't let me sleep," Alice replied in a monotone.

"I hope you're not talking about my good buddy here." Ez patted Max once again.

"No, my reflection. She's like an alarm clock. Every six . . . five . . . four hours. Two. She yells at me to get up and get back to work. I'm going to have to start sleeping on the couch. Or in the wine cellar. Oh, I reconnected our magical rooms again, by the way."

"I figured."

"I hope you don't mind. I thought since the Savinos were gone, it didn't matter anymore. It'll save us both on gas money." Alice flipped the page of her book, once again searching through the ancient lore for the answers she sought.

"So, what are you doing here?" Ez asked.

"Reading."

"Yes, but why are you here?"

Alice drooped her shoulders. She rotated her neck back and forth to alleviate the strain from being hunched over. "You know what I'm doing. I'm going to be late on the next shipment. I'm a little . . . preoccupied."

"How are the Raskins doing?"

"Carol isn't talking to me. She blames me, and rightly so. Oliver does the talking for her. He's holding up well. At least, he seems be holding up well."

"How are you doing?"

Fine. I'm fine. Hugo's words from the night they first met raced through her mind.

"I'm fine."

"You most certainly are not fine."

"What answer do you want me to tell you?" She flipped the page in the book.

"Alice Lorina Primrose, don't you ever lie or hide or shy away from me. I want you to tell me the truth. How are you doing?"

Alice slammed the book shut and shoved it back into place on the shelf. She gave two taps to Guinevere's purplish broomcorn, and they descended. Alice stretched out her legs, her feet dangling to meet the ground. She stood. "The truth is . . ."

Her words trailed off as she stumbled, catching herself on the ash white broom handle with one hand and the mahogany case with the other. Alice's legs had fallen asleep. She sat in her cross-legged position, so focused on the book that she was unaware of her legs falling asleep. She wobbled back and forth, awaiting her legs to regain their steadiness.

Alice fixated on Ez and continued, "The truth is I'm a fucking wreck. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I've lost track of time. It's been an hour, and it's been a week and a year. Hell, it's been an eternity. All at the same time. My reflection won't give me a moment of peace. If I don't continue my work, then the thoughts overwhelm my mind. It consumes me."

Tears welled in her eyes as they turned bloodshot. She paused before adding, "This is all my fault. Hugo is dead because of me. I should've stayed. If I didn't drive up here to see you, then he would have never confronted the Savinos. He would've never become a vampire. He would still be alive." She pounded against her chest with her palm with every word as if she was punishing herself for her misdeeds.

Alice let go of the broom handle and the shelf.

She continued, "I never gave a second thought to him staying behind. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now look."

Alice slapped the sides of her hips. She pursed her lips to hold back the tears. She paused for a moment before pleading, "I don't know what to do. If there was a body, this would be so much easier."

"If there was a body . . .?" Ez interjected. "Dark magick isn't to be trifled with. You can't bring him back to life like replacing batteries."

"Well, it would be better than not having a body at all. He's dust now. Gone. Evaporated into nothingness. I don't even have a body." She gripped her black onyx engagement ring and gave two twists. "I don't even have a body to mourn."

Ez glanced at Alice's finger. "So, you're doing the ring turn now?"

"I understand why he did it." She let go of the ring. The purple amethyst stone rested upright on her finger.

Alice used the sleeve of her black shirt to wipe a tear from her cheek. "All I have is this work. It's the only thing keeping me sane. I couldn't make wine now if I wanted to. Not without him by my side."

Alice could no longer hold back the tears. They fell down her cheeks like snaking rivers. She sobbed. "I've read through page after page of these stupid books, hoping to find an answer. There's nothing. Nothing can bring him back. I owe it to him to keep trying. Keep searching. Even if it takes my whole life."

Ez slumped her shoulders and lowered her head. "Contacting the dead isn't something easily done. It's risky. You never know who might answer on the other side. Besides, what if he doesn't want to come back?"

Alice sniffled, once again wiping the tears with her shirt sleeve. "What do you mean?"

Ez stood upright. "What if he's happier on the other side? What if he's reunited with his first wife and happy? Would he want to leave his reunion and return here?"

Alice pursed her lips. She furled her eyebrows and shook her head. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"It could be true. You have to consider that if they're reunited on the other side, he wouldn't want to return, even if given the opportunity."

"This conversation is done." Alice hopped onto the bicycle seat and crossed her legs once more. She gave two pats to the broomcorn, and they rose back up. She pulled another book from the shelf, opening a random page in the middle of the book.

"You won't find the answers you seek there."

Alice didn't respond. She flipped through the brown, time-stained pages.

Ez added, "They aren't there because I keep those texts hidden. I don't want any witch or wizard to stumble across them."

Alice held a page in between her thumb and index finger, ready to flip it over. She paused, waiting for Ez to continue.

"If I give you access to them—and that's a huge if right now—I need you to make me a promise," Ez said.

"What do you want me to do?"

"First, I want you to get some sleep. These texts are not to be taken lightly. You'll need as much energy as you can muster. Tell your reflection sleep is necessary."

"I think I can get some sleep." Alice flipped the page over.

"Second, I want you to promise me you'll set a limit."

Alice glanced over to Ez. "A limit?"

"Yes. A limit. Three chances. No more. The more you try to contact him, the more attention you'll bring to yourself. You never know who or what will come through. Three chances. No more. There's a reason this spell is usually tried on Sauin."

"I can't wait almost a year."

"I know. Which is why you have a limit of three."

"Okay. No more than three," Alice said as she slammed the book shut. She returned it to the shelf.

