Full Moon

Chapter 6

I felt guilty sneaking away from him like this, but I couldn't bring myself to regret the choice. It was necessary. There was a chance I could find our whole purpose behind coming here in the first place. If the answers I seek are within those dusty tomes, then it is well worth the risk of running into our enemies. I hope.

Sneaking through these streets, with the body of a five year old, struggling through waves of people, stalked by an unknown Vampire, and being tracked by a werewolf that imprinted on you. Well, it made things difficult to say the least. Regardless, there was absolutely no way I could fail. I wouldn't let myself. Not if it meant I would know. Aside from Jacob the truth was all I had left anymore. Though I told myself otherwise, deep in my heart, buried far down, was hope. The hope that everyone made it out okay and that one day, I might reunite with my family. The hope hurt almost as much as thinking they hadn't made it. It was setting yourself up to be crushed. Such sorrow made a child grow up fast.

It was slow going through the crush of people around me. So many tempting humans. A tantalizing flash of brown arms, the smooth column of an exposed throat, the scent of blood rushing through veins, and the steady thumping of strong hearts. My stomach rumbled, my last meal felt so long ago. Like Jacob I was always famished. Perks of a growing body. How badly I wanted to sink my teeth into those appetizing humans. But, humans were off limits. My family didn't eat humans and neither did I. No matter how good they smelled.

Not to mention I had very little idea where this library was. To my sensitive nose all these scents of the big city was hard to sift through. Going by memory and musk of old books I wound through people, alleys, and food carts to reach my destination. The library loomed immense and dark before me. In the time it took for me to find this place the streets had begun to clear. The moon was bright overhead, shining full and lonely on the buildings. It had taken me too long to find it, surely Jacob wasn't far behind. There was no way he would let me stay and search, he was convinced of the danger. I didn't doubt he would whisk me away and take me somewhere safe.

It was closed, unsurprising. Although, locked doors didn't matter so much when you had an Aunt like my Aunt Alice. It was easy getting in and I had no issue finding the section I needed. A quick survey found the stack of books I had been about to thumb through earlier, before Jacob's arrival. Clearly putting things away in a timely order wasn't important here. At least it made things easier for me. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

The first book turned up nothing of any real significance, it was a silly Vampire romance. I didn't have time for such things, time was of the essence. It was amazing I had even made it to the library without Jacob finding me. Who knew how long I had until he did. With that in mind I turned to the second book, a quick scan of the table of contents had me tossing it aside. Nothing. Growling with frustration I snatched up the third book. This one look promising. My finger followed the column of words, running down the table of contents.

Vampire lore, appearance, diet.. funny as if everyone didn't know that, reproduction, ways to kill. Flipping quickly I found the chapter on reproduction.

For a new vampire to be created a vampire simply has to bite a human, and inject its venom. The process of turning is supposed to be extremely painful. While there are many stories of vampires having offspring with humans, there is no way this is possible. Vampires are the living dead, nothing dead can create life.

My fingers tore through the page, nails biting into the book. With a low growl I flung it away as hard as I could. The resounding thud as it hit the shelf did nothing to relieve my anger. This author knew absolutely nothing. If it were impossible than I wouldn't be here. A growl still rumbling in my throat I pushed on. Maybe the next book contained the vital information I needed. But with each book that turned up nothing my confidence began to lag. What was the point of endangering myself and scaring Jacob for a pile of pointless dribble? These books contained nothing. All that effort and I was still left with unanswered questions. Sighing I turned away. Jacob was beginning to close in. I could smell him. I was surprised it took him so long.

Even more surprising was the scent I detected now. A scent I was familiar with, having grown up surrounded by it my entire life. What shocked me was that I knew this smell. Jacob had claimed the scent didn't belong to anyone we knew. Had he lied? I doubted it. Jacob couldn't lie to me. But then how did he miss it?

Rushing to the entrance I unlocked the doors and threw them open. It was an old building, there was no alarm. The warm night air blew away the odor of old books and brought this new one in stronger. I was positive. I knew this scent. And this scent knew me. It was closing in on me fast, if I wasn't so sure I knew who it was I would have been alarmed. As it was when the owner came into sight I could only rush into their arms and cling tight. No words were spoken, just the soothing feel of a strong cold hand brushing my bronze curls.

"I can't believe you're here. How did you make it out?!"