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 Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:22 pm
After days of research, Evren had learned one undeniable truth: it was harder to start a family than it used to be.
It didn’t feel like so long ago that a Gaian couldn’t go for a walk without coming back with some magical item that would produce a child or a pet or a sentient golem of some sort. Evren himself had two magical siblings, even though his parents had been fairly cautious and had always warned him about taking things from strangers. He’d taken their advice to heart, and fifteen years later, was rewarded by a largely solitary existence.
He didn’t remember when he first started to feel isolated. He enjoyed his work, he freely gave his time to people who needed him, and he even visited his dad and sisters from time to time. His days were full of life and color. It was only when he came home to his empty apartment that he felt that color fade, leaving him in the dark.
Once he noticed that he didn’t feel comfortable in his own house, he tried to make it warm and welcoming. He painted the walls bright red, hung up posters from work, and got a few plants so he wouldn’t be the only living thing there. The apartment, which he’d chosen mainly so he’d have a shorter commute, began to feel like home. He didn’t dread returning, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like he was coming back to anything special. He might as well still be living with his dad. At least then he’d have someone to talk to, even if their list of safe discussion topics was shrinking every day.
Finally, Evren realized what was really missing. For someone whose very raison d’etre was based on working with people, coming home to an empty apartment, however nicely decorated, made him feel empty. He didn’t want to just share his time; he wanted to share his life.
Enthused by this revelation, he called his father and told him the news. Yilmaz, groggy from being woken up at midnight and tired of Evren’s whims, listened for about two minutes before telling him to get a dog and hanging up.
Undeterred, he dialed his sister Zerren. He barely got a word in edgewise before she started berating him for calling at such a late hour. Didn’t he know better? Unless it was an emergency, which it clearly wasn’t. When he finally got to speak, no sooner had he shared his discovery than she began talking about the pros and cons of various dating apps and websites, promising to send him an extensive list of recommendations in the morning. Because normal people conducted themselves during normal business hours, and she wasn’t about to make an exception, not even for him.
By this point, Evren was discouraged, but he gave it one last try, ringing his other sister, Derya. She was at least happy to hear from him, and sympathetic to his concerns, because they were ones she had too. But really, she was too busy with work to think about romance, and it was hard to find pets that were compatible with her living arrangements. So instead she had plants, and they were wonderful, soothing and calming and great listeners. Surely, if Ev tried that, he’d feel better in no time. Before he could tell her he’d already tried that, she was off on another subject, and another, until, when she hung the phone up an hour later, he’d almost forgotten why he’d called in the first place.
And that was it. He had no one else to call, no one else to consult about this issue that was plaguing him. If Anne were around-
No, he told himself sternly. Now he was just trying to upset himself, and that wouldn’t help anything.
But she would have had an answer for him, he knew that. They would have sat down together and talked the whole thing out, and she would have something to say beyond the typical advice of “get a pet” or “get a date.” She had always known what to do, even when she was upset or confused. Like when their house had caught fire, or during the Grunny invasion, or when his sisters had arrived-
“Oh,” Evren said out loud, knocking himself on the side of the head for good measure. It was so obvious, when he sat down and thought about it. How had this not occurred to him before? Even when he called his sisters, his brain hadn’t made the connection. If he wanted to bring someone new into his life without dating or getting a pet, magical adoption would be the best way to go. Fast, easy, and he would be providing for someone who really needed him.
Without waiting for sunrise, he went for a walk, resolving to accept whatever weird trinkets people thrust at him. When that didn’t work, he went for a walk the next morning, and again after work. He spent all his free time outside for two weeks before accepting the hard truth. Whether it was due to people learning from past experiences or an uptick in surveillance by Child Protective Services, the baby boom of the 2000s was over, and nobody was just handing out magical companions on the street anymore.
Though Evren knew he should be happy that there were fewer kids and would-be-parents in bad situations, he couldn’t help but feel upset. And not just upset, but personally hurt. He knew feeling that way was silly and pointless, but he couldn’t help it. It was like all of Gaia agreed with his family that the only solution was to pour his energy into a pet, or deal with romantic entanglements, or to talk to his plants more than he already did.
Of course, if he let things like that stop him, he never would have been able to become a hero.
So he kept looking. A place as magical and full of life as Gaia had to have some options for him. He kept researching, finding out what had become to defunct adoption agencies, and applying to the handful of extant programs he found. Some had very stringent requirements that he knew he wouldn’t meet, but he applied anyway. The only way he would succeed was by exhausting every avenue open to him.
Much to his surprise, letters began to roll in quickly. They were sorry, but there were no openings in their program at the present time, though they would keep his application on file for future reference. Or else he didn’t fit the guidelines, or the organization had shut down, though they thanked him for his interest. A couple didn’t even offer explanations, simply rejecting him without any of the usual niceties. He’d submitted a dozen applications, and before the month was out, he’d gotten ten negative replies. It was enough to challenge anyone’s hope. He tried to tell himself that he still had a shot, but each response made him believe that just a little bit less.
The eleventh rejection letter arrived at the beginning of December. That same day, Evren went to the marketplace, returning a few hours later with the first pet-like he could find. He plonked the egg down on the kitchen counter, next to his window garden, and surveyed the only living things he could really talk to. “I’m home, guys,” he said out loud, his voice wavering a little.
The silence that answered him wasn’t unexpected, but even though he knew it was coming - even though a tiny part of him had suspected all along that this was how it would always be - it still hurt.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:23 pm
The man at the market had given Evren a quick rundown on Kindred. It seemed that nobody was quite sure where they came from or how their magic worked, not to mention how they sustained themselves on nothing but sleep. But he was assured that Kindred raised from eggs were quite tame, made excellent companions, and when properly trained, would even protect their owners from wild monsters.
It was a convincing sales pitch, which was why he had an egg on his kitchen counter. But it wasn’t convincing enough for him to find the egg a suitable substitute for what he was really after. The egg itself seemed pretty lifeless, but Evren knew that even once it hatched, it wasn’t like it would welcome him home, or support him when the rest of his family wouldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to teach it how to read, or make it special breakfasts, or reassure it when life looked grim.
Was it really fair of him to take a living being into his home as a replacement for what he wanted but couldn’t have? How could he put all that pressure on something the size of one of his houseplants?
He was on the verge of taking the egg back to the man who’d sold it to him, but then he’d be all alone again. Moreover, if he couldn’t handle this test of his will, he’d never be able to properly take care of another person for their entire life. This was just the beginning, and when the time was right, he’d be able to care for both the egg and whoever came next.
Since he’d already gotten into the habit of talking to his plants, it was easy to talk to the egg as well. He told it about his plans while he was making breakfast, and told it about his day when he came home. About the only thing he didn’t tell it was how bad the whole adoption process was making him feel, how hopeless it all looked. The egg, or whatever was in there, was doing its best, and he didn’t want to burden it with his negative emotions.
When he got home after a long day of filming, he tossed his jacket on the couch and flipped on the kitchen lights. The egg, which had been nestled in a thick fleece blanket, was gone. Shards of brown eggshell were scattered on the counter in its place. For a moment, Evren felt his heart stop. Then, as something brushed against his leg, it started up abruptly, threatening to burst right out of his chest.
With trembling hands he reached down and picked up a tiny ball of fluff, with white spots and nubby black horns. As he studied it, the baby deer looked up at him, the hid its face in his elbow. Shifting its weight in his arms, he patted its head gently, amazed by how soft it was. How small and fragile and adorable.
It couldn’t talk, but as it looked up at Evren again, he could understand perfectly. “Don’t worry,” he told it, rubbing it behind the ears. “Everything’s okay. We’re both okay.”
The more he said it, the more reassured he was that it would eventually be the truth.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:24 pm
Yilmaz Candemir’s relationship with each of his children was a bit tense, but that didn’t stop him from looking forward to Christmas with his family. It was the one day of the year that they agreed to enjoy each other’s company without any of the baggage that usually accompanied their meetings. They had an unspoken agreement not to discuss anything that had the potential to start an argument, and while that did limit what they could talk about, it meant that everyone could participate without worrying that the mood would turn sour.
