“Such craziness only happens with soulmates,” I said, unable to hide my smile as I entered the library again.
However, Arsiein and Atarah weren’t there. I couldn’t hear, feel, or smell them. It was empty. So I turned around and stepped back into the hallway, but I walked right back into the library instead of the hallway.
“What in the hell?” I muttered, looking around. Again, I went into the hall, and again, I entered right back into the library.
“Please let this be a dream and not something weird,” I begged, only to have my book fly from the bookshelf toward my head.
I ducked out of the way, but the book fell right at my feet. It wasn’t shapeshifted; it was back to the black and white composition notebook with my name on it.
I groaned. “Now you show up? Can’t I just get a day! One day without stupid magic I can’t control!”
At my temper, the library shook, and my eyes widened as I quickly held my hands up. “Stop! Please stop. I’m sorry!”
I didn’t want Hinrik pissed that I had messed up something. Luckily, the shaking stopped. However, the notebook flipped open and began to glow.
Dammit.
Could there be any more apparent sign that this was going to lead to trouble?
* * *
When I lifted the notebook, it wasn’t on the page with my name scribbled in poor childhood handwriting. Instead, the words were written in an elegant ancient script. And written above was, “These are the origins,” the opening similar to the Bible.
“Huh?” I frowned, reading over it.
1 And so claimed the humans that in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 But their God did so with the permission of the darkness. 6 For the beginning was not the beginning as the humans told.
Along with the words were images like a movie at the end of the pages, displaying what I was reading before the page flipped once more.
7 The true beginning was Eden and Terra. 8 And upon that Eden was the humans, who swelled and multiplied in great number, built and toiled in great fashions, but only by the light of their God. 9 And upon this Terra was the Wiccans, whom from within spurred nature’s vast power and commands, small were their numbers, large was their might, cradled by their goddess, the moon, darkness, and night. 10 The God of Eden loved his people and blessed the work of their hands. 11 So the rivers flowed with milk and honey, the trees brought forth every manner of sweet fruit, every hill was fertile land, and the vineyards were never bare. 12 But never did the humans give thanks to their God. 13Proudly did they proclaim, “Look what I have done, look what I have created with the strength of my own hands.” 14 “I am my own God.” 15 The humans warred with one another for more than what was their share. 16 They enslaved, raped, beat, and abused one another.
The image of women in the dirt, fighting and screaming, blood covering the earth as homes burned and bodies littered the ground made me sick. I wanted to let go, but the page flipped again.
17 The Goddess of Terra said to the God of Eden as he watched and thought about the punishment of his sinful people, “Bring forth your light, and cast them upon Terra where the land is peculiar, the sky stubborn, and the rivers hard to find. 18 For the Wiccan are few and in need. 19 For this, they will protect the humans from the harshness of the land until the day of their redemption.” 20 So the God of Eden agreed.
“What in the hell is this?” I questioned, forcing myself to look away and close the book, flipping to the cover to make sure it was, in fact, my childhood notebook. Because this was not at all for children, yet it really was. Why did it have this stuff written in it? Who wrote it? Was it me? Was this magic? “I thought grimoires were for spells—”
“Druella!”
I jumped slightly in surprise as the door snapped open, and Melora stared at me with her green eyes wide, shock clearly written on her diamond-shaped face. She stood there in black high-waist jeans and a casual shirt, her short dark-brown hair not smoothed back but like bangs over her face.
“What?” I asked her, not sure why she was looking at me like this. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she screamed at me frantically.
“Is that Druella?” I heard Atarah’s gentle voice before she rushed to the door. She wore a different wig now, the color almost platinum blonde. Her clothes had changed, too, as she now wore a bright green sundress.
“What is it—”
“Where did you go!” Melora yelled at me furiously.
“What do you mean you where did I go? I have been here!”
“You have not been here for four days!” Atarah added as well.
“What?” They could not be serious. “Is this some sort of joke? If so, it’s not funny.”
“Druella,” Melora said slowly, stepping into the library, “you really have been gone for four days. Theseus, at this very moment, is searching through Wiccan families, trying to find you.”
My gaze shifted to them both, panic starting to rise as they both just watched me. What? “I-I really have been right here the whole time. I was reading this.” I lifted my hands to show them my notebook, but it was no longer in my hand. So they stared at the nothingness in my hand and then back at me.
Oh, dear God, now I truly did look insane. Was there a mental institution for vampires? How could I even begin to explain when I was even more confused?
“Atarah, call Arsiein so he can bring Theseus back home before he commits a massacre,” Melora finally spoke before looking at me, frowning, “or she disappears again.”
“Again, I was right here!”
“Yes, we heard you. You were right here in the library, reading an invisible book,” Melora said, sarcasm clear in her voice.
“It was not invisible at the time!” I put my hands on my face in frustration. “I knew it! I just knew the moment I couldn’t get out that something weird was going to happen.”
I felt like I was in an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. All that was missing was a rude, cynical black cat.
“You are making less and less sense,” Melora replied, and I wanted to try to explain again, but she walked over and hugged me. “You are weird, sister, but no matter, we are glad you are back.”
I never left!
“Thanks,” I muttered instead, hugging her back.
“Now, come on. We should wait outside before Theseus rips through the house when he arrives,” she said, linking arms with me. It felt more like she was making sure she had a good lock on me, preventing me from “disappearing.”
I said nothing because, once again, I felt like I was causing all kinds of trouble. This really was too much. Why was this all happening to me? Couldn’t I be a normal vampire? I had to have magical books flying at me, paintings burning when I was jealous, or the ground shaking when I was angry. I was a walking, talking disaster. I should have just stayed in bed with Theseus, but then again, who knows what would have happened then. I might have teleported us to the moon.
When we stepped outside into the rose garden, the new day I thought I had started was now night again. The stars were brighter than ever before, but I couldn’t see the moon at all.