Sunday, June 28, 2026
🌈Sunday's Short Stack🌈: The Demon and the Librarian by Chloe Archer
Monsters Hollow #0.75
Yuki
Accidentally summoning a sexy demon at work totally isn’t my fault. It’s because of that new addictive soap opera, The Young and the Monstrous, I tell you! They just had to introduce a new mega-hot demon character, so of course I needed to do some research! But my insatiable librarian curiosity has gotten me into hot water, because now I’m magically shackled to a demon who claims he’s my mate. That can’t be a real thing, right? It’s got to be some kind of demon trick...
Kassiel
Being summoned is every demon’s fantasy. Some wait centuries for the momentous occasion. At barely two hundred years of age, I get my lucky day! The Interdimensional Gong of Demonic Destiny rings for little ole me! Wooing Yuki should be a walk in the park, but my trusty seductive wiles aren’t working on my prickly mate—and the clock is ticking. I only have two weeks to convince him to accept our bond or it will be permanently severed. My work is cut out for me, but I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak into his heart.
The Demon and the Librarian: A Cozy M/M Monster Romance is a 30k novella in the Monsters Hollow universe featuring: a dapper demon dandy with a penchant for fine clothing, a far too curious librarian, a summoning involving dirty limericks, a holy water fail, food as the way to any being’s heart, forced proximity, fated mates, and an HEA ending. *Previously published in the Fated Mates MM Paranormal Romance charity anthology of 2023.
Chapter One
Building Interspecies Tolerance, Connections, and Hope (BITCH): An Otherkind and Human Relations Forum
Discussion Thread—Demons
MasterLibrarian: So, hypothetically speaking, how would one send back a demon one has accidentally summoned?
FeistyFurDaddy: Uh-oh. You’re in trouble, bro.
MasterLibrarian: NOT helping.
FeistyFurDaddy: I don’t know a lot about demons but they’re tricky bastards to get rid of if they’ve set their sights on you.
MoonMistress: You do realize that “summoning” a demon isn’t anything like human cultures imagine, right?
FeistyFurDaddy: Doesn’t summoning a demon mean you’re their mate? *wide eyes emoji*
MasterLibrarian: Motherfucking balls.
MoonMistress: FFD is right. Only a mate can summon a demon to their realm—usually by discovering an object magically bonded to the demon that has been seeking them across different dimensions. It’s so romantic!
MasterLibrarian: Like a magical fucking mate detector or something?
FeistyFurDaddy: Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
MasterLibrarian: Son of a bitch! *facepalm* So it’s true. I thought it was just a line to get in my pants.
FeistyFurDaddy: Holy shit! You ACTUALLY summoned a demon and you’re their mate? I thought you were just fantasizing about Xavier on The Young and the Monstrous again. Damn. This is epic!
MasterLibrarian: Do not talk smack about the best soap opera EVER!
FeistyFurDaddy: Hell no, man. I love the show too. I’ve heard they’re going to be adding a rougarou character soon and I’m so damn stoked!
MasterLibrarian: This demon I’ve summoned is the real deal. And no, it is NOT epic. Um…is there any way I can send him back to his dimension?
MoonMistress: Oh my! This is getting quite complicated.
YUKI
Glancing around guiltily, but still finding myself alone, I open my laptop and pull up the most recent episode of my latest obsession, The Young and the Monstrous, a brand-new daytime soap opera with a predominantly Otherkind cast. It's the first show of its kind to air on television and I can’t get enough of it.
Like most soap operas, it’s campy, melodramatic, and over-the-top in all the best ways possible. Everyone here in town is addicted to the show, eagerly waiting for each new episode to drop. It’s the hot topic of conversation everywhere I go lately.
Hotbeing the key word here.
The show’s producers were fucking brilliant when they decided to cast some of the sexiest Otherkind characters I’ve ever seen on the show. There’s the brooding hunkalicious gargoyle, Gareth; the majorly ripped orc always looking for a fight, Dyrk; the studly minotaur wooing several female characters at the same time, Naebon; the gorgeous gorgon with a tortured past, Raphael; and now—the newest addition to the cast—the sexy-as-fuck demon doctor, Xavier. Ever since he came on screen for the first time, I’ve had hot demons on the brain!
