Page 86 of Autumn L.A.W

“I'm in Borneo. I was close enough that I thought I would save her the trouble and cost of gathering the last orchid plant.”

“And you can get here quickly?”

There was a thud in the background, and Joell felt the mansion shake under her feet.

“Look out the side window,” Duke said.

Joell rushed to the window and called out to Victoria. “Victoria! Come here, quick.”

Victoria hurried to Joell's side as fast as her little legs would carry her.

Joell pointed out the window and said, “Look, the librarian is here… I mean, the whole freaking library is here!”

The other witches streamed into the room after feeling the jolt and hearing Joell cry out for Victoria to come quickly.

“What's going on?” Sahara demanded.

Joell put an arm around Victoria and smiled over her shoulder. “Our mysterious librarian is here, and he brought the whole library with him.”

Victoria giggled. “Extraordinaire! Have any of you ever met him before?”

“Never,” they all said at once.

“He wants to see the Kaleidoscope plant that Victoria brought from Central America,” Joell said.

Just then, one of the handsomest men Victoria had ever seen strolled out of the library’s front entrance and down the stairs to the lawn. He crossed the short distance to the mansion’s veranda, passed the large front windows on his way to the front double doors. Before he arrived, Magda opened the doors for him and made a sweeping gesture with her arm. “G’ day, Mr. Masterson. It's nice to finally see the librarian in person.”

“How do you know I'm the librarian?” Duke asked, as he strolled over the threshold. Suddenly, all the witches faced him with suspicious eyes.

He stopped where he stood and held up his hands, as if stopping them from whatever attack they might be planning.

“I'm sorry. I was just teasing. Look.” He dug out a wallet from his pocket and yanked out his magical librarian’s license, then he took his passport out of his inner jacket pocket and flipped it open, showing each of them his photo, name, and address, although the address was the same as the mansion’s on Long Island.

“Okay, you need to not tease us like that,” Victoria said.

“Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about the time of the month or… whatever.”

The witches jammed their hands on their hips and stared at him aghast.

“What? Did you think Bas wouldn't fill me in on your activities? Look, I'm not one of those squeamish men who refuse to acknowledge a woman's unique bodily functions.”

Victoria sighed and said, “Alors… You're forgiven. It's not like you're the first person to step on a landmine with us during this particular time. That's why our weapons are locked up.”

He smiled. “Yes, I know. I'm not sure I would've been so willing to come otherwise. Here are all these fantastically talented witches, and sometimes you don’t even need to bring mortal weapons to a fight. I come in peace.”

Joell said, “We should all introduce ourselves. Unless you know each one of us by sight already?” The witches all cocked their heads at the same time as a question.

“I can guess about some of you, but not all. Please introduce yourselves, but I'll go first,” he said. “I am Duke Masterson, second librarian of the L.A.W. at your service.” He bowed.

“Who was the first?” Lioness asked.

“My father, Earl.”

Lioness leaned toward Magda and whispered, “Duke? Earl? Masterson? Might as well just call them Alpha McAlphason,” then giggled aloud.

The witches gathered around the librarian, eager to get more than a glimpse of the mysterious man. He was about an inch over six feet tall, with brown hair and a touch of gray on his temples. He could be in his late thirties or early fifties. He had a deep, resonating voice that seemed to fill the room.

Victoria stepped up and introduced herself. “I'm Victoria, the one who's trapped in a dry cleaner's body. I wish we were meeting under other circumstances.”