Page 36 of A Spark of Something (A Librarian’s Guide to Witchery #1)
E yeing the man that Noble had called Mikael, Ollie was all smiles as he nodded and passed the circulation desk quickly.
The smile Mikael sent his way was…off. That was the best way he could describe it. It felt off to him. Ollie couldn’t explain why, but it instantly set him further on edge.
Walking swiftly through the library and up the stairs, with a fake smile still plastered on his face, he headed right for the security office in the back left corner of the second floor. His smile dropped the minute he stepped inside.
His Head of Security, Branston Wells, looked up when he walked in. There was a smile on the older man’s face, looking as if he was about to greet him, but it fell once he caught sight of Ollie’s expression, the man instantly alert. “Did I miss something on the cameras?”
“No.” He approached the desk, and leaning towards the screens, he pointed at the one that shifted through the cameras that were aimed at the circulation desk. “You see that man? His name is Mikael. I’m sure we will have a last name soon enough, but I need you to memorize his face.”
“I will.”
“Any time he shows up, I want to know about it. I’ve been given a heads up that he is dangerous. We can’t remove him for now, but I need you to keep track of him when he’s in the building, and…warn me if he is coming near me.”
Branston grimaced. “I understand. I won’t let him leave my sight.”
Ollie sighed. “Thank you,” he said, before walking out of the room.
As if I needed more stress at the moment , he thought with a groan.
A part of him wanted to deny the man access. He could. Ollie owned the library, and it was a private institution with zero government funding, but who knew what dangers would crop up from him doing that.
Ollie forced a smile on his face as he passed some regulars, waving when they greeted him. He took the back stairway down, and headed straight to his office.
Rubbing his eyes, he righted his glasses before unlocking his office door. When Ollie walked in, he was unsurprised to see his grimoire sitting on his desk. He was surprised to find it closed for once. The damn thing seemed to love to lay about wherever it could, open and ready to annoy him.
Stepping behind his desk, he eyed it cautiously, slowly running his hands over the red leather. Like always, it was warm to the touch. It had taken him a while to realize what it reminded him of, and once he had, he instantly wished he would forget about it. Because what it reminded him of was…flesh.
Every time Ollie touched it, there was this illusion of running his hands over living flesh, as if there was a pulse, or blood rushing through the book. There wasn’t. At least…he didn’t think there was.
Ollie plopped down onto his desk chair with a groan. “Dammit.”
He’d had a fun date, but the afterwards… Not only had he not found anything to help the ghost stuck in his ladybug, but he now had a new problematic person to track anytime they entered his library. He eyed his grimoire again, having been absentmindedly running his hands over it.
It was supposed to be whatever he needed it to be, right?
After a moment of hesitation, Ollie opened it. The pages started flipping on their own, and kept going until they finally fluttered to a stop mid-way, and for once, it wasn’t on chapter one. There wasn’t even a number at all, but there was still a bold title. It was interesting that whenever the book opened, it never started at the beginning, or even at the bookmarked spot in the last quarter.
“ The Twice Lost Ghost Who Forgot ,” he murmured with a frown, before continuing to read aloud. “ Lost in death, lost after, what is there to remember when one already forgot? Confused before death, confused after, the ghost who died unknowing remains so. ”
Ollie pursed his lips. So the man was hurt before he died and lost his memory? Or maybe what caused him to lose his memory also led to his death? That head wound…
His brow pulled as he tried to visualize it again. Nothing came to mind, but then he hadn’t actually seen it. Ollie had only spotted the blood dripping down, and even then, it had just been a quick flash.
But a head wound would explain someone losing their memories. And because he didn’t remember who he was, or what was going on before he died, he couldn’t remember after.
Hmm, had it been a car accident? But that wouldn’t make sense. Ollie had traced the ownership of his bug before he bought it, and there hadn’t been an accident on record.
“So why is the man stuck in my car?!” he groaned. Pushing his glasses up as he rubbed his eyes, he then righted them with a sigh.
His eyes widened at a horrible thought. Oh no?! Was he risking a ghost now with every used car he bought?! Ugh, he would have to stick to new ones after this, wouldn’t he? Was that the solution? Sell his car? How could he sell his ladybug after all the work he put into it?!
No, he couldn’t! And it went far beyond the fact that he loved his car. If he sold it, the ghost would remain, whether he was there to see him or not. But it would be worse than that, as not only would no one be able to see or hear him, he’d remain there, forever unknowing who he was or how he got there. Trapped…for all eternity.
He couldn’t leave the man like that. He just couldn’t.
Ollie eyed his book sheepishly for a moment, before a bright, hopeful smile spread across his face. As sweetly as he could, he asked, “Uh, book, my super amazing grimoire, as my guide to witchery, you wouldn’t happen to know how to help him, would you?”
His smile grew as the text began to change, and then fell as soon as he read it. “ Figure it out !? Really?!” Ollie glared. “That’s your advice?!”
The words started to change again, and when it had finished, he just stared blankly at them. Chapter One: Oliver the Ungrateful Witch That Finally Wants My Help.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?!” He closed it with a hmph. “Fine! I don’t need your help.”
He could figure this out, no big deal.