Chương 51: 51 Loop 2, Part 5

The iron door clicked shut behind us, and the dark swallowed the three of us whole. I gestured with a finger for everyone to be quiet. I said to Flag by telepathic link, Don't make a sound. Flag let go of the handle and froze. Somewhere behind the iron door, [Subtitle] was still translating the words Grimm was saying. I felt a little bad about doing it to him again. Not bad enough to go back and help, obviously. But a little. That was fun, Flag said. I held the door very well. Did you see?

"You did great, buddy," I whispered once I was sure Vex was out of earshot.

"Who did great?" Finn said in a heavy whisper. He was so loud I thought he was trying to get us caught.

"Flag, obviously. He's talking through our link so he doesn't—" In front of us, in a faint and steady pattern, Vex's footsteps were already descending the stairs. It was clear he was unhurried and had no idea we were following behind him. I intended to keep it that way. I pointed my wand down at Finn's boots and cast [Silence], and then at Flag's desk legs. I recast [Stride] because it was convenient for me, and I knew Finn would complain about it.

"Why do you get to float?" Finn whispered.

"Because I invented the spell, and inventors get privileges."

"You're going to fall asleep midair one day, and I'm gonna let you hit the ground on your face."

"No, you won't. You'll catch me, and you'll hate yourself." We started forward, with myself in the lead. I made sure to keep an eye on Vex as often as I could. But with the way [Wideview] worked, as soon as we descended down the first flight, I could see the entirety of the second floor. I did my best to ignore the sensation of déjà vu, which was becoming a theme in my life. The same cold air, the same pale blue lamp fixtures casting light. Stone steps worn smooth.

Somebody had spent centuries walking these stairs so that they could be descended more comfortably. Well, I appreciated their service. For me, [Stride] made it a moot point. But for Finn and Flag, on the other hand, it was making a difference. Somehow, despite having legs made from desks, Flag was walking much more naturally than he had before. Whether it was because he had more experience or four legs were better than two, I didn't know. But he looked kind of freaky with a more careful and deliberate gait.

Finn kept glancing at him and trying to hide it. But it was clear he was freaked out, too. The stairs are very good, Flag offered. Each one is where I expect it to be.

"Oh, that's high praise, buddy."

"Are you talking to it?" Finn whispered.

"Why isn't he speaking out loud?"

"Flag is a him. And yes, I am. And he wants to be quiet, unlike you." Finn rolled his eyes.

"Well, what's he saying?"

"He's reviewing the stairs. Five stars all around." Finn stared at Flag's back for a while after that. He was going to have to get used to only hearing my half of the conversation when Flag didn't want to speak out loud. We continued after Vex at a distance, giving him plenty of time to descend to the next level before we followed suit. We'd barely made it twenty steps into the third floor before the notification hit us. [New Quest: The Lost Library] [Step One: Locate the Lost Library] I dismissed it on reflex.

It was the same boring quest I had already gotten before, and I didn't know what to do with it at this point. I had found the library and it just gave me more steps. Definitely wasn't worth the effort—at least, not to me. But behind me, Finn had stopped walking. I caught it immediately through [Wideview] but didn't bother turning around.

"Laz," he said. For once, his whisper was so quiet I couldn't hear, so I looked at [Subtitle] s. Which I always did anyway.

"Laz, I just got a quest."

"Congratulations. Keep walking. We need to keep up."

"It says 'The Lost Library.'" He looked my way, but it was clear he was having trouble with the reality of the situation. Honestly, his face looked like he had just seen a ghost. I laughed at that thought. Oh, Finn, buddy, you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Finn did that thing where he opened and closed his mouth over and over as if he couldn't quite think of what to say. But eventually, he found the words.

"I said Lost Library because I didn't think there'd even be a chance that you had ever seen it. I picked it because it was impossible. And now I have a quest for it." His voice was so small I couldn't even hear anything, but [Subtitle] proved its worth. It kept up with every syllable.

"Weird, right?"

"Laz."

"Almost like somebody's been here before and was telling the truth. Hmm." He stared at me. I watched the explanations line up in his head, and excuse after excuse failed before the reality of the situation. There was no logical way to explain what I knew or how I knew it. Spying on Thane's classroom didn't cover me knowing about Vex's schedule or the Lost Library. Neither did a listening spell, or talking to someone, or just general people-watching. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve.

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"You could have…" he started to say, and then stopped.

"Maybe you—" He paused for longer, and then his eyes got bright. He nodded vigorously, as if convincing himself it was the truth.

"Yes, that's it. Your uncle told you Vex's schedule."

"Maybe he did."

"And maybe he found the Library years ago. Maybe he told you about the quest, and you just waited for me to walk into it."

"That's a lot of 'maybes,' Finn. Meanwhile, I only need one thing to be true." I started down the next step.

"I'm not going to argue every theory out of you. That sounds exhausting, and I don't have to. In an hour, you'll have watched me predict everything a Ministry operative does before he does it and walk you to a place nobody's found in a century. Save your maybes until then." Finn didn't have anything for that. Which didn't mean he agreed. But Finn was nothing if not stubborn.

"This doesn't prove time travel is real," he said finally. But the confidence in his voice was unbelievable.

"This just proves the Library is real. That's all."

"Sure. And soon, I'll prove I know the way there. Keep a running total. I'll collect all the mocking at once. It's more efficient." What's a quest? Flag asked. I got a notification for one, too.

