The Khigir Hunters

27. Perfect Strangers

The library turned out to be a small communal building resting on Main Street. As soon as we got there, Dimitri instantly picked out a book and immersed himself in its pages. Jay and I took a different approach; first we had to find a book we liked. Eventually Jay chose a dusty looking book from a shelf. I groaned. How was I ever going to find anything good? So far I had passed up psychology, business, and autobiographical books... When was something interesting going to pop up?

I glanced at my two brothers who sat silently across from each other. By now I must've been browsing for at least an hour. God, I didn't think it'd be this hard. I may be fooling myself by signing up for book club. I let my fingers glide along the rows of books. Some binders were rough, while others, smooth. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but I'd personally disagree. Why pick up an old, grimy, and sticky book when you could choose a brand new shiny one?

I blew a stray strand of golden hair from my face, and decided to check out the opposite side of this particular case. I let my finger trace each and every book, my eyes skimming over their titles.

"Grimm Brothers, Horticulture, Mythology, Witchcraft, Hexes and Other Dark Arts... wait what?" My whisper faded. What was it about hexes? Oh. Earlier, when I was spying on my brothers, Leon has asked if someone had been hexed... How strange. I absentmindedly picked at the healing scab on my knuckles. I felt as though I were in a trance. Something wasn't right, I could feel it.

"Ow!" I whisper yelled, snapping out of it a bit. I looked down to see fresh blood; I had torn my scab off. I sighed. I just had to punch my door. To be fair, Jay shouldn't have locked me in my own room in the first place. I shook it off and decided to move along. Just as I moved my way around the corner, my head smacked into something hard and sturdy.

"Ah!" I looked up to see a boy. Our eyes locked together, my brain blocking out the fact that he had dropped all his books. Wow, he's a fine looking fella. I hope I wasn't drooling! His eyes reminded me of hot chocolate, warm and welcoming. His brunette hair was a little longer for guys our age, but wow, did he look fabulous regardless. He wore a simple grey hoodie, with semi muddy jeans and boots. I couldn't help but notice how he towered over me. He must've been close to six feet tall! And he was my age! I shook myself out of my stupor.

"I-I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going- oh let me help you with that!" I stuttered, reaching down to help the poor guy pick up his books. I grabbed one and allowed my eyes to skim over the title: "The History of Martin's Tavern, 1872."

"History, huh?" I questioned, handing his book back to him. He gave me shy smile, his dimples shining. Oh my god he is so charming. I tried to keep my cool.

"Oh," he gave an awkward chuckle, "yeah I am big into history." I marveled at how deep his voice was.

"Hey, sorry for bumping until you." I added.

"Oh, pfft, it's no big deal, really." He shrugged it off. "I wasn't exactly looking where I was going either."

"I'm Yulia." I smiled. 

"Sam." He gave me a shy one in return.

"So Sam..." I trailed off, his name like candy on my tongue. "It looks like you've found some interesting books, do you think you could help me find one?" Our eyes locked in amusement.

"Shouldn't be too hard. He made a motion as if he were going to set his stack of books down, but decided against it. "Well actually- here." He pulled out a book and handed it to me with his one hand.

"A Book of Omens?" I read the title aloud.

"Yeah." He clarified. "Sort of like seeing a black cat wondering alone. Good omens, bad omens... Not- not that this is a bad omen." He quickly specified. I fought back a chuckle. He seemed to regret his choice of book that he gave me.