Bloody Rhapsody (Damon Salvatore Love)

27. Vampires and Library Books

  I put the car in park on the side of the road in front of the old building at the edge of town. Its red bricks barley standing out against the encompassing foliage. The forest pushes into the grounds, trees thinning out around the sides where a small picnic area has been created. The sloping roof just visible over two large bushes standing tall on either side of the entry way, their leaves speckled with orange and red. Dark, shriveling plants line the walk way. Everything may look beautiful on a bright summer day, but looks haunting on this fall night.

  "You know its probably locked." Stefan breaks the silence, also studying the building before us.

  "Never stopped us before." I retort with a crooked smile.

  A cool breeze thrashes against us as we step out of the car, pushing us away in warning. A storm must be brewing. Scents from the cemetery follow the assault, being carried along with the growing wind. My senses are overwhelmed with the stench of death, flowers, and the surrounding woods.

  "Come on, lets get this over with." I cross to the door in a few strides, eager to be finished with the task.

  A nagging sense that we are not alone keeps pulling at me. I resist the urge to look to the forest once more, my paranoia fighting to get the best of me. My brother joins me, but he shows no signs of feeling my unease. With a deep breath I push away my nerves and focus at the task at hand. I take ahold of the door handle and give a hard twist, snapping the locks.

  "Alarm system?" Stefan quickly looks around the inside for any evidence of the building having one.

  "I doubt it," I offer, sparing a quick glance around as well, "most people don't even lock their front doors here."

  "Yea," Stefan nods in agreement, "looks like we are all set."

  "So, the records?" I ask, my eyes scanning the room.

  It's a very simple building, but very full of content. There is a small check out counter and a few little tables around the room, but otherwise the entire space is crammed with row after row of books. Each shelf has a little golden tag on the end to classify its contents.

  "Over here." Stefan answers, leading me toward the back corner where a shelf is labeled Local History.

  He runs his hand along the spines of the books, his lips moving silently as he reads through the titles. Finding what he is looking for, he pulls an old leather book from its place. I move to look over his shoulder when I am stopped cold as the building creeks around me.

  "It's just the wind picking up." Stefan dismisses the sound, flipping through pages.

  I nod, knowing he is probably right, yet I can not shake the tension that is building inside of me. A thump against the outside makes my hair stand on end, my body now on full alert.

  "It's just a tree branch," Stefan eyes me amused, "since when are you so jumpy?"

  A second bang as well as a scraping noise follows his words, making his point. I glance towards the window to reassure myself, and see evidence of the storm for myself. The trees wave and the banging continues with the winds assault.

  "I don't know, something just feels off." I answer under my breath, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that grips me.

  "Are you really-" Stefan is interrupted by the shattering of a window beside him.

  We both whirl around as a howl echoes through the empty library. We are greeted by a head, its old bones cracked and brittle, jerking from side to side. It does not even notice as the shards of glass slice at the little remaining skin that the skull possesses. Its singular eye lands on us and it stills, studying us.