BLOOD LEGACIES
Chapter 499: The Protector Of The Library

Chapter 499: The Protector Of The Library

"I came for the Library of the First" I announced.

He paused and then finally brought his eyes to me. "Emma?" he rose from his chair abruptly, his expression shifted between surprise and disbelief.

"I-I didn’t expect you here. Is Hayden alright?"

"She’s fine," I assured him. "For now"

"For now?"

"Haven’t you considered the Library of the Firsts? There might be a spell there that can wake her up"

He sighed. "I tried and looked, but I found nothing. Are you here for the same reason, too?"

"I came back to my clan, do I need a reason to?"

"Of course not no..." he paused. "It’s just I didn’t expect you would come back after everything"

"Understandable," I said, feeling my hands on the antiques against the shelves, my eyes taking in every one of them. I hesitated, then slowly turned toward him, a forced smile tugging at my lips. "I’ve been away from Grimoires for too long, I need that connection again"

It was a smooth lie and I intended to make it as simple as possible, I raised my gaze from my fingers fidgeting together. "I feel more connected to the Library of the Firsts, am I wrong to feel that way"

"No, no," he said quickly. Slowly, he sat back down, looking exhausted and thinking like the entire world weighed on him greatly.

I could tell that most of his distress was about Hayden, about her well-being. From this perspective, I saw a side of Owen I’d never seen before. For once, he was putting someone else ahead of himself. It felt strange, yet it was a welcome change.

"Going back there caused a strange feeling, I only ever went there until recently when I needed to find a way for Hayden to wake up" He let out a chuckle, but there was no humor in it, practically mocking himself. "It might be a relic of the Firsts meant to have great knowledge and solutions to everything" he scowled deeply. "But it’s fucking useless"

"Not entirely useless is it?" I said.

An uncomfortable expression crossed his face, quickly followed by a flicker of regret. "You’re always welcome here, Emma, always"

I only offered a nod in response.

~

Owen led me to the school library, it was hard to stop the images playing in my head about all the time I’d spent here, it constricted tightly in my chest but also gave me butterflies that were hard to settle. The level of nostalgia was like a mix of breathing a completely different air. It felt like I’d been teleported five years ago, walking down the hall with a book held tightly against my chest. Carly is beside me as she rants away about many things.

"What about Carly?" I asked for good measure.

"She’s okay, an assistant professor now"

I’m proud of her. I remembered how she always talked about being a respected professor one day, maybe when all this is over I’ll visit her.

"I still remember most of the places," I said more to myself but Owem seemed to hear me.

"You do?" he asked, sounding excited.

I only nodded, letting my eyes travel to the greenhouse where I amplified Owens’ power having no idea I did.

"I’m glad you do, it means you didn’t completely forget, all memories are worth remembering"

I faced him. "And which ones are worth it to you?"

"Many of them involve you," he confessed. "I met someone as spirited and kind-hearted as you, willing to make things right at any cost, you went to great lengths for anything, for all of us" he faced ahead. "Too good for any of us"

"I’m sorry to disappoint you then. That girl is dead"

We got to the school library and walked to the corner of the shelves, Owen placed his hands on each of them, assessing them with his eyes from top to bottom.

I narrowed my eyes. "I thought the doors were open to everyone?" I questioned, wondering why there wasn’t a more accessible entrance to the library.

"All this knowledge on anyone’s hand, especially my father? I’d rather keep it a secret" he huffed.

"So we’re still the only three who know about this?" I was shocked.

He shrugged. "I thought it was just me for five years, it became a responsibility I had to shield alone"

A secret this big for five years while leading the clan under the watchful eyes of his dad? Wow... I have no words.

"There"

I heard a clicking sound and the shelves slid open leading to the basement stairs, a cold chill erupted from it and my eyes suddenly became hues of green. I knew then my eyes glowed almost like I was triggering the power of the library, or maybe the library knew I was here. How strange.

"Come on," Owen said, leading me down the stairs but then there was a dead end. This was no less just a waste of space. I turned to Owen with a questionable look but he gave me one of his charming smiles in return.

He pressed his hand against the cold brick wall, the stones began to shift and grind as they rearranged themselves. Slowly, the wall split open, revealing a narrow passageway stretching on for what seemed like miles. The air inside was cool and still, the temperature changed. The long passageway was lit by flickering lanterns that lined the walls, casting long shadows down the endless corridor.

"Oh my God" I exclaimed, this was beyond mind-blowing, way better than how it was years ago. Owen must have made a lengthy passageway with his element.

"I had to be extra cautious, anyone could find the hidden space in the library so I hid it up" He explained. "Working on transporting the entrance, I’m having a bunch of overly smart students this year," he remarked. "Can’t risk it"

I was speechless as I followed him down the corridor and by the next turn we were here.

The space was wide like a hall, with shelves at both sides and lit torches like a long line at both sides of the wall giving it a bright view, just at the end, the center where a mixed-colored window was but with no view of the outside. The familiar symbol upon it is a triquetra.

Right at the top was the big globe floating with no suspensions.

"It’s just like five years ago" I murmured my eyes taking it all in.

"Yeah," Owen replied but with a shifty tone. "I’ll leave you to it, I’ll work the spell to respond to you" he began walking away.

"Owen"

He stopped in his tracks and slowly faced me.

"Thank you, not for bringing me here but for protecting this place"

He nodded rubbing the back of his neck. "It’s the least I could do"

~

I spent the next hour reading through countless books about Banshees, there was so much info about them that it was almost tiring, but I kept going for Hayden’s sake. I read about their close connection with Death, but they weren’t explained like how the folklore portrayed them, there seemed to be more to it not completely explained.

However, I caught on to their connection not just to Death but to Thanatos, the very personification of extinction.

"Death and Thanatos are basically the same thing" I rolled my eyes, turning to the next page. "Oh I see Thanatos is a demigod" There was a clear difference... Death was born of Thanatos as the entity that guides Banshees, the source of their powers and lineage.

There was so much there that I considered less important so I flipped more until I got to a page with an ink drawing of a dagger with a black blade. The longer I stared at the strange dagger, the more it drew me in. It was as if I could feel the dark aura radiating from it, pulling at something deep inside me.

I ran my palm over the drawing, closing my eyes. The screams hit me, loud and horrific, echoing in my mind. A darkened cloak flashed before me. Suddenly the screams I heard weren’t just any screams—it was Hayden’s voice, piercing through the chaos from a bottomless pit.

I gasped, flashing my eyes open, I quickly retreated my hand, my heart thundering in my chest. I quickly looked at the text under the drawing.

"The death blade, a shard of Death’s scythe, was left on earth centuries ago" I read out loud. Carefully I turned to the next page making sure I didn’t touch the drawing again.

"Capable of killing any being born of darkness" I narrowed my eyes. Beings born of darkness? I’ve never heard of such a thing before.

"Beings of the dark... Vampires?" I thought. Vampires were a personification of darkness too. "Venatores" once used dark magic to enhance their skills. "Werelions... no," they are not classified as dark creatures, they are majestic beings of nature and wildlife, instead of darkness the sun was their personification.

"Dark Alpha" a cold chill flooded through me. I quickly took the book out and opened it to the death dagger.

I think I know why Luther needs Hayden.