Page 44 of Violet

Then I notice that Nole’s got Stacks clutched to his chest in this adorably protective way, and the sense of dread is replaced by warmth.

I suddenly want to throw my arms around the bear shifter. Not that I would with everyone watching. It would take me a solid five minutes just to cross the distance between us. That and Nole clearly still hates me. He refuses to so much as look at me, so I turn to the ogre instead.

“Mayor Shchnarl. What brings you by the library today?” I ask, trying to remain calm. Collected. Like any elderly librarian who got greeted with a large crowd of people and no explanation, and all before 9am.

“I believe we should ask you the same thing...” Mayor Shchnarl... well... snarls. Hard to tell if he’s being aggressive, or if it’s because he’s got a nose that looks like a flattened pancake. Maybe he’s only curling his upper lip so he can breathe.

“I’m the librarian, dear,” I remind him—five points—while a feeling of dread loops itself around my belly. “I work here.”

The mayor shakes his head. “No, you don’t. Not anymore.”

A collective gasp fills the library’s lobby. Apparently, this is news to the seniors, too. They start whispering among themselves—or, in a few cases, shouting to be heard without hearing aids—while Betty shoots me a wide-eyed, questioning look.

Stay calm, Violet. Act like an adult. Like a senior!

I search the crowd, trying to find answers. The seniors look confused. Nole refuses to make eye contact with me. And there’s this look on the mayor’s face that resembles glee. A very creepy, very malicious version of glee.

“Is something the matter with the library’s funding?” I ask carefully, trying to sound cool and collected, while inside, I’m a complete and utter mess.

I know I was planning to leave soon. Once I lost Violet, I’d no longer be able to shift into her, so I’d have to leave, anyway. But I didn’t think that day would come quite so soon.

I love this little library. Love working here, side by side with Nole, every single day. I love every part of my job—even the ancient librarian’s computer and teenage troublemakers. I just can’t imagine leaving, or working anywhere else.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with our funding,” a woman responds, her voice reverberating through the library.

Her heels click loudly against the floor, and everyone seems to collectively hold their breath. Then she comes into view, moving next to the mayor, where the top of her dark-haired head barely reaches his barreled chest.

She’s dressed professionally in a gray pant-suit, and she’s holding a clipboard which she shoves at Nole’s chest. I grimace when it hits Stacks, and the cat-dog lets out a mix between a yowl and a growl, but the woman doesn’t so much as bat an eye.

Nole checks Stacks over and gives the top of the little guy’s head a kiss. Once again, my heart warms. Then it turns to ice as the woman who’d hurt an innocent pet comes to a stop directly in front of me.

“And so, we finally meet,” she says with one raised brow.

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” I reply calmly. If I was giving myself a score for adulting, that would be a solid ten points right there.

“Deputy Mayor Drayca Lee.” She narrows her eyes on me and proceeds to march forward in her five-inch heels. “And you are?”

“Violet.” I tighten my grip on my walker and try not to sound nervous.

“I don’t think so.” She shakes her head and makes a clicking sound with her tongue. “It has come to our attention that you are not who you say you are.” She pauses long enough for a few whispered questions to pass through the crowd.

“Whatever do you mean, dear?” Five points. And a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that refuses to leave.

“I have it on good authority, dear, that you’ve been impersonating our town librarian.” The deputy mayor lets out an overly dramatic sigh.

“I’m not!” I blurt out, and the deputy mayor chuckles. Or more like, cackles. Then she shifts into a dragon.

Her body expands, and she bends her head until her nostrils are a few inches in front of my face. She lets out a puff of smoke that makes me jump, and I idly wonder if it’s safe to have a fire-breathing dragon in the library with so many books around.

Deputy Dragon waves her speared tail, but not in a happy way, the way Stacks does it. Somehow, I know that in her case, it’s a threat.

“According to supernatural law,” the mayor booms, crossing the library to stand by her side, “it is illegal for a chameleon to impersonate a real person—human or supernatural—for personal gain. Is that something you’re aware of, Violet?”

Before I can reply, he pulls a small, clear vial out of his pocket. Purple liquid bubbles inside, and he takes his time unscrewing the top.

I take an instinctive step back, and Deputy Dragon curls her tail behind me to keep me in place. And then the mayor dumps the contents of the vial over my head.

I expect it to burn. I expect it to kill me on the spot. I expect all sorts of horrible things, but not the thing it actually does. For a split second—and maybe not even that—it makes my magic flicker. Just long enough to reveal my true self.