When we got home, Jacky excused himself to go to his study. He said he had to make a few phone calls. Before he could escape, I asked him where Iset might be.

“The library. She’s usually in the library.”

Of course she was. Who could blame her? The library was magical in a way that had nothing to do with magic.

I remembered the first time I saw it—the sense of awe that had stolen over me, filling me up until I thought I might pop.

The room itself was huge. The walls were covered with elegant wooden panels that matched the numerous shelves. The floor-to-ceiling windows were surrounded by velvet drapes, and sheer white curtains covered the windows to protect the books from the sun.

And the books. There were thousands of them! They made the room feel heavier than it should have, like it was the base of a mountain that was holding up the sky.

For the final touch, there was a small spiral staircase tucked in a corner of the room. Iset told me it led up to her private study.

And, believe me, the word “private” was the only thing that stopped me from charging up those stairs to see where they went.

When I passed through one of the two large archways that opened into the library, I noticed that Iset wasn’t alone. She was sitting behind a desk with a laptop in front of her. Count Vasil was leaning back on the same desk, talking to her.

I didn’t know if it was a private conversation, so I stumbled to a halt.

They both looked up at me.

“Sorry. I can…just—” I tried to hold up the book and point over my shoulder at the same time and managed to hit my face with the corner of the book. “Ouch! Uh, I can come back later.”

Darius pressed his lips together, probably to keep himself from laughing, then said, “You can come in, Emerra.”

I took a few steps forward. “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“It’s all right,” Iset assured me. “We were only chatting. You have a book?”

I looked down at the thing in my hands—you know, in case I had forgotten what object I had just smacked myself with. “Yeah.” I held it out. “Natalie Both wanted me to give this to you.”

“Ah! Thank you.” The mummy took the book and put it down on her desk. “How did you like the store?”

“It was awesome!” I blurted out in a voice that was much too loud for a library. “I could spend hours there, poking around—if I don’t turn myself to stone in the first five minutes. How does she find all those things?”

“Most of them seem to find her,” Vasil said.

“You’ve been there?”

“Many times, and I’ll probably go there many more.”

“What about you?” I asked Iset.

Over the years, I had become a connoisseur of awkward silences: my own, and other people’s. Most people aren’t mentally prepared to find out you have a terminal illness, and they don’t know how to react when they do. Those silences smolder. My own awkward silences, however, burn like a thousand suns with agonizing embarrassment, which is why I’ll say almost anything to make them go away, even something twice as stupid as the original comment.

This silence was so gentle, it took me a while to realize it was, in fact, awkward.

“I’m afraid I don’t get out much,” Iset said.

I was so surprised by the humble statement, my brain derailed, so I didn’t get the chance to ask why not. And thank god for that, because less than one second later, I realized the obvious answer.

I groped for a nearby chair, dragged it over, and sat down next to the desk. “Do you get out at all?”

“Very rarely.”

“But you were there! You were at my graveside.”

“That was a special circumstance. Jacky wanted Conrad’s help, and since they were already hiding the group, there was no harm in me coming along.”

The wolfman had helped?

Come to think of it, how did they dig me up?

I shook my head in an effort to bring it back around to the original topic, but before I could ask my next question, Darius voiced one of his own.

“Did you learn anything from Both?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.”

He raised his eyebrow.

All I gave him was a confused look, so he was forced to elaborate: “Would you be kind enough to tell me about it?”

“Do you work with Jacky on stuff like this?”

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“We all do,” Iset said. “Everyone except Igor.”

“And Kappa?”

“No, we’ve used Kappa before.”

“You’ve used Kappa, but not Igor?”

“Igor prefers to stay in the kitchen.”

“You talk like you do this kind of thing all the time.”

“We do,” Darius said.

“Geez! How many souls has Jacky lost?”

Iset’s shoulders shook with a silent laugh. The count’s smile showed a glimpse of white teeth before he managed to wrangle it back to its normal closed-lip elegance.

“It’s not normally missing souls,” he explained. “Whenever a Torr needs Jacky, or if there’s a supernatural problem that Jacky won’t touch, we’re often asked to help.”

I looked at Iset. “Does that make you the brains of the operation?”

“No—”

“Yes,” Vasil said over her. When I looked at him, he nodded to me. “Yes, it does. Don’t let her tell you otherwise.”

“Darius,” the mummy chided.

“So, tell us, Miss Cole, what news do you have about the case?”

I told them about the fake scroll with the real writing. Darius frowned when he heard that it was worse than worthless, and the frown only deepened when I told him that Jacky still wanted to get his hands on it.

When I finished, there was silence.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

He slowly shook his head.

“Is it bad?” I asked.

“Not worse than normal.” Vasil uncrossed his arms and pushed away from the desk. “I’m going to talk to Jacky.”

As the count straightened his vest, I said, “I think he wanted to call someone.” As Darius walked toward the archway, I called out, “He might still be on the phone!”

“He is,” Darius said. His steps didn’t slow at all.

He disappeared around the corner.

I turned to Iset. “How does he know Jacky’s still on his phone?”

The mummy had been sitting back in her chair, her bandaged head facing away, but when I asked my question, her attention returned to me.

“Hm? Oh. Is Jacky in his study?”

“Yeah.”

“Then Darius can hear him.”

I blinked.

