The Blood Contract

Chapter 18: Legends and Myths

Gem had heard that there was a world-renowned library that rivalled Oxford's. She had gone around searching for it but she couldn't find it. She could have asked Alistair but she hadn't seen that old vampire for days.

As she wandered down the hallway searching for a friendly face, she saw Ruby walking towards her. Gem tried to catch her eye but the beautiful vampire seemed to want to resolutely ignore her. 

Asshole.

Gem stepped infront of her and blocked her way directly.

"What do you want?" Ruby's cat eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't make me levitate your ass up the wall."

"You've no need to be so rude," Gem said coldly. "I just wanted to ask where the library is."

Ruby scoffed. "You, a disgusting half-breed, wants to enter our library? It's not just a library but it's THE library. It contains many of the world's most complicated curses and magic. We aren't going to let a half-breed enter."

Gem clenched her fists, suppressing the urge to punch Ruby. "Well," she added lightly. "Then I guess I've to go ask Luke Garon then and happen to mention that I've to trouble him with such a trivial matter because my escort refuses to accede to my request."

Ruby's eyes blazed with fury. "Go down the corridor and turn right. But mind you, it's magically protected. You need the permission of the guard to go in. Have fun with that." She smirked and then glared at her as if to say: I'm watching you.

Gem merely shrugged and followed her directions. The right end of the hallway led to a dead-end. There was only one unassuming door there. She tried opening it but it wouldn't budge.

"Hello, is there anyone there?" she called out. There was no answer.

"Magically protected?" Gem repeated whatever Ruby had said. She took out a knife and threw it at the door with stunning accuracy but to her surprise the knife appeared to have struck a wall and dropped down to the ground. 

"Who is there?" A loud voice suddenly boomed.

Gem looked around. There was no one around her. "Who is that?" she questioned.

"I'm the spirit keeper of this library. You can call me Fier," the voice said.

"Okay, Fier, can I get by you into the library?" Gem asked politely.

"Do you think I will let anyone in?" Fier sounded angry. "The library contains many secrets. I can't let anyone in."

"I'm the Dark Lord's guest."

"The Dark Lord?" Fier scoffed. "I'm an ancient spirit and I'm even older than the founder of all vampires, Gavin Garon. I've no fear of the Dark Lord who is anything but a mere descendant."

Gem sighed, exasperated. "Okay, look, Fier the great spirit of all kind," she said a little sarcastically. "You can get off your high horse. I bet you get your kick from torturing people at the entrance and frankly, it's pathetic for your age."

"WHA-"

"And," Gem interrupted. "I'm going to go right now. Just so you know, not EVERYONE is willing to put up with you just to get into your sacred place."

She started to walk off when Fier shouted, " Wait ! "

Gem paused. "What?" she asked a little rudely. 

There was a pause of silence. "You can go in," Fier answered.

"What?" Gem repeated with disbelief. "I just insulted you and you are willing to let me in?"

"I appreciate candidness." That was all Fier said.

Gem wrinkled her nose. She had no idea what Fier was going on about but she wasn't about the question it. The door clicked and flew open. 

"Thanks," she said.

"I've a feeling I will be seeing you a lot more often," Fier replied.

"I'm only here temporarily," she replied.

"We will see." 

Gem took a step into the space inside and for a moment, she was blinded by the bright lights. When she finally took in the scene, she gasped.

The library was simply massive. The ceiling was so high up the library might have been a few stories high. There were chandelier lights everywhere and there was the rusty but sweet smell of books. She didn't know where to start.

"Are you lost?" 

Gem looked up and saw a stouty but smiling woman smiling at her. The strange thing about this woman was that she had extremely sharp pixie ears.

"Fiers?" she asked.

The woman laughed. "I'm not Fiers. He's a spirit. I'm Trana, the librarian in charge of this monstrous library and just for your information, I'm a pixie."

Gem raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. A pixie. Things got stranger day by day.

"So is there anything you particularly want to look for?" Trana looked at her with appraising eyes. "And might I add, you're the first half-breed I've seen in here for maybe two hundred years. Fiers must really like you."

"Like real," Gem muttered under her breath and then brightened. "I was planning to look up on vampiric history, myths and legends. Any idea where it is?"

Trana smiled. She pointed towards the left. "There's a whole section there."

"Thank-you." Gem nodded and headed towards there. She quickly selected a few interesting looking ones and plumped herself down on one of the rustic chairs.

She took up the first book. It was titled, "All About The Vampiric Culture". Flipping through it, she suddenly caught sight of an intriguing section titled, "Vampiric mates. She flipped to the section and started poring through it.  

Despite being the cold creatures of the night, the whole idea of vampiric mates exist. Like their warm-blooded enemies, werewolves, once a vampire finds his soul mate, an almost supernatural bond binds them together. 

It is almost impossible to choose a mate based on personal selection. Mates are determined by destiny and once vampires meet their mates, they become inseparable. The only way to sever this bond would be if one of the mate dies and when that matters, the other living mate will live a life tortured by grief and death would have been preferable.

Gem frowned. The whole vampiric mate thing so far seemed to be an unbeneficial arrangement. It merely increased the vulnerability and dependence of the vampires for their mate.

Vampires can only meet their mates during the red moon period which comes once every 20 years. The two mates have to physically meet in order to secure the bond. However, both individuals need not be vampires.

Though it is imperative that one mate is a vampire, the other mate can be any creature of supernatural beings such as pixies, goblins and even half-breeds as long as some ounce of supernatural blood exists in them.

That being said, throughout history, there has not been a case of a vampire mating with a half-breed or a werewolf. Research has suggested that it is because of the diminished status of these two classes and they are thus considered impure which is why the soul of the vampires' automatically reject anyone belonging to these two species, thus rendering them unqualified as mates.

"Nonsense," Gem growled. She hated all these blood impurity nonsense. So what if she was born a half-breed? Did it automatically make her less of a human being than another creature like vampires? All these were just bullshit.

"What's nonsense?" A smooth, calm voice sounded out.

Gem paused and looked up. 

Luke Garon. 

Shit.