Secrets Dyed in Blood

2

The meeting was a bore. I almost fell over myself trying to stay awake. I cared very little. I did not need to worry about souls or contacts when my job was done. My only concern was to do what made Stolas content and go back underground and unbothered. We all got up from our seats and stretched before exiting. I pulled strands of hair from my face as I turned to Zestial. The man was lost in thought, his neon eyes concentrated somewhere on the carpet. 

"Would you like to come back to the library? I have a few centuries worth of scientific journals that should ease your thoughts for a while. Especially the most recent years. The Mengele Twins may pique your interest." My words caught the spider off guard. His whole body stiffened before his attention fell on me. He gave a small nod alongside a smile as he stood. 

"I am sure thou are well aware of my interests," Zestial agreed. 

"It may have been a few decades, but a librarian never forgets." Zestial chuckled as he stood. My eyes glanced over to the arms dealer. She spoke lowly to her daughters, but a cautious eye kept watch of me. I swallowed the lump that grew in my throat. I had to leave before my bleeding heart had a chance to make a fool out of me. 

"Astra." 

However, I was never lucky when it came to my heart's whims. I turned toward the velvety voice. Red eyes kept their soul concentration on me as hell's ballerina stepped forward. 

"Would you like to walk together to the library? I may be able to see it across the entire pentagram, but I normally do not walk outside of my territory." She almost towered me in height up close, but I blamed that on the shoes. My heart raced inside of my chest as she stood by my side. 

"Of course, I would not mind." I smiled at her to try to convey some genuineness. However, the entire inside of me was wrecked. A small smile ghosted her face for a fraction of a second. The three of us walked toward the elevators before Zestial stated that he had a prior engagement to attend. He promised to be by later and I silently cursed him for leaving me alone with her. By the smile he gave, I knew that he did this intentionally. 

Carmilla walked inside of the elevator, and I hesitated. I knew it was safe, but it was still a new invention to me. The grey woman inclined her head for me to follow. 

"Apologies," I replied softly. "I erm...this is still new technology to me." I took small steps inside. I could have sworn I heard a small giggle under Carmilla's breath. "Do you like to read at all?" Carmilla was startled by the question. 

"I do, just not regularly. It has been a while since I had seen any new books to read." 

"Well," I continued. "It is a good thing that the library always gets new shipments. If you tell me what you like, I could whip up a selection for you. And I assume your counterparts are related to you as well?" Carmilla eyed me for a long moment before she spoke. 

"They are my daughters. I'm sure that they would love the idea of going to the library again. To do something that is not taking my shipments out and collecting debts. I know they are a great help, but they rarely relax. I guess they are more like me in that aspect. They never took much to leisure time." We stepped out into the alleyway as she carried on. "I prefer to read romance books, personally. I have no idea what they would be interested in anymore. The last time they spoke of a book with me, we were above hell." 

"Surely, I can think of something for them," I added. The two of us walked in peaceful silence. Random people stared at us. Some flashed photos, others used little metallic boxes to point at us with. I motioned toward the noisy, metal things.  "What are those?" 

"What? Cellphones?" She asked. 

"Cellphones?" 

"They are a nuisance. Think of it like calling someone on a telephone, but with the capabilities of a computer."