"That doesn't explain why you reported him."
"Charlie was special." Noah glanced at him. "More special than you can understand, but you'll have to take my word for it."
Simon thought of Charlie huddled behind that couch as a rabbit, too gentle to be anything but prey even in animal form.
"So," Noah said, "I made him interesting to your Organization. Made him seem dangerous enough that they'd send their best." Noah's smile widened. "They sent you."
"And now here you are," Noah continued, moving methodically down the aisle. "Having done exactly what I hoped. You fed him, protected him and questioned everything Reuben taught you to believe."
"You couldn't have predicted that."
"Couldn't I?" Noah pulled a book from his cart, examined its spine. "You underestimate me."
"Who are you?" Simon asked again. His hand found his stake, fingers wrapping around the familiar grip. "Whatare you?"
"Just someone with a vested interest in your organization." Noah turned to him. "I've been watching them for years. Watching you specifically for the last decade."
"Watching me?"
"Since the night you were attacked. What a tragedy that was. The vampire came through the window, didn't he?"
Ice spread through Simon's chest. "How do you know that?"
"He killed your mother first and made you watch." Noah's voice was not unsympathetic but Simon only wished he would shut up. He didn't though. "Then the vampire started to turn you but got interrupted. Reuben arrived just in time." Noah tilted his head. "Except that's not quite true, is it? Reuben arrived exactly on time. Precisely when he meant to."
Simon glared at the odd young man before him. "What are you talking about?"
"Did you never wonder why Reuben was there that night? A random apartment in a random building, and the Organization's top trainer just happened to be passing by?"
Simon's grip tightened on his stake until his knuckles went white. "He was tracking the vampire."
"He was tracking you." Noah abandoned his cart entirely, moving closer. "You were selected for Reuben's program, Simon.Your psychological profile, your physical attributes, even your family situation… Single mother, no extended family, social isolation… You were a perfect candidate."
"You're lying."
"Your mother's death was part of it. The trauma makes for better hunters."
Simon's vision narrowed.
That couldn't be true.
None of it could be true. Simon knew his own history better than this strange librarian.
"I'll kill you," he hissed.
"I'm not something you can kill," Noah said calmly. "But even if you could, my death wouldn't change the truth."
He reached into his cart, pulling out a manila folder that Simon hadn't noticed before. "Project Ascension. The Organization's initiative to create enhanced hunters from victims of vampire attacks. You weren't the first. Won't be the last."
He held out the folder. Simon didn't take it.
"Richardson. Keane. Sigal." Noah set the folder on his cart. "You were all carefully selected and attacked in a controlled environment. You were all saved at the precise moment to create maximum psychological dependence on the Organization."
Simon thought of his mother's blood on their apartment floor. The way her eyes had looked at him in those final moments—confused, terrified, trying to protect him even as she died.
"The vampire who killed her," Simon said slowly. "Where is he?"
Noah's expression shifted to something almost like pity. "I don't know. In any case, he's not who you should be focusing on."