Zerren was the first to arrive, as usual, wearing a bright green peacoat and a santa hat, her arms full of packages and bags. After giving her father a hug and taking off her coat, revealing a red knitted dress underneath, she started arranging the gifts she’d brought under the tree, which had been carefully decorated by Yilmaz the day before. It looked exactly the same as it did every year, down to the order the ornaments were placed on it. To do otherwise would be unthinkable.
A short while later, before Zerren had finished with her parcels, Derya came in through the back door, sweeping her blue cloak dramatically as she wished the others a Merry Christmas. The two sisters began to chatter eagerly, catching each other up on their lives, while Yilmaz, smiling warmly at them, went to the kitchen to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven. Just like the tree, the cookies were done the same way each year, using the same recipe and the same cookie cutters. He put a tray of Christmas trees and wreaths dusted with green sugar on the table, along with a jug of mulled cider a pitcher of egg nog.
One hour, thirteen cookies, and three glasses of cider later, Evren showed up in his Masked Marauder jacket and a red scarf, hauling a large shopping bag over one shoulder and a small pet carrier under his other arm. He set both down just inside the door and managed a tired smile. “Mutlu Noeller, everyone.”
“Mutlu Noeller, Evren,” his sisters chimed in reply. Yilmaz didn’t say anything for a moment, just eyeing the baggage Evren had brought. He took a long sip of eggnog, put down his mug, and nodded in approval. “So you got a dog after all.”
“Not a plant?” asked Derya, at the same time that Zerren said “Evren, what about the dating apps?”
This was going to be just wonderful, Evren thought, taking his jacket off and draping it on the nearest chair. “Not exactly,” he told them, reaching for the carrier. “Dad, can I open it?”
Yilmaz chuckled. If Evren had actually taken his advice, that made getting woken up in the middle of the night almost worth it. “Why not? This place has seen its fair share of animals trek through. I can’t see how one more would hurt.”
The carrier opened, and a small animal slowly stepped out of it. It was definitely not a dog. Or a cat, or any other common household pet. There was a moment of silence while they all stared, which Derya finally broke. “Is that a reindeer?”
“Max is a Kindred. Beyond that, nobody’s quite sure.” And Evren grinned, pleased that Gaia wasn’t totally devoid of mysterious magical creatures getting dropped in people’s laps. Maybe he could pretend that this was what he’d wanted all along, at least until Christmas was over.
Yilmaz thumped him on the back. “Well, it’s not exactly what I had in mind, but good for you.”
“Seriously?” Zerren asked, her brow furrowed. “Dad, I know you meant well, but a pet isn’t going to fix Ev’s life. He needs more interaction than changing food and water bowls is going to provide.”
“Actually, I don’t think Kindred eat,” Evren interjected, but nobody was listening. Muttering to himself, he began to scratch his new companion at the base of its nubby horns.
Snorting, Yilmaz shook his head. “I never suggested it as a perfect fix. But if he feels alone in that apartment - and I still don’t know why you moved out to Aekea in the first place, when you know you’re always welcome here - that seemed like the best solution.”
“My place is closer to work-”
“But a dog, or a Kindred, or whatever, isn’t exactly going to be a great conversationalist,” Zerren countered. “They won’t make plans for the two of you, or care how your day is. If you want a real relationship, you need to start meeting other people.”
“But that’s not what Ev wants,” Derya put in. “Not like that, anyway. Just because you think everyone needs to be dating-”
“He’s not ready for that kind of relationship, dear.”
“He’ll never be ready if he only practices with pets!”
As the three of them continued to argue, Evren walked over to the table and helped himself to eggnog and cookies. He also took the remote, and seconds later had put on the Yule Log, loud enough to drown out all thought. Once everyone had stopped talking, he lowered the volume to something comfortable and cleared his throat. “I know what I want, and am handling it in my own way.”
Or failing, he thought bitterly. But some paths to success had to travel through the bogs of failure first. If he thought it wouldn’t start another fight, he might have asked them for help, but Evren was sick of the subject and ready to drown his sorrows in faux Christmas cheer and eggnog.
He coughed again, hoping his discomfort wasn’t obvious. “Why don’t we start the carols? Deck the Halls, anyone?”
There was another awkward silence, as each of them realized they had violated the one rule of the holiday. Then Yilmaz nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”
Relieved, Evren sank into his seat, taking another gulp of nog and gathering Max into his lap, stroking the Kin’s head absently. In spite of the rough start, it seemed that each of them was finally ready to make the day a success, no matter how many of their opinions they had to swallow to to ensure that could happen.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:27 pm
Late on Christmas evening, Evren finally got home, lugging a shopping bag full of gifts from his family and a tiny reindeer in a tiny carrier. His steps were uneven and his words were slightly slurred from too much eggnog as he addressed the Kin. “Don’t get too used to coming along, okay? Today was special. You’re still gonna mostly be home alone during the day. But it’s not too bad, right? You’ll be fine. I think.”
The elevator door opened, and he staggered down the hall, almost tripping over the large package in front of his apartment. “For the love of-” he muttered, hopping awkwardly on one foot until the other stopped throbbing. Carefully kicking the box inside, he dropped the shopping bag on top of it, making the contents spill across the floor. Still grumbling, he set the carrier down and opened it, smiling just a little as Max ran out and started running around the living room, evidently pleased to be home. “That makes two of us, buddy. I dunno how much more of that I could take.”
Not that it had been a bad Christmas. Just stiff and awkward, like always. They’d celebrated in the same way for years. While there was something comforting about tradition, and having behavior dictated by common rules, that couldn’t fix the underlying problems, and pretending the problems didn’t exist only worked for so long. One day was about the best they could do, and this time they hadn’t even managed that much.
Evren scooped the scattered gifts back into the bag, sparing a moment’s glance for the unexpected box. “Is that the toolbox?” he wondered, looking for a return address. “Delivering ON Christmas doesn’t count as delivering BY Christmas, guys.” He’d had to run out on Christmas Eve to find a different gift for his father, and the drill he’d ended up buying wasn’t as big a hit as he knew the toolbox would have been. Sure, he had a gift already ready for Father’s Day, but that didn’t do anything to help him now.
The box was actually lighter than expected when Evren picked it up, putting it and the bag of presents on his kitchen table. If they’d skimped on the tools, he’d have to send the whole thing back, but he technically had plenty of time for that now. Or later. All of that stuff could and would wait until morning, when he hoped he’d have the energy to deal with everything. And if not then, he’d deal with it later. It wasn’t like it mattered right then.
But that, he decided, was no way to be thinking on Christmas. Not that it much felt like Christmas anymore. Christmas was spending time with his family, however difficult that might be. Though he tried to bring the spirit to others, putting in extra time at his volunteer sites, it was hard to bring home with him. He looked around his dark apartment, lit only by the lights on the tiny tree he’d put in his windowsill. It didn’t do much to brighten things up, physically or emotionally, but he supposed it was better than nothing. “Mutlu Noeller,” he said quietly. “Merry Christmas.”
As usual, there was no reply. But when he moved away from the table, he felt a bump at his feet. Max was sitting there, staring up at him with such wonder that Evren couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this really was what he’d needed all along. And if it wasn’t, he decided that it was a damn good start.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:27 pm
Evren awoke as he had every day since the egg had hatched: with a tiny reindeer walking on his face.
“Augh! Geroff, Max,” he mumbled, trying to move the Kin without actually opening his eyes. But Max was fond of this particular bed and quicker than Evren’s sleep-muddled movements, and so he had no choice but to turn over, exposing himself to the full glare of the sun streaming through his bedroom window. Every morning he was reminded how badly he needed curtains, but by the time he got out of the apartment, other thoughts always drove that from his mind.
