Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
The vast library lobby had been transformed by the bar, the high tables with white tablecloths, and massive speakers. The children’s corner was now closed off with a short movable gate.
The skin under my bandages was itchy, and my muscles twitched with each step. Someone was watching me, making my senses go hypersensitive. Even the light touch of the cool drafty air sent chills down my spine.
If Torin was hiding in the library, which was almost impossible, then was I in danger? When I saw him in my dream realm, his vampire had thirsted for my blood.
I spotted Steven holding a glass of amber liquid near the makeshift bar—at least it wasn’t a fake vampire drink. He waved me over, and when I got to him, his face beamed, and his eyes brightened.
“You look great, Breanna,” he said and started walking while I followed him. “I’ve gathered the right people for your tour of the rare books exhibit.”
I’d do anything tonight but meet Torin, if he was here. I had to keep myself busy, surrounded by people.
“I’m ready,” I said and glanced around the hectic lobby, but whoever was hiding from me did a good job of it.
At least I didn’t think it was the witch from my dream realm. No, wait—I’ll take the witch over facing Torin.
“Which book did you pick to talk about?” Steven asked and slowed before we reached a small crowd of people standing at the edge of the hallway.
“The ancient Greek one about Artemis.”
My boss gave me a big smile. “Good choice. This one is popular.”
We strolled to two women and four men, all dressed in suits, bow ties, and long gala dresses.
I recognized some of them from the previous year’s event.
Steven took the time to introduce each one of them to me and gave me a meaningful look when he said the name Mr. Sterling.
My mind only hesitated for a moment before I remembered who this man was.
Our biggest donor. He was a man in his late fifties, tall and slender, with white hair around his temples. He was a man who attended galas, exhibits, and auctions frequently. He’d been a part of the library for a long time, although this was my first time meeting him.
While Steven made my introduction, mentioning my vast knowledge of mythology, Mr. Sterling gawked at me, roaming my body up and down.
Yuck.
I fidgeted and shuffled, ready to get the night over with.
“I’m leaving you in good hands. Ms. Allen is going to take you to the rare book exhibit,” Steven said and did a small bow, all while making sure his drink didn’t spill.
Mr. Sterling smiled. “That would be lovely. You wouldn’t mind if I take my drink with me, dear?”
He looked at me with twinkling eyes and a devilish smirk.
Mr. Sterling knew too well that drinks and food were not allowed around the rare books. He reminded me of a toddler who pushed boundaries to find out what he could get away with. I opened my mouth to answer him, but Steven answered quickly before I could give him a piece of my mind.
“Of course not. I’m sure you’ll be careful in there.” My boss nodded toward the double doors on the other side of the lobby. “Go ahead and enjoy. I’m sure Ms. Allen will bestow interesting knowledge upon you.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle my sarcasm and walked toward the exhibit hall. I was letting this one go only because I also brought drinks in my office around the valuable books.
A man with a dark-blue bow tie matching the color of his companion’s gala dress caught up to me. On my other side, the woman joined me.
She smiled. “Ms. Allen, it’s nice seeing you again.”
I nodded. The nice couple was not creepy like Mr. Sterling, who walked way too close behind me. I swore I could feel his breath on my neck, and it only raised my hackles around him.
“I didn’t notice you had a date for the night, Ms. Allen,” Mr. Sterling said, and the skin around my bandages started to burn.
I wanted to gag, but instead, I swallowed hard. I kept my pace and didn’t turn to face him but responded for Steven’s sake. “My mother always said that a woman is exceptionally strong if she can go to an event alone, eat at a restaurant alone, and go to the movies alone.”
The nice lady next to me chuckled.
We entered through heavy double doors into the exhibit hall. At the top of the white wall in front of us, big silver letters displayed the name of Mr. Sterling.
I stopped walking and turned to face everyone. “You may already know that this exhibit hall was named after Mr. Sterling for his large contribution to our library.”
I made sure my gaze fell on each one of my guests and didn’t linger on the creepy man. Looking pleased at the special attention, he nodded and stayed silent. I'd be a happy princess if he could keep that up for the entire tour, but I had a feeling he would be trouble.
I sighed and kept on walking deeper into the hall.
