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32
We approached the fireplace, and Kasha’s blue head tilted up from the ancient book she had been examining.
“Hey, hey!” She greeted, though she kept her voice low to avoid a scolding from Prophet Margaret.
“Hey,” I grinned at her as I fell into one of the cozy green armchairs set around a table piled high with books. “Any luck?” I asked as Amon slid effortlessly into the chair next to me.
Kasha shrugged. “Not nearly as much luck as you guys seem to have had. I heard you were able to secure The Lens.”
I nodded, still smiling broadly. “Yeah. I wish you could have been there. Conrad was amazing.”
“I bet.” She agreed. “We still have our work cut out for us though, looking for this damned flute and key.” She gestured to the considerably large pile of literature she had been pouring over.
I turned my attention to the books on the table and listened to the words they were whispering to me. Each of them seemed to tell me, ‘No, not me; I do not have the information you seek.’
I frowned. “None of these books have what we need.”
Kasha and Amon exchanged a glance.
“Care to explain how it is you know that just by looking at them?” Amon asked, looking amused.
I frowned, confused. “What do you mean? Can’t you hear them?”
Kasha gave Amon a ‘Is she crazy?’ look, and the corner of his mouth twitched. I suddenly felt embarrassed.
“What? You mean… you mean books don't talk to you?”
“Do they talk to you?” I jumped at Rycon’s voice as he appeared behind me, holding a tall, precarious stack of tomes. Dossidian wasn’t far behind, but instead of books, he was carrying what looked like small cardboard takeout boxes.
“Yeah, I thought everyone could hear them,” I said, still feeling bewildered.
“You mean, you thought all daemons could hear books talk?” Rycon asked incredulously. I thought about it, and realized that even before I had known about daemons, shifters and magic folk, I had thought hearing books whisper was normal.
Having witnessed humans arbitrarily select books off of shelves, I had just assumed that the book had spoken to them the same way they talked to me. How else would they know they would like it? Just from reading the title on the spine? Now that I was thinking about the phenomenon more carefully, I felt silly. Of course, people couldn’t hear books talk.
“So, that’s not normal, even for daemons?” I asked, still feeling self-conscious.
“No, it’s not normal,” Amon said, and I felt myself deflate. He brushed his aura against mine. “That does not mean it is unheard of. You must be a bibliomancer. If I recall, The Origin was a bibliomancer. You likely inherited the trait from him.”
Rycon dropped the large heavy stack of tomes unceremoniously on the table. Prophet Margaret’s loud ‘SHHH’ echoed from where she sat at the library’s entrance. He glared in her direction, though I noticed his voice was considerably quieter when he spoke next.
“Do you mean to tell me that we have been spending days going through every single book we can find that even mentions the word key… and you’ve been a bibliomancer this whole time?” He flopped down on the couch next to Kasha, throwing his head back dramatically.
“Fucking perfect.”
Dossidian chuckled at Rycon’s outburst before taking the last remaining armchair and carefully making space on the table for the snacks he had brought. The boxes he had been carrying were filled with fruit, cheese, crackers, and cold meats.
“Well, now that we know, why don’t we have lunch and then follow Raven around the library until she finds the right books?” He suggested.
Kasha grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”
After lunch, I led the way through the stacks. I suggested the team wait for me to return with what we needed, but Kasha insisted they all come along.
“What if you need help carrying books? How else is Rycon going to earn his keep?” She chirped, much to Rycon’s annoyance.
I had always just idly wandered libraries and bookstores, allowing the books to tell me whatever it was they wanted me to know. Now that I knew it was magick, I wondered if the whispers went both ways.
I wondered if I could ask them a question. Would they point me in the direction of the answer? I found Eriene even quicker than I ever had before and focused on the whispers. When I narrowed my mind down to the voices, I noticed it was loud in here.
