The Book Below

By J. L. Ender

The portal closed with a whumph and the smell of old books. I’d teleported myself deep beneath the massive castle complex of the Infinite Library, chasing rumors of ancient, forgotten books.

Dangerous books.

I hadn’t been expecting carpet.

I Imparted will into a small light sphere made of bronze. It floated at eye-level, casting golden illumination across the chamber. Behind me stood a forgotten elevator decayed with rust. The proper entrance.

And beneath my feet, rotting carpet along the wooden walls was spotted with mold, lichen, and cave vines. A few steps farther, and the carpet and wood both abruptly gave way to bare stone. The library extended deeper into the earth than the maps had indicated.

I stepped over the transition, my light bobbing as it followed. My spirit shivered when my boots touched rock. My neck elongated, scales spreading down my cheeks like a serpentine blush.

The golden light blinked like a strobe but didn’t go out. I struggled against the dragon within, then shook it off and stepped onward, appearance fully human again. The light calmed, steadying to a dimmer glow.

I was outside the Library’s protection now.

I could turn dragon and no one would see. No one but me would know I’d slipped up.

Maybe later.

I stepped past partially collapsed shelves cluttered with crumbling scrolls. A scream cut through the stale air, and goosebumps rose across my human arms. A low moan of despair followed it a second later.

I trod onward into a larger chamber filled with more rotten shelves.

Another scream cut the air.

I don’t like this place.

A ghost appeared beside me. “What are you doing here?” Gray-green and transparent, the old man wore an out-of-fashion style of librarian’s robes, with overly puffy shoulder pads.

My heartbeat quickened. I felt a few scales flutter along my left arm. I hate ghosts. But maybe this one can help me. He didn’t seem to be in pain; therefore, he wasn’t the source of the screams. “Searching for a book.”

His wizened voice shook with emotion. “No one’s come down here for a long time. A very long time.”

I nodded. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

“The books here are tormented. They cry out in anguish, but I can’t help them.”

I rolled my eyes. “Books can’t experience torment.”

The ghost studied me, smirking slightly. “What pride. You might be about to learn a thing or two.” He vanished.

“Wait, I— Crud. I was hoping you could give me directions.” I sighed. “Never so lucky.” He probably didn’t know anything about the Multiverse anyway.

A voice echoed from nowhere. “Do I really have to tell you to follow the screams?”

Another howl tore through the caverns from a narrow, unpleasant-looking tunnel.

“Follow the screams, he says.” My boots crunched over loose stones as I walked in that direction. “Follow the tormented screams in the creepy cave. Advice given by a ghost. I hate ghosts.”

“I heard that!”

“Good. I wanted you to.”

I passed more crumbling bookshelves, and a handful of open doorways. My light shone on rotten desks and broken chalkboards.

The next chamber was a dead end. Six pedestals sat in the center, five of them cracked. One fallen over. They were all empty.

Except…

There was still one book. No. It was the afterimage of a book, transparent just like the ghost. My boots scraped the floor as I forced myself forward.

A ghost book? It screamed as I stared at it, the tome rising slightly on its pedestal before thumping back down. A low moan cut through the still air.

I shivered and took another step closer. “Hello?”

The moaning stopped. And then fire burst from the book, engulfing me in an inferno of green flame.

I turned dragon and stretched my wings, protecting myself as my robes burned away. Eventually, the book gave up. It settled back down on its pedestal. I crept up to the plinth, talons clinking on hot stone.

Another scream ripped through the cavern, stinging suddenly sensitive ears. The book really was in torment. But why… and how?

Something was… off. This whole place felt out of balance, and it was strongest here. Mentally, I grabbed the ragged edge of the Library and tugged with all my will. And immediately felt something tug back. I pulled harder, and suddenly a huge black wave crashed over my consciousness. For one second, I floated before the eyes of a profound malevolence, a cold anger as vast as the sun with none of its warmth. And then I fell deep into a dark ocean just as big.

I awoke human and naked, my light sphere beside me, cracked in half. I’d maxed the sphere out when my willpower snapped back and ruined it. Old carpet chafed against my back. Feeling woozy, I stood, examining the room. The six pedestals were whole, though all but one still stood empty. The bookshelves were all restored. The walls behind them were lined with deep brown wood. Candles flickered in gleaming braziers.

A perfect red book with blue trim sat on the pedestal.

Theories of the Multiverse.

I’d pulled the Infinite Library back across ground it had lost a long time ago. And in the process, I’d driven off… something. A dark and evil something with eyes that tore into my soul. I shivered. What else was lurking down here in the depths of the mountain? Whatever it was, it would likely regroup and come back. I didn’t want to be alone here when it did.

This dumb book might be at peace, but I’m not.

I grabbed the restored tome, ready to return to the comfort and safety of the world above.

There was just one problem.

Where would I get new clothes?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. L. Ender is the author of the superhero series Steel Fox Investigations and mecha vs kaiju mayhem The Cold Below, as well as a number of other novels and short stories. Ender has worked as a dishwasher, a beef jerky labeler, a warehouse worker, a shelf stocker, a greeter, a traveling technician, a laser engraver, a package handler, a copywriter, a graphic designer, a librarian, an editor, a dispatcher, a phone operator, a hotel clerk, and hopefully someday soon as a novelist… He lives in Ohio with his wife and fellow writer SCE Ender.

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