Free Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen Page B

shakes his head. “I’m sorry, this is just too — I think I should just go. I need to go check on Jorge and the other guys, see how they’re doing.”
    “Fine. Go do that. See how much good it does you. In the meantime, I’m going to go try to save my best friend.” Again. I grab my bag and stalk off toward the school’s main entrance.
    “Cyn, wait! Come on, don’t be like that.” On any other day I would be doing little cartwheels in my head to have Ryan Halsey calling after me. But right now I’m just sad and angry and frustrated and disappointed. I didn’t realize how desperately I wanted him to believe me until he didn’t.
    I push through the doors and take off down the hall, going fast so I won’t have time to stop and think. Suddenly I’m extra worried about Annie. What if she told Mr. Gabriel what I said? What if he decides to step up the pace on whatever he’s doing to her? What if he’s doing it to her right now? I try to conjure brave images of me dragging her out of there by force. It doesn’t matter if she’s pissed at me. She can forgive me later, after I save her.
    I take the stairs two at a time. I emerge on the third floor breathing a little heavily and make myself slow to a walk. I don’t want to be all out of breath when I burst in there to save Annie. It would kind of ruin the effect.
    The sound of someone coming up the stairs behind me makes me stop and turn around. It’s Ryan, looking angry and apologetic and confused, all together.
    “Cyn, wait.” He’s not at all out of breath from the stairs, of course.
    I try to get my breathing in check. I try to resist being filled with terrible hope.
    “All right,” he says. “I’m coming with you, okay? I don’t know what you expect me to see, and I’m telling you straight out that I do not believe there’s some kind of evil demon librarian taking over the school. But —”
    I start to walk again but then he touches my arm. I stop instantly, chills radiating from where his fingers rest lightly on my skin, still not immune to ridiculous swooniness, apparently. Not even now. He steps in front of me, blocking my path, looking down at me. I remind myself to breathe. God, he’s still so lovely to look at. Even when I’m mad at him.
    “Look,” he says seriously. “I don’t want you to be mad. And I do want to know what’s going on with everyone. And if you think the librarian has something to do with it . . . well, I’m coming with you. But don’t be pissed at me if I’m not instantly convinced.”
    I blink several times and make myself speak. “Okay,” I say. He doesn’t want me to be mad. He cares about how I feel about him. He cares enough to run after me to try to make me not-mad even when he thinks I’m crazy. Why couldn’t this be happening when I didn’t have to be distracted by evil-librarian zombie-student insanity?
    Life is so unfair.
    We resume our walk to the library. Just as we approach the doors, I feel Ryan’s eyes on me and turn to look at him. He looks uncertain and kind of nervous and embarrassed but he’s coming with me anyway, and then he gives me one of those delicious half smiles, and I don’t even glance at the doors as I reach out and pull them open.
    And then we stop right there, staring.
    Mr. Gabriel is standing in the center of the room, facing slightly away from us. The tables have been cleared away against the bookshelves, and a giant and disturbing shape has been drawn in chalk on the floor. Its unpleasant lines and angles form a kind of frame around the librarian, who seems to have sprouted large black bat-like wings. Also, long twisty black horns of some kind are now spiraling out of the top of his head. He is bending slightly forward, looking at the floor, muttering something incomprehensible in a low, guttural voice.
    He’s not dancing around, at least. So that’s something.
    After an eternity of standing there in the doorway, trying to take this in, I hear Ryan’s voice