heartbeat // zayn malik AU

chapter eleven

"Tell me what you want to hear,

Something that'll light those ears.

Sick of all the insincere,

So I'm gonna give all my secrets away."

- OneRepublic [Secrets]

"We're going in circles."

"No we're not."

"Yes, we are. We've passed that portrait of the ugly fat man in the hideous blue suspenders before, I know we have."

Irritably, Zayn glared at me. "Would you relax? I'm the angel here, remember? I've been in this building before, and you haven't. I think I can find the library on my own; it's a huge room."

Peering behind him, I caught sight of a giant door, a gold-plated sign hanging above it that read "The Library".

Smirking, I said in a singsong voice, "Oh, Za-ayn?"

"What?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

Taking him by his shoulders, I spun him around and pointed towards the giant, unmissable sign. "I think I found the library, hon," I said in a mockingly condescending tone.

Flustered, strokes of red tinged his sloped cheekbones. "I knew that. I was waiting to see when you'd finally realize it was there."

"Sure," I said sarcastically. "So... do we just walk in?"

He nodded. "There won't be anyone in there at this time of night."

Nevertheless, our footsteps were tentative as we entered the library.

Instantly upon stepping inside, my nostrils were assailed by the familiar scents that always lingered around books; mildew trapped between old pages, the odor of old leather, and something sharper and icier that seemed more heavenly; more angel-like, if you will. Must be unique to angel libraries.

As we crept through the vacant library, which was lit only by a few flickering lamps, I could feel awe rising up within me. "There are so many books in here," I whispered.

"It's the largest angel library; there's tons of valuable information in here," Zayn said. "The Council comes here to consult their books whenever they face a particularly tough problem."

"That looks like a ton of reading."

He chuckled a little. "They have them categorized, Valarie."

Changing the subject hastily, I said, "So where's the antechamber?"

"Back of the library. The door might be locked, though."

I frowned. "Can't you just break it down?"

Stopping to contemplate this for a little bit, he finally gave a shrug. "Let's hope it'll be that easy--though I sincerely doubt that. The Council is really paranoid and overprotective of The Books. If they find us here..." He mimed bringing a knife across his throat.

Gulping, I said, "I hope Cyphus and Astral are okay."

In agreement, he gave me a nod, concern passing over his features. "Thank goodness Astral works here, and that her position is higher up on the totem pole. She just might be able to conjure up a passable excus, and get the guards off our backs; that'll make it easier for us to access The Books, if people aren't searching for us. Astral may seem all innocent and sweet at first, but she's a pretty good liar when she wants to be," he added affectionately.

I smiled wistfully at the familiarity in his tone. "You guys know each other really well, huh?"

Almost in a pained fashion, he glanced down at his hands. The wan lamplight was hardly enough for me to make out his expression, but I could see something darken his eyes with regret. "Not as well as I'd like to. See, Astral and I are both kind of... quiet, you know? And between her job, which is really energy-consuming, and me always being out taking care of Charges... we don't ever get to spend as much time together as I'd like."