Lizzy, Amelia and Michael had continued their tour of the market while Kate and Apollyon had made their way over to the university. Kate had finished her studies here some time ago, but she still felt a connection to it. Entering the campus, the two demons were greeted by a friendly face.

  “Miss Crowley! How lovely to see you here.”

  “Professor Millen, hello.”

  “I see you brought one of your librarian friends. I’m Professor James Millen, good to meet you.”

  “Pauline Taharos, the feeling is mutual. Kate has told me of your lectures with fondness.” Apollyon returned a smile.

  “And I was quite fond of having her in my lectures. Truth be told, I miss having someone like you, miss Crowley. If the rest of us could be called book worms, you were always a veritable book dragon. To hear that you joined the enigmatic librarians was no surprise to anyone at the faculty. I didn’t hear the speeches today but I was told you became head librarian. Is that right?”

  Kate nodded. “Last year just before I did my master’s, yes.”

  “You deserve that position. You know, there is one thing I regret. I couldn’t convince you to let me mentor you for your thesis.”

  “Professor Kleinfeld’s suggestion for a topic was just more interesting, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider yours. I don’t know if I told you, but I had offers from six different professors.”

  “That’s nearly the entire faculty. I have to admit that makes me feel a bit better about it. Last we spoke, you said something about considering going for a doctorate?”

  “I still intend to, I just haven’t found the right topic and things have been busy in the past months. Now that everything is starting to slow down again, I am open to suggestions.”

  “And I will work hard on giving you a good one. I just know that everyone here would nearly murder each other for the chance to work with the head librarian on her paper.”

  “I would prefer to avoid bloodshed, after all, I won’t be the only librarian with a degree from this pce.”

  “How so?”

  “One of my older colleagues intends to expand her academic horizon. I can’t say much more just yet about her. And of course there is Adelina Constantinescu who also joined our ranks part time.”

  “I see, how intriguing. I certainly look forward to seeing more of you all on campus. For today, I hope you enjoy what we set up here.”

  “I have no doubt that we will.”

  The dispys around the university campus were all very interesting. There were many examples of historical items and even models of old buildings. The entire pce was turned into a rather pretty museum.

  “I remember these fondly.” Apollyon was looking at a restored horse-drawn carriage from many hundreds of years ago.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is the only thing I miss after we removed the roads between settlements, travelling in a slow and rexed manner with the wind in your hair.”

  “There must be a way to still experience this, isn’t there?” Kate raised an eyebrow.

  “Some, yes. But none as nostalgic to me.”

  “Ah, now I get it. Yea, there are some things in my life I feel the same about. Things we can never experience again.”

  “But many others you can experience for the first time.” That was not Apollyon but a well-dressed woman who stepped up beside the two.

  “Which is quite wonderful.”

  “Indeed, Kate.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you.”

  The woman smiled. “I would be worried if you did. But I never forget anyone, even those who have left my embrace.”

  She was not human, that much was clear from even the smallest gnce at her mind. Usually, a mind was like a ndscape. Some people were vast forest, others rolling pins, some were calm deserts with every grain of sand telling its own beautiful story. Human and demon minds were quite simir in this, merely differing in scale. Even the fae were just a ndscape, albeit a rather strange and angur one. Jolene on the other hand was like standing atop the cliff looking into the bottomless abyss below.

  This entity was none of those. Her mind was like a massive stone cube, each side engraved with indecipherable secrets.

  Kate tilted her head and cast a quick spell to keep their conversation private. “I am not perfectly certain, but there is nothing else I can imagine you being. You must be the avatar of finality.”

  “A pleasure to meet you, young librarian.”

  Kate looked at Apollyon, then back the avatar. “Likewise. Uhm… I assume you aren’t here to take me back to mortality?”

  The avatar ughed. “No, not at all. I am here because I like wandering this world and a friend became quite interested in you recently. I had hoped to meet you here, after all, we won’t meet naturally anymore.”

  “A friend? Wait, Jolene?”

  “That is the name she chose, yes.”

  Apollyon wasn’t happy with the avatar’s story. “That is all that you are here for?”

  “Do I need more reasons? You are here for mere entertainment as well, despite your ability to move worlds. The ability to be important does not preclude the enjoyment of the trivial. You should know that well, Apollyon.”

  “Kate? Can you tell if she speaks the truth?”

  Kate shrugged. “I have never encountered a more alien mind. I have no idea if she is even thinking at all.”

  The avatar chuckled. “I have been wondering that myself. I have no insight into my existence, only that I exist. I would love to know if I am thinking or if I am even alive. I don’t know if I am the only of my kind, the only fact of this world made manifest. Oh well, today is not the day to worry about such things. Today we enjoy the memories of wind in our hair.”

  “Polly, how did we know about her existence?”

  Apollyon gnced around, almost like she was trying to avoid an answer. Eventually, she spoke. “She came to us in an attempt to comfort those who did not deal well with immortality. For many, she was successful.”

  “Like for you.” The avatar looked at Apollyon with sadness in her eyes.

  “Yes. It is not a story I will tell, not one I even want to remember, but I had lost someone very close to me and was looking forward to sharing stories about my fulfilled life with her in the underworld. I had promised her to live well. I wish to never speak of this again.”

  “I understand. For what it’s worth, you are living well.” Kate pulled Apollyon into a hug.

  “Thank you, it means a lot.”

  The avatar spoke again. “I sometimes wander through Hell to observe if those I had to help are doing well. I do not interact often, I am content knowing they are living good lives. So, I ask you, Kate: are you living a good life?”

  Kate was taken aback by that question. “Uhm, I think so, yes. I am happy and feel like I belong. I hope that qualifies as good.”

  “It does. I am gd. It always saddens me to find those in my embrace suffering. Existence is to be savoured.”

  “I’m gd I could make you happy, I think?”

  “You did make me happy. I shall take my leave now, rejoin Jolene. She has said something about chocote cakes on sticks.”

  No matter how powerful Kate got or how much time she spent with ever more powerful and otherworldly beings, the almost childlike joy those with the power to shape reality as they saw fit found in something as simple as cake pops never stopped being reassuring and wonderful to witness.

  “There are ones filled with jam as well. Make sure to try a few different ones.”

  “Thank you for the recommendation. I am sure we will meet again at your library ter, I shall report back to you about the tiny cakes.” The avatar grinned and bounced off.

  Apollyon raised an eyebrow at Kate. “What do you think?”

  “I like her. I think I understand now why the other demons don’t see mortality as a bad thing. I’m happy I got to meet her.”

  “She is wonderful and I hope that you will never need her kind words. I never gave it much thought, I didn’t want to, but I guess she helped us by bringing finality in a different way. She brought closure to those who needed it. Anyway... shall we move on and see what other history the humans have uncovered?”

  “Of course! Let’s go.”