But not today. It was New Year’s Day, and that meant that he was going to do everything he’d been forgetting or avoiding, to start the year on the right foot. Also on his to-do list were vacuuming, replacing the batteries in the smoke alarm, buying a couple of shirts to wear with the suit that Zerren had gotten him for Christmas, checking the toolbox and, if necessary, sending it back to the warehouse, and maybe, if he was feeling up to it, doing another round of research into Gaian adoption practices.
No, Evren told himself firmly. Putting it like that gave him an out. If he wanted this to happen - if it was really important to him - he couldn’t let himself have the option of failing.
Sure, he’d been busy since Christmas, even though he had the week off from filming. Everywhere was desperate for volunteers during the holidays, and he’d been in a couple of live events, capitalizing on kids being out of school and parents being overly indulgent. There was nothing quite like performing for a live audience made up of excited children, and the shows had energized Evren, making him ready to tackle all the little projects he tended to put off.
By the time he finished with the first chore, the energy had worn off, and he was almost ready to call it a day. It wasn’t like his apartment was particularly big, and only his room and the guest room had carpeting. It was just a boring task, and he couldn’t even put the TV on in the background to keep him from dozing. The noise from the vacuum had sent Max fleeing into his closet, which just sank his mood even lower. Maybe a nap would do him some good, even if he did get less done overall.
Instead, he made himself a cup of cocoa, complete with mini marshmallows, and checked his list. Curtains and shirts both required leaving the house. So did changing the batteries in the smoke alarm, since a quick check revealed that he didn’t have any in the right size. The post office was closed, but Evren decided to deal with the toolbox first, so he could pick up whatever re-packing supplies he’d need while he was out.
The box had been sitting by the door since he’d found it on Christmas. Grumbling to himself about shipping promises, he pulled out his keys and took his feelings out on the tape holding it closed. Probably not the best way to deal with his issues, but the gym was closed that day.
The metal case inside the package was not what Evren had been expecting. Frowning, he fiddled with the lock until it popped open, revealing an assortment of strange objects. A glass ball with some cloth attached to it, a jar full of what looked like a glowing paper cut-out, and a whole mess of documents. Since neither the jar nor the ball was offering any kind of explanation, he took the papers over to the couch, where he pulled the handwritten note from the pile and began to read.
Quote: Greetings, Evren!
Let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a Guardian! My name is Zeke, and I am one of the staff members here at Lab 305. Out of numerous applications to our program, we felt that you were best fitted to become the newest addition to our family! So welcome and congratulations!
In this briefcase you will find your Soul Glass, Fel Essence, and a couple of documents - one of which needs your signature and must be returned to the Lab with your Glass and Essence upon your capture of a soul. The other is a list of contact information of every Guardian and Raevan pairing in the Lab. I've taken the liberty of highlighting the names of staff for you, but you will find us at the top of the first sheet!
I know this must be rather surprising for you, so before I go any further let me just state that if you have any questions at any time, please feel free to call, text, or email me and I will be more than happy to provide answers or guidance in general. That being said, let's get on with the show!
As I wrote above, you will find your Soul Glass and Fel Essence inside the briefcase. You are the Guardian to the Everlasting Eclipse Essence, which has already been written down on the legal documents you will have to date and sign. Your Soul Glass is that big glass and metal contraption to the left of your Essence Jar, and will be the thing you need to use in order to help us make your future Raevan. Please take note of the cloth between the metal and glass parts as it is important. Souls have colors and the cloth acts as a limiter and something of a fail-safe so that the bottle will not suck up just anything around it. As yours is red, cream, and black, it will only activate around things (be they animal, plant, mineral, metal, etc) that fit one or all of those colors.
When you capture a soul, the glass bulb will appear to have a smoke-like gas inside of it. When this happens simply return the filled Glass, the Essence, your signed documents, and the case to the Lab. There is a business card tucked in alongside this note for our carrier service. Contact them when you are ready to return your items and they will pick them up from your home. As soon as we get them back we will begin the process of making them into your Raevan!
Whew! I hope I covered everything well enough in this note as far as what you need to do now that you are a Guardian! If not, and as before, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me. My phone is always on and I'm always happy to talk with members of the Lab family!
Hope to hear from you soon and congratulations again!
Sincerely,
Zeke Farris
The letter fluttered to the floor without Evren noticing. He was still trying to process what he’d just read, and what this meant for him. Then, all at once, his brain caught up, and he leaped off the couch with a shout. “Yes! YES! This is HAPPENING!”
It wasn’t a rejection. It wasn’t even some sort of pity move, giving him something they felt he could handle in lieu of what he really wanted. Out of all the applications they’d received, they felt he was best equipped to take on this challenge. For all he knew, his was the only one, but that didn’t matter right then. What mattered was that someone thought he was capable of what he’d been aiming for, and that rekindled his confidence that he could really do it.
With that established, he scrambled to pick the note up again, to make sure he had all the details straight. “Everlasting Eclipse Essence,” he read aloud, tapping the bottle. It didn’t look like much, but it sounded hella magical. As for the other object… his face fell a little as he read about the Soul Glass, and the process of soul capture. Did that mean he was going to have to kill something to make this work? But the letter also mentioned minerals and metals, so it was probably better not to jump to any conclusions. He had time to figure this out.
The thought of time reminded Evren that the case had been sitting in the corner unopened for the past week, and he looked at the Essence Jar again. Had it suffered any for being stuck in a box for days? He didn’t know how to tell. Biting his lip, he took the jar and set it in the kitchen window, between the lavender and the sage. The bottle’s contents - Everlasting Eclipse, he repeated in his head - cast a tiny shadow in his sink. It was cute, in a what-even-is-this sort of way. While he knew nothing about essences or souls, it looked like the mini eclipse wasn’t any worse for wear.
Relieved, he went back to the box and finished rereading the letter. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole soul capture concept - had he come across that in the process of doing his research? - but since the note didn’t mention anything about a deadline, there was time to figure out some sort of solution. Time to make this as amazing as he’d built it up to be in his head.
As he ran his fingers over the bottle, wondering what he would do with it, he felt a bump at his side. He looked up in time to see Max trying to climb into the box. At first he pulled the Kin away for fear he’d somehow break the bottle. Then, as he held the wriggling reindeer in his arms, he remembered what the letter had said: the cloth acted as a fail-safe, so only the right-colored souls would be drawn inside. But Max was largely cream and black, and would probably make a perfect match for the bottle.
The thought made Evren shudder. He hadn’t been anticipating this turn of events, and sacrificing Max to make another magical being was the last thing he wanted.
“C’mon, Maxie.” Thinking fast, Evren carried the Kin to his room and shut the door. He could hear the scraping sound of tiny hooves against the wood, and thought apologies as he shut the case with the bottle still inside. Then he dragged the whole box to the guest room and pushed it as far in as he could before leaving and locking the door behind him. Hopefully that would be enough to prevent any accidents.
Now that he had figured out what the wrong solution was, he just had to find the right one. And he knew just where to start.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:45 pm
In the age of Google and smartphones, whenever Evren had something serious to work on, he always turned to the same place: his local library.
He blamed it on growing up while the world was transitioning from analog to digital. The computer of today was a fanciful dream when he was a kid, and though he wasn’t a luddite, he felt more comfortable with the tools he’d used from the beginning. Which meant books. Which meant library. Whenever he showed off his well-worn library card - the same one he’d gotten at age eight - he got more than a few funny looks. Their loss, he figured. Some things were better handled when you could sink your fingers into a book. The constant motion of turning pages made him feel more involved than scrolling through a website, and on top of that, thanks to publishers and editors, he didn't have to worry as much that the author was just spewing whatever came into their head. In the age of fake news, it felt good to be certain of what he was reading.
The Barton East branch of the Gaia Public Library was the closest one to Evren’s place, and the one he was most commonly found at. He was a familiar figure there, stopping by at least once a week to check out something new, and reading to kids every other Sunday afternoon, provided he wasn’t working. Because of that, he knew most of the librarians by name, and was confident that he could count on their help with this research project. He’d taken a photo of the soul bottle before heading out - technology did have its uses - and was ready to get to work finding something suitable to fill it with, without harming anything or anyone else.
