The walk up to the library took some five minutes that the weapon used to nudge Melody awake. Once inside the massive building on the edge of the city, the group of students was greeted by the librarians, a certainly peculiar bunch.

  All of them were tall, dressed in some sort of fantasy-goth style and all of them were seemingly women. Melody saw more than that, the weapon gave her the ability to recognize them as what they really were. Five of the six were demons.

  The one with a bck ponytail and a single red strand of hair started the introduction. “Now that everyone has managed to make it inside, I welcome you all to the library. As head librarian, I and my team will personally assist you today. We have tables for you to work at on every floor and if you need some privacy, you can talk to us for access to the backrooms. This pce is divided into two sections, the basement floors are reserved for non-fiction, research papers, historical documents and the like. The upper floors contain anything fictional. Right here on the ground floor, you will find copies of the most accessed books, newspapers and magazines, and anything that doesn’t fit into the categories on the other floors. If you need anything that isn’t avaible in the public part of the library, talk to us and we will get it for you. If you need to take a break, eat or drink something, conference rooms one and two here on the ground floor are reserved for you today. Most of us will be roaming the library helping you out, but if you have trouble finding us there will always be someone here at the reception desk. Any questions?”

  Some guy in the back raised his hand. “Are there toilets here?”

  “On every floor near the stairs.”

  “Thank you!”

  “Feel free to approach any of us if you have any further questions. For now, we will let you get to work. Have fun and good luck.”

  As the crowd of students dispersed, miss Geance approached one of the librarians. That one was pale as snow with a rather severe streak of colour in her blood-red hair. The two seemed to know each other.

  As Melody made her way to the stairs, she caught a glimpse of the head librarian raising an eyebrow at her but not saying anything.

  Melody had gotten to work quickly, having found a nice table on the far end of the science floor. After being undisturbed for a few hours, miss Geance wandered by.

  “There you are, I almost thought we lost you somewhere between the shelves.”

  “Just found a quiet corner, that’s all.”

  “A good corner, yes. How are you progressing?”

  “If things keep going like this, I will be done by two. You and one of the librarians seem to know each other.”

  The teacher smiled. “We do. I was her teacher a long time ago.”

  “Miss Vengeance, if I didn’t know what you are, I would worry about your age now.” Melody grinned.

  “Just Vengeance, please.”

  “That feels wrong, you are still my teacher.”

  “Yes, but in private we don’t need such formalities. I heard you and Karina talking about the rumours. Did you believe them?”

  “Hm? Oh yes, that. I wasn’t sure, but I do now. You said you taught that librarian, that had to be super long ago, right?”

  “A hundred and thirty thousand years ago, yes. She chose a path I didn’t want for her, but it was the right one and, in the end, she still ended up in a pce I would have recommended. She was one of my most promising, like you are now. For human standards.” Vengeance grinned.

  “Am I walking a path you don’t approve of as well?”

  “I don’t think you are. Physics, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you are doing just fine. I better go see to the others. Tell you mums I said hi.”

  “I will.”

  Just as pnned, Melody finished her work before two in the afternoon and had turned it in. She was now on her way back down from the topmost floor where she had found Vengeance to hand over her paper. About halfway down the stairs, the head librarian bumped into her.

  “Melody Valefor.”

  “That’s me, yes.”

  The librarian leaned closer. “We need to talk. Preferably now.”

  “Okay?” That almost felt like she did something wrong.

  “Follow me, we’ll have some privacy in my office.”

  I don’t like this.

  “Sure, is everything okay?”

  “I think so, but I need to confirm something. Come.”

  Melody dutifully followed the head librarian. She and the weapon shared the sense of unease that came from being dragged into a private conversation behind locked doors by a powerful demon.

  Once they arrived in the lovingly decorated office, the librarian closed the door and took a seat, gesturing for Melody to do the same.

  “I know you know what I am. I’ll reveal myself if that helps you.”

  “If you want. I don’t care either way.”

