Night Shift at the Clarion

Clarion Municipal Library sits on a hill like a lighthouse beckoning all that need refuge to find it within her walls. She is a gorgeous brick building that’s one floor plus a basement. Stars above me wink knowingly as I climb the steps to the front door. “Are you ready?” They seem to ask.

I don’t need to form a reply. There’s no being ready for the night shift at the Clarion.

“Miss Fewter, you’re late.” Mrs. Andrews appears by my side the second I open the door. She’s an old woman with curly white hair that’s put up into a stiff bun. She has a mustard yellow cardigan on because apparently “I always keep it too cold in here.” Never mind that the drop in temperature is most likely her fault. She floats to the light switch, waiting for me to turn it on.

I shoot her a smile. “Actually, I’m early,” I say glancing down at my watch. It’s 11:50 and my shift doesn’t start until midnight. I go to put my bag in the office and come back to boot up the circulation desk’s computer.

When I first started here, Mrs. Andrew scared the life out of me (pun definitely intended.) Now, she’s like a grandma to me and even though she has a sharp tongue, I know she cares about me. She huffs and crosses her arms as she watches me. Softly, almost a low grumble, she asks, “Have you eaten?”

I smile. I told you she cares about me. “Yes ma’am.”

“What’d you eat?” She points a bony finger at me. “I swear if you say one of those frozen pizzas, I might die all over again.”

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “Fine,” I say. “Then I won’t tell you.”

With the circulation computer booted up, I do my walk through. I check if the day staff has left any messages for me and if there are messy areas that they might’ve forgotten to clean up.

Mrs. Andrews is right on my tail, floating so closely that I feel a chill and I regret not bringing my sweatshirt with me. “How many times have I told you?” She continues her lecture. “You’re a growing girl and you need to eat like an adult. How are you going to take care of a family or your future children?”

I scoff. “God, you sound like my mother. Who says I want to have children? Oh, and by the way, I’m almost 30 and I have a master’s degree in Library Science. I haven’t been a growing girl for a long time. I would say changing my ways is a lost cause at this point.”

She surprises me by not saying anything, but the glare she gives me says it all. “I’m disappointed in you, Miss Fewter,” it says. “You really should be making better decisions." And most deafening of all. “Go ahead, do what you want. Join me in the afterlife for all I care.” I know that’s what she’s afraid of most. That I’m going to end up like her. She should know better though. If six years working at the Clarion hasn’t killed me, a frozen pizza definitely won’t.

The front door slams open and that’s my cue that the night is about to start.

“Librarian!” Frank’s loud voice echoes in the empty room. He’s been coming to the Clarion for 3 years now and still hasn’t bothered to learn my name. In moments, he’s standing in front of the desk and I have to crane my neck back to look at his face. He’s a foot taller than me normally and that height difference is even starker with me sitting.

“What can I do for you, Frank?”

His hazel colored eyes glare at me. Beneath those eyes, his snout juts out from his face hiding a row of sharp canines. His auburn brown fur matches his tailored suit perfectly which must’ve cost a fortune considering his large werewolf frame. His voice is a low growl as he asks. “Is the new Nautilus James mystery in yet?” Frank, it turns out, is an avid mystery buff and is one of the fastest readers I’ve met. I can barely buy enough mysteries to match how quickly he reads them.

 “Mrs. Andrews can show you where they are,” I say and laugh at her outraged expression. I know she’ll forgive me since she’s unable to resist helping someone find a book to read. Dead or not, she’s a librarian through and through.

“Follow me, Mr. Bader.” She floats away with Frank following close behind her.

For a few blessed moments, it’s quiet, but I know it won’t last. The night shift at the Clarion has only just begun.

Over the next few hours, it’s just one thing after another. If I’m not breaking up a fight between a chimera and a griffin over computer usage, I’m convincing a mermaid that “No, she can’t sit in the toilet all night. Other people have to use it.” Library school did not train me for this. What I know about the many creatures that frequent the Clarion, I had to learn on the job or from the previous librarian who as you might’ve guessed was Mrs. Andrews. She taught me just about everything I know about working here. She passed away a year after I started working and though she should’ve passed on, she stayed to watch out for me. Not that I’m complaining. As much as she fusses, I don’t know what I would do without her.

“You’re being watched.” I have gotten so used to Mrs. Andrews’ sudden appearances that they don't even scare me anymore.

“What do you mean?” I ask. I’m sitting behind the circulation desk reading a book during one of the thankfully slow moments of the night.

