He looked up at me and a very strange grin appeared on his handsome face. "Me."
"But it's centuries old."
"I do good work."
"But...who are you?"
He held my gaze for a heartbeat longer, and his bright green eyes, I knew, somehow looked deeply into my soul. What it found there - or who it found there - I may never know. But after a moment, he said simply, "Hey, I'm just a simple librarian."
"Bullshit. That's like saying I'm just another mom."
"But isn't that also true, Samantha? Do not many things define you?"
"So, you really are a librarian?"
"In part." He reached over and patted my hand warmly, then turned his attention back to the ancient text. I noted that his nail, unlike mine, was round and smooth and very human-looking. He said, "There are four known medallions in the world, Sam. You have now possessed two."
"Who made the medallions?"
"We're not sure, but we suspect whoever initiated your race."
"You mean whoever created vampires."
"Yes."
"And who's we?"
Archibald Maximus smiled at me from behind the counter. Our faces, I noted, were a mere eight inches apart as we both hovered over the old book. He could have been just another college student working his way through school. Could have been. But wasn't.
"Others like me, Samantha."
"Other...librarians?"
He dipped his head a little. "Yes, something like that."
I suddenly had an impression in my thoughts of various old souls positioned around the world, fighting a fight that few knew existed, and fewer still would ever believe in. I relayed my impression to Maximus.
He dipped his head. "Your impression is correct, Sam."
I next had an impression of the Asian philosophical yin and yang symbol, the white and black teardrop interconnected, and I understood that Archibald Maximus, and others like him, were here to balance a darkness that had taken root.
He said, "Do you understand, Samantha?"
"I think so, yes, but - "
"Good, good. Now, the medallions were created for specific purposes."
I blinked, got the hint. He didn't want to talk about it. At least, not now. I said, "And why's that?"
"The reason, Samantha, is hidden even from me."
"But why?"
"The same reason why all the secrets of the universe are hidden from all humans, Samantha. Life on earth is our chance to grow, to learn, to observe, to interact, to trust, to give and to receive." He smiled sweetly at me. For someone who was centuries old, he was sure a cute little bugger. He said, "Now, much of what I just described would not be possible if we had all the answers."
"So, you're as much in the dark as me."
Now he gave me a slightly crooked smile. "Well, perhaps a little more in the light, Sam. Remember, I've been at this a lot longer than you."