"And give your sister peace of mind," Aya said with a smile.
"You're exhausted," Isobel said, wrapping her arms around him. "Get some sleep. Then we'll be back before you know it."
"How can I sleep?" he asked thinly.
"You close your eyes, then…"
"Izzy."
"Alex, I love you, but I'm a grown woman. I can help your friends. I want to help them. You need to trust Gabby and Aya. They seem to know what they're doing."
"I do," Aya quipped.
"You should've seen her snap that vampire's neck. And Zac…" She stopped mid-sentence and clamped her mouth shut.
"Aw, shit," Nye groaned.
Alex turned on Zac, his eyes dark. "What did you do?"
"Nothing too…bad." But Zac's expression said otherwise.
But Alex was too angry to listen and went to punch the vampire right in the face. Before his fist could connect, Aya grasped his forearm.
"We're all here," Aya murmured, "We're all in one piece. This is a battle, Alex. We can't all get through this without having to fight a bad guy or ten. There'll always be an element of danger. I know you're angry, but you need to trust us. I will not let anything happen to Isobel. I will fight to the end. Do you understand?"
Her speech came across a little patronizing, but he could tell from her tone that she was serious. She cared. She understood. He didn't really have a choice, but he nodded anyway and she let him go. "Okay."
"Let's get ready," Gabby said, picking up her coat from the back of the chair she sat in.
"Then," Zac said, doing the same, "once we get the word from Nye and Maddox, we roll out."
It was close to one am by the time they gathered a few streets over from the University. The air was swirling with a light misty rain, each drop illuminated with the orange glow from the street lamps around them. Lingering in the darkness, they waited for Maddox and Nye to appear.
Gabby shivered and flipped the collar up on her coat. Isobel huddled in the doorway beside her, blowing on her hands and the witch felt a pang of remorse. Izzy had agreed to help, but she hoped it didn't cost her or Alex too much in doing so. The more she dwelt on it, the more she wished Regulus was here. He'd know what to do. The aching hole in her heart seemed to crack open a little further as she recalled the Roman's features. It had only been five days...
Zac leaned against the wall beside her and slid his hand into hers. He seemed to understand where her thoughts were and she was grateful for the small gesture.
He straightened a moment later and nodded towards the end of the street. Two forms came into view and she recognized Nye but the other man was a stranger to her. It must be Maddox.
She regarded him as they came closer and all she got was a bad feeling. She supposed he was meant to be a part of the Six with that kind of aura. He was a vampire's vampire, a thug, animalistic…ruthless. It was no wonder he'd sided with Regulus.
"Are we good?" Zac asked as the vampires stopped in front of them.
"The cameras are out," Maddox confirmed, looking over Isobel.
"Hands off, Maddox," Nye said, shoving the assassin.
"Just looking."
"Yeah, well look someplace else."
"What about the security system?" Gabby asked, angling herself between Maddox and Isobel.
"Offline," Nye confirmed. "We also compelled all the guards we could find."
"So we can just walk in?" Aya exclaimed. "Just like that?"
"Are you doubting my skills?" Maddox asked with a sneer. "I might've been born in the middle ages, but it doesn't mean I'm still there."
"No one is doubting you," Zac said. "If you say it's offline, then it's offline."
"The courtyard camera is out, but the ones around the street aren't linked to the University system," Maddox explained. "Those are linked to the city wide system. That's monitored by the Bobbies."
"Bobbies?" Gabby asked with a frown.
"The police, love," Nye explained.
"We better go over then," Zac said.
"Over?" Isobel asked with a gulp.
"Across the roofs," he explained. "I can drop you off. Aya can take Gabby."
She looked a little alarmed, and Aya offered her a friendly smile. "Just a piggyback. It'll be over before you know it."
"C'mon," Zac said, gesturing for her to jump on his back. He stooped as she put her hand on his shoulders and took a deep breath.
"You promise you won't drop me? I haven't forgotten this morning you know."
"This morning?" Gabby asked.
"There was another vampire," Nye explained. "We needed to flush him out."
"You used her as bait?" Gabby exclaimed.
"She was safe with us," Zac said, then gestured at Isobel again. "You better hold on tight, Isobel. It's a fast ride."
With a grimace, she jumped onto the vampire's back and they were gone, a small shriek signaled they were on the roof above. Aya turned and Gabby jumped up on her back and they followed close behind. The rise of air took her breath away and a few seconds later they were outside the library doors. The only reason Gabby knew was the fact that she'd seen this exact place in Aed's memory. It had been full daylight then, but even in the dark, it was unmistakable. Aya set her down by the door and she nodded to let the Celestine know she was okay.
Zac dropped Isobel and she held onto him for a moment to steady herself.
"Whoa," she said. "Talk about dizzy."
"Send me a text message when you're ready to be picked up," he said with a grin and was gone.
"I'll never get used to that," Isobel said, shaking her head.
Gabby smiled and turned to the door, cracking it open so they could peer through. She cast her earth sense out, feeling for any life inside and all she got was a couple of pot plants. Talk about sensitivity. She glanced at Aya and the Celestine nodded.
