The Librarian (Book Two: Unhappily Ever After)

PROLOGUE

TAYLOR WAS STANDING in the library's main hall, though she had no recollection of why she was there or how she'd arrived. In fact, when she heard a familiar voice call to her, she knew the only way it was possible was in a dream.

"Taylor?" the voice inquired. It was a nurturing voice, warm and gentle. "I thought there was something you wanted to show me."

The old building was alive with activity. College students stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the card catalogue. Smiling children moved in-and-out of the aisles like worms burrowing through dark earth. A bearded man appeared from the Archives Room with a long scroll of paper tucked under his arm and was beaming like he'd made a major discovery.

Taylor grinned.

Why would anyone tear this place down?

She pushed the question from her mind. It didn't matter. All that mattered right now was that voice. She quickly began to scan the room.

It's not her. You're crazy, Tay. It can't be—

Taylor's breath caught in her chest.

"Mom?"

Karen Williams was standing just a few feet away beneath the skylight in the library's domed ceiling.

"Oh my god," Taylor squealed. "Mom!"

Taylor covered the ground between them in an instant and wrapped both arms around her mother's waist.

"Whoa!" Karen said. "Where'd that come from?"

"Where'd that come from?"
Taylor's bear hug was nearly enough to squeeze the air from Karen's lungs. "What are you
doing
here?!"

Taylor pulled away just enough to look her mom over. Karen's skin was flawless; her hair fell like a golden waterfall over one shoulder just like Tay's; her smile was ever-present. She looked exactly as Taylor remembered, and yet, there were countless details Taylor had forgotten – like the way she stood with her hands clasped in front of her or the tarnished ring that never left the pinky on her left hand. It was like a talented artist had captured Karen on her best day. Even her black dress – a dress which seemed strangely familiar – looked more beautiful than Taylor remembered.

The Astoria Library really
was
a magical place.

A place where dreams came true.

Karen smiled. "It's our mother-daughter date. Remember? But you said we had to come here first. To the library. You said there was something you wanted to show me."

Taylor tried to shake the cobwebs from her head. She didn't remember any of this, but she knew there
was
something she wouldn't let her mom leave without seeing. She offered a tiny hand for her mother to take, and they started across the room together.

"You won't believe it," Taylor whispered. "Seriously, it's the most amazing thing in the world."

She led Karen to the literature display near a smooth pillar in the center of the room. Both were so caught up in the moment that neither noticed they were now alone in the library. All the people who'd been with them just moments before, we're gone.

Taylor grinned as she looked the exhibit over. All the relics from Oz were in their rightful places, just as she and Wesley had left them. The silver slippers were there, the oilcan and the three yellow bricks. Even the magic wand they'd use to access the portal was back in place, lying alongside the thick, leather-bound book on its pedestal.

"Watch," Taylor giggled.

Up on her tiptoes, Taylor leaned over the display's velvet rope and grabbed the wand before Karen had a chance to react.

"What are you doing? You can't just—"

"Wait," Taylor said. "Just wait. You'll see."

She started down one of the library's long aisles, and her mother followed, both heading toward the wooden piece of art that was hanging—

TAYLOR WAS STANDING in the Tinman's cabin, though she had little recollection of why she was there or how she'd arrived. In fact, her thoughts were so clouded that all she could remember was that her mother had—

Her heart sank. "Mom?
Mom?!
"

She whipped around in a panic, worried her mother might have been left behind. But she hadn't. Karen was right there with her, watching with awe as the last of the portal's light disappeared with a wink.

"I... I..." Karen couldn't believe it. "What just happened?
How did you do that?!
"

"C'mon," Taylor said. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Karen took Taylor's hand once more, shutting her eyes when the room filled with light and—

TAYLOR AND KAREN were skipping down the yellow brick road, arms linked, both singing the same wrong words to a song from a film they'd watched more times than either could remember. When finished, they were lying in the meadow, doubled over with laughter, tears of joy streaming down both of their cheeks. They had little recollection of why they were there or how they'd arrived, but neither really cared.

It was a mother-daughter date.

The best they'd ever had.

Maybe the best anyone would ever have.

Nothing else mattered in the world.

And this was how their day progressed: a brilliant flash reliably transporting them from one place to the next, their adventure in Oz nothing more than a collage of stolen moments in time...

They toured Emerald City, both wearing the oversized spectacles given to them by the Guardian of the Gate.

They picnicked beneath the Great Waterfall, sitting outside the palace of Glinda the Good Witch, both so excited they were often talking with a mouth full of food.

They traveled to China Country, where Taylor explained that the land made of fragile glass looked nothing like she had imagined when reading about it in the book.

One flash took them from Oz to the farmlands of Kansas where they hid in the brush and watched as Dorothy was reunited with her aunt. Taylor gave her mother a bitter-sweet look, convinced their own story would have an ending equal to that of Dorothy and Em's.

But eventually daylight waned and the shadows grew long, and as all good things are bound to do, their time in Oz came to an end.

They started back, following the road of yellow bricks, no flash of light to help them along this time.

As they walked, Taylor noticed that the vibrant vista of Oz was slowly beginning to fade as the sun slipped beneath the horizon. It wasn't the natural change one might expect at dusk: that magic hour between day and night. Instead, everything seemed muted, like they were looking at the world through a dirty pane of glass.

And there was more.

Birds circled overhead. Dark thunderclouds mounted in the distance. The wind began to gust.