Munching on some senbei–aka Japanese rice cracker snacks, aka my favorite–I watch the episode on my laptop, eyes glued to the screen. The latest storyline centers around the mysterious Xavier, who arrived in the show’s fictional town a few episodes ago and promptly started causing a boatload of mischief behind the scenes. So far, he’s sort of a Trickster-esque villain, but one I wouldn’t mind seducing me for a night!
I know I shouldn’t be indulging in my guilty pleasure at work, but it's almost midnight on a Friday night, and Mystic Hollow’s brand-new night school library is deader than disco. Not exactly surprising, since most students have far better things to do on a Friday evening than studying in the library. Granted, we haven’t enrolled a huge number of students yet since we’ve only been open for a week. Aimed at all ages of Otherkind in town, the night school is similar to a community college and was created to meet the varied educational needs of those nocturnal species unable to attend during traditional school times. Our dean, in coordination with the town’s mayor, is actively working to recruit new town residents with the lure of two-year degree programs, professional training certificate courses, and continuing education classes that can all be taken at night.
I've only been in town two weeks myself, newly hired as one of three librarians in this brand-new facility. As I quickly discovered, I'm also one of only a handful of humans residing in Mystic Hollow—a real-life Sanctuary town that is a magically protected safe space for non-humans.
I’d never lived in a place like this before, but when the job opening listed, I jumped at the opportunity. A night owl by nature, I've always felt more comfortable in jobs that allow me to work late hours. Besides, as a freshly minted librarian with my master’s degree in library science, I’d been keen to find a position almost anywhere. In our current economic climate, and with constant funding cuts to education and colleges and universities slashing their library budgets, librarian positions are few and far between these days. Fuck you very much, politicians and crappy administrators!
No matter how desperate most human librarians are to find a position, few were vying for this opening in “Monsters Hollow,” as it’s often referred to by the outside world. As a queer, half-Japanese man with a love of cosplay, comic books, and board games, I understand what it’s like to be treated as different. Honestly, I've never been scared of Otherkind. In fact, I’ve always found them to be far less terrifying than my fellow humans.
Some of them are even seriously sexy in my book.
Case in point—the mega-hot demon on The Young and the Monstrous who has taken off his shirt at least three times–praise the network gods!—by the time the show ends on yet another cliffhanger. I’m left wondering if Xavier is going to seduce half the town in his first week there.
Are all demons major horndogs or what?
The question niggles at my mind, needing to be answered. Tired of twiddling my thumbs at the reference desk while waiting for non-existent students in need of my expert assistance, I look around the empty library and decide it's time for me to do what I do best—research.
When it comes to the quest for knowledge, a librarian can never resist the lure of the stacks. I’m no exception.
I can't let this go, no matter how I try. I need answers. Damn Xavier and his super-hot demon bod for infiltrating my psyche!
Although I took a class on Otherkind species in university, it was purely introductory and only touched on the dozens of different beings. As a result, I don't know very much about demons, only that they're nothing like human religious traditions have imagined. They aren’t former angels banished to hell with Satan. Nor are they inherently evil. Rather, they’re an Otherkind species from another dimension. They can travel between realms with ease and sometimes like to visit this world.
Now, though, I need all the information I can find on them. Trust me, I’ll never be satisfied until I have a thick stack of books in my hot little hand!
In the comfortable silence of the library, I stroll down the neatly shelved stacks, letting that favorite of researchers everywhere, the Library of Congress Classification System, be my guide to any books we might have on demons and demonology. There’s a reassuring peace in the tidily organized rows of shelves I pass. And the smell! Nothing beats the aroma of books, from old, dusty tomes to crisp, newly printed texts. I love them all.
