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I gaze aroundat the Library, which seems to have transformed itself into a multi-media room, complete with computers, game stations, and a theater-size projection screen.
Plush leather seats face the movie area, while large bean bags litter the floor, and top-of-the-line gaming chairs sit facing us in invitation to take a rest and play for a while.
The Library has taken on many shapes and forms over the centuries, but this is the first time I’ve seen it without a single book in sight.
Atoot-tootcomes from down a hall, and a moment later, a red scooter zips through the center of the room. The hag waves a sharp clawed hand as she makes a lap around the room before coming to a stop next to us.
She pops out the scooter’s kickstand and hops off to waddle over, her black rags dragging on the floor behind her. A pair of cherry-red sunglasses perch on her nose, and a matching scrunchy holds back her thin, black hair.
“Welcome, weary travelers.” She dips her glasses down to give Darius an assessing once over that consists of sagging eyelids and a sharp-toothed leer. “And hello, hot stuff. Get it? Because you’re an ignis demon.”
“I get it,” Darius says stiffly, gazing down at the squat woman. “Very funny, hag.”
She snorts, her pointed nose wiggling. “Gods, you’re still no fun, even after all this time.”
She flaps her hands. “Make room. We have a Library to close down.”
We move off to the side and turn toward the way we came. Instead of the back of a painting, a vault door now stands behind us.
The hag waddles up to it and hops a foot into the air, catching the wheel at the center and spinning it. “Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Safe as a safe, now.”
She turns back to stare at Darius.
He forces a chuckle. “Your wit precedes your years.”
She waggles a sharp, black claw at him. “I’m going to give you a book on puns before you leave.”
He glances at me. “Is this truly the safest place for them?”
“Nowhere safer,” I assure him, amused to see him ruffled by the Librarian.
She claps her gnarled hands together and turns to the kids. “I see we have several first-time visitors.”
Trevor shrinks back. “What are you?”
The Librarian straightens to her full, diminutive height. “As a species, I’m a hag. As a station, I’m the Librarian, holder of all knowledge.”
Star stares at her with suspicious, purple eyes. “No one can hold all knowledge.”
The hag sweeps her hand around the room. “Oh, yeah? Try me Starshine Galactica Princess of the Glowy Purple Planet of Awesomeness.”
Star’s mouth drops open. “How did you know that?”
The hag taps one claw against the lens of her sunglasses. “I see everything.” She tugs on one long earlobe. “I hear everything.” She taps her temple. “I know everything.”
Alaska’s lips part with excitement. “Are you like Santa?”
“Better than Santa.” The Librarian waves her hand at one wall, and a candy bar rises from the floor, a popcorn machine popping into existence beside it. “How about that?”
Trevor, Star, and Alaska let out squeals of delight and race over to the counter, grabbing the silver buckets sitting on top to fill them. Orianna dances around them, her tail swishing, begging for all she’s worth, the glutton.
The hag rubs the side of her long nose as she watches them. “That Star is going to be a fun one.”
She turns back to Aediva, who stays close to Lia, clutching the woman’s sweater. “No sweets for my sweet?”
Aediva silently shakes her head.
Tsking, the hag waddles closer to her. “Let me see it, sweet girl.”
