“There’s no point in running.” His voice washed over me, a low, gorgeous rumble that made my soul quiver.
Fates, I hated it.
I ran, sprinting across the stone floor, headed for an aisle between the stacks. I could lose myself among the shadows there, then find a way back home.
But the stacks began to move, the two massive bookshelves sliding across the floor to press together. The shelves on either side of them followed, compressing until there was nowhere to run. A wall of wood and books surrounded me.
“You can’t escape me in my world.” His voice rolled over me once more.
I turned, heart pounding.
He loomed in front of me, ten feet away. One arm was outstretched, dark magic swirling around his black-gloved hand.
He was moving the bookshelves.
A black bat swooped down from the ceiling, headed right for his head. He flicked his hand, and the creature tumbled through the air, shooting away.
“I’m not going to stop trying.” No way in hell would I just cave and do what he said. I stepped backward. He flicked his gloved hand toward my legs, and they stopped moving. Panic flared. I tried to jerk them away from the ground, but I was glued solid.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was low and rough.
I scoffed and pointed all around, indicating the haunting library that moved at his command. “What does this look like to you? Because to me, it looks like kidnapping.”
Something flickered in his eyes, but his lack of humanity made it impossible to decipher. It was like staring at a beautiful, animate statue.
Or a god.
I swallowed hard, wishing I could run.
“Come, we will go.” He turned and strode toward an enormous set of black doors on the far side of the library.
The dark mist that had surrounded him earlier wafted back to me, twisting around my ankles. I rose a few inches, then drifted across the ground, following him.
My heart thundered in my ears as I struggled against his control. It was invisible, but inescapable. Ahead of me, he moved with easy grace.
The doors in front of him swung open soundlessly, and he strode through. I followed, dragged against my will, stopping next to him at the top of a massive flight of stairs that descended into a dark city.
Whoa.
I barely managed to keep the word to myself.
I stood on top of the world. The library steps rose several stories above the walled city, at the same level as a huge castle several miles away. A wide avenue connected the library to the castle, with the city spread out around it.
The buildings were fantastic creations of black stone and glass, glinting under the flame red sky of dusk. The stone itself was carved in swoops and swirls, while the glass gleamed like water.
Like Guild City, a towering wall surrounded the town, a dark shadow of my own home. On the other side of the circular wall, the world fell away.
It was all built on top of a mountain. In the distance across the flat planes, forests and oceans and lakes dotted the landscape.
Yet all of it was so dark. So devoid of life.
At least, the green kind that I could use for my power. The forests were my only hope, and they were far away, so far away that I couldn’t tell if they were alive.
“What is this place?” I asked, horrified, and oddly delighted all at once. The fear and hatred still bubbled beneath the surface, but it was impossible not to feel wonder at the sight of this strange, beautiful world.
“My home.” There wasn’t the slightest hint of emotion in his voice. I’d bet my left leg he felt none at all.
The sky flared bright red, as if the setting sun were saying farewell. The entire sky appeared lit with flame. I raised a brow, skeptical. “In hell?”
He shrugged. “If you like. Now come.”
He strode toward the stairs. They were steep to accommodate the high hill upon which the library sat, and he took them two at a time.
I followed, floating down beside him, straight as a pole despite the vicious fight I tried to put up. My muscles strained and burned as I tried to break free.
“What is your damned magic?” I demanded.
He didn’t answer.
I looked over. The brilliant orange glow in the sky lit him in shades of gold, casting him in a nearly angelic light that made a bitter laugh escape me.