There was just one problem: the library was closed.
At first Evren figured he was mistaken, but the door wouldn’t budge, even when he shoved with both hands. Had he arrived too late? He checked his phone, frowning when it confirmed that it was only four o’clock. The library should have been open for at least another two hours, but it was locked up tight, and as he glanced at the windows, he saw they were all dark.
Taking a step back, he noticed a post-it on the top step. Had it fallen from the door? He picked it up, his frown deepening as he read “CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” on the other side.
There were other libraries he could have visited, but Evren was uneasy. If something routine was wrong, there would have been a proper sign, and he would have heard about it the week before. Whatever was behind the closure, it was unexpected and jarring. Were they handling it well? He tugged at the sleeve of his sweater, wondering if this was the sort of situation that called for a hero. While it was tempting, he didn’t have enough information to make that call.
Yet.
Something moved in one of the darkened windows, so quickly that Evren wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined it. “Hello?” he called, knocking at the door. “Is anyone there? Can I be of some assistance?”
There was a sudden jolt under his hands, like something had been thrown against the door. Something big. He waited for several moments, but there was no reply, and no further signs of movement. Calling out again simply yielded more silence.
With a frustrated sigh, Evren slapped the post-it back on the door and resolved to check back the next day. Something was wrong, and he wouldn’t feel right until he found out what it was - and helped make it better.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:49 pm
The only obvious change when Evren arrived at the library the next morning was the replacement of the post-it with a larger, more formal sign strung across both door handles. White letters had been arranged on it, spelling out the same message he had seen the day before: “CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.” The same warning had been posted under branch information on the GPL website. Neither the site nor the sign offered any kind of explanation.
If he’d been a casual visitor, or the sort of person who only visited the library when he needed something specific, this whole thing might have bothered him less. As it was, Evren felt stung by the radio silence. He talked to the librarians all the time, and nobody had hinted that anything was wrong. He was scheduled to do a reading that weekend, and he had no idea what to do about it. Was it postponed? Was he supposed to show up at another branch? Or would the library be open by then? “Until further notice” wasn’t very encouraging, but without more information, he really didn’t know what to think. They could reopen in ten minutes, or ten weeks, or ten years, or never.
Frustrated, he pounded on the door again. “Hey, what’s going on in there? This is a public institution! We have the right to know!”
For a few moments, it seemed he wouldn’t get an answer to his question. Then there was a noise - not inside the building, but off to the side - and one of the librarians poked out of the employee entrance. “Would you stop- oh, hey Ev. Could you stop banging? It’s really not helping.”
“Hey Carl.” Evren immediately backed away from the door, relieved now that he’d found someone to talk to. “What’s going on? Everywhere just says ‘closed until further notice’ and nothing else. It’s kind of spooky.”
The librarian chuckled darkly, pulling his jacket closer to ward off the January chill. “You don’t know the half of it. We’re not supposed to talk about this, but since you sort of work with us sometimes…” He beckoned for Evren to come closer, dropping his voice to a whisper once he was convinced that no one else was listening. “The library’s haunted.”
“Isn’t it the wrong season for that kind of stunt?” Evren asked, unimpressed with this explanation.
“No, I’m serious. It started Sunday, I think. We were closed, but a few patrons came to return books, and they came back Monday to tell us about weird things going on. Strange noises and shadows. And yesterday it was like something out of a horror movie. Books flying around everywhere, scrolls grabbing people by the hair, maps trying to suffocate them…” He shivered, for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. “We had to get everyone out fast, before someone was seriously hurt.”
That, Evren supposed, explained the hastily-written post-it note. “And now? Is it still like that?”
Carl nodded glumly. “We’re in the computer room. That’s the only safe place. Every time one of us tries to go into the main library, the books go nuts. We’re just here to make sure nothing worse happens, and to try and get an exorcist to come. But every one we’ve tried so far is booked for New Years cleansings or seances for weeks.” He rubbed his eyes, tired of dealing with this already.
About to comment on the rotten timing, Evren paused. He could see something in his head, a list of names and addresses he’d been provided. One of the addresses was for a necromancy firm. Not quite the same, but just might be a lead. ”Well, I’ll look into things too,” he offered. “I don’t know much about ghosts, but I’ll try to figure something out.”
“Uh… well, thanks, Ev. At this point we’ll take any help we can get.” With that vote of confidence, Carl clapped Evren on the back and stepped back towards the door. “I should get back inside. If you find someone, have them call us, yeah?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I will.” But Evren wasn’t really listening. He was already planning his next move, determined to save his favorite library from whatever sinister influence it was under.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:51 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:53 pm
The library was just one of the places Evren volunteered his time. Another was a ninja gym called Jammin’ Ninja, which was also where he worked out in his downtime. Staying physically fit was important for his work, and the owner of the gym gave him free use of the space when there were no classes in session, as thanks for the time he spent coaching kids. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation.
That evening, there were a few other people using the gym, most of whom Evren knew by face, if not by name. He nodded to them as he walked through, deciding to start on one of the salmon ladders. There was already someone there, warming up, and when he saw Evren approach, he grinned. ”Race to the top?”
”Get ready to lose,” Evren shot back. Normally, ninja events pitted an individual against the course, and the camaraderie in the sport was half of what attracted him to it. Sometimes, though, it was nice to challenge some of his rivals, something that helped them both grow stronger. And since victories in actual events - for anyone - were scarce, it was nice to come out on top every so often. Like he would in about thirty seconds, he thought, grabbing the bar and nodding at his opponent. This was just the distraction he needed.
”Ready, set… go!”
They took off, each jumping their bar up slats on the ladder, neck and neck for most of the ascent. It looked like it was going to be a tie until Evren missed a rung, falling to the thick mat below as his opponent reached the top. ”Ha!” he shouted, before letting go and dropping onto the mat himself. ”You don’t usually fall, Ev. Something wrong?”
Something was wrong, but Evren had a hard time putting his finger on exactly what it was. The meeting with Mr. Fisch had gone quite well, and with any luck, by the time he got home he’d have a response from one of the exorcists. The problem would be neatly fixed within a few days. So why was he anxious?
Rather than answer the question directly, he responded with one of his own. ”Hey, Eri, have you ever been to a haunted library?”
”Yep.”
Evren blinked. “You didn’t even think about it.”
Eriol shrugged. ”I didn’t have to. You gonna give me more context, or are we gonna have another race?”
”In a minute.” He hadn’t been expecting an affirmative answer to his mainly hypothetical question. Maybe he was moved to ask it because somehow, some way, he knew he’d get an important clue. ”Was it overrun by ghosts?”
That one Eriol did need to think about, before shrugging again. ”I’m not exactly a ghost expert, but I don’t think so. I think it had its own thing going on.”
As clues went, that one was fairly cryptic. ”What’s that even mean?”
Eriol shrugged yet again. Either he was working his shoulder muscles, or he was really out of his element. ”All I know is, lotta strange things happen, and it can’t all be ghosts. And when books are involved, well, anything’s possible. Now, are you telling me what this’s all about, or is it rematch time?”
None of this made a whole lot of sense, but Evren supposed his questions probably didn’t make sense either. Was he going to spend the rest of the evening obsessing over something he had no further control over, something that would be resolved soon (thanks to his help), or was he going to reclaim the lead in their salmon ladder rivalry?
Though the issue was still bothering him, he stood up and put his game face back on. ”This time you’re really going down!”
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:55 pm
The first exorcist on Mr. Fisch's list was named Lumi Blanchard. She claimed that noon was the best time for an exorcism, and so she would arrive at promptly at 11AM. She looked disappointingly normal for a wielder of magic, in a seasonally-appropriate black trenchcoat that was going grey from age, a black knitted hat over her dark brown hair, and black, fur-lined boots. “Faux fur, of course,” she reassured Evren when she caught him staring. “I have no need to create my own clients.”
