The Deal

Little had been in charge of the Library for as long as not only Aaralon could recall but also as long as any of the other members of staff could recall either. The best guesses at his age put him somewhere in the six hundred range at least.

Not that you could tell that from looking at him, with his slight stoop and slightly wrinkled face he put you in mind of man in his fifties at most. He never seemed to leave the Library, despite having a house on the grounds, instead he just wandered the rows of the library day and night.

It was late in the evening when Aaralon slipped into the Library, as a older student he was able to take a later curfew as long as he spent his time in here. Tonight however he seemed to be the only one taking advantage of the chance to stay up a little later.

The towering shelving seemed to loom over him as he moved towards the small desk that sat at the center of the place. He ran over what he was going to say again and again in his head, the question of what he just might have to do to get what he wanted had not crossed his mind.

Little was sitting at his desk, like a spider at the center of his web. Books were piled up around him, they all seemed to have suffered some level of damage and Little was busy repairing that damage. With a collection of fine and arcane tools he rebound books and repaired covers with the deft ease of a master.

“Yes?” He asked as Aaralon approached he did not look up as he worked.

“Umm…” Aaralon stammer, his throat suddenly tight. “I would like to read a book.”

He winced at the clumsy words as Little stopped his work and looked up at him. His eyes glinted like fool's gold in the lamp light as he studied Aaralon.

“And which book would that be?” Little asked.

Aaralon took a deep breath and then, with a great deal of effort, **** out the name of the time he wished to read. Even doing that was hard, the wards spun around those volumes being so strong as to steal away the knowledge of them from the minds of the unwary. It had taken him quite some time to even hold the name in his mind.

Something, maybe surprise, flickered across Littles face. His eyes narrowed some more, drilling into Aaralon nearly hard enough to be felt.

Whatever he was looking for he seemed not to find or maybe he did find it.

“Follow me,” Little ordered as he pushed himself up from his chair and began to move deeper into the stacks.

Aaralon followed, his heart pounding in his chest, not wanting to believe that he was actually going to be able to lay eyes on the book this easily. Little carved a winding path through the Library, moving faster than a man of his stature really should have been able to.

It was not long before Aaralon realised that they should have came to the wall of the building a long time ago, yet they kept on walking. The stacks becoming closer and more dusty as they went. The titles on the spines becoming harder to read, the symbols changing from the familiar into odd glyphs before finally the books had no visible title.

After who knows how long Little came to a stop, rounding on Aaralon, who nearly walked straight into the small man. As far as Aaralon could see the place they had stopped was the same as any number of other rows that they had walked down on the way here.

“So you want to make a deal?” Little asked, that fools gold glint back in his eye.

“Yes,” Aaralon replied, his voice suddenly much stronger as he realised he was beyond the edge now. “I’ll work for you for a long as you want me to.”

“Work for me!?” Little gave a rattling little laugh. “Do you really think some light lifting and moving would be enough for these kinds of book? This isn’t some story book about old kings or big titted succubi! These are tomes of true power that you want to clap eyes on.”

“You said we could make a deal,” Aaralon shot back, feeling a edge of pleading that he hated. “So let's make a deal.”

“Did you not ask any of your classmates what a deal of this kind would entail?” Little asked.

“What? No.” Aaralon replied, baffled.

“If you want that book,” Little explained. “You are going to have to get down on your knees and wrap those pretty young lips around my cock.”