The Vampire of Tinkerfall (Elysium #3)

Chapter Fourteen

 Hours passed before Trinket thought to go check on Booker. In an attempt to silence the voices that continued to mock her, she threw herself into cleaning the house. She had only just finished with the washroom when she realized how long it had been since she'd left him. Fearing he really would pass out from lack of sustenance, she put her rag and bucket of lye aside, wiped her hands on her smock, and made her way towards the door.

Booker came rushing out of the library before she could step out of the washroom. When he caught sight of her, his eyes lit up and he quickened his pace. "The spotted tree hopper," he said, not even waiting to reach her.

"The what?" she said, falling back a few steps out of surprise.

Now at her side, he opened the book clutched in his hands and pointed to a page with an illustration of a thin snake with large eyes and an egg-shaped head. Above the picture were the words "Spotted Tree Hopper." The page opposite it was filled with facts about the creature, but she was too tired to concentrate on the tiny print.

"It's a snake found throughout the South, from coastal thickets to dense rain forests," Booker explained. "It spends most of its time in trees during the daylight hours, feeding on lizards, birds, and small rodents. It's a shy and reclusive creature, striking only when threatened."

"And it's venomous?"

A smile tugged at his lips as he nodded. "Oh, is it ever venomous. The hemotoxin that secretes from its fangs disrupts the coagulation of blood and can cause inflammation and deterioration of the internal organs of those injected with it."

"In terms I can understand, please."

"It causes its victim to bleed profusely from every opening in their body."

Her eyes traveled back to the illustration. It didn't look like a very large or threatening snake. How could it possibly cause so much damage with a single bite?

"If it's from the South, how did Benedict obtain the venom?" she asked.

Booker snapped the book shut, startling her. "That is indeed the question," he said, tucking the tome under his arm. "A wolf isn't quite so difficult to get one's hands on. But an exotic, venomous snake like this?"

"Do you think he traveled all the way down to the South?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it. It would take months to get from here to there and back again."

"Could he have gone before starting the game?"

"That's a possibility, I suppose."

She leaned against the doorframe of the washroom, furrowing her brow in thought. "Why do you think he chose to start this game now? Why not when you first moved here? If he's as clever and resourceful as you say, surely he knew you were here right away."

Booker lifted his eyebrows. "That is a very good point. Perhaps he didn't have the means to do it until recently."

"Where did he go when he left the orphanage?"

"Noxbury. That's where Mr. Goodfellow was from, the doctor he studied under. But he's no longer there. I've checked. Folks say the doctor became somewhat reclusive and pulled up roots without telling anyone."

"That's rather strange. Why would he do that?"

"I can only imagine he and Benedict had begun to dabble in some ungodly medical practices that he worried those around them would disapprove of. Fear forced him to go into hiding."

"Would a doctor truly have approved of such questionable work?"

"Some would. Mr. Goodfellow was drawn to Benedict's shocking experiments. I think he was eager to try his hand at them. Benedict was a lucky chap to find such an open-minded teacher."