“And how did you find me? Not to mention, how did you turn off the lights? The cuff is supposed to cut off your power.”
I flicked the metal attached to his wrist for emphasis.
He jerked his arm away from me. “I have my methods. I’m not entirely helpless with this damn thing on. You should remember that.”
“I’m sure you won’t let me forget.”
We glared at each other.
“So, is your friend seeing anyone?”
“We’re not talking about that,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “She’s human and not part of this world. You’re going to leave her alone.”
He gave her an assessing glance. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” I didn’t know what he was talking about, and I didn’t care. Caroline was off limits. “I’ve verified it was a draugr. It’s also responsible for the human disappearances around Hilltop. I think the reason the police haven’t found any bodies is because it’s been eating its victims.”
“But not the supernatural ones?”
“Not that I’ve been able to tell.”
“Interesting.”
My eyes sharpened. “How so?”
“Draugrs are known for eating their victims, but to my knowledge don’t usually distinguish between humans and those from our world. It should be eating all of its victims, not just some.”
“I think it’s getting direction from someone.”
He tilted his head in question.
“It mentioned someone. I think it’s being guided towards its victims. That thing it’s looking for? I think someone has whatever it is and is now using it to somehow control where the draugr strikes next.”
He bent his head in thought. It was so odd seeing a teenage face deep in reflection. I felt like he should start goofing off any moment now.
“Why are you here then?” he asked.
“Research. If I can figure out who he was in life, then I might be able to find some kind of weakness or at least discover what he wants.”
His lip curled. “So, you’re in a library?”
“You know anybody in the city who can give me details of every prisoner held in Camp Chase? The draugr was human once. I figured my best chance of getting information on him lies with human records.”
His face held a grudging respect when I’d finished my explanation. “Fair point.” He shot a glance back at the table. “It’s going to take you days to go through all those books.”
I groaned internally. He was right. I’d been ambitious thinking it would only take one night. Even with Caroline’s pile of finished books, we had barely made a dent in the stacks we’d pulled. So far, we’d discovered exactly nil.
I slapped him on the back. “That’s why you’re going to help us.”
He gave the books a distasteful look. “It would be so much easier if you took this cuff off. I could do a spell to call any books containing relevant information.”
“You could do that?”
That would be a pretty useful skill for any student or researcher. He could patent it and make millions.
“Take this off, and you can find out.” He rattled the cuff at me.
“I don’t think so. Trust between us pretty much doesn’t exist.”
