3. Amber

Chapter 3

Amber

O nce I rented a room from a lovely woman, Esme Red, who apparently was a werewolf though I couldn't see it, I explored the town, with a focus on finding a job. I wandered down the quaint cobblestone street, trying not to gawk at the colorful assortment of... citizens? Monsters? Fairy tale creatures? I wasn't sure what to call them, but I was definitely not in Kansas anymore. I could see myself living here, at least until Kevin tracked me down and forced me to run again.

I smirked at the idea of Kevin in Beastly Falls. He would hate this town. He had been furious at the open living of monsters in Baltimore, not that there were many living there. We had an orc living down the hall from us and Kevin made nasty comments under his breath whenever he encountered him. Though he was careful to do it once we were out of hearing, since the orc could break Kevin in two without breaking a sweat. If he had dealt with Kevin, I wouldn't have had to leave my life, but my ex had a strong sense of self-preservation, like most cockroaches.

So, maybe I was safe here, at least for a while .

After a few twists and turns, I found myself in front of the library. My jaw dropped. The library was a breathtaking gothic structure, all soaring spires and intricate stonework. It looked like it had been plucked straight out of a Victorian novel and dropped into this quirky little town. I hoped they would let me work here. It was a dream come true to work in a place like this. My last library was a brick box with all the personality of a… well, a brick. But this building seemed laden with secrets and charm. I couldn't wait to explore.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, craning my neck to take it all in.

That's when I spotted him. Perched right in the middle of the roof was a single, imposing gargoyle. His wings were partially unfurled, powerful arms braced against the ledge, and his face... well, now I understood what some people meant when they said a man had a jaw chiseled from granite. This male was literally carved from stone and was stunning. His entire body was a masterpiece that could have been created by the master sculptors of the Renaissance. And his face was a beautiful sight to behold, with sharp, strong features, imposing and confident.

I cleared my throat when I realized I had been gawking at a statue, not even a real, flesh and blood person. Ridiculous.

"I've never seen a building with just one gargoyle before," I mused aloud. "Usually, they come in clans and are not solitary."

"That's usually true, but we only need the one for our building. Our town is very safe, for the most part. Xavier acts as a protector for the library and enforces the library rules. Though there is another gargoyle in town." A voice spoke from next to me, a hint of amusement in her tone .

I jumped and turned to face a middle-aged woman, about my height, with blonde hair. She looked human, like me, but I could swear her eyes shifted for a moment, looking almost cat-like in appearance. But I must have been mistaken. She coolly studied me from head to foot, though I wasn't sure if I was friend or foe. So, I defaulted to making a joke to break the ice.

I chuckled nervously. "Does he swoop down and terrorize people who don't return their books on time? Chase after library patrons with overdue fees?"

To my surprise, the other woman didn't laugh. She only arched an eyebrow. "We rarely have an issue with late fees or unreturned books, thanks to Xavier."

"Right," I said slowly, making a mental note to always return my books on time. Very on time.

After another moment, the woman extended a hand. "I'm Anya Kanea. You must be our newest resident."

"Wow, word certainly gets around," I said, shaking her hand, feeling the prick of nails on my palm.

"You know small towns," Anya said. "Are you looking for something to read during your stay?"

Despite her cool tone, I took the plunge. "Not exactly. I'm hoping to apply for a position. I'm a librarian."

This time, I was sure I saw her eyes change. A faint smile curved her lips. "Well, you'd better come inside and we'll get better acquainted then."

As we approached the heavy wooden doors, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I glanced up one last time at the gargoyle statue. For a split second, I could have sworn those stone eyes were following me. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Everything all right, dear?" Anya asked, her speculative gaze following mine to the middle of the roof .

I shook off the weird feeling. "Oh, yeah. Just admiring the, uh, architecture."

But as the doors closed behind us, I wondered what other surprises this strange little town had in store for me. And why did I have the strangest urge to check out the roof?

F irst day on the job, and I was already neck-deep in... well, literal paperwork. My last job was slightly more advanced than the Beastly Falls library. As in, we had joined the twentieth, and even twenty-first century. But Beastly Falls didn't have any modern equipment. You wanted to check out a book? I dialed the date on a manual handstamp and used an ink pad. You wanted to look for a book from another library? Out of luck. And internet? It was like they had never heard of it. I couldn't even use my cell phone since the service didn't work here.

Anya Kanea, the library director, was giving me the grand tour. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman, with her golden hair pulled back so tightly I wondered if her severe bun was holding her face in place. And she used a lot of cat puns, making me wonder if she had cats at home, but I wasn't going to ask. Honestly, she kind of intimidated me, but I'd dealt with far worse in my time. I wondered if she was human like me, but, since I had yet to see another human, I doubted she was, especially when her eyes had this weird little feline quality to them. Sylvia also might look human, but I wasn't convinced she was. I should use the library resources to do some research on the town and its inhabitants .

"And this is our card catalog," Anya said, gesturing to a massive wooden cabinet with tiny drawers.

I blinked. I guess they really were in the dark ages. "Card catalog? As in, not a computer?"

Anya's lips pursed. "We like to do things the old-fashioned way here. It gives our patrons the purr-sonal touch."

Right. Because nothing said "old-fashioned" quite like a town full of mythical creatures.

"Evelyn Hart will be in for her shift in the morning to relieve you. You can get started on reviewing some of our policies and procedures but, we have a seven day probationary period. I hope you understand," Anya explained, as she handed me two three-inch binders full of paper.

