The Crimson Bride

Chapter 7: ???

Angelica huffed as Barnaby closed the library doors on her. It was bad enough that the old man was such a dick to the whole staff, but did he really need to make them clean the public rooms in the middle of the night?

What made if even more annoying for her was that she couldn't see a thing in the enclosed space without and windows and all she was given was matches.

"Honestly, if this job didn't pay so well, I would have put that old man in his place by now..."

Angelica mumbled under her breath as she tied back her dark curls to prepare for cleaning. She then used a match to have a look around the room, though the dim light didn't do much for her.

She was grateful when she found a candle nearby and lit it, giving her just a bit more light. She then found several more candles and lit them all.

Satisfied with finally being able to see most of the room she put her earbuds on so she could listen to her iPod while cleaning.

To Angelica's delight, the room wasn't too large. The walls were lined with intricate shelving, each of them filled with books. Near the door was a large hearth and very comfortable looking seats designating for reading. Towards the back wall was a large ebony desk with some expensive looking trinkets decorating it.

"Woah...some of these books look like antiques. I wonder how much these would sell for..." Angelica scanned some of the titles as she dusted the shelves. She then slipped one of the first editions into her large apron pocket.

Just then a chill slipped into the room, causing a few of the candles to go out. Angelica jolted at the noticeable dimming of the light.

She scanned the room to see if anyone had entered the room. Once she found she was alone, she let out a sigh and began relighting the candles. However, whenever Angelica tried lighting a candle, another one would go out.

Eventually all the candles went out, making Angelica to become distressed. She took off her earbuds as her eyes darted around the room, looking for any semblance of someone slipping into the room.

Her eyes then landed upon the chair that was behind the desk. Her sight was no longer accustomed to the dark, but she couldn't help but feel like someone was staring at her from that spot.

"Is someone there?" She called out in a trembling voice.

She then heard a strange scraping noise coming from the ceiling. She slowly turned her gaze upward.

Angelica's eyes widened in terror as a large dark figure was looming above her on the ceiling. Before she could let out a scream the figure lunged at her, pinning her to the floor and covering her mouth.

The girl then felt something clamp down on her throat, razor sharp blades tearing her flesh. She let out sharp, labored gasps as the warm crimson liquid spilled from her wounds. Not a drop hit the floor, however.

This thing, this creature was taking her blood, draining her. She could barely fight back as she was pinned and quickly losing her strength from the blood loss. Despite all that, it still felt like someone was watching this whole thing unfold from the desk.

Soon, Angelica could feel her vision blurring as she was slowly slipping out of consciousness. Finally, whatever was watching from the desk stood and the creature moved away from her limp body. 

Just before she completely fainted, she felt the figure slip a hand into her pocket and pulled out the book she had intended on stealing.

"If you wanted something to read, you simply needed to ask. But then, I think we both know you had no intention of reading this."

With the sound of that deep condescending tone ringing in her ears, Angelica slipped into darkness.