Page 42 of Monster's Delight

“That’s so sad,” I said, thinking of the little boy, Aiden’s father, who had grown up without a mother. “But what does that have to do with my family? With my grandfather?”

Mr. Brecken shook his head. “Remember I said that the rumor was that Declan had cast a spell on Bridget? People, mostly her family, assumed that he was draining her of magic. When they were forcibly separated, they theorized that he took the rest of her magic and life force as an act of vengeance against the monsters.”

I ricocheted back in my chair in revulsion. “No! That’s impossible. My grandfather wouldneverdo such a thing, not even to an enemy, let alone someone he loved! I refuse to believe it!”

“The fact remains that he visited the academy many times after she was married, and even went to her home once after the baby was born. He found her lifeless body and was the one who called the authorities.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t look good for him.”

“That’s enough,” I said. I felt cold, distant. “This rumor dies here. I don’t want to hear another word about it, am I clear?”

“You asked why Aiden was angry,” Mr. Brecken said, shakily getting to his feet and picking up the books he was shelving. “I would imagine that his family is keeping her memory alive by telling their version of the story. They must not be painting your family in the best light. But that’s how it goes sometimes. At least you’re not soul-bound to him.”

My mind reeling, I stopped him with a weak, “What if I was?”

Mr. Brecken peered at me. “Well, you’re a witch. A soul bond doesn’t affect witches all that much. Monsters, however...” He shrugged again. “Being apart from their soulmate can be extraordinarily painful for them.”

“How far apart is that?” I gasped.

“It’s nothing to worry about over a short distance and time, even a couple months. There have been recorded cases of monsters with a soulbond being separated, but it doesn’t happen often. I would check the book called Monster History Volume Five, which covers the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. During that time, there were many wars and explorations to the New World. There might be descriptions in there of what happened to the monsters that were left behind.” With that, Mr. Brecken vanished into the stacks.

“What about when one dies before the other?” I asked the thin air. “Well, that’s as good a place to start as any, I guess.”

I found the history section easily, and scanned through for the book suggested by the librarian. I brought it back to my table and read through it quickly. As per usual, the accounts were of the male monsters and how they’d lost their appetites and strength away from their mates, eventually succumbing to starvation and dying.

“But what about the women?” I muttered at it angrily, snapping it closed. “Why is history always centered around men? Women were there too.”

I didn’t want to ask Grandfather about this. If, as I suspected, he and Bridget had had a soulbond, it would bring up painful memories for him.

I would try to figure this out on my own first.

CHAPTER13

The history bookswere of very little use to me, unfortunately. Either the monsters mentioned within them didn’t have soul bonds, or it didn’t explain what happened to the not-famous half after their death.

My next attempt was to find a book on monster puberty. I hoped it might go into detail about the lifespan of a soul bond.

It did not.

Stumped, I faced the stacks once more, hands on hips.

“Maybe something a little less historical,” I muttered to myself. I cracked my fingers one by one. “Let’s do this.”

I started with old yearbooks, making lists of family names of the monsters who had attended in the past. Then I cross-referenced the last names in obituaries. The archives had old newspapers in storage, and I had to ask permission from Mr. Brecken, but I was finally getting answers.

For every male monster who died with a soul bond, the female died ten to fifteen years later, depending on how young her family was. The opposite direction, the male monster didn’t manage to make it past a year of his soul bond’s death.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that. The puberty book I had found implied that the soul bond didn’t affect the women as much as the men, but I thought it must have more to do with her strength of will.

Then I found Bridget’s obituary.

Bridget Evans, nee Williams, died of natural causes on Wednesday evening, leaving behind her husband, Hayden, and son, Sean, aged three. In lieu of flowers, please donate to her favorite charities.

“Okay, Sean was three, she got pregnant right away after her marriage,” I muttered to myself. “So she lived for four years, approximately, after being separated from her soul bond. She had a young child, so the longer time doesn’t track compared to others in similar situations. And Grandfather visited her, both here and at home. Shouldn’t those have helped her live longer?” I tapped my chin thoughtfully with the capped end of my pen.

“Not if there was no chance of ever being with her soul bond,” I decided. “So when did Grandfather get married?”

Now I was scouring the engagements and wedding announcements of the paper, trying to find a correlation. But the Doyle engagement and marriage happened a year and a half before Bridget’s death, so that didn’t make sense.

“What was the trigger?” I wondered. I’d probably never get to find out, unless Aiden had her diary.

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