Mrs. Andrews gestures to the left. “A human boy sitting over by the History Section. He’s been watching you for the last half an hour.”

I groan. I can’t get a moment’s peace, can I? It’s not like humans aren’t allowed at the Clarion. I’m human and so was Mrs. Andrews. It’s just that most humans have a nasty habit of making a mess of things when they get around the magical and the preternatural. It’s just easier to keep the humans to the daytime and everything else to the after-hours night shift.

I grab one of the complimentary bookmarks and mark my place. “Watch the desk, please,” I say and walk straight for the history section. The boy seeing my approach tries to divert his attention to the walls as if that’ll convince me that he hasn’t been staring at me the whole time.

“I don’t know what bet you lost,” I say as I come to stand in front of him. “But it’s been a long night and I don’t want to have to clean you off the walls after you piss off someone you shouldn’t.” I’d say he’s somewhere between 9 and 13, but I can’t tell for sure. As young as he is, it’s even more reason to make sure he doesn’t start anything.

His eyes widen as he looks up at me. It’s then that I am able to see his eyes clearly. They’re brown, but they also glow. It’s subtle, and you wouldn’t notice it unless you were paying attention. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, no matter how human someone appears, you can always see the truth in their eyes.

When he see my eyebrows quirk up, he realizes his eyes have given him away. He shuts his eyes tightly and sets his forehead on the table. “Sorry,” he murmurs. So, he’s not human, or at least not completely.

“Is there something I can help you with?” My tone is soft and calm, as close to motherly as I will ever be. I’ve seen kids like him before. They’ve come to the library because they need answers and they have nowhere else to go to get them.

“You’re the librarian, right?” He’s lifted his head, but his eyes are still downcast toward the table as if he’s asking the table instead of me. “I heard you could help me figure out what I am.”

“First, you’re not a what, you’re a who?” I tilt my head to try to make eye contact with him. “What’s your name?”

“Isaac.”

“Nice to meet you, Isaac. My name’s Calliope.”

He looks at me then. “That’s a pretty name.”

I’m just about to take the seat across from him when Mrs. Andrews appears in front of me.

“Miss Fewter,” she whispers. “Someone’s here to see you.”

I look at Isaac and smile reassuringly, “Can they wait? I’m about to have a chat with my new friend, Isaac.”

“It’s Aurelius.” The smile slides off my face. Of course, he’s here.

I put the smile back on, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Could you take my friend Isaac to the break room? Maybe get him something to eat. It looks like he hasn’t eaten in a while.”

Mrs. Andrews nods stiffly. Then, whispers so only I can hear her. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

I watch as she ushers him away. I can tell she’s worried, but I know she also trusts that I can handle myself. 

I make my way to the circulation desk where a tall man is facing away from me. He’s wearing a black duster coat that almost reaches the ground. His waist-length locs are tied back into a low ponytail. Hearing me approach, he turns to me.

He’s a little pudgier around the middle and his chin sports more of a beard that I thought him capable of growing, but his eyes, they still twinkle like he stole the stars from the night sky. It should be a crime to look that good.

He smiles at me, despite himself. “It’s good to see you, Cal.”

I shake my head and try to ignore how beautiful he looks. “I wish I could say the same.” Aurelius is my ex. He’s also one of the six immortals, the governing body of all magical creatures.

We dated for a little over two years and then, out of the blue, he says, “I don’t want to watch you die” and dumps me. I knew upfront the whole immortal-human thing was going to be an issue. Maybe it was hubris that made me think that things would end any differently than they did.  

I plaster on my customer service smile, “What I can I help you with, Immor Aurelius?”

He tilts his head and shoots me a look. “Seriously?”

I nod, but don’t say anything.

He gets right to business. “I tracked a Nephilus to your door. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous they are and how stupid it would be for you to try to protect one of them.”

His condescending tone annoys me. I shoot back. “Then, I also don’t need to tell you that according to the Amaranthine Code Section 4 Subsection 8, the library constitutes as a sanctuary. Anyone within these walls are protected by that code and cannot be forcibly removed or taken without their consent.”

I had my suspicions about who Isaac is, but now I know for sure. He’s a Nephilus. A son of heaven and hell. The child of an angel and a demon. Incredibly rare and frighteningly powerful. Even so, he’s a kid and I swore I’d make the Clarion a safe place for anyone that entered and that includes him.

“Calliope…”His tone bears an unspoken warning. “Where is he?”

“We both know he’s dangerous. You scare him, you spook him, you threaten him and you will have doomed us all. You need to let me handle this.”

He shakes his head. “You’re just a librarian. This is beyond your purview.”

