I breathed deeply. The evening sun painted the cobblestone sidewalk in gold as I walked towards the old library. It was day one on the job, guarding the books within. I’d never been inside before, but my uncle was apparently certain that I was best suited for the job.

I pushed the old door open and stepped inside for the first time. The smell of old books and dusty shelves reached my nose, and I squinted at the dim interior as my eyes adjusted.

The first thing I saw was a sheet of yellowed paper taped to one of the shelves.

“Dearest Jane,” it read in my uncle’s handwriting, “Please take especially good care of these books, as they are quite rare, and worth a great deal of money. I have to ask you not to open them, for reasons I cannot relay in a note. Just watch the store for tonight, and new instructions will reach you by morning.

Uncle Henry”

Don’t open the books? Why ever not? I walked to the side of the shelf, tilting my head curiously as I studied the bindings. None of them had titles, only shapes. The first had a dragon on it, while the second had a large oak tree imbedded in gold. I shrugged and went to the bookkeeper’s desk, pulling out a ledger. There was an account of every customer who had come in, with a full description of each.

There was one about a suspicious-looking man in a black fedora, who Uncle Henry said had a long scar on his face and high cheekbones. His name was recorded as Glitch. I raised my eyebrow at the strange name, but kept reading. The instructions were to look out for him, and though it was highly doubtful that I would see him, I was not to let him look at any of the books if he did happen to come in.

It was after closing when the bell at the door jangled and I heard a step approaching the counter. I looked up to see a tall man in a black fedora.

“Hello my dear,” he said pleasantly, tipping his hat to me, “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“Certainly,” I replied slowly, aware that this must be the man Uncle Henry warned me about in his ledger.

“I am looking for a particular book…” he said hesitantly, watching me closely, “one with this symbol on its binding?”

He showed me a pendant around his neck with a foreign symbol etched into its surface.

“I’m afraid not,” I said quickly.

Too quickly. The stranger raised an eyebrow at me suspiciously.

“Is that so?” he answered, tilting his head slightly, “I think I’ll just take a look on your shelves here and-”

“Just a moment,” I interrupted quickly, stepping out from behind the counter, “I just checked all of the books before you came in and I’m positive that we don’t have one with that symbol on it.”

I looked him squarely in the eye, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell that I hadn’t told him the whole truth. I HAD checked the books before he came in, but there WAS a book with that symbol on it. I remembered it clearly.

“Very well,” the man replied with a shrug, though he eyed me critically for a minute or two, “I shall return.”

With these words he turned on his heel and exited the library as I sighed with relief. I couldn’t control my curiosity, and I hurried over to the bookshelf, searching for the book. There it was, nestled among the others. It was a small book, with a black cover and a red symbol engraved into the binding. The same symbol on the stranger’s pendant.

I picked it up slowly, remembering Uncle Henry’s warning. Surely a little peek wouldn’t hurt….. what could happen?

I slowly opened the cover, and was greeted with a rush of air and the smell of rain. I touched my cheek and felt raindrops hitting it. My eyes widened as I realized that the water was coming from the book in my hands. I flipped to the first page, and saw a blank sheet. In fact, the entire book was blank. Suddenly the lights flickered in the library and the book practically pulled itself from my hands. It clattered to the floor as a gust of wind swirled around me and the familiar building faded from view.