Death is My Frenemy Rewritten (Book 3 of the Rewritten Death Chronicles)

Chapter 30: Reunited in the Dark (BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!)

Alexandru coughed purposely into his hand, but the old woman did not acknowledge him, buried in whatever book she was reading from the small cart of books in front of her.

"Hello, there," Alexandru said in a booming manner, his deep voice carrying through the cavernous space of the golden library.

"Shh."

"Oh, right. Library." He scratched his head. "Say, might you need help organizing those books?"

The old woman ignored him. Setting down her book, she wheeled her cart into another aisle.

Alexandru's face went slack with surprise of the rejection. He carried the book in his hands with him as he stalked to the new aisle as well.

I followed on the old woman's side of the bookshelf to stay near her perspective. She had simply moved one aisle over. To get away from him. My attention fell to the gems around her neck, and I could only imagine how he'd gotten his hands on those.

Alexandru stood at the end of opposite end of the aisle as the old woman again, standing rather gawkily, like he suddenly didn't know what to do his long arms at his sides.

"Excuse me, er––bookkeeper––"

"What do you want?" the old woman snapped.

Alexandru wiped his hand on his pants. "May I speak with you?"

"No."

"But you just––"

She walked to another aisle, one of the wheels on her cart squeaking loud and shrill with every turn. Alexandru flinched from the sound. Staring down the once again empty aisle, he pinned his lips in annoyance, weighing the open book in his hands like he might hurl it against the aisle. He shoved it onto the shelf and stormed into the next aisle again.

"Your cart is broken," he told the bookkeeper, albeit reluctantly by the frustration in his voice.

The woman set a book onto a shelf with a trembling hand. "It rolls, does it not?"

"I could fix it for you, if you would just give me a moment of your time."

"Ah, time." She turned her hooded head toward him. "What does Death know of time, I wonder? All he does it steal it away."

Alexandru's jaw ticked. "I know it is endless yet can feeble and wear."

The old woman scowled. Damn. He'd just subtly insulted her age, hadn't he?

The woman hobbled into the next aisle, and Alexandru cursed under his breath as he moved with her.

"For the record, you started that," he grated.

"An odd apology."

"Apology!" he exclaimed. "Good God, woman, to what should I apologize? Yesterday, I tried to speak with you too, and you quickly skirted behind your books and disappeared––"

"Did I not speak clearly to you two evenings ago?" the old woman returned, her attention on the next book in her hand instead of him. "You are not permitted to be in here, Guardian of the Gate. Not yesterday, not today, not ever."

Alexandru appeared a little bit disheartened. He stood there in silence for a long moment, like he didn't know what to do with the rejection, as the timeworn woman began to put her books away again.