Mentally, I ran through all the superstitious things she used to say.
“The moon enhances powers, doesn’t give or take them.”
Not helpful at the moment.
“Faith and fear are the universe’s cousins. Closely knit and never far from each other.”
Not relevant to this predicament.
“Two tablespoons of peppermint schnapps.”
I needed the whole damn bottle.
“If it scares you once, listen. If it scares you twice, find out why.”
Pfft. The only thing after tonight that scared me was that woman lurking in the library’s basement.
My pacing stopped.
Nothing in this town ever seemed like a coincidence; maybe she hadn’t been either.
Looking at Bale and Corbin, I was already backing up a few steps in a clumsy half-jog. “I might have something! I will be right back!”
With that, I turned and took off towards the archives section of the library.
“Harlow, no! Wait!” I heard Bale shout behind me.
Corbin’s protest came right after. “Dammit, Har! Come back!”
I wasn’t even sure that this was an idea worth pursuing, but the weight of the moonlight seemed to trickle down my spine. Tail-flicking energy.
All of Falston was quiet, tucked away in their beds and completely unaware that things had changed— be it for better or worse.
Despite the weary ache in my legs, I ran. Not to save myself this time, but to savethem.
When I arrived at the library, gasping for air, the doors were locked up for the evening. No hesitation, I would take a page right out of Corbin’s book of borderline criminal behavior.
Summoning my cat, my body shrank into the familiar shape of fur and fluid grace. Nobody was about to arrest a cat for breaking and entering, now were they?
Roaming the perimeter, I got lucky when I found an overlooked access point through one of the egress windows. It would keep a human out, but certainly not when I was ten pounds of feline stealth and grace.
Dropping down into the small well surrounding the window, I nosed my way through the curled-back screen where the hinged pane had been left unlatched.
I walked my front paws down the interior wall, the window frame slowly dragging along my curved spine, before I silently dropped on top of the aged wooden cabinet that held the old card catalog.
Another quiet leap and I hit the floor, wasting no time in shifting back to human.
Looking around, the lights were on, suggesting movement before I had even begun my entry.
“Hello?” I called out, feeling rather stupid that I was talking to a seemingly empty area.
Come try and scare me again.
Inhaling deeply, I recognized the scent of burnt wax and something deeper, richer, beneath it.
I scanned the shelves, running my fingers along the spines of all the town’s history, lined up for anyone to brush up on. If there was anything in here that could help us, it wouldn’t be obvious.
Walking along the back row of shelves, my finger paused on one particular book as I tilted my head just enough to read the title presented in red foil letters against the black fabric cover.
