Free The Library - The Complete Series by Amy Cross Page B

before, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job. Finally, I lean closer. "When I take my hand away from your mouth, it's only so you can answer some very specific questions. If you try to call for help, I will finish you. If you try to escape, I will end your fucking life. If you say one word that isn't a direct response to my questions, I will turn you inside fucking out. Got it?"
    He stares back at me, and suddenly I realize there's a foul smell coming from the ground. Looking down, I see a kind of dark brown gunk oozing from between his legs, as the smell gets worse and worse. It takes me a moment to realize that he's soiling himself.
    "Oh, for fuck's sake!" I say, moving out the way just in time. "Seriously?"
    "Seriously what?" He looks down between his legs. "It's a defense mechanism," he says eventually, fixing me with a panicked expression. "I'd say it worked pretty well." He licks his lips. "You humans taste salty."
    "Okay," I reply, moving around behind him in an attempt to get away from the small puddle of poo. I grab a rock from the ground and hold it over his head. Hopefully he can't see that my hand is trembling. "If you call for help, I'll cave your skull in, you got it? Shit yourself all you like, but I'll do it."
    "Fine!" he mutters. "What do you want to know?"
    I pause for a moment. I only woke up a couple of minutes ago, as they were talking about a journey to some kind of Citadel. The big guy sounded pissed off, and after our little encounter earlier, I really don't want to meet him when he's angry. "Why do you want to take me to a Citadel?" I ask, holding the rock just a few inches from the little guy's head. "Why? What kind of Citadel. What..." I pause, realizing I'm not even certain what a Citadel looks like. "Tell me!"
    "Well... It's the only place to go, really," he says, making it sound as if it's the most natural and logical idea in the world. "I mean, there's not much else in this part of the Library, apart from shelves, and after a while they all end up looking the same."
    "And what's at the Citadel?"
    "These days? Not much, apparently. It used to be the seat of power for this entire section of the Library, but I've heard it's all fallen into disrepair. I imagine there's just a bunch of ruins, maybe some bones."
    "So why are we going there?"
    "Vanguard thinks he can find some of the Elders and put together an army."
    "Vanguard?"
    "The guy who was just here. The big guy. The guy who, by the way, is gonna be back real soon."
    "Vanguard." I pause for a moment. "Okay. And what's your name?"
    "Thomas J. Sharpe," he replies. "You can call me Sharpe. Do you have a name?"
    "Claire," I say, steadying the rock in my hand, just above his head. "Claire the Torturer."
    "Claire the Torturer?" He laughs. "Did you give yourself that name?"
    "No!" I say firmly, figuring I need to at least pretend that I'm in some way fierce. The last thing I want to do is let this Sharpe guy think I'm a push-over. "It's a name given to me by my victims." I take a deep breath; I sound completely ridiculous, but I guess context is everything. In a place like this, it's probably totally normal to talk of 'victims' and Citadels. "What if I just want to get out of here?" I continue. "I mean, I know I'm in a coma, but I figure I need to find some kind of light or some kind of way out. You're a manifestation of my subconscious mind, so I guess you must know how I can wake up."
    "Wake up?"
    "Don't bullshit me!"
    "You think you're in a coma?" he asks. "As in, you think you're asleep?"
    "Totally," I reply. "Places like this don't really exist. The only logical explanation is that I'm in a coma, and I need to find some way to wake up. And you're going to help me."
    "So you don't think any of this is real?"
    "Hell, no."
    He laughs again. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not." He pauses. "So... does that mean I'm your dream man?"
    "Don't push it," I say, glancing up to make sure the other guy, Vanguard, isn't on his way back