Chapter 184. Behind The Shelf II
Maisie
Bastian and I fell hard into a cold, concrete floor, and his body crashed down on top of mine. His solid weight drove the last of my breath out in a sharp, painful rush. For a heartbeat I couldn’t move, couldn’t even gasp. The darkness was absolute around us was absolute and the floor was so bitterly cold, it seeped straight into my clothes.
"What the fuck?" he cursed and rolled off me in one smooth motion.
I heard the scrape of his boots against stone, the low curse under his breath as I blinked rapidly, trying to get my lungs to work again and my eyes to adjust to the dark. For some reason, the latter took far too long, my senses blanketed.
Calloused hands grabbed my face. "Maisie, are you hurt?"
I dragged in a shaky breath, ribs aching. "I think... my ribs are broken. You’re really heavy."
A short, rough laugh came from somewhere to my left and I felt his hand on my wrists, pulling me up. "Noted. Next time I’ll try to fall more gracefully."
I felt him turn around close to me. "What the hell is this place?" he asked. "Wasn’t the shelf against a wall?"
The darkness wasn’t total anymore. I blinked hard. Slowly, the faintest outlines began to appear. Tall, looming shelves on either side of us, sagging under the weight of books that looked older than the academy itself. Some spines had already crumbled, leaving nothing but drifts of fine dust along the floor. It smelled so musty and dusty in here, a cough wracked up in my chest.
"It’s very obviously a library," I answered around another cough. "The question would be why it’s hidden—uh... Not sure how you do things where you come from, but fire and books aren’t a very great combination," I said when I heard the flick of a lighter and sparks momentarily brightened the darkness.
"Alright, nerd," he drawled.
I slipped my cellphone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight. I tried sending a message to Quinlan to tell him to come get me, but my flashlight and screen flickered at the same time, and even if my phone was fully charged, it... died on me.
I pressed the power button obsessively, but nothing changed.
This wasn’t scary at all.
I tried reaching for the bond, but it was even worse now. I couldn’t feel the bond at all. It was as if everything had been...dampened. There was something oppressive about this place, an energy that rubbed be off as wrong, and it was stifling all of my senses.
Turning, I felt for the wall and tried pushing. I felt rather weak. I felt... human.
Brows furrowed, I muttered towards Bastian. "Would you mind punching through the wall?"
His eyes narrowed at the order, but he made his way over and handed me the lighter. I tried not to roll my eyes when he pushed up his sleeves, revealing tatted muscles and punched through the broad wall beside the shelf. And he howled, cursing, "Fucking hell!"
That explained it then.
There was silver in the walls.
It still didn’t explain my dead phone. I turned to Bastian. "Hand me your cellphone."
He was glaring at me like I was the one who broke his fist. "Fuck off."
"Unless you want to remain stuck here until someone notices we’ve gone missing—which I would rather not because I can’t stand you, give me your cellphone. Unless you’re able to reach your brothers through the bond?"
His black brows drew together and I knew when he realized he couldn’t. Then a complicated expression took over his face. "I don’t have one. I’ve never needed those things."
My mouth opened. "Those things?! How the hell do you communicate?!"
"Stop screaming at me like a fucking banshee," he growled at me. "And I’m pretty sure you’re overreacting. With how much into each other’s skins you and your mates are, I’m fucking sure they’ll come sniffing around sooner than you expect. The only thing you’ve got to worry about is how to explain why we’re trapped together in here. Alone. And why my scent is all over you."
His grin was evil and I wanted to do nothing more than strangle him stupid neck because I could see that happening again. My mates were so awfully possessive, their instincts acted first. Always. I was probably going to get punished in some sort of way for this.
Yes, well, that didn’t sound like a such bad idea—
Bastian made a sound of disgust. "You’re so fucking pathetic, getting all wet for them even if they aren’t here like some dick-matized whore."
Fury rose in my gut. "Don’t put your misery on me because you’re not getting any. It’s not my fault you’re such a joy to be around and nobody likes you."
His face turned red. "I can have whoever I want. I get whoever I want. Whenever. Wherever."
"Just not me, I guess," I purred. "Sucks to be you."
And then I stomped off, towards the far end of the shelf. And then, I started pulling tomes randomly at the edge of each rack.
"What are you doing?" Bastian said. He sounded closer. A few feet away from me.
"If there is a lever on the other end, there has to be another here. One of the books must be a trigger," I answered. "Go for the top shelf. You’re taller."
I felt his glare again but he moved anyway. "You’re a lot like her, you know."
"Who?" I muttered without looking, my attention snagging the centre of the old wooden shelf, where a description was inscribed into the wood, worn with time and dusty. I wiped my palm over it and in the same moment I got the words, Bastian said, "Mother."
I stiffened. "Then you must have concerning tastes if you’re busy chasing after someone who acts and looks like your mother."
I heard his sharp exhale but my attention was zeroed in on the shelf. The words read. "Forbidden Ancient Texts."
Lana’s warnings began ringing out in my head. Don’t go looking for answers that don’t want to be found.
But I didn’t believe in coincidences. That I found this hidden library, creepy as it was, now of all times, couldn’t have been random.
I pulled at a thick, dusty tome that was on the verge of dissolving to dust in my hands. It had no title. And when I flipped the cover and squinted at the title, it was not written in any language I had ever seen before in my life.
But what made my heart stop hard in my chest was that.. I could read it.