Watching as she interviewed the library staff, Evren wasn’t sure what he thought of her. On the one hand, he was grateful that someone had been able to come so quickly, and sure that anyone recommended by Mr. Fisch had to be good. On the other hand, she didn’t look much like an exorcist. Though he had ostensibly come because he had arranged the appointment, he was really there to watch magic being done, and so far, it was a pretty boring show. All she’d done was show up and ask questions. He’d done as much, and gotten nowhere with it.
Five minutes before noon, she made her final preparations, assigning staff members to operate the library doors and others to accompany her inside. She chose the head librarian for this, and Carl, and... “Yes, you too,” she said briskly, pointing at Evren. “You seem to have a lot of life in you.”
Evren really wasn’t sure what to make of that, but since she’d given him a front row seat for the main event, he wasn’t about to argue.
As the clock struck twelve, the doors opened at her command, and she strode inside confidently, followed at a more sedate pace by her selected witnesses. The doors shut behind them with an ominous thud, leaving them in the main reading room, the only light coming through the dusty windows.
It was the first time Evren had seen the inside of the library since the arrival of the spirit, and he was shocked at the damage. Entire bookcases had been tipped over; several were splintered and breaking. Books and newspapers and documents of all kinds were scattered everywhere: on tables, chairs, the floor. Papers covered the windows, limiting the amount of light that trickled in. Some even seemed to be plastered on the ceiling.
The exorcist wasted no time. Once the door had completely shut, she began chanting something that Evren couldn’t make out. Her voice was strong and clear in the silence of the library, with a comfortable cadence to it. It would have been nice to know what she was saying, though. Too bad this exorcist didn't come with subtitles.
No sooner had she started chanting than the papers in the room began to rustle. At first, it just seemed as though a breeze was wafting through the building, but as whole books began to be swept up, it became clear that this was something else entirely. Evren could feel the librarians back away behind him, but he was frozen, entranced by what he was seeing.
Aware of the spirit’s movements, the exorcist picked up the pace, chanting faster, though the rhythm of her voice never seemed to change. As she spoke, she pulled a black-handled dagger out from under her coat, its blade glinting in the dim light. The spirit, apparently alarmed by this, began to move faster as well, gathering books and maps and scrolls and pamphlets together, the individual components orbiting so quickly that Evren knew anyone caught in that storm risked serious injury.
This seemed to be the moment the exorcist was waiting for. “Return to your true home!” she cried in English, slashing the dagger in front of her, as if warning off the spirit. She followed this with a series of flowing movements that seemed to cut the very air, ending with a downwards slash.
There was a moment in which no one moved, in which Evren didn’t dare so much as breathe. Judging from the silence that had settled in, he didn’t think he was the only one.
Then the books surged at them in a wave, breaking through whatever the exorcist had done as if there was nothing there. She leaped out of the way, taking cover behind a fallen bookshelf. Evren was not quite as quick, taking a novel to the head before he realized he needed to move. The librarians were caught in the thick of it, and there was a sound like broken glass from behind them, as several windows shattered from the pressure. It didn’t look like anyone had been seriously hurt, but from his vantage point it was impossible to tell for sure.
The exorcist said something sharply in the same language she’d been chanting in. Evren suspected it was a swear, but before he could ask, the spirit was after them again. The two of them dodged to the right and ran down the one free corridor they could see, leaping over debris and ducking flying books. They ran into a few dead ends, and at one point had to climb over a fallen shelf that was otherwise impassable. The whole thing would have made a good ninja course.
Funny, the things that occurred to a person when they were being chased by a vengeful ghost.
And why were they being chased? “Why didn’t it work?” he asked, looking back to see if they were still being followed. The spirit was still gathering books and papers, shaping itself into something long and serpentine, with long horns made of ornate scrolls it had probably pulled from the archives. It was beautiful, for something that caused so much destruction, and probably wanted to cap off its day by killing them.
He would have ran into a shelf if the exorcist hadn’t grabbed his arm and tugged him around a corner. She glanced around, looking for something to tip the odds back in their favor. “I need a smaller room. An office or a closet, anything that can be locked. We need to place a ward.”
This would have been an easy question for the librarians, but the two who had followed them in were out of commission, and the others were outside. Evren didn’t know enough about the building to suggest the perfect, out-of-the-way space. Instead, he remembered what Carl had told him, how the staffers were hiding in the computer lab. “This way,” he said, jerking his head towards a glass door on the left. They had to throw themselves flat to avoid the next stream of books that flew at them. Evren got up first and sprinted for the door, throwing it open.
From somewhere in her coat, the exorcist had pulled a strip of paper. It was glowing faintly blue as she slid into the room and slammed it onto a stack of books on one of the desks. “Come!”
There was a massive rush of cold air bursting into the room. The exorcist grabbed Evren’s arm again and hauled him out of the lab, slamming the door shut behind her. In her other hand she had another strip of paper, this one glowing red. It stuck to the door when she placed it there, its light turning the whole room a deep crimson. The books in the reading room hovered for a moment, then fell to the ground, unmoving.
Evren stared at the even worse mess the library was in, then turned his attention to the lab. Through the glass door he could see what looked like a tornado of computer paper, whirling around the blue spell she had placed inside. He was about to ask the exorcist for an explanation, but her grim expression gave him pause. “Are… are you okay?”
“I am unharmed,” she said stiffly, still holding his arm in a tight grip. She seemed in no hurry to let go of him, though.
With disheveled hair - her hat was nowhere to be seen - and a slight stagger as she moved, she didn’t look particularly okay. Not that saying so would help either of them in any way. Evren tried to come up with a safe question to ask, if only to keep her talking, keep her moving. ”Uh… so, that red light keeps it inside, is that it? That’s, um, cool.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. It took her a few moments to speak, and when she spoke, she didn’t answer his question. “That was nearly a disaster. You should have told me it was a living spirit.”
“Um, what? What’s that even mean?”
Rather than calming her down, his words seemed to be making her more upset. “You cannot treat living spirits and dead souls in the same manner. This was not what I was contracted for.”
Evren shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. Physically, he felt pretty okay; running the obstacle course that the library had become wasn’t very different from what he did at work. But he was getting a headache, and in no mood for assembling a conclusion from the hints she was giving. “Look, I’m sorry, but can you just assume that I have no idea what’s going on and start from the very beginning?”
The exorcist looked surprised. Like she really expected Evren to have a better grasp of the situation. Then her grim expression returned, and she nodded. “Let us check on the others. I will explain to everyone, so there are no further misunderstandings.”
Once they had let the others in, and roused the unconscious librarians, she gestured at the glowing glass door, and the cyclone behind it. “There are two kinds of spirits. Those who die with regret, or some other strong attachment to this world, often have trouble moving to the far plane. Exorcists are often called in to deal with these spirits of the dead, to keep them from lashing out at the living, and to ease their transition from this world to the next.
“Then there are spirits that are still alive. Of these, some are malevolent, some kindly, but most are like any other person. They have their own motivations, and need to be treated with courtesy and respect. Sometimes they will possess a person or an item, in order to interact with beings who cannot see or hear them. Others are born from places, or nature, or objects. Their soul is the soul of the place or the thing, and their body is that thing or that place.”
The head librarian, holding an ice pack to her head, snapped “I just want to know when this thing is going to be out of our hair.”
“Have you not been listening?” the exorcist demanded. “You told me your library was possessed. I took this information in good faith, risking consequences you would not understand, only to discover your ‘ghost’ is alive. This spirit was born here, belongs here. I do not know how you earned its ire, but you need a negotiator, not an exorcist."
“Does that mean you’re not going to send it back?”
“We can’t work in these conditions!”
“How are we supposed to negotiate with a ghost?”
The situation, which was already tense, was turning ugly. Evren wanted to say something to smooth it over - as the one who had brought in this exorcist, he felt it was his duty - but he didn’t know what. And she wasn’t done speaking yet.
