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Cassandra paused to drop a book on the corner of the desk. “Here you go.”
Jacob didn’t look up from his current book as he leaned over to drag the previously requested text closer. “Thanks, Cassie.”
“No problem,” she chirped, footsteps fading as she went back to the shelves.
The current group project wasn’t mission based but was just as important. It had been decided they would be moving the Library’s anchor—the Annex—to another location due to the number of break-ins that had happened in recent years. Too many enemies were aware of the Library’s location, and it was prudent they relocate for security and safety’s sake.
Jacob was in charge of planning the schematics of the new anchor on one of the unused ley lines in Greece. He wasn’t much up to date on the magic mathematics, but he was aware of the fact there were a number of cockatrices in the area. Such a large population required putting certain patterns into the building’s very walls to keep them from overrunning their new office space. In finding a few texts dictating the psychological effects of certain patterns on different creatures, he’d managed to find exactly what he needed to make the cockatrices both docile and unlikely to tread too closely. He’d been working closely with Cassandra to figure out how to ingrain the pattern in an effective and aesthetically pleasing way on the outside of the building, but it required a great deal of time and effort to do so.
He fought the urge to tear his fingers through his hair as he went back to the sketch where he made a tentative plan for spots and strips on the outer walls of the building. He’d shown Cassandra several different patterns and designs to try and figure out which ones would have the desired effect, but she’d shot down each one and tried to give him pointers on how to adjust despite not knowing exactly what she was looking for. If he never saw another set of spots and stripes after this, it would have been too soon.
His pencil lead snapped as he jumped at the sound of several books crashing to the ground. Of course his mind and body’s natural response was to look for danger—they’d had too many break-ins for it not to be—but it was something as benign as Cassandra dropping some of the books she’d been carrying in from the shelves. Too many books for her to manage.
“Sorry!” Cassandra called as she crouched to pick up her fallen texts.
Jacob rose from his seat and grimaced as his knees popped uncomfortably. Nearly ten years on the job had done nothing for his knees, but so long as they could hold out long enough for him to run to safety, he was fine with them.
He walked over briskly and crouched to pick up most of the books she’d dropped. “When’re you gonna start asking for help carrying all these books?”
“I’m a big girl,” she groused quietly.
He glanced over at Jenkins expecting a quip but found the man hadn’t moved from his desk or even turned his head to acknowledge them. He shared a confused glance with Cassandra who shrugged at the abnormality of Jenkins not taking the opportunity to poke holes in her “big girl” statement. Just the week before, he’d poked holes in Ezekiel’s “I’m a grown man” by pointing out how he’d called chocolate milk “choccy milk.”
Snap-snap!
Jacob looked over at Eve instinctively and found her dropping her feet from Flynn’s lap as she stared at Jenkins with what looked to be a consternated look as he continued to read like nothing was happening.
“Does he have the cone of silence?” Jacob asked cautiously.
Flynn opened the drawer in the desk he shared with Eve and shook his head. “Nope. It’s still in the desk.” He straightened up and tilted his head. “A silencing spell?”
“He doesn’t need it,” Ezekiel scoffed before raising his voice. “Oi! Jenkins!”
Said man blinked and jerked his head as if startled, dark eyes sweeping the room to take in all of their positions as they looked at him curiously. “Yes?”
Ezekiel cocked his head. “Back with us, mate?”
Jenkins’ brow furrowed. “Yes?”
Ezekiel jerked his chin towards Cassandra and Jacob. “Cassie dropped her books and you didn’t jump up like usual.”
“She did?” He turned to face them and grimaced. “Apologies. I wasn’t aware.”
“It’s fine,” Cassandra quickly assured, through her lips were downturned with concern.
“Have you been getting any sleep?” Eve asked.
Jacob noticed dark eyes flicker with irritation before he turned to face Eve. “What was that, Colonel?”
Her lips downturned further as she repeated herself. “Have you been sleeping?”
“Yes, yes I have,” he assured, waving off her concern. “Is there anything I can help with?”
A round of reluctant negatives went around the room and Jacob tried his best not to dwell as he walked over to Cassandra’s workstation to drop off her books.
Jenkins was the type of man to always be aware of everything around him with a few exceptions. The one exception that always worried them was when he didn’t get his one night of sleep per week for a significant amount of time. The only reason he didn’t chalk this up to a research binge was because Jenkins had been muttering complaints under his breath for the past two hours and when he was invested in a project, he was utterly silent. If it was, indeed, a lack of sleep, there was only so much they could do without resorting to something drastic like drugging his tea or bursting into his room for an impromptu slumber party. He didn’t think Jenkins would appreciate it either.
“One week. If nothing changes in a week, we talk to him,” Eve stated after Jenkins had left.
Waiting a week was difficult when Jenkins didn’t seem to acknowledge them until they said his name.
Jacob slid an omelet over to Cassandra as she stared at Jenkins across the room. “Hey, stop staring or he’ll notice.”
“I can’t help it!” She muttered as she picked up her fork and used it to cut into her omelet. “I’m just worried about Jenkins.”
Jacob noticed Jenkins glancing in their direction as if they’d called across the room for him. When they didn’t try to engage, he returned to his conversation with Flynn over tea. It was… odd.
“I think he needs hearing aids.”
Jacob and Cassandra jumped.
Jacob glared at Ezekiel. “Don’t sneak up on us like that!”
“I didn’t sneak up on you. You just didn’t pay attention to your surroundings,” Ezekiel scoffed as he nicked a cantaloupe slice from Cassandra’s fruit salad.
Cassandra shook her head with a fond smile. “What’s this about hearing aids?”
He shrugged. “He watches everyone’s mouths—I mean, he always has, but it’s worse than before.”