A probationary period? Well, I supposed all jobs had a trial period for new hires. Seven days seemed awfully short, but it would give me some space to figure out if this is where I wanted to stay.

"That would be fine, thank you," I replied.

"And you get two days off during the week. We're open seven days a week, so I'll update the schedule tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"

By her tone, I assumed I should just fall in line. It was fine with me, since I had nothing else to do or anywhere else to be, so I settled for a nod. With that, she swept out of the library, leaving me with the binders and lots of questions about the quirky little town.

As Anya left for the night, I settled in behind the desk, ready for my first shift as the Beastly Falls' night librarian. Technically, the Dewey Decimal System still applied even here, something not affected by time, space or lack of technology. Of course, the library was significantly bigger on the inside than the outside, and it shifted constantly with sections moving around, stacks shifting, and apparently all I had to do was ask the library what I was looking for and the library would deliver the section to me.

Looking at the names for the sections, I wasn't convinced, knowing the Dewey Decimal System wouldn't help me that much. Arcane Studies. Metaphysical topics. Alchemical Research. I didn't even think those were topics in any categorical system I knew. But one topic did interest me. Town History. Oh yes, please. I loved reading about history, and I sensed Beastly Falls had some very interesting stories in its past.

I lost myself in how the town was founded and kept secret during the centuries when monsters were hidden from the greater world, though they had links to other communities. Slowly the town came into the modern world, creating ties with the human world as monsters exposed themselves and Beastly Falls was on the map.

I closed the narrow tome and stared at the painting of the library's founder across from the circulation desk, a minotaur who apparently hoarded knowledge like a dragon hoards treasure. So Beastly Falls was once public, and people knew about it. So why wasn't it on my map or my GPS? Was it related to why everyone seemed stuck in the past, like using a card catalog and not a computer? And why my cell phone wasn't working?

There had to be something I was missing. It was a small book, almost a cliff notes version, so there had to be more. But I wasn't being paid to read about town history. I had a job to do and I would have to do more research later. For now, I settled in to review the binder of policies and procedures that Anya left for me.

I was consumed with the pages when the solid walnut doors swung open to reveal a woman who looked like she'd just stepped off the cover of "Vampire Vogue"—if that was a thing. With flowing red hair, creamy white skin, and eyes so green they had to be supernatural, she sashayed up to the desk. She smiled, flashing a hint of fang, confirming my suspicions that she was a vampire, though she didn't sparkle like popular movies claimed, nor did she wear black evening wear. She was dressed in skin-tight, deep blue jeans, and a silk green blouse, cut low enough to give more than a hint of cleavage. She was beautiful, and I was super envious of her.

"Well, well," she purred, as her gaze roved over me, "what do we have here? A new face in our little town."

I gulped, hoping my blood didn't smell sweet to her. "Uh, hi. I'm Amber, the new night librarian. Can I help you find something?"

She leaned in, and I swear the temperature rose ten degrees. "I'm Helena Deveraux. And I'm always looking for new… experiences."

Was she flirting with me or sizing me up for lunch? With vampires, it was probably both.

"How about a book recommendation?" I squeaked, not ready for handling vampires on the prowl.

Her perfectly shaped eyebrow rose, amusement still coloring her expression. "If that's all you're offering. What would you recommend, little librarian?"

I seized on the first author that came to mind that I had seen on the library shelves. Some of the more recent authors that I might have recommended were not in the catalog, which surprised me, along with the growing list of things that were making me wonder if I had gone through a time machine when I entered Beastly Falls. "Have you tried Terry Pratchett? Funny, smart, lots of supernatural elements."

I held my breath but, to my surprise, her icy demeanor thawed slightly, shifting from humor to speculation, though she wasn't quite sold yet. "Pratchett? I'm not familiar. Intriguing."

As I helped Helena find a Discworld novel, the door opened again. This time, a man entered—tall, built like a Greek statue, and I meant that literally, with skin that had an odd grayish tint and wings tucked against his back. I did a double take. Yes, there were wings on his back, not feathered ones but dark gray leathery wings. He wore a black t-shirt molded to a body that seemed carved from granite, each muscle clearly defined under his dark gray, rough skin. His hair was jet black, shoulder length, and curled slightly at the ends, looking silky smooth, the only soft part of him. Even his eyes were hard, deep black, and intense when he stared at me. He looked strangely familiar, though I couldn't place why.

Our eyes met, and I felt a jolt of something. Recognition? Déjà vu? I didn't know how to explain it but I felt almost like I knew him, like something bound us together.

He froze, our eyes meeting, then he made his way to the reading area, and I felt oddly disappointed. I had hoped he would come to the desk, speak to me, acknowledge this strange connection between us. Yet, he turned away as if he didn't feel it. I didn't even know him, but I felt oddly disappointed. I turned my attention back to Helena and explained the series to her despite her clear suspicions, but a part of me was aware of the male across the room. He picked up a book, but I noticed his gaze never left me.

Great. My first night on the job, and I already had a vampire who either wanted to be my friend or have me for lunch and a potential stalker. I thought I had left that issue behind me.

I sighed, reaching for the stamp to check out Helena's book. "Welcome to Beastly Falls," I muttered to myself. "Where the patrons are stranger than fiction, and the librarian might be losing her mind."

Helena gave me a sharp look but glided out of the library. At least the gargoyle hadn't come to life and started collecting overdue fees. Yet. Though, there was something about that male…