Curse of Eternity

Chapter Fifteen

What is he doing here? The shifters should be in the forest. Winter is just around the corner so they'll need all hands on deck to prepare. So why is he here?

Castor placed a book back in its place on the dusty bookshelf and climbed down the ladder, thankful for this youthful body making it easy for him to move around. The wooden flood held strong under his feet, something that always amazed him. For such foolish and weak creatures, humans sure knew how to build beautiful structures. This library being one of them.

As big as it looked from the outside, the inside was even larger. The entire place was structured like a hollow tree. A center column rose up to the domed roof, lined with rows of books. Most of which as old as the town itself and covered with a layer of dust to prove it. The walls were similar, having had bookshelves built into them and filled as time went on. Castor walked around on one of the many floors of the library and stepped down the spiral stairs, reaching the floor and heading for the stairs a few feet away. They led deeper below the library, down to the archives and rooms dedicated to being a quiet place for people to study, read, or just get together. If he recalled correctly, this used to be the town hall once upon a time. Now the town council barely came to this part of town.

"Castro!"

The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder to find an old man hobbling over. Not wanting to strain the elderly man, Castor met him halfway and placed a hand on his back. "It's Castor, Jeromy and i've told you to stay at the front desk. Your body isn't as strong as it used to be."

The elder just waved him off and tapped his walking stick on the ground. "Age is nothing but a number," he said with a yellow-toothed smile.

You're telling me. The youngster pulled out a nearby chair and helped Jeromy sit. "What do you need anyway? I told you I would take care of things today."

"And a fine job you've been doing Castro," he complimented. Castor could only recall him ever saying his name right twice before but it was a part of his elderly charm. "But some people came looking for you. Says you dropped something on your way here. Two of them are pretty young women."

Castor rolled his eyes and patted Jeromy's shoulder. "Quiet you old perv," he said. They shared a laugh before Castor walked off to the column in the library's center. There was a desk running around the column that served as the librarian's desk. Jeromy was supposed to be positioned at it, sleeping and staying off his feet as usual, but something was apparently so pressing that the old geezer had to get up. He stopped once he heard the voices.

"Yes i'm sure he's here. This place has his scent all over."

"Just be patient. The guy was old. I feel bad for waking him up, let alone going to find the kid."

They're here? How? I know the path I took should've hidden my scent. Castor turned and made his way to the stairs, trying to be as casual as possible. Just as his hand grabbed the rail he heard them again.

"Hey. Isn't that him? On the stairs."

Busted.

Castor ran downstairs and into the archives. Unlike the simply designed upper levels, the archive was a maze of bookshelves and tables. Luckily, Castor was familiar enough with the place that he could run the entire thing by memory.

He was near the center of the archives when he heard his followers enter. "What the hell is this!?" one of them yelled. A female. From the sound of her voice Castor guessed she was normally loud and caused the most trouble. Or ended it.

"An archive," said another female. She spoke softer but with a passive sense of assertiveness that made Castor think she was the group leader. "He has to be here somewhere." They all started walking, taking separate paths. Even though there was no third voice, Castor knew he was here. His footsteps were the heaviest of them all. Castor waited for them to make it more than a few feet into the maze before turning back and quietly sneaking out. He made it past the leader and the shifter with ease but it was the loudmouth that proved... strange.

They were on different sides of the same bookshelf and Castor had to crouch down so she wouldn't see him through the gaps in the empty shelves. He let the curiosity get the better of him and turned to see what the girl looked at.

Mistake made. He was stopped dead where he stood, looking at the female who strangely held him captive just by her profile. She had straight brown hair that traveled halfway down her back. Her tall body was skinny but fit and looked like it was built to fight. As he watched she turned and grined, more like a smirk.

" Hello sir, you see my friends are behind you and would like a word." She was cocky, swaying her hips as she walked around the bookshelf to meet the other girl. The shifter came behind and cornered him. Castor was trapped.

He looked at the shifter, he was tall and muscular with tan skin looking much like the shifters he'd seen. His brown hair contrasted the brightness of his amber eyes, though he didn't look like someone who had grown into his shift. He didn't look quite mature though right now he was acting protective so these girls must be important to him. He turned back around, his eyes sweeping past the brown haired beauty, his eyes lingering. She smirked again resting a elbow on her friends shoulder. Her friend was also athletically build, taller than the average girl, and skinny like the fae he would see in books when he was little. She had fair skin. Her black hair hanging down past her hips to the top of her thigh. He looked towards her face and was stopped, his breath caught for a moment. Her piercing blue eyes, much like ice, were so similar to those he used to know so well. She raised an eyebrow at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and speaking, making him take a small step back.

" When you tripped by the pier you dropped this. We had Maliki track your scent so we could return it, much to my friends dismay. Here." He had to shake his head to regain thinking. Her voice was so familiar but he could not place it. She handed him the book and when she did the sleeve of her shirt slid up at the extension of her arm. The grip on the book he had vanished and he dropped it, grabbing her wrist.

" Where did you get this?" he asked, his voice shaking. He hadn't even noticed the hand on his shoulder until he tried to move forward. He was so awestruck by the mark that he barely registered the pressure that the hand was applying.

" I've had it since i was a little girl. It's a sort of birthmark i was told," she said as she tried to pull her hand away. He let go and picked up his book, the shifter moving to stand beside her.

" What's your name?" he asked. She looked at the brown haired girl before shrugging and introducing them all.

" Well this is Alys, you've met Maliki, and my name is Annastasia, but everyone calls me Anna." Castor just nodded, said his thanks, turned, and left. His quivering legs caused his first few steps to be shaky and almost made him fall but he got away and traveled as high up as he could in the library. Moving higher always calmed him and the open space of the library's top floor would be perfect for now. But as he rose higher in the building, he couldn't help but feel as if everything was closing in.