Jacob glanced over and noticed Jenkins’ eyes were on Flynn’s mouth as he chattered. “You think he might be self-conscious about losing his hearing?”
“Possibly,” Cassandra said into her cup of orange juice. “He is over fifteen hundred years old and he probably didn’t lose that much of his hearing until recently… Though I don’t think we’re that loud.”
“Consider the amount of explosions that’ve happened over the past two years alone,” Ezekiel said.
“Should we talk to him?” Jacob asked.
Cassandra shook her head and slapped Ezekiel’s hand away from her fruit. “We said we’d give it a week. Besides, do you wanna bring up something he might be self-conscious about?”
Jacob shrugged and conceded it would be best to wait.
When the week came to a close, they all gathered in the card reading room around Jenkins’ desk. Eve sat in the chair on the other side of his desk and Flynn sat on the edge opposite of Cassandra. Meanwhile Jacob and Ezekiel were content standing nearby.
Jenkins leaned back in his seat, eyes shifted from face to face with undisguised suspicion. “May I help you?”
“Have you been getting any sleep?” Eve asked carefully.
He gave her an unamused look. “I’ve been sleeping just fine, Colonel.”
“Then why’re you zoning out more?” Ezekiel asked as he crossed his arms.
Jenkins shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jacob’s brow furrowed slightly when noticed Jenkins glancing between them, but his eyes didn’t seem to meet anyone’s. He was staring at their mouths as if trying to anticipate who was going to speak next. Perhaps Ezekiel’s theory had some merit.
Jacob shifted so one hand was out of sight behind his crossed arms and snapped multiple times. “Is that so?”
Jenkins groused, “Yes, Mr. Stone, it is.”
There was no snap of annoyance for him to cut out the rather annoying noise and the rest of the team seemed to realize what he was doing.
Flynn leaned forward against the desk, letting one hand fall out of sight so that he could snap just off beat of Jacob. “That’s funny. It seems like you’re missing something.”
Jenkins’ eyebrows furrowed. “What?”
He didn’t notice. He wasn’t bothered by the snapping, he was simply bothered by the fact he seemed to be missing something that everyone else was privy to.
Eve leaned over to smack both Flynn and Jacob on the legs. “Cut that out!” She turned back to their Caretaker to say in a gentler manner, “These two’ve been snapping their fingers for several seconds and you haven’t complained once.”
His sharp eyes darted between Jacob and Flynn, and he seemed to finally notice the positioning of their hands. “Snap your fingers like you were.”
Jacob and Flynn did as requested and watched his scowl deepen as he leaned further back into his chair.
“What is it?” Cassandra asked gently.
Jenkins scratched his neck just below the ear and tilted his head contemplatively. It was the face he made when he was debating on how to tell them something rather than whether he told them or not. “I’ve been deaf for most of my life. Not long after I brought the Holy Grail to the Library, I succumbed to an ear infection that took my hearing. Immortality didn’t cure it, so I’ve continued to live like this.”
Flynn leaned back slightly and tilted his head. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
He shrugged. “Because it was irrelevant. I’ve had centuries of practice with my disability.”
“But you’ve complained about me clicking my pens before,” Ezekiel pointed out with a frown.
“The motion in the corner of my eye was annoying,” Jenkins corrected.
“Wait, wait,” Jacob said with a wave of his hand. “You come when we yell for you—even when we’re in different rooms.”
An amused twitch of his lips. “Magic, Mr. Stone. Magic users with a range of disabilities have created spells to make their lives easier for millennia. I use one that alerts the caster of certain trigger words. I ensured any name I’ve had is among this number. During missions, I’ll add more so that I know where to look to at any given time.”
“And when we make nonverbal noises to get your attention?” Cassandra asked.
“Either I see sudden movement from all of you or the Library alerts me.” He shot a displeased look up at the ceiling. “Which the Library hasn’t been doing for the past few weeks.”
Flynn made a move with his hand to get Jenkins’ attention and then spoke. “Do you think it might’ve stopped because it thought it’d be a good idea for us to know you’re deaf? I mean… Judson and Charlene knew, right?”
A nod.
Eve shifted forward and Jenkins shifted his gaze to her. “And when they died, there was no one left that knew. The Library probably wanted you to share with us so that you aren’t frustrated trying to keep up with our conversations all the time.”
Jenkins ran a hand down his face and released a sigh. “Meddling old building…” He looked at each of their faces. “Well… What now?”
Jacob stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Jenkins.” The man’s eyes snapped towards him as he’d suspected with the spell. “For now… How do you want us to get your attention without using your name? You kinda… It seems to always take you by surprise when we say your name.”
Which he didn’t realize he’d noticed until the jerking head motion just now. It was amazing how much his mind picked up without him noticing.
Jenkins’ expression softened slightly. “It might help for you to learn to flare your magic, but in the interim… I’d prefer you hit my desk if there’s nothing delicate on it or ask the Library to alert me. It knows how to get my attention gently.”
Cassandra perked up. “Could you teach us how to flare our magic?”
“I don’t see why not. It may even help you in the field.’
Flynn jumped up from the desk with a grin, turning to face Jenkins to say. “Fantastic! Let’s get to work!”
Ezekiel tapped the desk a few times. “One question. How do you keep track when we start talking over each other?
Jenkins gestured to their Guardian. “Colonel Baird usually summarizes the arguments succinctly. It takes the guesswork out of a lot of conversations.”
Jacob laughed at Eve’s displeased look. “C’mon! He’s not wrong.”
“No, I don’t doubt he is, but now I’m gonna be thinking about it ever time you guys start arguing,” she groused.
Jenkins’ smile sharpened with amusement. “Happy to be of service.”
She glared at him for only a few seconds before bursting into laughter herself.