"It's clear," she confirmed and they entered the library, closing out the night and swirling rain behind them.
Walking down the hall, Isobel took the lead and they entered the library proper, the open space stretching out in front of them. Aya stopped abruptly and gestured for them to duck and Gabby realized a security guard was walking their way. They crouched behind the information desk at the front, the one that Gabby recognized from Aed's memory.
"Would he know the code?" Aya whispered to Isobel, nodding towards the man who was slowly approaching their position.
"He can't know what it is," she hissed.
"There's only one way to find out," Aya declared and stepped out of the shadows.
The guard instantly turned at the movement and started when he laid eyes on the Celestine. "Hey," he exclaimed, fumbling for his gun. "You're not meant to be here. Hands where I can see them."
But Aya was too impatient for that. She flew forward, faster than Gabby's eyes could follow and she pushed him back against the wall, a pale hand curling around his throat. The gun clattered to the floor and the guard's face slackened before he had a chance to call out.
"Hey, how you doing?" Aya asked, amused at his reaction.
"Fine," the guard replied in a monotone voice. "I really don't want to be here, but I don't get paid otherwise."
With a laugh, Aya cocked her head to the side and asked, "I don't suppose you know the code to get into the library vault? You know the one with all the really old books?"
"The vault? Yes, I know it. It's my job to check it after hours."
"What is it?"
"Four, six, eight, five, seven."
"Thanks," she replied. "Now, forget everything that just happened from the moment you saw me. Once you've done that, go into a dark corner, count to…say, ten thousand, then go home."
"Okay."
She let the guard go and he shook his head, looking totally bewildered and then wandered off into the dark library.
"She did that freaky eye thing, huh?" Isobel whispered in Gabby's ear.
"Uh huh."
"Did she have to make it ten thousand? The poor guy will be
there for ages."
"Clock's ticking," Aya called out, gesturing for them to come out of their hiding place.
"Which way?" Gabby whispered, glancing across the library floor. All she could see was books and reading tables and another level that looked much the same from down here.
"Follow me." Isobel lead them through the main reading room, between rows of tables with old-fashioned green and gold lamps, to a set of stairs at the side. Up on the second level, there were rows and rows of books that stretched into the darkness. This place was massive, bigger than any library Gabby had been in.
"The vault is through the doors at the end." Even though Isobel's voice was a whisper, it sounded loud in the silence and Gabby glanced around nervously.
Aya placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're alone."
"For now," the witch whispered, her heart feeling all fluttery in her chest.
"Wait," Isobel whispered. She disappeared into the stacks and appeared a moment later with a book in her hands. "This is the closest thing that I can remember that the spell books look like."
"A decoy," Aya said, her eyes twinkling. "I like it."
"With any luck, it won't be noticed for some time."
"And we'll be long gone," Gabby said.
"There's no way they'd link it back to us," Aya reassured them. "No finger prints, no security footage."
"Maybe not for you," Gabby replied. "You never existed on record. I'll make sure to keep my gloves on, thanks."
With a smile, Aya cracked open the doors to where Isobel and said the vault was located. The low hum of electricity greeted them as they entered the room and Gabby scanned the door beyond that led into the vaulted area of the library.
"You know," she said, looking at the glass windows and door, "I was expecting something a little more…ominous."
"It's not a bank vault," Isobel said with a smile. "No gold ingots. Just a bunch of really old books."
She stood before the keypad and punched in the number they'd gleaned from the security guard. Four, six, eight, five, seven. The light flashed green on the lock and a click signaled they were in.
"The vault is temperature controlled," Isobel explained and as soon as Gabby walked through the door she felt the sharp rise in temperature. "It's to keep the paper and ink from deteriorating."
"The grimoire won't dissolve," Aya said with an annoyed sigh. "That thing could survive the end of days without so much as a scratch."
"I think I know which book it is," Isobel said. "It's one that's been in the too hard basket for as long as I can remember."
"Please explain," Aya retorted.
"Well," she started, glaring at the hybrid, "there's about two dozen or so books that no one has been able to decipher. All have been carbon dated to different time periods. Mostly vague date ranges, because you can't really carbon date a book without destroying it. But, the texts are in an unknown language. Most people think they're written in some kind of code, but nobody's broken it yet."
"Witch speak," Gabby said, assuming that all those books might be different grimoires.
"You think they're all spell books?"
"It's the most likely explanation," she said with a shrug. "You know you can't tell anyone about this…"
"I know." Isobel sighed with what sounded like disappointment. "It just goes against my nature, you know. Solving a mystery, only to keep it to myself."
"If the truth got out about witches and vampires and everything else that exists in this world, can you imagine what the humans would do to us?" Aya asked.
"Point."
The vault was set out into several rooms that split off one main ones with a special reading table. Isobel lead them to the opposite side to another door that had a seal on it like a fridge. It let out a hiss as she pushed it open and Gabby followed with Aya close behind. There was several sets of drawers lining the walls, some thin, some thick. It looked like the inside of a bank vault with dozens and dozens of safety deposit boxes.
