Unhallowed (Rath and Rune #1) - Jordan L. Hawk Page 0,6
the trees and rise up from the rich loam, echoing in the chatter of squirrels and the song of birds. The voice of the All-Mother, Lord of the Forest.
The voice was the only thing Ves missed about Dunhollow. The song of belonging, of being a part of something greater, had always been there for him, even on the darkest days. And yet, he could only hear it due to his tainted blood.
He dragged his eyes away from the newspaper and back to the museum before him. He couldn’t afford to wool-gather, not today. If he didn’t get this job, then he wouldn’t be able to give Fagerlie what he wanted, and the curse would never be lifted.
Ves and Noct would be stuck like this for the rest of their lives. Forced to hide. No friends, no lovers, no nothing.
Ves straightened his shoulders, checked his Oxford style bag, and started up the steps. He passed by the statue of a portly man with an extravagant walrus mustache; the bronze of the mustache was a slightly lighter color, as if worn by hands touching it for luck. Above the door hung a small banner: Comet Party and Lecture, Beginning 8:00 pm, May 18. Inquire Within for Tickets.
One week. Plenty of time.
Once inside, Ves approached a ticket-taker for directions. She instructed him to wait in the grand foyer while someone was summoned to guide him to his destination. As he waited, he took the opportunity to examine some of the exhibits. Most of those in the foyer consisted of extinct animals, the larger the better. An Irish elk stood foremost, its fearsome antlers spanning over ten feet from side to side. A small sign pointed to the right, indicating the wing housing the artifacts from the Nephren-ka expedition. Ves wondered if his mother had ever set foot here during one of her long absences. She’d occasionally left them in the care of their grandfather, vanishing sometimes for days, other times for months on end. When asked where she went, her only reply had been that she worked to bring about the return of those who had once ruled the earth and not to question her.
Not asking too many questions had been one of the cardinal rules for as long as he could remember. He was meant to obey, to prepare for his glorious purpose, and nothing more.
“Mr. Rune?”
Ves started and turned. The man in front of him was a few years older, perhaps thirty to his twenty-five. His blond hair was parted to the side and neatly slicked down, a match to his trim clothing. Ves had to look up a few inches to meet the hazel eyes peering through silver-rimmed spectacles.
Ves’s mouth went dry. The man was handsome—tall and lean, with beautiful long fingers. An electric shock went down Ves’s spine, stirring the flesh to either side.
No—he had to keep control of himself. He couldn’t give himself away, not now, not when he was so very close.
“Y-Yes,” he stammered like a fool.
The man regarded him coolly, the corners of his mouth turned down, as if something about Ves’s appearance put him off. “I’m Sebastian Rath, the chief archivist of the Ladysmith library. You’re here to apply for the bindery and conservatory position?”
Rath didn’t offer his hand, to Ves’s disappointment. Which was mad; he tried not to touch people if he could help it. He didn’t dare. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what those long fingers would feel like against his skin.
This wouldn’t do. Ves forced his breath to even out. “I am,” he managed to say, proud his voice didn’t shake.
Rath nodded once, shortly. “Mr. Quinn—the head librarian—has been informed you’re here. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to his office.”
Ves followed Rath to a discreet door marked STAFF ONLY. Rath made no effort to play tour guide, only led the way through a confusing tangle of corridors that soon had Ves utterly lost. Had the museum’s architect ever planned a building before undertaking this one? And why had anyone ever approved the design to actually be built?
They eventually arrived at a door with a small sign reading LIBRARY. It opened into a space that struck Ves with an impression of vastness, disorienting after the ordinary dimensions of the hall outside. To one side stood a large desk, a librarian stationed behind it. A few reading tables were placed in the open space, and beyond were the stacks. Despite the feeling of space that Ves couldn’t quite shake, the tall