Page 56 of Cursed Wolfsbane

“She said there are many interpretations, and it’s up to us to decide what the correct one is. So, in short, no. Or, if she does, she isn’t willing to share it.” I scrub a hand over my face. It feels like an impossible task to find the right meaning for an incredibly vague poem. Of course, it being who knows what o’clock in the morning probably doesn’t help the situation any.

“We’ll figure it out, pretty girl. Don’t you worry. Between the five of us, I know we’ll find everything we need to kick some serious ass.” Bastian reaches across the table and holds out his hand for me. I place mine in his, trying to absorb some of his optimism.

“It’s three in the morning, so I think we need to call it a night.” When I open my mouth to protest that I can keep working, Saint raises an eyebrow at me. I snap my mouth closed to let him finish. “We’re all worn out. Coming back in the morning fully rested is our best shot at getting answers.”

As much as I want to just push through to get the answers faster, Saint’s right. It’s hard to think clearly when I’m exhausted, so it won’t be productive to keep sifting through the books right now. I give him a reluctant nod. “You’re right. We should at least catch a few hours of sleep. Can we portal out of here?”

Saint’s mouth twists in a frown. “No, I tried that already to get something from the hotel. The only magic I can do is spells preapproved by the library, like the location spell.”

I push up from my chair, stumbling slightly as I straighten up. Saint catches me before I can face-plant. My cheeks flush, but I mumble a thank-you to him. Shaking my head to clear it of the soul-deep exhaustion, I start toward the stairs we came down.

“On one of my trips to and from the second floor, I found a back way out. It’s on this floor, so let’s just go out that way,” Malachi rumbles. Too tired to do anything other than give him an unenthusiastic thumbs-up, I take unsteady steps toward where he pointed. I don’t think much of the deep sigh I hear behind me until I’m swept off my feet and held in his arms bridal style. I squeak at the sudden change of position. Before I can protest, Malachi cuts me off. “Don’t, baby girl. You’re tired. I’m tired. Just let me fucking carry you so we can sleep.”

Laying my head on his shoulder, I wordlessly agree to his demand. His smooth gait as we trek through the library lulls me almost to sleep. Even the stickiness of the portal isn’t enough to fully wake me up. When we get to our hotel suite, I do my nighttime routine in a sleepy haze, not remembering much of it.

When I crawl into bed between my four mates, I feel so safe and at peace that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

“Arewe sure it’s even here?” I look up at Bastian who’s sharing a table with me. We’ve been here for almost twelve hours. Within thirty minutes of waking up, we were back at the library. We’ve only taken quick breaks to get lunch and dinner at a nearby café. Other than that, we’ve been poring over book after book. Anyhope I had that we’ll find what we need here is steadily slipping away like sand in an hourglass.

“If Dido and your mom say it’s here, I’m positive it is. We’re all almost through our sections, so I know we’ll find something soon. Don’t give up, sweet girl,” Bastian encourages me.

He’s right. We’re almost through our parts. I’m not and never have been a quitter, so I’ll look through every single book in this library if that’s what it takes. Pushing my chair back, I stand up from the table and gather the eight books from my section I’ve been poring through. I carefully carry them back to the shelf and put them in their proper place. I don’t know if anyone else will ever use this library, but I don’t want to mess up the organization system regardless.

I worked my way from the bottom up, so I need one of the rolling ladders to reach the topmost shelf. Climbing up the worn wood rungs, I pluck the first three books off the top shelf. When I reach for the fourth one, a small piece of paper flutters down to the floor.

Huh. That’s strange.

Making my way down the ladder, I set my armful of books down on the dark blue carpet and pick up the piece of paper. As soon as my fingers graze the surface, I feel like I’m transported somewhere else. I get a flash of an imposing Gothic cathedral. Startled, I let go of the paper and the library comes back into focus.

I look at the paper in shock.What in the double deep-fried hell on a stick is going on?

Staring at the paper isn’t giving me any answers, so I guess I have to touch it again. Plopping down on the surprisingly plush carpet so I don’t fall on my face, I reach for the paper again. Since I’m better prepared this time, I don’t immediately let go of it when I’m transported to what feels like another world.

Looking around, I see that I’m in front of a towering cathedral that looks like a mash-up of Romanesque, Gothic, and baroque architecture. Deep red doors are inset in a series of arches that point up to six long stained glass panes topped by three cross-shaped stained glass windows. A green copper dome towers over the rest of the cathedral with smaller spires dotted around the rest of the large structure.

Judging by the layout of the cathedral, I’m on the south end of it. While beautiful, I have no idea what this cathedral is or why I’m here. I spot a billowing sign advertising something. Walking closer, I see the town name “Bayeux” on it before the whole image fades away.

Coming back to myself is jarring. One moment I’m looking at a gorgeous cathedral, the next I’m back in the oval library I’ve spent way too much time in the past two days. Letting go of the paper, I pick it up again to see if I can repeat the trippy experience. I can’t, and I still don’t know what I was supposed to get from it.

Unfolding the paper, I see blueprints to a building that I assume is the cathedral in the vision. An area on the north side of the cross-shaped church is circled and has an arrow pointing down. It also has a note written in French. Since my high school French is zero help with that, I’ll see if Malachi can read it.

Hopping to my feet, I carefully place the paper in one of the books I pulled down. I gather up my stack and walk toward the table Malachi’s sitting at. He looks up as I approach. After setting my pile of books on an empty corner, I take out the paper and put it down in front of him. “Can you translate this?” I point to the only words written on it.

“Yeah. I know some French.” Malachi reaches for the paper before I have a chance to warn him.

“Don’t!” I shout right as his hand grazes the worn surface.

He jerks away like the paper might bite him before looking at me in alarm. “What? What’s wrong with it?”

I tilt my head in confusion. “Didn’t you just get transported to a vaguely Gothic church?”

Malachi stares at me like I’m a few marbles short of a full game. “No. Was I supposed to?”

“That’s what happened when I touched it.” I look between him and the paper a few times, wondering what’s going on. “Maybe try picking it up again?”

Malachi huffs a laugh. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to touch it.”

“I didn’t want you to be freaked out by it like I was. It was weird, but I’m fine, so it should be okay for you to try again.” I watch him closely as he reaches out to the paper again. When his fingers close around it, he doesn’t seem any different. He stares down curiously at the blueprint for a moment before setting it back down.

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