The Institute.
A place Hunter wouldn't necessarily mind seeing burn to the ground.
He wasn't here for revenge no matter how much he wanted it. Hunter was here for information and research. Nothing more, nothing less.
Jaxon parked the car and took off his seatbelt. His father had decided to drive him instead of Hunter driving alone, worried that Hunter would fall asleep at the wheel.
"Text or call me if you need anything alright?" Jaxon interrupted Hunter's thoughts.
"Ok," Hunter said, opening the door and quickly stepping out.
Throwing his hood up, Hunter looked down at his feet as he made his way towards the library of the institute.
Stepping back into the building sent shivers down his spine. The air of the building was weighing down on him as he continued walking in. He wanted out of here, but he had to push on. For Zekaj.
Never again would he come here when he got Zekaj back. If he got Zekaj back.
The horrible thoughts filled his head as he continued to the library. He was worried he'd run into his mother or sister which was the last thing he wanted. It wasn't like them to go to the library so he believed he was safe.
Running into them in the hallway was another story.
He continued his walk towards the library when he got to the double doors and pushed with all of his strength which quickly made him feel drowsy.
Books on the spirit world would be in the main section and ones with demon summoning marks would be in the restricted one. Hunter just had to hope he still had access.
Hunter got to the main desk to find the older man who ran it was still there playing sudoku. He smiled when he saw Hunter.
"Young Mr. Sullivan, how are you feeling?" The man smiled at him. "I heard you've been quite sick recently."
"I'm alright," Hunter lied. Cutting to the chase, Hunter asked, "Where are the books on the spirit world?"
"Ah the spirit world, that's a fun subject isn't it?" He spoke, not answering the question.
"I guess," Hunter said.
"A young boy like you should be careful when it comes to the spirit world, you never know what could be lurking in its endless forests."
"Yeah," Hunter fake chuckled, he wasn't trying to be rude. Socializing wasn't his strong suit and he really just wanted to sit down. He gave his casual smile trying to seem nicer.
"You're looking for section c3, Mr. Wyles was up there shelving some books. He can help you find anything you're looking for. The spirit world is his specialty."
"Thanks," Hunter smiled, but inside he was groaning. The two exchanged their smiles again and Hunter headed towards the stairs.
Of course, the section he needed to go to was the top floor. The universe truly had it out for him.
Hunter began his trek up the stairs, taking a short break at the second floor before finally making it up the last flight of stairs. In total, he went up about 3 flights of stairs and he felt like death.
He trudged along the upper floor until he came across a large man shelving books. He was well built, not larger than Zekaj but definitely bigger than himself. He had sharp black hair and a beard that fit nicely with his light-olive skin.
The man turned towards him and smiled, his dark blue eyes gleaming in the room's light.
"Hey!" The calm voice of the man spoke. He assumed this man was the Mr. Wyles the librarian spoke of.
"Hi uh, you must be Mr. Wyles?" It was odd calling someone Mr. that didn't seem to be that much older than you. The man seemed like he was in his early twenties.
The man chuckled to himself and smiled back at Hunter, "Graham always calls me that but I prefer just to be called Emrys."
"Like the Arthurian Legends?" Hunter asked.
Emrys smiled and shelved another book mumbling, "Something like that."
"What can I help you with then...?" Emrys tilted his head as if to say What is your name?
"Hunter, Hunter Sullivan."
"Well, Hunter what can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for books on the spirit world, Graham said you were an expert on the subject?" Hunter asked.
At the mention of the spirit world Emrys's eyes lit up and he jumped to his feet. The blue-eyed man was right at Hunter's height which wasn't what Hunter was expecting. The already large man was even larger than he thought.
"Follow me!" The man took off and Hunter stood still before the following suit through the upper floor of the library.
Emrys took a stop at a large section of books and smiled, his eyes glowing in excitement.
"Anywhere in particular? You got the Emerald Caves, the Aurum Falls, and my favorite," Emrys pulled a book off the top shelf and handed it to Hunter. "The Sunken City of Amet."
"The Sunken City of Amet?" Hunter asked.
Emrys's eyes grew wide in shock at Hunter's cluelessness to the city. The dark blue eyes stared at him until he spoke up.
"You've never heard of it? It's only the most important landmark in the whole spirit world!" Emrys exclaimed.
The man stared at him expecting him to suddenly realize what he was talking about. When Hunter stared at him clueless he sighed. Before he smiled at the realization he got to go on and on about how amazing it was.
"It was the center of all Spirit Demon activity back when they were still," Emrys paused. "Active."
"So it was their home?" Hunter asked.