I blinked several more times, but it didn’t help.

“I don’t hear anything,” I said.

“I did warn you, his hearing is exceptional.”

I thought about that for a few seconds. “Like, vampire exceptional?”

“Exactly.”

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

Iset said, “Emerra, how are you settling in?”

I moaned.

“You look tired.”

My hands dropped back to my lap. “I didn’t sleep well last night. And everything’s so—” I realized I was talking to part of that “everything” and shut my mouth.

“Everything’s so strange?” Iset prompted.

“I feel like I’m out of sync with the world. Even when I think I know what’s going on, I don’t.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

I gazed at the mummy. Her voice was so kind.

“Do you get used to all the weirdness?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. And I think you’ll be surprised how little time it takes.”

“But until then, I’m stuck bumbling around like an idiot.”

“Like a child. Like someone who’s exposed to a new situation and has to learn everything again. Don’t worry, Emerra. We understand—at least, most of us understand. Kappa doesn’t, but I wouldn’t worry too much about what he thinks of you.

“He thinks I’m a wuss because I won’t swim in the koi pond.”

“He feels the same way about me.”

I smiled.

“Is there a reason you couldn’t sleep last night?” Iset asked.

“It’s just insomnia. I get it sometimes. It should go away in a week or two.”

“A week? Is there anything you need to make it easier?”

I was about to tell her no, but then I remembered there was one thing that might help, and all I had to do was ask. So why was I hesitating? It wasn’t like she’d bite me. She couldn’t bite me; her mouth was covered with bandages.

“Could I watch some TV when I can’t sleep?” I rushed to add, “I’ll keep the volume low. I don’t mind subtitles.”

“Absolutely. I can’t imagine that anyone would object, and the volume will be less of an issue than you think. Darius is awake at night.”

Oh. Right. Yet another thing I would have to get used to.

She went on, “The only person who might have an opinion about it is Conrad.”

“Conrad?”

“Most of us don’t use the TV room, but Conrad does. I’m certain he won’t mind you being there, but you’ll have to figure out your own compromise when it comes to what you watch.”

“Is he nocturnal?”

“No, but he does stay up late sometimes.”

I didn’t mean to frown, but I realized I was frowning when Iset said, “What is it?”

“I…uh…” I jerked my shoulders in a forced shrug. “It’s…Conrad. He might mind.”

“What makes you think that?”

My voice sounded casual—I made sure of that—but a frosty twinge shot through my stomach as I said, “He doesn’t seem happy to have me around.”

Neither did Olivia. Neither did Igor, but at least Igor’s grumpiness felt more generalized.

“Emerra.”

I looked up.

“Please don’t take it personally. Conrad’s very shy.”

My metaphorical life’s record jerked to a halt with a loud zzzzzrt noise. Once I got my brain out of neutral, it presented me with the following thought:

Shy?

The dude was a monster. If he ever got those fangs around my throat, he could tear it out by smirking! Someone that hulking had no business being shy. That honor was reserved for his prey.

I eyed the mummy. “Iset, do you think Igor’s a sweetheart?”

“Igor has many good qualities, but, no, I don’t think he’s what most people would call a sweetheart.”

“Just checking.”

So she wasn’t completely out of touch. Maybe Conrad’s silences and attempts to avoid me were because he felt at least as awkward as I did.

I tried to wrap my mind around that potential new perspective, but I couldn’t get past the glint of his teeth.

“I hope you’ll take the time to get to know him,” Iset said. “He’s a good person.”

“What does he eat?”

“He hasn’t been eating with you?”

“No.”

The mummy shook her head. “That boy.” When she raised her head, she said, “Conrad eats just about anything he can get his hands on—which makes sense, given his size and metabolism.”

“Does that include bog-creatures?”

“No.” She sounded amused. “And it doesn’t include humans either.”

I let out my breath, and I didn’t bother hiding it. “Whew. That…uh…thank you. I’m sure Kappa will find that reassuring.” I looked at her sideways. “Should I ask about the mummy’s curse now?”

“Oh, I don’t curse very often. Not unless I drop something.”

I grinned.

Iset said, “Don’t worry. These are reasonable questions. As I said, all of this is new to you. Of course you’d want to know about it. Especially any relevant information—”

“Like is someone going to eat me?”

“It’s the first question on every creatures’ mind.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Olivia’s voice came from over by the archway.

“Iset.”

We turned. The witch was standing there with a stack of books in her arms and several pens clutched in her hand.

“Olivia!” The mummy stood up. “I’m sorry, I got distracted. Where would you like to work today?”

“The private study.” The witch glanced at me, then returned her eyes to Iset. “We’re less likely to be disturbed.”

You had to admire Olivia’s ruthless grace and efficiency. I had been about to ask if I could tag along—watching them do witchcraft sounded interesting, and it wasn’t like I had anything else to do—but her preemptive statement had shut me down before I could say anything.

It stung, but I couldn’t blame her for wanting to exclude me. I had always been a distraction in class, and Olivia struck me as the studious type.

As she passed the desk, I said, with maybe a touch of irony, “Have fun.”

She ignored me.

Iset and Olivia’s voices faded as they walked over to the spiral staircase. The sound was cut off completely when they shut the door behind them. I was left alone, sitting at an empty desk, in a very large and quiet library.