“You know how to make antitoxin and antidotes?” Linnea asked, startled.

“Not yet,” Oz said, rolling his sleeves up. He marched back toward the pill room.

“Not—” Linnea put a hand to her forehead. She shook her head. “It isn’t easy to make antitoxin, you know. Let alone antidotes.”

“Gotta start somewhere,” Oz replied.

Linnea followed after him, speeding along on her spindly black spider legs. Oz looked back at her. She paused, twisting a little to hide her body.

“I can see everything, you know,” Oz commented, eyeing her shiny, pure-black spider body. Completely black, like a moonless night, pure shiny black and perfectly, horribly bulbous. Reminds me of a black widow spider.

I’d check for the hourglass, but, uh, it’s a little rude to peek at a lady’s underbits.

Linnea paused, then shrugged. “I guess you did already see it all.” She stretched, giving her legs a shake.

“Does it hurt? When you’re human. Like, is it stuffy?” Oz asked.

She looked at him. “Not really. A little, though. It’s harder to cultivate, since I wasn’t born with human qi passages, but I’m used to it.”

“Why were you human? I mean… not like that,” Oz said, as she gave him a look. “I get why you were human here, in the city. But how did you end up here, in the city, masquerading as a human?”

“It’s a long story.” Linnea’s eyes grew distant. She gazed off toward one of the windows and sighed.

Oz waited.

Abruptly, Linnea shook her head. “I’ll teach you how to make antidotes. Consider that my thanks for saving me. Though I’m not really sure you understand what you did.”

“I helped a friend,” Oz said simply.

“And destroyed any hope of ever leaving the library,” Linnea commented.

“So be it.” Oz shrugged. It’s not like I had much ability to leave, anyways. Even when I went out with Sachairi, I almost died. It’s probably best to remain inside.

This is going to be hell for the rumors, though. I should keep my eyes and ears open for a little while. Whoever talks the loudest and longest is not my friend, regardless of what they might say.

The door to the pill room stood before him. Oz grabbed the door handle, then paused. Lifting his tattooed arm, he unlocked the door, then turned to Linnea. “There’s kids in the room. Professor Keane’s students. You might want to—”

The door slammed open. Maggie burst out. “Mister! Are you okay?”

Her eyes landed on Linnea. They grew very, very wide, and Maggie grew very, very silent.

“Maggie, it’s okay. Linnea is a friend—”

Maggie screamed and fled into the room. At that, all the other kids turned around, craning their necks at the door. Riona screamed like Maggie and fled. Mici backed away, his eyes wide. The twins grabbed for one another, cowering away. Harold flinched, then caught himself and forced a laugh, but his skin turned white as paper.

Oz took a deep breath. Right. Unlike me, these kids were born here and raised with all this world’s prejudices against demons. Of course they’d be scared. He smiled. “Linnea is a friend of mine. She’s here to help.”

“This isn’t a good idea. I should go,” Linnea whispered nervously.

“It’s fine. Give me a moment,” Oz reassured her.

“Mister, you can’t trust demons! She’ll eat us!” Mici cried.

Oz looked over his shoulder at Linnea. “Hasn’t eaten me yet.”

“But you aren’t small and tasty like us,” Maggie said, shivering.

Oh. I bet guardians tell kids demons will eat them if they’re bad, in this world. Oz shook his head. “Don’t worry. Linnea is a good demon who doesn’t like eating kids. Isn’t that right, Linnea?”

Linnea eyed the kids. “As long as they behave.”

Riona backed away. Sim and Sine looked at one another and shook their heads. Harold scoffed, but didn’t move from where he stood. Mici pretended to suddenly be very interested in the floor, no longer daring to look toward the door.

Maggie stepped forward, only shaking a little. She reached out toward Linnea.

Linnea crouched, lowering herself to look though the door. She offered Maggie her hand, but didn’t bridge the last inch.

Maggie hesitated. All at once, she reached out and grabbed Linnea’s hand. Her eyes widened. “Warm!”

Linnea laughed. “I’m alive, just like you.”

“Oh.” Taken aback, Maggie let go. She peeked up at Linnea. “You aren’t going to hurt me?”

Linnea shook her head.

Maggie nodded. “Okay, then.”

Oz turned to the rest of the children. At the end of the day, they’re children. They’ve been taught their whole lives that Linnea is what goes bump in the night. Even if Linnea isn’t going to hurt them, I can’t force them to stay here. There’s no reason to traumatize them. Better to allow them to slowly adjust to the idea that she’s not harmful. “If you don’t feel safe staying here with Linnea, you can go wander the library. Linnea and I got rid of the assassin, so there shouldn’t be…” Oz checked his wrist. “Yep, no danger out there. Of course, you won’t get any instruction, but you won’t be anywhere near the demon, either.”

Harold shifted uncomfortably. He glanced at the door.

“I’m staying!” Maggie said.

Mici gave a thumbs-up.

Sim and Sine exchanged a glance, then nodded at one another.

Riona frowned. “I’m leaving.”

“Me too!” Harold said quickly.

At that, Riona paused. She gave Harold a slow look and crossed her arms.

“Riona? Staying or going?” Oz prompted.

She shook her head. “I’m staying.”

Halfway out the door, Harold paused. He looked at Riona, then Oz, then Linnea, then back to Oz.

Oz spread his hands. “Your pick. Choose soon. I close the door in ten… nine…”

Harold looked back and forth between the library and the room. He rubbed his hands together, nervous. Abruptly, he stepped inside.

Reasonable. Safety in numbers. Oz nodded, leading Linnea to the cauldron he’d lit. He gestured to the herbs. “I was going to make a detoxifying pill with these. What do you think?”

“Why the variety?” Linnea asked, frowning. She picked up one of the herbs and turned it over, then set it back down.

Oz glanced at her. “I only have one copy of each. Is that a problem?”

Linnea twisted her lips. “The simplest pills and potions are composed of one or two herbs. The more herbs in a pill, the more complex it’s considered. Making your first pill out of five, six herbs… it would be a miracle if it worked.”

“Should I make five pills instead?” Oz asked.

Linnea shook her head. “You might as well eat the herbs raw at that point. I can’t recommend it. You’re just going to have to do your best.”

Oz took a deep breath. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Nailing a pill this complex on your first try with only one copy of the herbs…” Linnea grimaced.

“Good luck, huh?” Oz glanced at her.

“I wouldn’t want to be in your place. Luckily, the poison won’t kill you, even if you fail. It’s just…”

“Just?” Oz prompted.

Linnea sighed. “The longer you wait before taking a detoxifying pill, the worse the damage from the poison will be.”

“I thought you said it wouldn’t kill me?” Oz asked.

“It won’t, but remember how I mentioned you’ll find it harder to cultivate with the poison? The poison is damaging you right now. It has been this whole time. The longer you take to detoxify yourself, the worse that residual damage becomes.”

Oz raised his brows. He clapped and rubbed his hands together, tossing a nervous grin at Linnea. “Let’s get this show on the road, then!”