"I'll explain later, buddy. Don't worry." Finn opened his mouth, but closed it and started walking. But he was looking at me differently now, and it was a look I was going to enjoy for the rest of my extremely repetitive life. I threw out my arm and stopped Finn, putting a finger up to my mouth. Vex had doubled back. I grabbed a fistful of Finn's collar and hauled us both sideways in between the shelves, then down a few rows. Flag followed without being told and went perfectly still against the shelf.

I am pretending to be furniture, he announced through the link. I watched Vex walk down the steps, right past where we had been standing about thirty seconds ago, and my chest clenched the same way it did every time I saw the man walking around with his head still attached. But there was something about this that bothered me. Like the opposite of déjà vu. Because the last time through, he hadn't circled back. Had our noise attracted him? No. That wasn't it.

If he had heard us, he'd be looking around for us in the dark, and he wasn't doing that. He was looking at shelves. Which was worse, in a way, because I couldn't as accurately predict a man who was doing something new. Last time, Vex's Monday had been quiet. I had put a stop to the fight before it began, since Corwen hadn't been around to do it. But because this time, Kalin had filled the dining hall with shadow constructs, and again, Corwen hadn't been there to stop it…

Vex had spent his morning putting a student in irons. And had a brand-new problem to deal with. I loved when things made sense. It meant less effort in the end. He stopped walking, and his hand went up to a high shelf. He brought out a slim volume with a black spine. He held it at arm's length, and I could make out the title. Shadow Manifestation and You. Of course. Ever since this morning, Shadow Manifestation had been the talk of the town.

So of course he wanted a book covering it, and of course the restricted section had a friendly instructional guide on how to practice it. I needed that book. For research purposes. But there was nothing I could do about it now. On this loop, at least. Vex turned the book over once, opened it, read a few pages, and then slid it into the inside pocket of his coat. I marked the spot in my mind. We were on the third level. West set of stacks, second aisle, top shelf.

In between a red book and a blue one with a cracked spine. I read the neighboring titles a few times, just to have them in my mind, and to make sure that I wouldn't lose sight of where this book belonged. It seemed like a series. Fire Manifestation and You and Water Manifestation and You. I looked at the titles through [Wideview] trying to find one for Light Manifestation, but no such luck, unfortunately. Vex came back past our row on his way to the fancy stairs.

Finn pressed himself so hard into the shelf that I was concerned he was going to knock it over. Flag had taken stoneness to an art form. He almost looked like he really was just a mannequin. Finn let out a breath about a minute later.

"Fuck, that was close," he said.

"You know, if you had just believed me, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Look, I'll grant you that something odd is going on. But you really want me to believe you're time traveling?"

"Yes. Why would I lie about this? Think."

"I trust you, Laz, but given your track record of elaborate tall tales, all for the sake of saving yourself effort, you haven't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to something this absurd."

"You don't think I know that, Finn? I get it. But why can't you just believe me? This one time, I promise, I fucking time traveled, man. And I need your help to save my uncle." Finn looked at me for a long moment, and for a second, right there in the dark between the shelves, I thought he was going to say he believed me. It was like he was almost there. But then he stopped himself.

"Show me the Library," he said.

"Show me, and then maybe I'll start to believe you." So we kept on moving. By the time we made it to the grand staircase, Vex was already searching rooms. I watched Finn's face as everything came into view. Realization became confusion. And then he spoke.

"Laz, this shouldn't be here. Like, architecturally, this makes no sense."

"Wait until you see the dust," I replied.

"What's wrong with the dust?"

"You'll know when you see it." He paused, as if trying to tell if I was being myself or telling the truth. Eventually, he gave up and asked more questions.

"So, is this it? Is this the library?"

"You know, that's the neat part. No." Finn turned around trying to take in everything, and it was clear that he was having the weirdest fucking day of his life.

"Did your quest update?"

"No." Once we climbed down the stairs, I took him down a corridor I hoped Vex wouldn't search, and I pointed out the little sideways dunes. I watched him have the same exact argument with gravity that I had had. And then I pulled us into a room I hoped was empty. With the door open, I could peek out through [Wideview] and keep track of what Vex was doing. And thankfully, it went about as well as it did the last time through.

He started searching random drawers, pulling out papers, looking for something, anything to help him find the library. But I knew he never would. I quickly lost interest in watching Vex waste his time for a second loop. I curled up on a couch that just conveniently happened to be in the room we were waiting in. I placed my robe behind my head and closed my eyes.

"Are you…" Finn whispered, heat in his voice, "getting comfortable?"

"Wake me up when he leaves. I'm behind on my sleep." He got into my face and practically shout-whispered, "There's a Ministry operative less than a hundred feet from here, and you're going to take a nap? Get up, dumbass! Now's not the time!"

"Dude, chill. You wanted a prediction? Here's a prediction. He's going to search the next two hallways. He's going to leave every room in disarray. Desks with drawers left open, books and papers thrown on the floor. Then he's going to plant himself in the foyer and check his pocket watch for the better part of an hour, waiting on my uncle. Who won't show, by the way, because he's in a coma at the bottom of all this after casting the spell that brought me back in time." I settled my head back onto my robe.

"Write it down if you want. Timestamp it. And when every word of it comes true, you can wake me up and apologize for screaming at me while we were trying to be quiet." I went to sleep.