Julia actually gulped, and took a deep breath. When she closed her eyes, Clara took her hand and walked forward, through the rows of books. Soon she was one with the bookshelf, followed by the stone wall behind it.

Visually there was nothing to see. Her eyes could not pick up colours and patterns from inside an opaque object. This was a leap of faith, like the one Julia had taken by letting Clara walk her through.

When everything opened up on the other side, she ensured they cleared the wall before letting go. They travelled through solid objects and found themselves in an entirely different room with no visible windows or doors.

Clara returned the book to its rightful place and found its companion seven books to the right of the slot. She ran her index finger down the spine of ‘De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium,’ or ‘On The Revisions of the Heavenly Spheres’ and instructed Julia to do the same.

The binding came aglow each time someone interacted with it. This was a good sign, as it meant they were authorized to enter. The effect may as well have been magical, because no one could explain how it worked.

“Close your eyes,” Clara said.

“Why—”

“Don’t ask, just close your eyes and let me lead you.”

The next three minutes were made up of several twists and turns. Julia never lagged more than a metre behind, afraid of getting lost within the depths of this place.

“Here we are!” Clara said.

“It’s a dead end.”

Julia was in fact correct, this was technically a dead end. They faced a wall, and the only obvious way out was the way they came.

“Holy fuck!” Julia said. “Wait…  is this another fucking maze?”

There came a chuckle while Clara nodded in agreement. The library was real, but most of the books here were archives. Few students had any business here, and that was precisely why they were here.

“Stay close,” Clara said.

“No shit…”

As they approached, the immensity of the room became apparent. The scent of old books and leather overwhelmed Clara’s senses, curling her lips into a smile. Libraries and archives had always been her favourite place to explore as an acolyte.

The shelves were so tall that there was a platform at the half-way mark along with ladders for each level. The ceiling itself was vaulted for additional strength.

Clara glanced at the werewolf whose pace had slowed. The werewolf’s jaw was hanging loosely, and those brown eyes were wide. This was all pretty mundane to me.