"Third, when you make contact, you must accept whatever he says. If he doesn't want to come back, then he doesn't come back. Understood?"

Alice sat in silence. Her eyes wandered along the shelf, examining the tattered leather spines.

"Do you understand?" Ez sternly asked.

Alice understood, but she couldn't answer. She held an internal debate over whether to heed Ez's advice or stop at nothing until she was wrapped in Hugo's arms once again. She bit her lip and tapped her fingers across her knee. She twitched a foot back and forth.

"Understand?" Ez asked once more in a raised voice. "Or else there is no deal."

Alice gave two taps to the purplish broomcorn. They descended. She stood up, this time more surefooted and confident. "I understand. Three times. No more."

"Good. Follow me."

Ez led the way through the library and disappeared behind a row of bookcases. Alice followed with Max racing in front of her. The impatient golden retriever blazed ahead to lead her pack. Alice whistled, and her broomstick followed behind.

Ez wound her way through rows and rows of bookcases. The vastness of Ez's library overwhelmed Alice. Countless bookcases towered over her, their dizzying heights disorienting her and causing her to lose track of where they were and where they started.

Max was perfectly content taking the lead in front of Ez. Her tail wagged as if she knew where they were going on their little adventure. Ez turned a corner, and Max circled around and dashed to the front once again.

Alice peered over her shoulder to the floating ash broomstick following behind. She was there. Never more than a step or two behind, like an ever-vigilant guardian over their whole group. Alice smiled. She had worried she forgot how to smile. This one moment brought her extra joy.

"It's right around the corner," Ez said.

After making one final turn, Alice's eyes landed on another magical door, but not the same wooden and iron clad door used as an entrance to magical rooms such as her wine cellar. This was different. Two doors with darkened brass knobs came together to form one door. Arcane symbols were carved into the stone frame—the same symbols used to protect Alice's house from intruders.

A statue of a raven stood guard over the entryway. Its wings jutted out as if it was ready to take flight. Dark-colored jewels in its eye sockets gave the statue an unsettling appearance, as if it observed anyone who approached.

Ez withdrew a brass key from her pocket, about the size of her palm. It formed the shape of a flat skull at one end.

"A skull? Seems a little dramatic," Alice stated.

"It's so I can easily find it. Besides, it adds to the ambiance."

Ez placed the key into the hole beneath one of the doorknobs and turned. The click released the lock, and the doors swung open to reveal a dark alcove. Alice peered into the room, but instead of seeing the outline of bookcases, it was as if a thick, ichor cloud swirled on the inside.

Max stuck her head into the room, ready to lead the group in, but retreated backward with a shallow growl. She dipped her head low and clamped down on her cloth cauldron. She worked back behind Alice's legs, hiding from whatever was in the room. Max stuck her head around so she could see.

"Aw, is she afraid of the dark?" Ez asked with a sly smile.

"What is that thing?"

"A little extra protection." Ez snapped her fingers in rapid succession.

The darkness retreated from the room. The outlines of objects revealed themselves. Wall sconces on the stone facade flared to life. The room wasn't as tall as the rest of the library. The floor and walls were covered in stone. Bookshelves lined the walls. Other items were scattered throughout the room as well. A desk. Multiple trunks. Draped cloths hid objects placed on pedestals. Hutches filled with crystal balls and other objects. Four sets of knightly plate armor—not made fully of steel, but incorporated hardened crystal-like scales—stood guard in the corners of the room.

"Welcome to the inner sanctum," Ez said as she invited Alice inside. "This is where I keep my prized items, including the most dangerous books I want to keep away from curious eyes. Follow me."

Alice followed Ez to a bookshelf in the back. Unlike the other bookcases, these books were kept behind glass doors. Similar arcane marks were carved into their wooden doors. Ez pulled out another brass key from her pocket.

"Are you that paranoid?" Alice asked.

Ez pointed the key at Alice. "You can never be too careful."

She placed the key into the glass door and, with a click, she opened it to reveal the books inside. "These are the books of five. The five most dangerous books ever created. It's taken my whole life to collect them. Very few remain, yet I was able to scrounge a copy or two for myself. Don't ask how I got them."

"I wasn't going to."

"Good." Ez glanced back with a smile and a wink.

She turned her attention back to the books. She pointed to a book bound in yellow leather with starbursts etched into the cover. "First is the book of light. The power of the cosmos at your fingertips."

Ez then pointed to a green bound book with creatures and plants etched into it. "The book of life."

She pointed to the next two, one brown covered in swirls and the other orange with a carving of a man. "The book of elements and the book of the mind."

Ez held her finger over the last one. It was black. The cover smooth and untouched. A metal latch sealed the cover shut. "This is the one you seek," Ez said as she picked up the book.

She paused for a moment, bouncing the book in midair.

"This is The Book of the Dead," Ez said as she handed it to Alice.

Alice held it with both hands, turning it over and over to examine the cover. Her thumb drifted across the supple leather to flip open the latch.

"Don't!" Ez shouted. "Not here. Only open the book when you're well protected. Make sure you have enough protection spells and sage. When opened, it summons the many spirit realms. As I stated, you never know what could answer. Remember our deal. Three times. And if he doesn't want to come back, he doesn't come back."

Alice nodded. "Three times. If he doesn't want to come back, he doesn't come back. Got it. Thank you. This means a lot to me. I can never repay you for this."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo."

Alice nodded. "Thank you."

Ez took a breath and gave a half smile. "I'm certain wherever Hugo is, he's . . . he's in a better place."