The Red Bookkeeper Pt. 1

(Fantasy, No Smut, Incubi)

Maybe wandering the little shop wasn’t the best idea.

Ezabella saw the open door, and wandered into the bookshop, hoping to meet whoever owned it. Instead she was stunned by what she found. A world of shelves, as far as the eye could see. They lined the walls, to the roof, ladders on wheels were set out here and there. There were even packages hung from the roof, bundled up with rope and left dangling like presents ready to fall at any moment.

Her mouth hung open, it was more books in one moment than she had previously seen her whole life. She couldn’t make out many of the titles, written in languages that reminded her how small her world was.

She saw no sign of the owner. So Ezabella walked the rows, looking for something that caught her eye. One book was tall, thick, and the spine was made of a beautiful red that caught her eye.

‘Georgio Winkerbean’s Guide To Adventure’, she laughed at the title, but with a look to make sure she wasn’t being watched, she pulled the book off the shelf. With one flip she opened the book to a picture of a monster with scribbled in black eyes and teeth as long as its face. She gasped, and nearly closed it right then and there. Instead, she read the opposite page, in a whisper.

It wasn’t long before she had to be back home, but she was already here, and already had the book out. It seemed to be one little person’s guide to the world. She was amazed to hear him describe encounters with changelings and ghosts with such glee. In her little town, the worst thing that happened was the occasional oversized rat in the cellar at the inn, which was cleared out whenever wandering mercenaries came through. Also, Mrs. Holt turned out to be a vampire once, but she had never hurt anyone.

“Ezabella!” Shouted a young man, “What are you doing in there?”

It was her brother, Toni. He was a year older than her, but he talked to her like he was their father. She looked up from her book and realized that time had blown past her. The sky was gold, she had to have been there at least a few hours. No wonder Toni was there. He looked in on her, the same black hair as her, same brown eyes.

She stood up, closed the book, “I guess I lost track of time.”

“Lost track of time?” He stepped into the shop, looking back and forth, “The owner is gonna find you and send you off with the town guard, and you’ve seen how Lumpy looks at you. What were you thinking going in a place like this anyway?”

Toni didn’t like books, or reading, or learning, or Ezabella interacting with any of the former. She understood, it wasn’t important. Sooner or later, if she couldn’t find a good job in town, she would stick to working in their father’s butcher shop. That didn’t require books.

“I just saw one that looked interesting,” She said, holding the book in her hand.

Toni walked over to her and moved her arms until he could see the title, “Adventure?”

“It has pictures too,” She said with a half-hearted smile.

He scoffed, “Put it away, we need to get back before he gets mad.”

“It was just getting good,” She whispered.

“What?” Toni replied, a wave of anger passing over his face.

She took a deep breath, but she didn’t reply. She knew he was getting annoyed, she knew first hand what happened when Toni was angry.

“You could have spent these last few hours talking to Mr. Gandal, get him to like you before you beg for work,” He said with a pointed finger, “Or at least show your face in front of the weaver’s house so she can remember that plain face of yours. Instead you were down here reading about Greg Wiggerbum’s dumb adventures like a stupid useless bitch!”

“Actually,” A voice broke into their conversation, smooth, exotic, “That is Georgio Winkerbean’s Guide to Adventure.”

Ezabella turned to find a tall blond man, eyebrows that seemed to flow out from his face, and strong facial features that framed his controlled stance. He smiled at her, more of a smirk, and focused his blue eyes down into her.

“Oh goodness,” She gasped, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

He looked between the two of them, “No need for apologies, madame. I’m Yorrick Gorri, owner of this little establishment.”

Ezabella took a step back and bowed her head, holding the book out. She heard Toni make a dismissive sound.

“I didn’t mean to sneak in here sir, I’m as sorry as can be.”

“Sure she is, Mr. Gorri,” Toni said, “My sister gets a little dumb in the head, we’ll get out of your way and let you live right.”

Mr. Gorri chuckled, and Ezabella didn’t know if she could look up or not. When she peaked, she saw that he was looking down at her, as if his eyes were waiting for her. Why was he looking at her like that?

“Young man,” Gorri said, “I’m sure your sister must have something going on upstairs if she was able to pick out a classic work like this.”

She stood up, “Classic?”

“Idiot’s luck,” Toni said as he step forward.

Gorri’s hand grabbed the spine of the book, his long fingers brushing against hers.

“What do you do, miss?”

“Wisker,” She said with a slow spreading smile, “Ezabella Wisker. This is my brother, Toni.”

The man watched her every move. Even as she brought her fingers away from his, or looked to Toni for some sign she wasn’t screwing this up. He continued to look at her, as if he was looking for some sign. It made her heartbeat pick up, the blood getting hot as it pushed up and down her body.

“She don’t do nothing,” Toni added, “We help our father.”

“Then you’re still available?” Gorri said with an odd charm to his voice.

What was he asking, really?

“What?” Ezabella said, “Like, available to be here?”

He swept his hand over the face of the book, and opened it in her arms. There was a page there, it described curses and hexes.

“I need an assistant, someone who can run books for me, and learn how to tell an almanac from a manual.”

His fingers spread over the page, slid toward her. It felt like he was reaching out to her, every inch made her stomach tighten. Was this luck? Destiny? She was passed a chance to be around so many books, a wild dream, as well as this man. It had to be a joke.

She looked into his eyes, and saw that he was serious. Gone was the smirk, or even the playful eyes, he was watching her like an animal questioning the movements of his next meal.

“I don’t think you know what you’re saying mister,” Toni said, snapping her out of her trance, “Eza can read, sure, but she ain’t no man of letters. No man at all.”

Gorri let go of the book, and smiled at Toni, “For the best, I’m not interested in the company of men.”

Toni’s eyes narrowed.

“Come back tomorrow,” Gorri said to her, “We will start your training as I hold my opening sale.”

“Training?” Ezabella said, “Just like that?”

He walked toward her. One of his hands came forward, cupping her chin with delicate fingers, pointing her up to look him in the eyes.

“Do you think there’s a reason I should hesitate?”

She couldn’t breath. Even if she wanted to say no, her body was locked up, her knees felt weak. It was a strange sensation, as if all the blood in her body was collecting, heading down and concentrating in that most private place. She could feel the tickle in her chest, the heat just below, it made her want to move. She was practically dancing in place.

“No,” She whispered.

Gorri let her go, “You can hold on to the book,” He said as he turned his back on her, “You will enjoy it. Come back early tomorrow, and dress for sweaty work.”

Mr. Gorri walked back toward the rear of the shop, and Ezabella was left with Toni.

“Let’s go,” Toni said, grabbing her at the elbow, “Come on, we need to talk to dad.”

They did, and she was thankful that her father only cared about how much she was making. She hadn’t asked, but if he didn’t question how a girl like her managed a job working with books, she could keep the work.

She prepared dinner, they ate, and Ezabella went to her room.

As she lay there, trying to drift off to sleep, her mind wandered to Mr. Gorri. Those eyes, that face, those fingers touching hers. Something about him seemed, different. She met many men in town, as she helped her father. This man was different. His accent wasn’t all of it, though she questioned which part of the realm he came from. It was something else.

Ezabella put a finger to her chin, remembered his touch, his soft grip feeling like his hand held her whole body tight. In that moment, he had absolute control over her, his fingers could have gone anywhere. Something inside her said that, whispered it through his skin.

She smiled, then stopped. It worried her.