Mr. London's Library. Known for having mysterious books. Books that could grant wishes, give powers. Or kill. No one knows which ones do what. Going to this library is like gambling your own life. The only one who knows which ones do what is Mr. London himself.
One girl decided to take this risk. This girls name was Aria Spindle. Her love for reading was not as big as her want for power. Aria was already on her way to the magical library. The wind blew a gentle gust, the sun was shining brightly, emitting a wave of warmth through the city. The sweet scent of flowers from the nearby shop caused her to smile.
Soon, she came to a sudden halt. There was an uncomfortable feeling, gurgling in her stomach. Hunger. She checked her satchel for her coin sack. Soon, she felt the tips of her fingers feel a leathery sack with a tie. She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." She whispered gently to herself, heading towards a baking shop.
She pushed the heavy wooden door open. Small splinters covered her hands. She wiped her hands on the skirt of her soft dress. Overhead, she heard the small bell ring as the sweet smell of frosted pastries, freshly baked breads, and cookies filled the air. The smell was overwhelming, causing Arias mouth to water. She looked ahead to see a small womanly figure bent over behind a counter. "One moment please." She chimed.
Aria walked up to the counter and waited with a patient smile. After a moment or two, the young women turned around and stood up straight with a bright, welcoming smile.
"Hi! What can I get for you today?"
"One glazed bearglove, and a loaf of bread please."
The lady smiled and nodded, grabbing the items requested. This bakery was known for the glazed beargloves, the glaze was so sweet and would melt right in your mouth. The actual pastry part was very soft and had a bit of a salty taste. The combination of the sweet and salty made this pastry their best. "That will be five golden coins." Aria reached into her satchel and grabbed her coin sack, untying it and fishing out five golden coins.
The lady grabbed a square of leather and placed the baked goods on the square of leather, bringing the corners up and tying the whole thing like a present with a string of twine. Aria handed over the coins and grabbed the wrapped goods.
"Thank you! Have a great day!"
"To you as well"
She pushed the wooden door open again, leaving splinters of wood on her hands again. She made her way to the library soon.
Walking in, she noticed that the library was quite small. No one was around, except for Mr. London of course. There were few shelves and bookcases. The books looked multi colored. She looked over at Mr. London. The first thing that struck her about him was the fact that he had no pupils or iris' in his eyes. Just all white. He had a stubble around his chin, it seems that he had just barely shaved. His clothes seemed to be merely rags and he looked homeless.
She tried to avoid his gaze as she started looking through the books on the shelves. The looks varied. Blue books, red books, green books, brown books, grey books, black books. Flame symbols, water symbols, tree symbols, rock symbols, dust symbols, and skull symbols.
She grabbed a random book, not caring for color or symbol. She walked up to Mr. London and placed the book on his desk. "I would like this book please." He looked down at the book and grumbled.
"Please ma'am, I would suggest that you get a different book."
"No, I want this one."
"Ma'am, this book is dangerous, please get a different book."
Aria growled and slammed her hands on the table. "I bet you don't want me to get this book because you know it has great power! I bet that you don't want me to get a great power because I can become more powerful than you! You're scared!"
He flinched at her words then opened the book and stamped it. "I warned you while I could." He grumbled. She smiled, proud that she was able to get through his thick skull. She grabbed the book and put it in her satchel.
As she walked out, she reached into her satchel and grabbed a piece of the bearglove. Once she placed it in her mouth, she stopped walking. Her eyes lit up with delight as she held the piece on her tongue. The sweet glaze was the first thing she noticed. The caramel tasting glaze melted on her tongue, stimulating all her tastebuds with the sweetness. The next thing she noticed was how soft and fluffy the pastry was, with it's salty taste. Salt and caramel, the perfect combination. She took small bites, savoring the sweet and salty pastry.
After the delicious moment with the pastry, she continued home.
Once home, she opened the door and walked in.
"Mother, I'm home!"
"Welcome back dear! Did you find the library?"
"I did, and the book I have should be very interesting. I will be in my room, knock before you come in."
Aria walked off and made her way to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and sitting on the edge of her bed. She pulled the book out of her satchel and looked at the cover. It was a deep crimson. She looked around the book to find any special symbols but was disappointed when she found none. She soon smiled and whispered to herself "All the more mystery."
She opened the book and started reading. It seemed to be mostly chants about a dark lord. She grinned to herself, thinking she will get a powerful dark power. After a while, she felt a liquid in her mouth, a warm liquid with a sweet, coppery taste. A warm liquid dripped down her chin. She lifted her hand up to her chin and wiped the liquid gently. Once she saw the liquid, her eyes widened in shock. Blood.
She tried closing the book and looking away, but it felt like something was controlling her arms and head. The book pages seemed to grow to a deep black. The black lettering soon changed to a glowing red demonic language. The book started to glow a dark red and she felt light headed. Outside of her room, a loud thump could be heard.
Her mother was busy cooking until she heard a loud knock on the front door. She answered it to the blank eyes of Mr. London.
"My name is Mr. London, the librarian of the library Aria Spindle had gotten a book from. I would like to talk to her."
"Oh, ok. Let me go get her."
Her mother walked to Aria's bedroom door and knocked three times. "Aria? Someone is here to see yo-" She had opened the door and saw a horrifying scene. Mr. London walked quickly to the door and looked in. Aria was laying on the ground, her eyes completely blank like Mr. London. Her head rested in a pool of blood. Her skin was pale as paste.
Aria's mother ran in and kneeled next to Aria. "Aria! No! You can't be dead! Aria!"
Later that day, Aria's funeral was held. Not very many people showed up. Her mother, four of her friends. Mr. London. All except Mr. London went up and said something. He had warned her about the book, and now it was too late. Soon, they started lowering the casket. In the midst of the casket lowering, Aria's eyes shot open. She pounded on the inside of her casket and started screaming. "Someone! Anyone! Please help me! The demons, they're going to get me! PLEASE HELP!!!!"
No one could hear her...
Months later, Mr. London had the book placed back on the shelf. A man walked in and grabbed that book, walked up to Mr. London and said "I would like this book please."
YOU ARE READING
Mr. London's Library
Short StoryWhen a girl gets hungry for power, she scouts out the mysterious library that is owned by the mystical Mr. London. But, she does not heed his warnings and pays a heavy price