Martha Riley Library Novels & Stories

she translated. “It’s mythological,” he said. “But so was electricity, once.” Martha stood alone outside the precinct, file folder clutched to her chest. She didn’t go back inside. She walked. Not to the station. Not to the diner. To the woods. To the one place her instincts dragged her when logic refused to catch up. Nolan Graves answered the knock with a frown that was already three days old. “You walked here?” he asked. She shoved the folder into his chest.

So I nodded and was preparing to step out with her when someone came up from behind us. Aunt Ryan—and she did not look pleased. “Hello, Martha. Good morning,” she greeted bluntly. “Oh! Ryan! I had no idea you were in town!” Martha said with the most strained smile I had ever seen her wear. “I just got in a couple of days ago,” Aunt Ryan said. She sounded stern but had a smile on her face. “Are you here to see us?” “No, I just came in to see Rory. I want to have a word with her,” Martha said, giving me a fake smile. “I would like for her to just step outside….”

I had stood my ground, and the sky had not fallen. ​AMARA'S POV ​Late that evening, the library had grown dark, the fire in the hearth burning down to a pile of glowing red embers. I was packing up my notes when Martha slipped quietly into the room, ensuring the hallway behind her was completely empty before she closed the door. ​She walked toward me with quick, hushed steps, her hands tucked anxiously into the folds of her apron. ​"My lady," Martha whispered, her voice laced with a strange, nervous energy.

She immediately sensed the tension. “Did something happen?” Kael hlanced toward Darius. The Alpha gave a small nod. Martha deserved to know. After hearing everything, Martha’s face lost its color. “The map choose her?” Serafina frowned. “What do you mean, chose me?” Martha looked startlef. “You don’t know?” “Know about what?” “The library has been here for nearly eighty years.” She looked at Darius. “That scroll has never moved once.” Serafina laughed softly. “Scrolls don’t choose people, Martha.”

"Barely. I need somewhere to stop, Ryan, I need somewhere in the next ten minutes or it won't matter what we outrun." "There's the Hartley place." Martha's eyes flicked to me in the rearview, asking permission before she'd even finished the thought. "Off the old mill road. Empty since the bank took it, nobody's been out there in a year." "Empty is good, empty means no one else gets pulled into this." "Empty also means no help if we need it." "We're not going to get help anywhere tonight, Martha. You know that. Every hospital between here and the county line is going to ask questions about a wound like his, and the second they start asking, they're already dead, they just don't know it yet."

“October 10th. Two thousand and one.” Miss Ada nodded, her fingers dancing over the keys. “I’ve already got the address for the pack house in the system. Just a moment, dear.” A small whir came from the side printer, and Miss Ada retrieved a fresh library card with Ryleigh’s name printed in bold at the bottom. “Here you go,” she said, handing it over. “You can check out five books at a time. They’re due back in two weeks. If we’re closed, there’s a drop box right by the front door.”

Not that Amy was invited to the viewing with the family, but she heard the reviews and knew what it looked like from inside. On the office door Marva had Riley hang a wreath that was so large he had to turn sideways to enter, or risk knocking the wreath off with his shoulder. Not willing to let well enough alone, Marva draped garland around the hallway door, and placed a red candle on top of a file cabinet in Riley’s area. Riley decided to keep the girls with him at the office, as he planned to go home shortly anyway. Marva seemed disappointed not to take the girls with her, but she was nothing if not dignified as she put on her coat and moved toward the door.

Roseline didn't realize she was moaning. Her hands left the sheets and went right to his chest immediately, holding him there. His chest felt so broad and hard, but they seemed to welcome her as she gripped them. She threw her head back on the bed and moaned in silent whimpers. ******************** "We've been searching this library for two days now, Martha. What makes you think we'd be able to find anything today?" Sally grouse as she flipped through pages of two different books. She was alone in the library with the princess.

The Harlow County Archive was on the second floor of the public library, which was itself a modest building on the east end of Main Street that had been expanded twice and maintained well and smelled, on the inside, like the specific combination of old paper and institutional carpet that Eli associated with every library he had ever been in.

Maybe this was a sign. I flipped through the others even if I knew where my heart wanted. Deciding on that one, I got up with the brochure, and stepped out of my bedroom. I began to move towards Cyril’s wing on the opposite side when I saw Martha coming up the stairs. “I was just about to come get you, Miss Raine.” Martha said, pausing on a step. “Lunch is ready, do you want it now?” I nodded. “What about Cyril? Is he in? Has he eaten?”