“Shh.Thisisa library.”
Temps brows shot up, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.“Sorry.”
I walked over to her, slinging my arm over her shoulder, which still made her blush after everything we’d just done.
“I actually get it, Temps.This library is a stunner.Did you see those ladders?You could ride them just like in the movies.”
She laughed, looking up at them.“I couldn’t do that.I mean, they’re like school property and probably centuries old.I wouldn’t dream of—”
“If we have time, Temperance.But I think we should get to the research first.”
Doing her best to contain the squeal, Temps nodded happily, and we all walked over to the nearest table, setting out our stuff to get started.I glanced around, my eyes drawn to the varying shades of brown and black and even green occasionally from the spines of the books.They were all leatherbound, and the entire room was very weighty and grounded, a solid foundation infused with knowledge.
I’d seen pictures of the Trinity Library in Dublin, and it had nothing on this place.
“Alright, I’ll go get a few other tomes I want to look at.Temperance, why don’t you go through the book you mentioned, and Lizzie, and you can check on those files about the carnival?”
Temps and I exchanged glances, fighting the urge to laugh.I met Caleb’s eyes and nodded.“So bossy.”
Turning pink, Caleb actually blushed slightly, and if he weren’t glaring at me, it’d be the cutest damn thing.He clenched his jaw, turning decisively on his heel and taking off toward the stacks.I pulled out my laptop from my bag, and Temps put her book on the table, angling the light to hit the pages.
And then time melted into something strange as we all went into research mode, something I definitely didn’t do often.Still, clicking away on the computer as I dug through records about the carnival didn’t feel nearly as hard as it would have been to try reading all those cryptic books.
“Okay, this is something.I got a name.Jebediah Paine.Junior.His dad was some big preacher guy in the Appalachian area before he vanished during a sermon.No one knows what exactly happened to him, but the son, Jeb Jr., had a rather rocky life with his mother before she passed, and it looks like he started the carnival as soon as he turned eighteen.That was fourteen years ago.”
“Jebedian Paine, why does that name sound familiar?”Caleb furrowed his brow, staring into the middle distance as he held his fingers between the pages of the book he was reading.
“Probably because he made the news.After his death, a bunch of people came forward and accused him of molesting them when they were kids.The cops dug around the house since it was empty, Junior having abandoned it, and they found bodies, too.”
“Oh my gods.Bodies?That’s awful.”Temps reeled back, looking sick to her stomach.
“Yup, that’s it.Fuck, I remember the news report on that asshole.I was traveling then.That was six years after I lost my parents.”I reached across the table, squeezing Caleb’s hand.He smiled and shrugged, refocusing.“What else does it say about Junior in this case?”
Turning back to the screen, I read off the rest of what I’d found in the public criminal records.“The carnival has had its fair share of complaints.People have accused them of stealing, abduction, but nothing has ever been found, so it didn’t go anywhere.If you cross-reference their tour dates with missing persons reports, though, it gets pretty fishy.They’re definitely up to something.”
“Holy shit.”Temperance cut in.
“I mean, it’s something, but—” I glanced over at her, and Temps was looking down at a book.“Oh, you’re reading.Great.”
“Sorry, but I can’t believe what I just found.I was trying to see if there was anything about the Paines in the ancestry records the school keeps.”
“And is there?”Caleb asked, beating me to the question.
“No.They’re not in this.But…I am.At least my family, going back decades, and Lizzie, your mom went to school here.”
“What?”Shoving my computer out of the way, I looked at where Temps was pointing.“Holy shit.”
“See!Shewasa student.The other morrighan.”
My brain swirled, so many feelings coming up from the past that I didn’t know what to do with them.My mother went to school here.She’d probably told me about it at some point when I was little, and I couldn’t remember.My mom.And I was following in her footsteps.
A tear slipped down my face, and I hurried to wipe it away.Temps took my hands, and I let myself be anchored to the present through her touch.
“What, umm,” I had to clear my throat, “what does it say about your family?”
“Lizzie, do you need a minute.I can—”
“It’s fine.”I offered her a tight smile.“I need the distraction.”
