What to Read This Weekend!

1/8/2026

The sound of footsteps over the tile floor made him stop and straighten as he glanced around. The place was bathed in shadows, quiet, the air almost too still, making the fine hairs along the back of Nick’s neck and arms rise, his skin prickling.

Twisting around when he heard the definite click of a boot heel against the floor, Nick was met with nothing but rows and rows of bookshelves.
This wasn’t Todd messing with him. What little Nick heard made him sure Todd was not the one wearing that boot.

“Hello?”

His voice echoed for a second before dying in the large space. Thunder growled, getting closer, making him shiver. Shaking his head, Nick tossed off the odd feeling, grumbling under his breath. “Letting your imagination get to you. Definitely time to eat.” As hungry as he was, the thought of sitting alone in the slave dining hall was depressing. Being a constant at Todd’s side for nearly two years, Nick had grown used to his company. Doing something as simple as eating seemed empty when he
was by himself. He hated it and wondered how it was for the
people here. For them it was a reality and forever. How did they
cope from day to day? He felt pangs of guilt, knowing he was
simply playing a part.

A soft sound slipped through the library and past Nick. He spun in a circle again. “Damn place is probably haunted.” Nick snatched his things off the table, turned, and headed to the stairs, stretching his legs to their full stride.

He was nearly to the staircase when something dark and quick slid into his path. Drawing up short, Nick stumbled back a few steps. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t see—”

“You should pay more attention. Here all alone?” Chancellor Shaffer moved so he blocked Nick’s exit.

Gaze flicking up for an instant, Nick swallowed the gasp when he got a look at the chancellor’s face. Again it morphed from human to something else. Shaffer shifted his weight back, brought one arm up, and the next thing Nick felt was the sting of the back of Shaffer’s hand across his face. The blow jerked his head to the side and sent him tumbling off balance to the floor.

Clamping his lips shut against the defiant snarl of “My master will kill you” that was pushing to spill out, Nick bit his lip and pulled his legs under him so he was kneeling, not sprawled over the floor.

“You do have a problem with that, don’t you, boy?”

“You startled me. I’m sorry.”

Shaffer snorted, crossed his arms over his chest, and paced around so he was at Nick’s back. Leaning in close, he spoke next to Nick’s ear. It was all Nick could do to keep from jumping and flinching away from the hot, fetid breath and low voice. “You’ll have to work on that, Nick.”

Nick closed his eyes slowly and tried to suppress the shiver working down his spine. The fact that Shaffer--it—knew his name started his insides churning. A strong hand clamped around his neck and tugged. Obediently, Nick stood, hands at his sides, staring at the floor.

He hadn’t been struck since he was seventeen, not like that. Todd never hit him in that manner, and he’d learned young how to avoid it from the tutors in his village. In the time he’d been with Todd, probably eighty-five percent of his physical contact with another human was from Todd. Very occasionally, Jimmy would give him a hug or a pat on the shoulder, but Nick was happy being off-limits to anyone but Todd. His master never pressed the issue or forced him into unwanted contact with others.

Being backhanded by Shaffer unnerved and incensed him
all at the same time.

Far off in the distance, lightning streaked the sky, making its color intensify for a few brief seconds before settling back to deep purple.

Shaffer gave him a shove, and Nick stumbled before coming to a hard stop face-first against a wall. A low, distant roar of thunder reverberated through the building and into Nick’s chest, making every muscle clench. Shutting his eyes tight, Nick forced his mind to focus on the picture of Todd he thought up and hoped this creature that was Shaffer couldn’t read minds.