“I cannot ‘send it back,’ as you put it, because it belongs here. Your spirit is the library itself. Or perhaps the books, or the wood in the shelves, or the ink on the pages. Trying to banish it would be like trying to remove you from your own body. It wouldn’t work, and even if I found a way to accomplish it, it would harm the spirit.”
“It’s harmed us already,” Carl yelled. “Why should we care about its well-being if it doesn’t care about ours?” This sentiment got a chorus of agreement that made Evren very uncomfortable. It felt less and less like he’d saved the day, and more and more like he’d incited an angry mob, complete with flaming pitchforks.
The exorcist didn’t look any happier. “What you want is an exterminator,” she said tightly, her lips barely moving. “My services do not extend to murder, and I cannot, in good faith, recommend one. I have sealed the spirit in that room for the time being, but the seal will only last for a few days, at the most. If you would like me to serve as a negotiator, I will do so to the best of my ability. But if you are seeking a permanent removal, I can be of no further use to you.”
“It’s not like you were of any use now,” Carl muttered, wincing as he clenched his fist, his palm still bleeding from a number of cuts.
This was more than Evren could take. “That’s not true! At least now you have the library back. You can start fixing things up, and you’re all safe now. And you have time to figure out what this thing is and what it wants, so nobody else has to get hurt, right?”
There were murmurs from the staff, but no agreements, and nobody was willing to look Evren in the eye. Even the head librarian, as she shook hands with the exorcist, was looking down. “We will contact you if we need you again, Ms. Blanchard. Thank you for your time.”
“So noted,” the exorcist replied coldly, walking out without another word, leaving the mess of the library, and the librarians, behind her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:58 pm
Evren couldn’t stop thinking about the exorcism.
It was obvious that, for some reason, things had gone spectacularly badly, and that they were lucky the situation had been so easily contained. He could see it in the exorcist’s manner, her fear and her fury. She felt she had been purposely misled, and as the one who contacted her, Evren felt guilty for that, even though he didn’t know what he could have done differently.
The librarians were angry too. Their lives had been suddenly and completely disrupted, for no reason that they could see. Evren had promised them a solution, and he’d failed. That meant more guilt, until he felt so bad that he couldn’t sleep. If this kept up, he’d be utterly useless when filming resumed in a few more days.
The exorcist wouldn’t act without being contracted to do so. Evren didn’t have the authority to make that call, and he wasn’t sure he would even if he had that power. He’d brought her into a bad situation, where she’d been attacked by a spirit and antagonized by her clients. Anyone would be upset. Even if he did contact her again, he had no reason to think she would reply.
He also had no reason to think the librarians would try to negotiate. They’d been hurt by this spirit. Their beloved library had been ripped apart from the inside. Maybe, with time, they would cool down and see the wisdom in trying to compromise. But Evren couldn’t count on that happening. It would be nice if it did, but it was far from a sure thing.
Both the exorcist and the librarians would heal, in time. They would get on with their lives and, eventually, this whole debacle would be nothing more than a bad memory.
The same could not be said for the spirit. Though he’d initially cast it as the antagonist of this story, Evren was starting to wonder if it wasn’t a victim. Maybe lashing out like that was its only way of communicating. And now its fate was in the hands of those it had harmed, who didn’t really have the time or energy to dig into the true heart of the problem.
It was a situation that was begging for a hero.
Sure, Evren had tried that route already, and it hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. And sure, the situation was only as bad as it was because of his interference. But would a real hero let that stop him from doing what he knew was the right thing?
Well, the answer to that was obvious, wasn’t it?
Before the clock struck two, Evren had changed his clothes, packed his bag, and left the house.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:01 pm
Breaking and entering was hardly the act of a hero. Fortunately for Evren, the breaking part had been done for him, courtesy of whatever spirit he was dealing with. And there was nothing wrong with entering. The library was a public building; it was made to be entered.
That logic probably wouldn't stand up in court, but it was enough to get him past his qualms and on to the next step.
The front windows had been covered with tarps, and it would probably be at least a day or two before replacement panes were installed. Hopefully it wouldn’t rain before then. The problem was the security camera trained on the entrance, and the surrounding window frames. Though he could easily slip in at the bottom of one of the tarps, he’d get caught on film, and that would lead to uncomfortable questioning, or worse.
Instead, Evren singled out an upper window, above the range of the camera. It would be difficult for most people to reach, but most people weren’t would-be ninja. He quickly scaled the side of the building, an easy task made easier thanks to the presence of a drainpipe. Once he’d pulled himself onto a second-floor ledge, it was just a matter of jumping across to the one above his target, unsticking the top of the tarp, then grabbing the ledge with both hands and lowering himself through the open frame.
Again, he felt a twinge of guilt. Was sneaking in while they were closed really the right way to handle this problem? Probably not. But without knowing he could count on the support of the library staff, this seemed like his only option.
The glass door to the lab was still intact, still glowing a dull red, which made it easy to find, even in the dark. The storm inside had died down, but when Evren got closer, the papers began to rustle again, then to spin in a slow, confused loop. Would they set off some sort of alarm? No, that was silly- if that was a possibility, it would have already happened.
He touched the door with one gloved hand. It didn’t bother him at all, but since he wasn’t a ghost, he hadn’t really expected it to. The spirit inside, however, seemed to take his presence as a threat, and the papers whipped into a frenzy once more.
”Please, wait. I’m not here to hurt you. I… I want to hear you out.” Could this thing even talk? Was this just a monumental waste of his time?
The papers flew at the door, and Evren knew if there hadn’t been a pane of glass between them, he would be sporting a lovely assortment of papercuts. Why didn’t it see he was just trying to help? Was it because he’d interfered before, helping with the botched exorcism? Or did it know somehow that he’d brought the exorcist in the first place?
What could he say to calm it down? It couldn’t be comfortable, that kind of constant, hurried movement. “I’m sorry you’re stuck like this. If you tell me what I can do, I’ll try to help. But I can’t do anything if I don’t know what’s going on.”
The cyclone seemed to slow, just a little. Was something he was saying getting through? Quickly, Evren tried to think of something more, something that would tip the scales in his favor. ”I know you’re upset. Probably scared, and confused, and angry. I would be too, in your shoes.” Or lack thereof, but making that joke probably wouldn’t help. ”I really want to help you. Before something happens that none of us can fix.”
The storm pulled away from the door, but didn’t stop moving. Was it saying anything? The lab wasn’t usually soundproof, but perhaps the warding was keeping sound in as well. Evren pressed his ear to the glass, straining to hear something. Anything.
There was a clatter from inside the lab. The swirl of papers had pulled away, knocking keyboards and mice off the table. It picked up speed for a moment, then halted, files and books and printouts hanging in midair.
Letters began to peel away from one of the books, floating independently and, from the way they wavered, uncertainly. Evren watched in awe as they arranged themselves into a message.
who Is tHerE?
”I’m here! I’m right here!” But the message didn’t move, didn’t change. Maybe the room was soundproof. Or maybe this spirit couldn’t hear. Maybe he needed a different way of getting his words across.
Leaning close to the glass, Evren breathed on it, then began to trace his name in the condensation he’d created. He only got as far as “Ev” before the letters began to vanish, but judging from the way the spirit’s message began to change, he had gotten something through. Old letters fell back to their pages, while new ones were drawn upwards, creating a new line floating in the air.
wHAt Is eV?
”It worked!” Well, sort of. Evren couldn’t say anything meaningful two letters at a time. There were paper and pens behind the reference desk, and he went to grab them, but had a better idea on his way there. The children’s section - his turf, sort of - had exactly what he needed.
When he returned a few minutes later, the question was gone, but this time, he knew what to do. Talking his response out to himself, he uncapped a dry erase marker and began writing on the door, taking care with each backwards letter so the spirit inside could read it easily. My name is Evren. I came to ask how I could help you.
There was sudden stillness in the lab. The books and papers didn’t move at all for a moment. Then letters flew off the pages in a frenzy, spelling out more messages than Evren could take in right away.
