My mind struggled to wrap around what I was seeing.It should have been easier to reconcile knowing that he was a shapeshifter, but I hadn’t ever considered the possibility of him having such… longevity. Even crows had a limited lifespan.
Drawn to learn more, I flipped through each page, hanging onto every word printed on it. There were a few other photographs of Corbin’s family, the main residence, and the full line of apple trees the Fausts were known for growing. Also included were a few photos of the caretakers and their home, the one in which I currently resided.
Even with all this documented information on the founding family, there was nothing regarding Bale. Given how close he and Corbin were, I expected to find something, even if it was a one-line mention.
Minutes blurred into hours, and before I knew it, noon approached. I sighed quietly as I returned the last book to its rightful place on the shelf.
Just as I turned, I heard the distinct thud of a book hitting the ground. Spinning back, I didn’t immediately notice anything out of place.
However, venturing to the back wall, there in the walkway was a book that was completely out of place. Not even in a way that I could assume it had fallen from a shelf, unless it had grown a mind of its own and pitched itself into the middle of the aisle.
Yet, no one else was down here with me.
One wary step. Then another.
Bending over, I reached out for the book that wasunremarkable in terms of looks. No title on the bland brown cover, and it only looked big enough to be comparable to something an elementary schooler might be reading.
“For fucks’ sake, Harlow, it’s not going to bite,” I chided myself under my breath before taking a steadying breath and ignoring the heavy beating of my heart.
In one quick motion, I scooped the book off the floor and held it between my hands, waiting for a moment like I expected something bad to happen.
Tracing my fingers down its spine, I examined the outside cover. Light wear along the corners, a tiny indent marred the cover on the back, but nothing provided clues about what secrets were bound inside.
Opening the book, the cream-colored pages greeted me with what may have been black ink at one point but had faded to something like charcoal and ash now.
First page:Halloway.
Second page:Bloodline deceased.
On the third page, there was a rough sketch of a family tree. At the very bottom of it were the names of Alexander and Marie Halloway. They had two children. A daughter, Jacqueline, and a son, Baylor. From what I could conclude from the limited details in the pages, Jacqueline had married a man named Davis Polk. Baylor remained unmarried according to this ancestral diagram.
However, it wasn’t any of those details that stood out to me. It was that all five members onthat branch died… on the same day. Each of them hadn’t lived past November 4th, ninety-nine years ago.
Hurriedly turning the pages, looking for any explanation of what happened, left me disappointed and frustrated. No mention of why the Halloway family tree ended.
I slammed the book shut with enough force to have it clap out in protest of my unusually rough handling.
Why did this town have more questions than answers when it came to, well, anything?
Determined to figure it out, I tucked the book into my tote bag on the table. Mrs. Sampson wouldn’t miss it for the short amount of time I intended to borrow it.
Slinging the bag’s straps over my shoulder, I strode to the stairs. Climbing up, I paused midway. Something faint captured my attention, or maybe it was my feline instincts.
My hearing picked up an unexpected sound. Bells, maybe? Singing? I couldn’t make out the words. They sounded much like gibberish.
Silence.
Then giggling.
A female whisper seemed to come from somewhere I was unable to pinpoint, like no part of the room wanted to be responsible for carrying the voice.
“Three go in. Two come out. One year more, they burn without.
The moon is high, the crows shall chase. But never shall they have a face.
Debts in blood, debts in sin, another harvest year begins.
Pleased and proud, the powers be. Rise and reign, ever be.”