When I get to the appropriate shelf, I begin scanning the titles: Demons Didn't Do It! A Defense of a Misunderstood Species; Demons vs. Djinn: A History of Interspecies Feuds, Follies, and Fisticuffs; Down and Dirty with Demons: A Beginner’s Guide to Demon Sexual Behaviors. I snort in amusement at that last one but make a mental note to come back to it.
I pause, however, when I come to a book without a title on its spine and missing a label for cataloging purposes. It’s haphazardly shelved and out of place and immediately sparks my interest—and frankly, annoyance. How did an uncatalogued book end up shelved in my library?
I reach up and grip the spine.
The instant my hand makes contact, an electric spark races through my fingertips and up my arm, nearly making my hair stand on end like I’m a Super Saiyan in one of my old-school anime faves, Dragonball Z.
Part of me is screaming to let the book go and back the fuck away. I should wait until one of my magically inclined colleagues can examine this properly. Although it’s unlikely to be dangerous—the magic guarding this town surely wouldn’t have let someone with evil intentions bring this in, right?—the book is definitely suspicious.
For several heartbeats, I stare at the mysterious text, unable to let go. My insatiable curiosity mounts and with a snarl of irritation, I pull it down, my fingers still tingling from the obvious magic it possesses. Almost consumed by intrigue, I stare at the slim volume in my hand. It’s bound in some kind of black leather-like material that appears quite old and dusty, but durable. There’s some obvious wear and tear to the cover’s edges, but otherwise the spine is intact and it looks in good condition.
Opening it carefully, I find the first page blank. No title, nothing.
“Odd,” I murmur to myself with a frown.
Maybe it’s some kind of unused journal that got lost?
I flip to the next page and hit pay dirt. Here, written in the graceful penmanship of a bygone era, I find an unusual inscription:
Dearest reader,
If you have stumbled across this book, then it is indeed your most fortuitous destiny! To learn more about the tantalizing secrets this book contains, you will need to read each word aloud before the next is revealed to you. Don’t stop or you’ll miss out! Be sure to read until you get to the very end. Your perseverance will be rewarded handsomely, I assure you. I hope you enjoy this magical little moment that only you will get to experience. After all, you, and you alone, were meant to find this book!
Yours,
A Dashing and Desirable Demon
What. The. Fuck.
On the one hand, this sounds beyond ridiculous. Like someone’s bad idea of a joke.
I glance around me, the silence of the library still a reassuring indicator that I’m all by myself. I don’t think any of my co-workers are trying to punk me, but I haven’t exactly made my fixation on The Young and Monstrous a secret.
On the other hand, the inscription in the book has piqued my interest and I can’t not follow the instructions now. I simply have to know what happens at the end.
It’s the same fucking reason I can never DNF books. I always have to finish them even if I don’t want to.
Damn the cheeky fucker who wrote this book! It’s as if they knew I couldn’t resist a puzzle like this. Have they been stalking me? Did they plant this just for me to find on a night when I’m all alone in the library? Another warning bell goes off in the back of my brain.
No, I’m being paranoid. I barely know anyone in this town yet!
Nevertheless, I should probably wait until one of my colleagues arrives in the morning before I do anything. This book clearly contains some kind of spell that I have to read aloud, which is never something to mess with—especially when you’re a human with no understanding of such things whatsoever.
Yes.
Waiting would be wise.
What the book contains can’t possibly be that exciting or interesting.
Right?
The burning need to uncover the book’s secrets blows away every single one of my responsible thoughts and good intentions.
Cheerfully tossing my internal pep talk of rationality out the window, I turn the page and slowly begin to read aloud each word as they materialize on the page in front of me.
I instantly question my life choices.
There once was a demon so hot,
Everyone he wanted, he got.
With a thrust of his hips
And a nip of his lips,
Of lovers he fucked quite a lot.
I gape at quite possibly the lamest dirty limerick I’ve ever encountered. This book may possess magic, but its author was no wordsmith. Despite my better judgment, I continue. I’m in this now and there’s no turning back.
The subject of demon mates is quite thorny,
Especially since we are always so horny.
But never you fear,
My epic self is almost here,
To make you super-hot and ready for me!