My blood begins to boil. “Your purview is outside of these walls, mine is within them. Do not talk to me like you understand what I do!”

“Miss Fewter?” Mrs. Andrews’s small form appears at my side. From the anxious look on her face, I can imagine the news she’s come to bring me.

I swallow my anger. “What is it? More good news, I hope.”

“A perimeter breach. It’s those blasted Purists again.” Purists are a group of anti-magic human protesters that have been the bane of my existence since I started working here. Usually, they’re a minor annoyance and we can just lock the doors until they get bored and leave. Today though, we have a ticking time bomb in our break room and whatever commotion the Purists bring with them could be the thing that sets him off.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll make you a deal,” I say, finally. “You help me evacuate every one down to the basement, and I will convince Isaac to go with you on the condition that you don’t harm him and you keep him safe.”

He shakes his head. “I can’t promise you that.”

“I can promise you if anything happens to him, you’ll need to pray to whatever God you serve that I never find you.” Aurelius told me once that he never feared a human before he met me. From the look on his face, it seems that he’s still a little afraid of me and knows I will make good on my promise.

“Fine,” he says. “It’s a deal.”

It takes less than 15 minutes to get everyone to go down to the basement. I send Mrs. Andrews downstairs with everyone though I know she would rather stay with me. Aurelius falls in step with me as I make my way to the break room. 

Inside, Isaac is sitting on the sole chair flipping through a book that Mrs. Andrews must’ve given him. It’s one of those fact books that tells you weird and interesting facts about a particular category. I think the one he’s reading is about animals.

“Hi Isaac,” I say. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought a friend to come chat with you.”

Seeing Aurelius, Isaac’s eyes widen and he starts to shake. “He’s going to take me away. Isn’t he? It’s because I’m a monster, right.” His trembling voice makes my heart ache.

I kneel down beside him and lower my voice to keep him calm. “You’re not a monster. You’re what’s called a Nephilus. I’m guessing you don’t know who your parents are.”

He shakes his head and swipes at his eyes. “I’m in foster care.”

I smile, trying to reassure him. “Your parents were powerful which makes you powerful, too.”

His eyes brighten. “You mean like a superhero.”

I nod. “Exactly. Who’s your favorite superhero?”

He takes a moment to think and then says, “Black Panther.”

“Storm’s my favorite,” I say. “They’re adults, so they understand their powers and how to use them to keep people safe. My friend over there is going to help you harness your powers so you can do the same thing.”

“He’s not going to hurt me, is he?” I don’t want to think about the adults in his life that might have hurt him because of what he can do.

“No, he’s not going to hurt you,” I say. I look behind my shoulder at Aurelius. “Isn’t that right?”

He kneels down so he is at Isaac’s level and nods, “I swear to you, I will not hurt you.”

“And if he does or if he lets anyone else, he’ll have to deal with me.” Isaac giggles, more at ease. “But between you and me,” I say, leaning to whisper into his ear. “I’m sure you could take care of them yourself.”

Isaac agrees to go with Aurelius and I let him take the book he was reading. I grab one of the complimentary bookmarks, write my number on it, and stick it in between the pages. “Just in case,” I say.

“Thank you, Calliope,” he says and he hugs me.

“Before I go, may I talk to you for a moment?” Aurelius asks. I nod and we find a quiet corner to talk.

Without wasting any time, he says, “I’m sorry for what I said. You’re not just a librarian. You are very good at what you do and I’m sorry I ever said otherwise.”

That’s the last thing I expected from him. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear it. “Thank you,” I say. “I appreciate it.” He looks conflicted, like there’s more he wants to say.

“What is it?

“I lied to you." He sighs, like he's been holding that in for a long time. " I lied to you about us. When I broke it off and said I didn’t want to watch you die. That wasn’t the truth. I wanted to grow old with you. I have never wanted to be able to die until I met you. And that scared me, so I ran. This absolves me of nothing, I know. I know we don’t owe each other anything, but I felt that after everything, I owed you the truth.”

I’m floored by this confession and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what, if anything, it means for us.

“You don’t need to say anything,” he says, as if he reads my mind. “I just wanted you to know. Don’t worry, I’ll keep him safe.”

I nod, because I don’t trust myself to do more than that.

Aurelius and Isaac leave, and if I’m honest, part of me wants to go with them. The Purists are still shouting outside and the mermaid has returned to the toilet. This job is hard, but as hard as it gets, I can’t imagine leaving. The Clarion is a lighthouse promising refuge for all that need it. Where would it be without its keeper?