Shadow Mountain

By Judy Lunsford

The mayor of a quaint little town in the middle of nowhere hired Eve to be the new librarian, not because of her degree in library science, but because of her military training. Eve thought she got lucky landing a job as a head librarian fresh out of college. She didn't realize what danger awaited her, and that she had been chosen to fight, rather than to catalogue.

 

Follow Eve into the library in this monster of a novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judy Lunsford
• Release date: Mar 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393038504

Judy Lunsford

Born and raised in California, Judy now lives in Arizona with her husband and Giant Schnoodle. Judy writes with dyslexia and a chronic illness & is a breast cancer survivor. She writes mostly fantasy, but delves into suspense, horror, romance, and poetry. She has written books and short stories for all ages. You can find her books and short stories at your favorite online retailers.

Book preview

*1*

Everly Wilde was starting her new job today. It was her first job after graduating from college. Her degree was in library science and she had landed a job as a real librarian. Head librarian no less. She could barely contain her excitement at her good fortune.

She uprooted her life and moved to a small town in the middle of nowhere, but she was going to be head librarian in the town’s little library, so she thought the experience would be worth it. She knew she had plenty of time to move along to bigger and better things after she got a few years under her belt as a head librarian. 

And it was the only job she could get with no experience. Times were tight. So, she took the job and travelled to the little town she had never heard of before.

As soon as her plane landed, she was given the royal treatment. The mayor himself sent a limo to the airport so that she could make the three-hour drive in luxury. She celebrated with the complimentary champagne and the cheese platter that was waiting for her after her long flight. 

When she got to town, the limo pulled up to a small cottage behind the library. This was to be her new home. It came as part of the package for becoming the head librarian.

She already had the key. She let herself in and took in her new surroundings. It was a small cottage, but that was fine. She was used to living in small quarters. The tiny cottage felt like a mansion after years of dorm and military living. 

The living room, dining area, and kitchen were all one cozy room with her cooking stove on one side and a quaint stone fireplace on the other. There was a tiny hallway off to one side and it had three doors, one led to a small bedroom, one to a bathroom, and one to a tiny storage closet.

It was completely furnished. Everything was a bit frilly for Eve’s taste, but for the price, which was free, she felt she could live with it. She would add a few of her own touches after she got her first paycheck.

The one thing she truly loved about the place was that there were books everywhere. Every wall was lined with books. There were no exposed walls at all. There were even shelves that ran over the top of the doorways, packed full of books of all sorts. Eve couldn’t wait to explore all of the titles that surrounded her. 

The mayor had left a note on the kitchen counter. He welcomed her to the town and said he was sorry he couldn’t greet her in person. There was a town meeting that evening, which he had to attend. He told her to check the fridge and to get a good night’s sleep and that he would see her first thing in the morning to show her around the library.

Eve looked around the kitchen. Cookbooks lined the walls around the top of the room. The ones above the stove were covered in grease and looked like they had been singed more than once.

Eve set the note back down on the counter and went over and opened her fridge. It was full of food, including a cooked chicken, a side of corn on the cob and a large salad. The chicken and corn had reheating instructions taped to the side.

Suddenly feeling hungry, Eve decided now was as good a time as any to have dinner.

*2*

The next morning, after making herself a big breakfast with the eggs, bacon, and danishes that were left for her, Eve went outside and around the building to sit on the front steps of the library.

The mayor had left her a key to the cottage, but not one for the library. She figured he would give her those when she finally met him that morning. 

A black town car pulled up in front of the library and a short, slightly pudgy, balding man in a dark suit got out of the backseat. He had a stark white, bushy mustache and eyebrows to match. He reminded Eve of the Monopoly man. All he needed was a top hat and a cane.

Good morning, Miss Wilde, he said as he came up the steps.

He reached his hand out to Eve.

She shook hands with him. He had a firm politician’s grip.

I’m Mayor Milburn Parker. It’s nice to finally meet you in person, he smiled widely at her.

It’s nice to meet you too, Eve said. And you can just call me Eve.

Well, Eve, Mayor Parker said. Why are you out here? I’m surprised you waited for me before going in to explore your new domain. We best get inside right away.

Uh, well, I got the key to the cottage, Eve said. But I never got a key to the library itself.

We never lock the door to the library, the mayor laughed and opened the door for Eve. For safety reasons.

Eve looked at the mayor inquisitively as she walked through the heavy oak door he held open for her.

She was about to ask him why when she noticed something that she had never seen in all her life in a library. All of the outer walls were lined with shelves of books. But the rest was what was unusual.

Instead of neat rows of shelves, the bookshelves were arranged in concentric circles around the large room. The bookcases were even built so that they curved slightly. There were openings between bookcases so that one could navigate towards the center. Eve made her way through the maze of the circles of books. Once in the middle, Eve had the feeling of being completely surrounded by books. Looking outwards, she could see nothing but the curved bookshelves and row after row of books. 

In the center, a huge area was filled with chairs, tables, and other comfortable looking furniture. 

And down here, we have the emergency supplies, the mayor smiled. 

He knelt down and lifted a hatch in the middle of