Page 11 of The Curse of Eternity
I cut the engine to my car in the Main Library’s back parking lot. Breathing out a sigh, I closed my eyes while the car’s internal heat climbed from a lack of air conditioning under the New Mexico sun.What the hell was I doing?Hiding things from my family was agreatway to earn back their trust.
My eyes opened as I snorted, and flung open the car’s door to exit. One way or another, I needed to research the railroad lines to get a lead. Whatever I found out, I would take the information back to my family and fess up—today.The brick canopy above the library’s entrance kept the double glass doors shaded, cooling my neck as I yanked open one side.
I inhaled the familiar scent of aged paper, and my shoulders lowered an inch. It’d been a while since I’d come here, at least a few weeks now. Honestly, I missed the days spent catching up on my fiction reading list. Those were the only books I could stand, the ones with inevitable happy endings where the bad guys got what was coming to them. As long as it never veered into the realm of blood-sucking or necromancy.
The pull toward the ‘Mysteries’ aisle was tantalizing, but I made an effort to head for the ‘Local References’ sign board in the far corner beside the boring non-fiction section. My focus trailed across the spines, untilRailroads and Railroad Towns in New Mexicocaught my eye.
I pulled down several resources, figuring I’d cross-check the established roads with the ones currently in service.ThatI could search for on the library’s computers. If that didn't work, then I should at least be able to estimate which railway lines were active between Friday nights to the early hours on Saturdays—and make an educated guess about where they were in relation to the warehouse on Richmond Drive.
On my way to the circular tables in the middle of the floor, I stopped mid-step. My attention landed on a well-read classic by my favorite author.The Hound of the Baskervillespoked outfrom the section bearing all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works. The computer bank was only around the next bend…It couldn’t hurt to take a break for a few minutes, right?I set down my stack of books to snatch up the novel off the shelf.
Exhaling in delight, I sank to the floor beside my self-assigned reading material. Only one chapter, then I’d get back to my research. Except that turned into two, and by then the story was getting good. My gaze roved over the fine print as the pages flew between my fingers.
Until a disembodied woman’s voice spoke over the intercom,“The Main Library will be closing in thirty minutes.”
“Shit!” I hissed, my spine cracking when I finally straightened up and looked out the nearest window. The sun had descended considerably, but welcome rays still brightened the space. Grimacing, I glanced at the stack of books on railroads. I hadn’t even cracked one open. In a huff, I stood to replace the novel in hand. I could check out my books before closing, and verify information on the internet at home, even if I had to sneak the material into my bedroom—
“A Doyle fan. I should have presumed such from your inability to leave well enough alone.” The voice came from the other side of the shelves, deep and rich with his Eastern European accent. Startled stock-still, I slowly lowered my hand.
This couldnotbe happening.
Pulse racing, my fingertips touched the handle of my machete. My eyes narrowed, tracking a tall silhouette’s movements as he strode up the next aisle, only to casually stroll around the bend of shelves.
“What thehellare you doing here?” I demanded in a whisper.
“What has the world come to that a vampire is no longer allowed to move freely as he pleases?” His response was almost inaudible, but the gentle smirk that graced his shadowed lips was obvious.
“It’s light out,” I remarked, grasping at straws for my reasoning—hang on,Iwasn’t the one being questioned! If the out-of-state baseball cap and large-framed black sunglasses he wore was any indication, he was well aware of the time. Paired with his black leather jacket and dark-washed jeans, barely any of his skin was in direct sunlight.
Under the fluorescents, his human illusion remained intact while he strode closer, brandishing a book in one hand—The Da Vinci Codeby Dan Brown.
“I happen to be here for the same purpose as you, I suspect. Checking out a book.” His dark eyes glanced down at the stack of literature behind me, but I didn’t dare turn to follow his gaze. Instead, I squared my shoulders, and he murmured, “A detective, indeed.”
“You didn’t think I’d give up that easily, right?” I shot back, irritated by his handsome face—his expressionwaytoo relaxed, considering the sharp object resting against my hip. If we weren’t in a public place, I’d have drawn my weapon on sight.
“Truthfully, no. Though I did hope that your animosity would ebb somewhat with my confessions.” The slight smile on his lips grew taunting, and my face warmed.
“You may have let me go, but that doesn’t mean you don’t hurt people,” I muttered, but my brow furrowed. Here he was, right before me, and all he could muster up in the face of my conquest to kill him wasamusement?
“I assure you that I do not. In fact…” He leaned in, and a narrow ray of dying sunlight fell across his striking features. His ordinarily pale complexion thinned, tinged to gray across his cheek which hollowed beneath the sun’s rays. Skin stretched taut over his sharp cheekbone, and I swallowed. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes turned bloodshot until streaks of red dominated the white sclera. I refused to let him unsettle me— “I wager that I can prove it to you.”
“What?” I staggered back a step, almost tripping over my stack of books. “And why the hell would I believe you?”
“Because the truth is rather more convincing than my word alone,” he answered. When I kept my mouth closed, the vampire’s gaze flickered between me and the railroad research. “It would also prove more fruitful than your foolish errand to attempt to locate my whereabouts through sleuthing.”
“I’ll take my chances,” I retorted, mentally kicking myself for having such a mediocre comeback. Especially when it seemed to only make him smile wider—revealing the points of his canines until the sun dipped an inch further, and we stood in the shadows together.
“In that case, I wish you luck.” He tipped the edge of his cap, like some old-fashioned gentlemen. “Until next time, Maria.” The way my name rolled off his tongue sent unexpected shivers up my spine—the kind I associated with sensing a vampire’s bloodlust. Except this time it felt…different.
Before I could do more than open my mouth an inch, he strode past me. I felt a brush against my hip, but by the time I fully spun to follow him, his silhouette had disappeared around the corner. Heart racing, face red, and brain a discombobulated mess of frustration, I jumped when the lady on the intercom echoed throughout.
“The Main Library will be closing in twenty minutes.”
Scrambling, I picked up my night’s reading material and hurried through the library. It took an annoying amount of time to check them out, waiting on several others who didn’t decide which books to take home until the last minute. Foot tapping, I chewed on the inside of my cheek while the librarian stamped my books one at a time before scanning them out.
Finally out the door, and far too late to determine which direction the vampire might have gone from here, I trudged up the sidewalk toward my parked car. When I fished into my backpocket for my keys, I found something else that wasn’t there before. A piece of folded paper came out with my clattering car keys.
Confused, I manually unlocked my three-decades old car and shoved the thick railways books onto my passenger seat. The door thumped closed while I hurried to unfold the note. Written in scrawling cursive that reminded me of signatures on the Declaration of Independence, a phone number was inscribed above two words—