My mouth twitches in amusement and I snort. Who the fuck wrote this drivel? But I can’t stop reading. The rhyming is amusing in a crass kind of way, and I want to see what else they come up with.
By now you’re probably feeling quite needy,
So I’ll make the rest of this speedy.
Call forth my name and you’ll be in luck
Because I’ll show up, ready to fuck,
And soon you’ll scream my name—Kassiel the Greedy!
As the last ridiculous word slips off my tongue, the odd little book warms in my hand and starts to vibrate.
“What the fu—” I start to say, the words dying on my lips when an interdimensional portal begins to open a few feet away from me, the magic circle growing and widening until I can see a silhouette on the other side.
Holy fucknuggets. What the hell have I done?
While on some level I realize I should do something about this situation I’ve gotten myself into, I simply stand and gawk like a fool. That warning signal going off in my brain is now a fire-alarm bell blaring with all its might, but it’s entirely too late for me to heed it as a tall and extremely dapper-looking demon who makes Xavier seem ordinary steps through the portal and into my library.
Hot. Motherfucking. Damn.
Apparently, all demons are unfairly gorgeous.
He’s dressed in a black, finely tailored suit that gleams in the light like satin. It fits his powerful body like a glove. A white, ruffled dress shirt from another era—or perhaps I should say dimension—complete with a crimson-colored brocade waistcoat, and a pair of elegant red wingtip shoes round out the look. The demon’s long, dark hair falls well past his shoulders in thick, silky strands, and his gold-colored eyes are framed by lush, sooty lashes that would have made silent cinema legend Rudolph Valentino weep with envy. His complexion is a warm, caramel color and his face is a surprising but sexy mix of high, angular cheekbones and a hard, square jawline, combined with plush, biteable red lips and large, doe-like eyes that look naturally rimmed with kohl.
When he grins, I detect a hint of fang that makes me gulp while my traitorous cock decides to perk up in my jeans.
Not good! Not good!
The demon strolls toward me with a look of burning purpose in his otherworldly eyes.
I swallow again and begin backing away.
The demon seems to like that because his grin grows wider.
Fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck!
I notice that he’s using, with an insouciant flair, a rather debonair cane as he prowls after me, in a way that suggests it’s more of a fashion accessory than an ambulatory necessity. All he’s missing is a damn top hat. Then he’d well and truly be the epitome of a demon dandy.
Oscar Wilde, eat your heart out!
Although I suspect the impressive black, ram-like horns on his head might make wearing a top hat rather challenging.
The thought surprises a nervous laugh from my lips before I stumble against a wall, realizing too late that I’ve backed up as far as I can go.
The dashing demon crowds in close, leaning down to sniff me like a weirdo. When he pulls back, his gold eyes seem to spark like the embers of a banked fire kindled to life again. “I should have known my mate would be such an utterly delectable morsel.”
His voice is deep and resonant but also surprisingly posh and British. Is that a thing with demons? I must check with my forum friends. Honestly, deep down, I think I expected him to sound more Cockney, like Crowley on Supernatural. Between the voice and the clothes, this demon could be a damn aristocrat.
It should annoy me, but fucking hell, it turns me on.
Wait.
What??
“Mate? The fuck you say?”
He licks his tempting lips. “Darling, I am your mate, Kassiel. Enchanté.”
Chloe Archer writes queer sci-fi and paranormal rom coms with laugh out loud humor because she’s all about bringing the funny-sexy back. Oh, yeah!
She currently call Minnesota home, but has lived abroad in places like Montreal, Edinburgh, and Tokyo. She’s hoping to relocate to Scotland permanently in the next few years if the stars align.
Chloe is a fur mama to two adorable Yorkies, Jasper and Teddy, and she loves them in a crazy dog mama kind of way. When she isn’t busy writing, she enjoys visiting friends and family, traveling, reading, binge watching movies and TV shows, and practicing her karaoke skills. She does a mean cover of Pat Benatar and Cher, or so she’s been told.
EMAIL: chloe@chloearcher.com
Monsters Hollow Series
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