Taylor quickened her pace. Karen followed suit.

"This way," Taylor directed, pointing down a worn path that cut through the woods.

"Are you sure?" Karen asked. "The road goes around."

"We won't make it before dark," Taylor said. "We'll be fine this way. You'll see." There was only a hint of doubt in her voice.

The forest offered shelter from the changing landscape, but this did little to ease their nerves as the tree limbs cast dark, wraith-like shadows across their path.

They followed the winding trail, both looking nervous until they reached the shortcut's end and saw a black dog waiting for them there.

"Awe!" Taylor exclaimed. They'd met a number of animals during their trip. Most were of the cute and cuddly variety. Standing in shadow, this dog looked to be no different. It actually
did
look like it was waiting for them, as if it were there to take them the rest of the way home.

"Come here," Taylor said. "I won't hurt you, big guy." She stepped toward it, but Karen raised an arm to stop her.

"Wait."

The dog's coat was matted. Its dry skin was stretched tightly across its bones. It turned toward them, and Taylor flinched when she saw it was missing an ear and staring at them with eyes that glowed red in the descending darkness.

"That's not a dog. That's—"

"A wolf," Karen finished.

This time Karen took Taylor's hand. They stepped forward together. "Easy," Karen whispered.

The wolf snarled. Long strings of drool spilled from the wolf's mouth. Its lip curled, baring two rows of razor-sharp teeth stained yellow and pink.

Karen felt Taylor tense up and squeezed her hand.

"Don't look back," she said.

But Taylor had to look.

While she couldn't see its body, Taylor saw the red-hot eyes of another wolf appear in the darkness behind them. Others came. Then more. Behind them, beside them, everywhere, until eventually they were surrounded by the entire pack, a dozen black wolves with one thing on their minds.

"One step at a time," Karen said. "We're almost there."

A sound like gravel rattled in the wolf's throat as they walked past. Then, it barked, and the pack charged out of the darkness after them.

"RUN!" Karen screamed.

Taylor bolted down the path and out of the woods.

"What's happening?!"

The colors outside the forest were no longer muted. They'd faded completely. It was like they were running through an old, silent film. Everything around them was colored a different shade of grey.

The Tinman's cabin appeared on the horizon.

"Look," Karen hollered. "We're almost there!"

Never stopping, Taylor quickly glanced back.

The savage pack was closing in. Growling. Barking. Snarling. Red eyes alive with hate. Hundreds of teeth exposed, ready to do their master's bidding.

Taylor checked the distance that remained between them and the cabin.

Mom's right
, she thought.
Almost there! Almost there! Almost—

Taylor tripped to the ground, her mother too, both stumbling face first into the grass, neither able to break their fall.

"Get up, girl! Move!"

Taylor tried to right herself, but her foot wouldn't give. She looked back, half expecting to find that her foot was caught under a fallen limb or hooked behind a large rock. Instead, her eyes grew wide with horror when she found the true culprit was the ground beneath her. It had given way like quicksand and swallowed her foot whole.

"Pull!" Karen screamed. "Pull!"

Fresh tears clouded her vision, but Taylor watched Karen yank her foot free and tried to do the same. The earth gave way but kept the sandal she'd been wearing.

"Go!" Karen ordered. "I'm right behind!"

"But, mom—"

"GO!"

The wolves were almost on them. Taylor took off, only making it a few steps before her foot broke through the ground's surface again. This time, she pulled free before falling and was now running barefoot through the meadow.

"Don't look back!"

"Are you coming?"

"I'm here! Go!"

Taylor could hear the hungry mob right on their heels. She tried to push her pace, but every stride seemed to slow her progress. Her feet were constantly breaking through the ground, and every time they did she seemed to sink a bit deeper beneath the surface.

"Mom!"

"Don't stop!"

But Taylor could go no farther. The earth had swallowed everything below her knees. No matter how hard she tried, she could no longer pull her feet free.

Frantic, she turned only to find that her mother had fallen some twenty feet behind, the powerful ooze consuming everything beneath her waist.

Strangely, it was only now that Taylor recognized the black dress her mother was wearing. It was the last thing she'd ever worn. It was the dress she'd been buried in.

"What did you do?" Karen cried.

"I'm sorry, mom! We were only trying to help!" Taylor heard the words, but they didn't feel like they were really hers. It was like someone was speaking for her. "We didn't know this would happen!"

"Yes you did!" Karen's voice was suddenly angry and shrill. Just as it had filled Taylor's heart with warmth in the library, now it left her with an incredible feeling of dread. "You knew better! You
knew
this would happen!
Wesley told you!
"

Taylor watched the pack of wolves approach. They had slowed considerably, all of them saving their strength for the business at hand. They sniffed the air, tongues dashing in-and-out of their mouths as they began to circle their prey.

"I'm sorry, mom! Please! Believe me!"

"You should have listened, little girl! You—"

The wolves attacked before she could finish.

Taylor squeezed her eyes shut, but there was nothing she could do to counter the sounds of tearing flesh, breaking bones and her mother's heartbreaking scr—

TAYLOR WOKE WITH a start, sitting up and casting her blankets onto the floor. Her heart was racing, her brow wet with sweat. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and it was a moment longer before she understood that everything that just happened was only a dream.

She looked the room over, hoping sight of the familiar would return her sense of security. Instead, her eyes fell on the aged paperback sitting on the nightstand beside her charging walkie-talkie.