LeT uS ouT
WHerE Is ThiS?
mAke IT sTop
WHy dId YOu dO thIS?
hOw dARe yoU
HOw daRE aLL of YOu
PLEaSe hELp
Which was more than Evren knew what to do with. He took a deep breath as he wiped his introduction away with a wad of paper towel, still not sure what he was going to say. Not all of those questions had answers, and the ones that did were hard to deal with.
You’re in the computer lab of the Barton East branch of the Gaia Public Library. The exorcist put up a ward to protect the people here, because they were getting hurt. Did you hurt them? Are you hurt?
The messages collapsed, letters falling back to their homes, while new ones were drawn up to say something new.
THey AbAndONed uS. mISuSEd US. THEy muST LeARn ThEIr pLAcE.
Again with the “us.” He’d thought there was only one spirit, but it seemed he was mistaken. ”How many of you are in there?
The letters wavered, not changing just yet. When they shifted, they wobbled and twirled in the air.
wE ArE oNE, aNd mANy.
Which wasn’t a very helpful answer, but it wasn’t really the most important issue right then, either. He had to stop getting sidetracked. Who abandoned you? How can I help?
WE wERe LEft TO gAThEr duST. tO bE foRgoTtEN. No oNE wiLL fORgeT uS NOw.
That was more than a little ominous. The spirit wasn’t addressing his offer of help at all, and short of constantly repeating it, he wasn’t sure what to do. Or what else to ask. Or even what he was dealing with. Which, he supposed, was a good thing to ask. Hoping he wouldn’t cause further offense, he wiped the door clean and started his next question. Which turned into two, and then three. Who are you? What are you? Do you have a name?
WE aRE ANcIEnT knOwLEdgE. wE ARe mAgIC aNd MySTeRy. We wiLL nOt bE igNoREd. we WiLL NoT LEt THe SEcReTS wIThiN ouR pAgES PasS InTo ObScuRiTy.
You’re the books? Evren had expected the spirit to be related to the location of the library, not the contents. He thought it attacked with books because they were handy. But he remembered what the exorcist had said about the spirit’s body being present in the library, and pieces began to fall into place.
The message didn’t disappear. If anything, it grew larger, bolder. That was apparently all the answer he was going to get, but he was pretty sure he was right. In which case, what the heck was going on?
Everyone here loves to read. We love to learn. The librarians take excellent care of the books in their care. Why do you feel abandoned?
nO OnE REadS uS. NO oNE SEekS OuR kNOwLEdgE. mANkiNd HAs REpLaCEd uS. THEy bELiEve WE cANnoT hELp iN THis tImE. tHEy ARe wrONg.
About to argue that this wasn’t true, Evren realized that the spirit had a point. Most people used the internet for their basic information needs. He knew that as someone who preferred going to the library, he was in the minority. And if the spirit was of older, more esoteric books, who knew how many years it had been since anyone had consulted them? What good did it do the books to be well-preserved if nobody cared about the knowledge they contained?
No matter what he said (or wrote), he knew that trying to convince the spirit that it was somehow mistaken was pointless. It felt like it had been wronged, and had valid reasons for feeling that way. The solution wasn’t to out-argue it, but to give it what it was looking for. Well, short of letting it out and giving it the means to get the revenge it plainly sought.
Can you help me? I need information.
The spirit hesitated, the letters in its message crashing into each other as it arranged its thoughts. Its answer was surprisingly short.
AboUT wHAt?
With all of the commotion over the spirit and the exorcism, Evren had almost forgotten why he’d come to the library in the first place. So much for being a responsible guardian. Fumbling for his phone, he pulled up the photo of the soul bottle and held it to the glass, hoping the spirit could see it somehow. I need to find a soul that I can take without hurting anyone. It has to match the colors of the bottle. I was thinking a rock or a plant, but I don’t know what kind. And now that he knew even books could have spirits, he was starting to doubt the existence of a soul he could take without consequence.
WHat Is tHiS bOTtLE?
LeT uS ouT ANd wE wiLL heLp
”Oh no you don’t. I’m not that gullible.” On the one hand, Evren knew that he was on the right track. Getting this spirit involved in a project could help rekindle its faith in humanity, so that no one would have to take any drastic measures. On the other hand, it hadn’t changed its mind yet, and letting it wreak further havoc now would seal its fate.
I’ll come back, and we can work on it later. Thanks for offering to help.
Even before he’d finished writing, the letters were frantically rearranging themselves.
pLEaSe dO noT LEavE! We cAN hELp!
Which just made him feel bad, even though he knew staying wasn’t an option. I’ll come back tomorrow. I promise. But it knew all about broken promises, so that didn’t work. What could he say to make it clear he was in this for the long haul? If I get caught here, we’ll both be in trouble. Then I won’t be able to get you out of here.
The letters in the lab collapsed. Evren waited for a few minutes, but it looked like communication had broken down. ”Well, good night, I guess,” he muttered, turning to leave.
There was a soft rustle of paper behind him. Evren glanced over his shoulder, grinned, and headed out, leaving one final message behind him.
toMoRRoW
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:03 pm
Returning to the scene of his not-quite-crime in broad daylight felt weird. Evren felt like someone must have found out about his sneaking in, especially since he’d been unable to properly stick the tarp back up. But whether they hadn’t noticed or had chalked it up to the weather, nobody confronted him about that.
They did confront him about the exorcist. “I thought you found a professional,” the head librarian told him at a near yell. “What kind of professional doesn’t know what they’re dealing with? Wasn’t that why she gave us all the third degree?”
”I don’t know, okay?” Boy, wasn’t that the truth? He was in way over his head. ”I think it was some sort of abnormal situation, even by exorcism standards.”
The head librarian sniffed. “That much is obvious,” she told him dryly. “I’m not angry with you, Evren.” Which was a shock and probably not the total truth, but he kept his mouth shut while she spoke. “You did your best to help, and I appreciate that. But someone claiming to be a pro should know their own job, right? Now this place needs even more repairs, and the windows are broken, and she still has the nerve to send me an invoice!”
Coughing to mask his discomfort, Evren said ”I mean, she did do what she was contracted to do-”
“She was contracted to remove the spirit, and she most certainly did not do that.” Strangely, the head librarian grinned at that. “But she’s not the only exorcist out there, now is she?”
This was exactly what Evren was afraid of. ”I thought you couldn’t find one. And if someone does another exorcism, won’t that hurt the spirit?” When the only response he got was a careless shrug, he pressed on. “Have you at least tried to talk to it?”
The grin faded. “Evren, I’m thankful you want to help, but we have the situation under control now. I’ll let you know when we reopen, and we’ll reschedule your reading then, okay?”
”But what about- I mean, I was going to help you guys clean up-”
“We have the situation under control,” she repeated firmly. In a lower voice, she went on “I don’t think it’s wise for you to hang around here until tempers cool a bit. Some of the staff are blaming you for how things went yesterday. Not that I agree, of course,” she added in a falsely chipper voice. “But it would be best if you got out of here. For now, anyway.”
This was way worse than he’d been prepared for. Evren didn’t think they were mad enough to purposely try harming this spirit, but they were definitely angry enough to not care if it got hurt. And if they weren’t telling him what they were planning or when, he knew he had no time to lose.
Nodding to the head librarian, he made his way out of the library, promising himself that it wasn’t over yet. They weren’t the only ones who could take drastic measures.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:05 pm
As weird as it seemed, Evren’s first idea was to go to the gym.
Not right away, of course. First he went shopping for the handful of things he needed. He stopped by the copy shop to print out a few things he wanted to have on paper. He dropped everything off at home, changed into his workout clothes, and spent a comfortable hour reading on the couch with Max in his lap. Then, fully rested and, he hoped, prepared for anything, he went to the gym.
Eriol was there, working on the cliff hanger. Perfect. ”Hey Eri!”
Due to surprise or design, Eriol let go abruptly, landing on his butt on the mat below. He didn’t look upset when he waved, just a bit confused. “Hey Ev. What’s up?”
