Before Her Eyes (Constance Langdon x OC)

It Begins Again

Her routine was much the same the following morning. She got up, this time with her alarm set for eight, got dressed, since she had hung up all her clothes in her closet the day before and went downstairs to feed the cat. She ate breakfast as well today. She had many hours of research ahead of her and she became so easily focused that she often forgot to eat altogether some days. Unhealthy? Perhaps, but somehow she'd managed this long.

After breakfast it was straight to the library for her. She browsed her books, fingers lightly trailing over the bindings as she skimmed the titles. She paused at a personal favorite of hers. An In Depth Study Of Supernatural Occurrences by Phineas Black. He'd been her old college professor, mentor, and friend. She'd spent a year working alongside him after she'd graduated and he taught her most of what she knew about the supernatural in that time. She often opened his book to read his note to her, though she no longer needed to crack it open to know what it said.

Cassandra, may this book help in your search and one day provide you with the answer you so long for. It's out there and eventually you'll find the right place to look. Your mentor and friend, Phineas Black

After recalling the touching inscription, she let her hand travel on, until she finally pulled a book on demons and documented cases of real possessions. By the time she closed the book, she felt like she was on a first name basis with many of the demons written about inside. A rather unpleasant feeling, one would think, but it for as long as she'd devoted herself to this field of study, it no longer got under her skin. She could name a vast number of creatures from folklore that most people had never heard of, and rattle off the names of demons by the dozens. She could even recite the most famous cases of real and alleged possession. But none of it mattered. None of it answered the only question she cared about. What had killed her family six years ago?

Cassandra already felt herself becoming discouraged. She knew a move wasn't going to automatically solve her problems and give her answers, but some naive part of her expected more. She expected a breakthrough, a miracle even, but she knew that was silly. Life didn't work like that. And the only way to find the truth was to dig until no more digging could be done.

Putting the book back on the shelf, Cassandra soon selected another. Continuing on the topic of demons, which had always seemed like the most promising area for answers, she opened the front cover. She had picked this particular volume up at an antique store. It had been covered in dust and the words on the spine were hardly legible, but to her it looked promising. This was the first time she'd ever sat down to read it. There was a name scrawled in faded ink that looked newer than the book, despite the faded quality. Cassandra pulled her reading glasses out of her desk drawer and squinted through them to read the signature. Benjamin Norrange.

She moved the book off to the side and switched over to her laptop. She typed the name into google and scanned the results. It appeared Mr. Norrange was a known demonologist who'd participated in exorcisms firsthand and had a wide knowledge of all things demonic. It might not hurt to hear what he had to say on the subject. She made her way over to his webpage and looked over his calendar. He'd be close by in just a little over two weeks from now. He'd be speaking at a local convention and Cassandra couldn't believe her luck. It was possible that this could just be a coincidental dead end, but it could also be fate finally giving her a break. Either way, it looked like she was going to a convention.

Cassandra shut her book, sending a bit of dust flying that she skillfully avoided most of. Slipping the volume back on the shelf, she decided to quit her research for the day. She was feeling too amped up to concentrate. A potential lead was something she hadn't had in months. It felt good just to have something to hope for again.

Spending the rest of her evening dusting and humming a tune, even at the end of the night she still felt energized. A bit bored with nothing left to do, she sat on her bed and spoke to Simon. "I should have Constance over," she said. "The house is all dusted, and everything is unpacked. She seemed rather nice. What do you say, Simon?" The cat looked up at Cassandra without much enthusiasm. He didn't seem to mind the idea, so Cassandra was going to go through with it. "Do you think dinner would be too formal," she asked as a follow up, to which she again received a noncommittal response. Cassandra smiled to herself. "Dinner it is then."