  “Alright then.” The head librarian shifted back from her human disguise into her proper demonic form. “I don’t know how much your mothers have told you about how demons work, but I am what is called a Nightmare. I can read minds. Don’t worry, I haven’t read yours but I noticed something, and I need to know if your parents know.”

  “And what would that be?” The weapon jumped in to stop Melody from saying something stupid.

  “That I am talking to someone else now. There are two minds in you. I was talking to Melody before and now I am talking to the other one. Do Valefor and Thrasir know?”

  “They don’t. Have you realized what I am?”

  “I have a good guess. I can feel the ancient weapon impnted between your shoulders. Those weapons had the basics of a mind, they had knowledge, skills and reflexes but no personality, no emotions or thoughts of their own. You are one of the eight weapons that weren’t retrieved after the war ended, aren’t you?”

  “Promise me that no matter what I say, nothing is leaving this room without my consent.”

  “If you will consider my request, yes, I promise.”

  “I am one of those weapons. I don’t know how I became like this or when, but I remember everything from being impnted into my first host onwards. My existence must remain a secret. I know what happened to the weapons you recovered and what will happen to me if any of you are allowed to remove me. I will not allow anyone to put me into a box on a shelf in some warehouse.”

  The head librarian rubbed her face. “I will personally make sure that you won’t end up like that. You are a person, you even have a soul of your own. Do Valefor and Thrasir know?”

  “They don’t.”

  “You need to tell them. If it helps, you can tell them that the librarians will be very upset if they don’t accept you. You should also tell Vengeance. I am very certain she will cause no trouble and understand your position.”

  “You realize the risk your request puts me in. And not just me, Melody as well.”

  “I do. Maybe talk to Vengeance first and have her help you talk to Melody’s parents. I don’t know either of you well enough to be of proper assistance, but she does. Maybe, if you are accepted, tell Thrasir or Valefor to send me a letter. If I haven’t received one by midnight, I will personally come check on you, okay?”

  “You are asking me to trust you just like that.”

  “I am.”

  “Cute. Well, I was designed to enable a human to fight angels. Escaping two demons should be doable as well. If things go badly. I hope you are right, head librarian.”

  “I am certain.”

  “Let’s consider for a moment that I do as you ask. What then? Do we just keep on living as the two daughters of Valefor and Thrasir who just happen to share a body? I will need to separate from Melody someday. Her parents have promised to turn her into a demon once she graduates from university, I can’t share a demon body. What will happen then?”

  “I can’t answer those questions, but I know demons who might be able to. If you come out to Melody’s parents and I am notified that things are fine, I will send one of them to you. I promise that we will never put you in storage. If you need to be separated from Melody, we will find you a new body to be impnted into immediately.”

  “I will trust you. Demons have not yet given me a reason not to, but you understand why I am afraid?”

  “I do, I really do. Now, may I talk to Melody again?”

  “I’m here, hi.”

  “Hey. You heard everything we talked about, right?”

  Melody nodded. “Sure did. I just wonder why you are pushing for this?”

  “Because they will find out one day. I am not the only Nightmare out there and someone will eventually notify your parents of what’s going on. You can be in control of your coming out now, don’t let time take that from you.”

  She is right. I hate it, but we need to control how and when we talk to our parents about this.

  “Yea… Well, I also agree with what you and Weapon have agreed on.”

  “You just call her Weapon?”

  Melody shrugged. “She insisted. I don’t even know if she is a she. Weapon always tells me that she is an object, not a proper person. To me, she is a proper person.”

  “She is. I hope you’ll realize that one day, Weapon. And maybe pick a name.”

  “I will, when the time is right. I am happy being a weapon for now.”

  “Then we will accept that. Unless you have anything else, I’m done now.” The head librarian got up again.

  “No, we’re fine. And thank you, maybe, for nudging us.”

  “I want to say ‘my pleasure’ but I best save that for ter.”

  “Yes, best not to jinx it. Well, I’ll go find Vengeance now and then hopefully have some time for my little shopping trip and lunch in the city.”

  The head librarian smiled reassuringly. “Good luck, even if I don’t think you’ll need it.”