“No, I’m not allowing three children to go running wild in my library,” Adnales said, looking between the children in question as he did so.

“Please, Mr Librarian, it’s important!” the tallest girl begged, looking desperate. “We’re trying to save your world here!”

He didn’t doubt that. He knew exactly who these children were, and that just made everything worse.

“Any friend of Ayla Maren is an enemy of mine,” he snapped, trying not to think about what had happened when she lost control in his library. The books had complained for weeks afterward, those that weren’t too wet to talk.

“Okay, but Oscar doesn’t know the Maren girl,” Eliane, the other girl, said quietly. “And I hardly know her well. Besides, I know what I’m doing.”

Adnales doubted that. This girl’s power was fire, and the only flames Adnales liked were those illustrated in or on books. If she was just as useless at controlling her powers as Ayla had been, then the library would never forgive him.