"It has to be one of these," Isobel said, pointing to a row of drawers on the left hand side. "But they're locked."
Gabby ran her eyes down the row of locks on each drawer. They were simple enough, small electronic keys slotted into the end, much like a keycard that they gave out in hotels, but much smaller than credit card size. They should be simple enough that she could short them out with her power. Hopefully.
Collecting herself, she pulled off her glove and pressed her palm against the first. Slowly, her power trickled forth, spilling into the lock and it spread to the entire row with ease. With a sharp jab she heard the clicks as each one shorted, loosening the drawers one by one.
"Wow," Isobel breathed.
"Let's get this over with," she said with a smile, rubbing off the metal with her glove. Definitely no finger prints allowed.
Isobel slid open the first drawer. "This is one of them."
Gabby could instantly tell it was a grimoire, magic seemed to radiate from it. It was a dull imprint, but it was there. Placing her hand on the brown leather of it's cover she shook her head. "Not this one."
Isobel closed the drawer and opened the next. They repeated it a few more times, all with the same result. The next drawer that opened, she felt something different. A familiarity and even without touching it, she knew that this grimoire was probably the one they were looking for. It was smaller than the rest, worn and faded with use, not time. Where as all the other grimoires Gabby had encountered all had brown leather covers, this one had a green embossed casing with a strange symbol etched in the front. It looked like an ancient Celtic symbol, a knot work design that looked similar to the modern sign witches used for flame.
As soon as Gabby put her hands on it, she knew it was Katrin's grimoire. The phantom pain she'd felt when the founder had given her the vision of it's making sliced through her hand and she stumbled back with a cry, holding her hand to her chest.
"Gabby?" Isobel asked, alarmed.
"That's the one," she gasped, shaking her hand.
"I'll take it," Aya said, picking up the grimoire and Isobel put in the decoy and slid the drawer shut. It wasn't a match, but it would throw the library staff off for a while.
"What just happened?" Isobel asked.
"Katrin gave me an affinity so I could locate the grimoire," she explained. "It wasn't very nice."
"Explanations later," Aya said ushering them towards the door. "We've got what we came for and now we need to go. I don't want to linger longer than we have to."
Gabby gave one last look to the drawers that housed the grimoires and lamented leaving them there. They'd be no use to anyone else. If a witch had come across them, they'd know to keep quiet, but she longed to read them and find out what had happened to the witches that had owned them. If she could reunite them with their families…if they still had families alive today. Isobel closed the vault behind them and as the light flashed red on the lock, she sighed. Best to leave them.
They backtracked the way they'd come and to Gabby's relief the library was still silent. She sent Zac a quick text to let him know they were on their way out and when they lingered by the exit, looking out into the courtyard, it was only a minute before the vampire rapped his knuckles on the door to let them know he was there.
Aya stepped out first and kissed him on the cheek. "Done and dusted."
"Any trouble?" Gabby asked as Zac gestured for Isobel to jump on his back.
"All quiet," he replied. "Too quiet if you ask me."
"Then lets get out of here before Aed or someone else catches on."
Aya knelt down so the witch could jump on her back. Gabby's breath caught again as the vampires crossed the courtyard and jumped up onto the roof and into the night. It looked like they'd gotten away with it, but as soon as Aed realized they had Katrin's grimoire, he'd come looking for them and it wouldn't be pretty. Gabby had to decipher the spell as soon as possible and that was the least of their problems.
The spell would be useless without the right kind
of human. Gabby didn't want to acknowledge it, but Katrin had said they needed someone selfless, pure of heart…the only person who fit that bill was Alex.
Aya seemed to sense her worry and her grip tightened on her for a moment. Gabby hoped with all her heart that it wouldn't have to come to that. They would find someone else. Alex was going home human if it was the last thing she ever did.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Alex tried to get some sleep. He closed his eyes, did his best to ignore the thousand year old vampire sitting in Izzy's cramped kitchen, but it just wasn't happening. He was over tired and over worried. What if they were caught? What if that Aed guy turned up?
"Would you like a drink?" Tristan asked and Alex sat up with a groan. The perceptiveness of vampires was kinda freaky.
"Depends what you mean by drink."
"Booze," the knight said with a grin, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled out a flask and waved it in his direction.
Alex took it and unscrewed the cap. "How long has it been?" he asked before downing a mouthful of whatever liquor was inside.
Tristan laughed when he handed back the flask with a wheeze. "Steady, Alex. That's some strong spirits in there."
"Don't you have taste buds? I think I just melted mine off."
The knight screwed the cap back on and set the flask on the table. "They've been gone a few hours. They should be due back any time now."
Alex glanced at the door with a frown. A few hours? How long did something like this take?
"I've known Arrow for a very long time," Tristan said, catching his expression. "When she says she's goin' to do somethin', she follows through, no matter the cost."
"Why do you call her that?"
"Arrow? Well, it was the name she gave me when I first met her and it stuck. I don't think I could get used to callin' her anythin' else."
Alex rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. Aya certainly had her secrets, there was no denying that.
"They're comin' now." Tristan nodded toward the door and a moment later, it opened and Isobel walked in.