”Not you, anymore.” No, that was just obnoxious, and he didn’t want to tick off someone he was about to ask for help. ”Hey, can we chat for a bit?”
”Sure. What’s going on?” He flopped down on a pile of mats, inviting Evren to join him. He didn’t say anything else for a few minutes, until it became clear that he was going to have to make the first move. ”Is this about the stuff you were asking me the other day? Haunted libraries and stuff?”
That was as good a place to start as any. ”Apparently it’s haunted books.” And he started telling the story from the beginning, about how the spirit had started wreaking havoc, how he’d gotten involved, his recruitment of the exorcist and the botched exorcism, and his conversation, of sorts, with the spirit. He left out the part about him breaking in, but was candid about the rest, including how badly he’d screwed up and how very out of his depth he was.
”And I was thinking, you know, about how to fix it. You work at a library, right?”
Though he’d listened calmly and without interrupting, Eriol snorted at that. ”More or less.”
”Do you think you’d be able to influence them? They won’t listen to anything else I say, and I can’t leave things like this.”
The smile slipped, just a little. ”I, uh, work at an independent library. So I won’t have any sway, unfortunately. It sounds like they already have a plan, anyway.”
”Damn.” That would have been too easy, Evren knew, but that didn’t stop him from hoping. ”Well… if this thing showed up at your library, do you think you’d get rid of it like that?
Another snort, this one paired with a shake of the head. ”No way. But we’re not your typical library, so that doesn’t say much.”
It said enough to give Evren hope, and the cogs in his brain started turning again. ”If I can find out which books are, um, haunted, do you think you could take them at your place?”
The smile slipped more. Eriol looked less like he was amused by the topic, and more like he was hating being the bearer of bad news. ”If these books are as old as they sound, I doubt your library will want to let them out of their collection. And they’d never let them go to a tiny place like mine, even on loan. Even if we could manage it, somehow, the arrangements would probably take months, and it doesn’t sound like you have that kind of time.”
”Damn again.” It hadn’t been a great idea, but it was all he’d had. Now he was back at square one, and starting to feel sick of the place.
Eriol clapped Evren on the back. ”Look, if it helps at all, if you can find a way to move this… whatever it is, I can find room at my library for it. I know it’s not a solution, but it’s something, so chin up, okay?”
”Yeah. Yeah, that’s great.” Now he just had to find a way to move the spirit without killing it. Or him. Or anyone else. Piece of cake.
”Don’t stress too much, Ev. These things have a way of working themselves out. We can’t always see it or plan for it, but it happens.”
If Evren could leave things at that, he would have had a much easier life. And a much less interesting one. But he accepted the encouragement with grace, smiling and nodding and trying not to worry more than he already was. ”Thanks, Eri. I’ve just got one more question for you.”
”Oh?” Eriol raised his eyebrows, the easy smile from earlier starting to come back.
This time, Evren matched it with his own. ”Think you can beat me across the cliff hanger?”
”You’re on.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:09 pm
Sneaking into the library felt even worse now that Evren knew he wasn’t welcome there. If he was caught, he had no doubt they would press charges, even though he wasn’t a thief or a vandal or hurting anything by being there. None of that stopped him from climbing up the drainpipe and letting himself in just as he had the night before, except this time he had a small reusable shopping bag with him, which he dropped into the library before slipping in himself.
The paper tornado began to twirl again as he approached the lab. Hopefully the spirit was happy to see him, or at least not angry. Uncapping one of his new dry erase markers, he wrote a quick greeting on the door. Good evening! I’m back, just like I promised.
His response came quickly. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who’d been looking forward to this.
heLLO evREn
pLEaSE ReLEAsE uS NOw
Evren’s excitement faded. Why did it have to ask him that already? He knew it had to be hard, being trapped in a small room with no idea what was going on, but that didn’t mean he could make it happen. I can’t do that yet. The spirit didn’t seem to like that, practically snatching its words out of the air, so he quickly wrote something else. But I brought some research material for the project I told you about.
There was no response to that. Maybe it didn’t trust him anymore. Maybe this whole thing was a fool’s errand. ”Better to be a fool who tries than a genius who doesn’t,” he told himself, pulling out a couple of sheets of paper and holding them to the glass. When there was still no response, he dropped one and scrawled a hasty message. Can you see what I’m holding?
nO
LEt uS ouT AnD wE WiLL hELp
”Ugh, I can’t do that!” How was he supposed to do this? He could write everything on the door, but that would take forever. And letting the spirit out before he was convinced of its intentions was a terrible idea.
Still deep in thought, Evren ran his gloved fingers along the door. It was a single pane of glass, with hinges and a handle. It didn’t even lock; he could have gone inside, but he didn’t want to risk breaking the barrier. There was a gap between the door and the frame, which allowed it to open. It glowed a dull red from the ward, but when he ran his fingers over it, he could feel them sink into the small opening, yet the spirit didn’t seem to react. If he made a breach in the seal, it was one that couldn’t be felt.
Making a snap decision, he took the pages he’d been trying to show off and shoved them through the gap. They made it through to the lab, but before they could land on the floor, they were caught up in the whirlwind inside.
whAT iS A rAEvaN?
”It worked!” Rather than write down an answer, he slipped a brochure for Lab 305 into the room, watching in awe as it was swept into the spirit’s control. He added photos of the soul bottle and the essence, which had short descriptions scrawled on them. Something important occurred to him, and he got his marker out again. Can you see images?
This time, the letters were pulled from the brochure, in their fancy font. Evren could practically see the glossy print even through the door.
yeS
yOu sEek THe SouL of A bEiNg THaT mATcHes THis vESsEL?
Yes. But I don’t want to steal it. I want to do this without hurting anyone.
IF iT HAs a SouL, LoSIng iT wiLL huRT
The spirit was latching onto all of Evren’s concerns, making him doubt even more that he could complete this project without killing something. And no matter how badly he wanted this, he couldn’t justify taking someone else’s life to create a new one.
yOu SEek A sOuL fREeLy gIvEN
”No, that’s not it!” That wasn’t any better than assisted suicide, and he couldn’t be part of that. How could he explain that he wanted the soul of something that wasn’t alive to a clearly living bunch of inanimate objects? I want the soul of something that isn’t sentient. Like a rock. That way nobody has to hurt. Including him.
The spirit spun its message around, bringing back the previous one, in case it hadn’t cut deeply enough already.
IF iT HAs a SouL, LoSIng iT wiLL huRT
His fear gave over to anger, and the marker squeaked as he pressed it against the glass. Can you help with what I’m looking for or not?
The older messages continued to float in the air, reminders of what was at stake. But underneath them, a new one formed, pulled from the copy of the letter from the lab.
WE wILL tRy
He’d done some cursory searching at the copy shop, and printed out some of the promising results. The irony of his situation - that he’d gone to the library to avoid leaving this to Google, and had to depend on Google in his quest to fix the library - had not escaped him. This wasn’t at all how he’d planned on going about this life-changing search, but life seldom went the way it was planned. And if this meant that he had the opportunity to save someone else while working on his own dream, that was the best outcome he could hope for.
So he fed the pages through the gap, pictures and descriptions of agate and jasper and dalmatian stone and petrified wood, which was his favorite thus far. If the tree it came from was long-dead, it couldn’t hurt to take what remained of its soul, or so he hoped. He scribbled thoughts on the door, and the spirit sometimes asked him for clarification, but for the most part, he was feeding it information, rather than vice versa.
After a while, he ran out of printouts. The computer lab was full of swirling paper, and Evren had to hope that the library staff would be too preoccupied to notice. That’s what I have so far. But I’m not sure about the properties of any of them. How their souls would work, or how they mesh with an Everlasting Eclipse. Can you help?
cAN yOu ReLEaSe uS?
He really should have seen that one coming. Tomorrow. Not that he knew how to make it happen yet, not that he knew when "tomorrow" was really going to be, but he would figure it out. Somehow.
toMoRRoW
And that, it seemed, was that.
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