"For most of them ya," Emrys sat at a two-seater table and opened the book, motioning to Hunter to sit down. "Some lived off on their own but many lived in the city. Some texts that weren't lost to it sinking said it was the gateway to everything. Everything including earth and hell."
"Hell?" Hunter interrupted.
"Yeah, some texts were kind of unclear about what demons they meant were there. So it's only a theory."
"They had to have like a library or something with more info on this stuff right?" Hunter asked.
"Well they did, just, it's sunk." Emrys laughed.
"What about excavations. Couldn't they just dig it up?"
Emrys went back in disgust like Hunter just insulted his whole family. He quickly collected himself like it never happened.
"They tried in 1974 but the spirit world bites back. The spirits don't like it when you try to mess with anything. Lives were lost and they never got anywhere. Whatever the dug up just filled itself back in."
"Wow." It was Hunter's turn to be shocked.
"Yeah, they were able to dig a hole in a window, and well, let's just say they could hear his screams through the dirt."
"Jesus Christ," Hunter said.
"After that and all of the other deaths, they gave up and left the area. Especially after spirits moved the portal and now it lies in some small cave in Wisconsin. Now it's not as easy to get large machines in it."
"Are there any photos of the city?" Hunter asked Emrys.
Emrys gave his bright smile and flipped through the book. He stopped at a page and turned it towards Hunter.
The small mage leaned forward and understood. The city really was sunken into the ground. What seemed to be the main castle's roof was sticking out of the ground and part of a tower had collapsed.
"Wow, its,"
"Amazing right?" Emrys interrupted him.
The city was overtaken by greenery and parts of buildings that weren't fully sunk had collapsed or been split apart by trees.
"There are ways into the castle but you can't get any lower into it. It's all locked off or blocked by dirt." Emrys said.
"Can I take this book?" Hunter asked. "I'd like to read more about this city."
"Definitely!" Emrys closed the book suddenly and handed it to Hunter. "The spirit world is just so amazing. I love it. I can't wait to go back."
"You miss it?" Hunter was shocked that someone could miss a place that seemed so deadly.
"Yeah," Emrys laughed. "It's like home to me."
"What made you want to study it? Were your parents part of the excavating team or something?" Hunter asked.
"Nah," Emrys shook his head and his smile disappeared. "I've never met my parents."
"Oh," Hunter frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Nah, I've never needed them." Emrys smiled. "They didn't need me and I don't need them."
Emrys chuckled to himself.
"Of course it's crossed my mind to go search for them but why put effort into finding people who wanted nothing to do with me? They never even claimed me when I-"
Emrys suddenly stopped.
"When you what?" Hunter asked.
"Doesn't matter." Emrys quickly changed the subject. "Anywhere else in the library you wanted to visit?"
"Just the private section, but I can do that alone," Hunter said.
"Nonsense! I'd love to accompany you. Probably best we change the subject, I could go on and on about the spirit world for hours."
Emrys stood up and picked up his large box of books like it weighed nothing.
"Most of these are in other sections and I could use a break." He put a hand over his mouth and whispered to Hunter. "And not that Graham will get mad if I don't get them all put away."
Emrys winked at Hunter and headed towards the stairs and Hunter followed. It was a lot easier to go down the stairs than up.
The two got to the ground level and Emrys dropped his box of books behind the empty librarian desk.
"Grahams probably on break too," Emrys laughed and smiled back at Hunter. The two were about to leave from out behind the desk when suddenly Graham and someone else entered the room.
Hunter was shocked at who he saw and tried to back up but tripped on the box of books and fell into the arms of Emrys who quickly caught them.
Jaxon looked with wide eyes at Emrys and Hunter awkwardly behind the desk. Graham only smiled at the two.
"Are you two...?" Jaxon began.
"No!" Hunter quickly said, standing up. "No, it's not what it looks like I-"
"I'm happily mated already," Emrys smiled.
"His mate Arthur is a lovely young lad," Graham smiled. "Met him when Emrys first started working here a couple months ago."
"Oh," Jaxon said, seemingly relieved. It wasn't the ideal way to meet Hunter's mate.
"We were just heading to another part of the library," Hunter said, trying to change the subject.
"You're father and I were just catching up lad," Graham replied. "Hope you and Emrys have a good time."
Emrys smiled bright and motioned for Hunter to follow him.
A/N:
The ink goal on Tapas was hit which I didn't expect to happen so soon but I'm incredibly thankful to everyone who donated. You all (yes you) have a special place in my heart. I never expected this much support and it's such a shock. Thank you all.
Hunter met Emrys this chapter who is a very fun character I've thought of for so long so my question is:
What do you think of Emrys?
Thank you all again. Have a great week.
-MEK