Short Story; The Visitor

Koren woke and got out of bed.  He pulled on his argyle sweater and tied his shoelaces.  Then he walked down to the kitchen and scrambled five eggs, one for each of them and one for whoever Cyssie sent to repair the lights.  He put some bacon in the pan and started to fry it as Fae came down and joined him.
"Your sister says someone will be by to take care of the lights later."
"I hope they aren't vegan, I've gone ahead and prepared an extra serving of eggs for them."
Fae got out the milk, orange juice, and five glasses and began setting the table.  Koren stopped and turned around.  "Fae?"
Fae continued to set the table, ignoring him pointedly.
"Fae, who did Cyssie send?"
Fae stopped and spun to face him.  He could see the worry in her countenance.  "I'm sorry Koren, I tried to talk her out of it but she didn't seem to understand.  You know how she gets when she thinks of things; only Igor and your mum have ever been able to talk any sense into her."
"She wouldn't.  She knows that She can't get in here unless someone tells her to come, why would she..."
At that moment the kids came down the stairs, quietly, though certainly not so quiet as their parent's discussion.  Koren and Fae stopped at once and finished preparing breakfast.  They spent it discussing their plans for the day.  Alan would be starting over in the history section, then working his way around to whatever subjects caught his interest along the way before coming back in time for dinner at five.  His older sister, Lia, would be practicing her art in the sculpture garden.  It was laundry day, so Fae would be staying here to keep the dryer from burning down the house.  Koren, of course, would be at the reception desk, awaiting the arrival of their guest.

She arrived at Five past Eleven, like she usually did.  All his fears were confirmed as the room grew cold in her proximity.
"Good morning Koren.  I'm told you're having a problem with the lights?"
"Yes we are, I trust Cyssie has provided you with the right replacements?"
"Do either of us honestly believe Cyssie keeps close enough track of her vast supplies of gizmos to know which one is the 'right' replacement part?  She's never had your knack for organization after all."
"Did she send the parts?"
"No, she sent the schemata and all of the elements the parts could potentially be made of and told me to be a dear and pop in to take care of it.  Do you know how heavy some of this stuff is?"
"Yes, all of it.  Come, I'll show you to the source."
"No need for that, I've spent enough time in the library to know where i'm going."
"Exactly, come with me."
"Aren't we snippy today? Very well, I'll go along with you."
Koren lead her down three floors, or rather, directed her down three floors while keeping her within direct eyesight at all times.  The library gave anyone who asked a card, but only once had it ever had to revoke one.
She sat down in front of the ThaumaGrimoric Energy Condenser and opened the schematics.
"Looks like everything is in order here.  Nothing's wrong with your fancy gadget Koren, I think the problem may be with your books."
"The books are perfectly in order, exactly where they should be."
The woman swept her alabaster hair behind her shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"Koren, please I don't mean this in a bad way, but I don't think they are."
"Of course they are," he replied angrily, "I spent an age researching the most effective possible manner of filing them.  Every single one is on the right shelf, not a single book is out of place."
She sighed.  "That's the problem.  Books aren't meant to sit on shelves for hundreds of years, they're meant to be read.  Books don't generate energy on their own."  She paused as both their minds turned to the rune-carved pedestal above them.  "Well, most books don't anyways.  The reason why you're not getting enough power is because the metaphorical battery is dead.  You've got about five, maybe six hundred books in this library generating power, and the rest just sitting on the shelves."
"You just want the book."
"No.  I mean, yes I want it, but that's not why I'm saying this.  Koren, if you want the library to work, you have to open it back up.  Tell people that its here, with the catalog you've built up it ought to do its own advertising.  Just let them read it."  She paused, muttering a charm to drive off the gathering shadows.  "Koren, I would love to read out of the omnipedia.  Know everything; past, present, future; fiction, truth, or any combination thereof.  But if its what it takes, I would rather die than see you keep hiding it from the world."
Koren remained silent.  He wasn't hiding it, he was protecting it.  He remembered what had happened before, Arcania had used a only a small part of the knowledge he guarded and had nearly destroyed everything.  And even if she hadn't succeeded, the risk of letting people use any of it was too great.  He had to keep it safe.
"Fine.  I'll leave.  But think about what I've said.  The books want to be read, Koren, and you can't keep everyone out."  She beckoned to the white fox that had accompanied her.  "And not all of them will be nice."
"I hardly consider your methods to be 'nice', Kate."
"I meant the books."