Walking slowly while giving the guests a chance to look around, I said, “Large contributions make it possible for the library to display the rare books to the public rather than sell them off to a private party.”
A glass case with six books propped on shelves stood against a white-tiled wall. Small lights attached to the corners of the glass box pointed to the books.
Next to the display case, a tripod stood with fliers describing the books, their contents, ages, and other information we were able to decipher about them.
“What makes these books rare?” Mr. Sterling’s voice rang from my side, too close for comfort.
My body jolted. I straightened up and took a step in the opposite direction.
“It could be their scarcity, age, condition, or subject matter. A rare book will be of no value if no one wants it, which reminds me that I have a cool book I want to talk to you about today.”
“What’s so cool about it?” Mr. Sterling walked around the nice couple and faced me.
I wouldn’t say I liked his mocking tone, or him, one bit.
“People are interested in this book. But mostly, the subject matter is what’s really cool about it.”
I gave him a fake sweet smile, but then I made sure to look at everyone else to engage them. They bent their heads low, their faces close to the glass case.
“I’ll show you a book about werewolves from ancient Greece.
People are fascinated with supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves.
They want the book because they believe in the existence of those creatures.
Because humans think they can find the secret to immortality in a book, and humans have always wanted to learn about immortality.
How to beat all illnesses. How to stop the aging process. ”
Such a book did exist, or so I’d read. But no one, humans or supernaturals, could find it.
I was taught as a child that immortality was a curse. Mortality gave our lives a sense of urgency, purpose, and meaning. Immortality would feel like a burden after centuries passed, witnessing the loss of loved ones, and enduring the pain of countless goodbyes.
Dad taught the young pups in the kingdom that vampires, the only immortal ones in our realm, lost their appreciation for life as time lost its value—one reason why our enemy was cruel.
Mr. Sterling ambled away to another display, but not before he asked, “Who believes in those things?”
He ground up my nerves. I moved to the old, falling-apart, single book behind a glass box.
“Regardless of whether they exist or not, this book makes an important contribution to human knowledge. But with your major contribution”—I paused and watched as Mr. Sterling waited for the rest of us to catch up while sipping from his drink—“we’re able to stage this hall just right for the books to survive for a long time.
Paper is a light-sensitive material. It can make the pages darken or fade.
So, we can’t display valuable artifacts permanently.
” I pointed to the book that I rebound months ago.
“We have a security vault to store books like this one.”
I stepped away from the case, and the guests made a circle around it and studied the opened pages. The lines on the pages were fading, but luckily, the library had enough money to request for the interpreter to travel to us, rather than sending the book away and risking damage to the text.
“We have a person who prepared the hall, the lighting, and the humidity in the room before an exhibit. He stages it for us,” I said.
My skin prickling, I scanned the hall and squinted at the columns standing tall at each corner. The supernatural presence had followed me here. Hot flashes ran over my entire body, similar to when I’d faced Torin in my dream realm.
I didn’t like it one bit.
Did he plan on destroying the rare books and the beautiful exhibit hall, too, just as he attempted to destroy the enchanted forest in my dream realm?
I was getting ahead of myself. I twisted my head to look in each direction, but if he was here, he blended in with the shadows.
Figured.
With a deep breath, I continued my story. “This is an ancient Greek book about the first werewolf.”
Now, I had the attention of my guests, who straightened up and looked at me expectantly.
“Artemis, the sister of the god Apollo who created the first vampire, was an Olympian goddess of hunting, forest, and wild animals. She was also known as the goddess of the moon. The wolves who howled at the moon were her favorite animal, and she went hunting with them in tow—”
“Isn’t that the goddess associated with chastity because she never lost her virginity?” the man with the blue bow tie asked, and I smiled.
“But she wanted to because she was lonely,” I said, and my guests let out low chuckles. “She fell in love with a mortal hunter, but there was a problem because gods shouldn’t mingle with humans. But she couldn’t resist—”
“Ohh…” the man’s partner sighed. “So it’s going to be a forbidden love story?”
I nodded. “Artemis watched the hunter with her heart aching while he hunted in the forest…”
I sauntered to the side and circled around my audience and the display case.