Chapter 1: The Very Last Book

The sultry blue of a computer screen bathed Ethan's face. He stared long and hard at the figures before him. Nope, not a thing was matching up.
"Damn!" he yelled loudly. An older woman at the table next to him glowered. 'Ooops' he thought, 'Forgot I'm in a library'. A sigh escaped him. He was tired, hungry, and had nothing more for his research than he did two hours ago. He ran a hand through his light brown hair, closing the book that lay open next to his laptop. Things weren't going exactly the way he had planned.

Two months ago, Ethan had received a call from an old friend, now playing the role of Archeologist. He needed some inside information on a dig site soon to be excavated, and of course. Ethan just happened to owe him a favor.
"I should have never become a historian," he told himself. Moving to a stand, Ethan threw the book into a pile of others on the edge of the cherry wood table. With a grunt, he decided to take one more look on the shelves before calling it a night.

Before long, Ethan found himself rummaging through the many books containing information on the history of Egypt. He admitted to himself how exciting a new research project could be. The maps, the books, the ancient legends and curses. it was all part of the job. His job. And he loved it. He continued to look at book after book, hoping to catch something while skimming that could lead him to his next breakthrough.
"No. No. No!" he nearly screamed as he came upon another dead end. There were only a few shelves left, and he was getting nowhere. 'Great. Just great. This is exactly what ANY 30 year old man wants to do with his life. Rummaging through musty old books in a musty old library in musty old England. Why can't' - but his thoughts broke as he found his foot caught between the ladder rungs.
"Shit," he grumbled, "What a day!" Ethan tried twisting and turning his foot, but to no avail. He leaned down to see if using his hands would make any difference. and found himself falling. Before he knew what happened, Ethan found himself sprawled on the floor, a lump forming at his crown.
"Ouch," he said nonchalantly. He looked up. only to be pummeled by an entire shelf of falling books. Dust flew everywhere, books landed in every manner.
"Ouch," he grumbled again. What a day. Picking himself up, he turned to see the head librarian scurrying his way. Uh-oh.
"Sir," the old woman piped in a shrill British accent, "Just what is going on here?" Ethan winced at the sound of the ancient windpipes.
"I am truly sorry, ma'am. It was an accident. I got my foot caught in one of the ladder rungs," Ethan replied calmly and apologetically. The older woman came alert at the young man's American accent. "Well I'll have you know, this library has - " but Ethan wasn't listening. Something had caught his eye. A single book. The only one left on the shelf. He looked closely at the spine, hoping to catch a glimpse of the title. When he saw, his mouth gaped open. He reached for the book, taking it carefully down from its resting place. It was very old, and quite dusty. It was bound in a simple brown leather casing that was fraying at the edges. The pages were yellowed with age. He turned the book in his hands, amazed at his find. The front of the book read, "The Legend of the Fire Gem".
"Sir, are you listening to me?" the librarian bellowed.
"I'm really sorry ma'am, but something just came up. Here," he said, stuffing a 100 pound note in her wrinkled hands. "I hope this covers the damages". The librarian stood blank, flustered by Ethan's actions. "I-I-I." she stammered as Ethan ran with the book to the table he was working at. He gathered his laptop and research files, bundling them all into a black leather satchel. With the book in one hand and everything else in the other, Ethan raced for the library entrance, a boyish smirk pasted to his face.