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“ Let us walk through worlds, whispered the prince,” He paused, glancing back down at me, as if he wanted to experience my reaction before continuing. “ I will teach you to move planets, how to reorder the stars, to become nighttime itself,” He stopped reading as he leaned closer, and snapped the book shut. I jumped, despite myself. He continued to push forward, forcing me to back up into the bookcase.
He pressed his hand on the bookshelf above my head, laughter dancing in his eyes. With his other hand, he curled his index finger under my chin, still holding the small paperback with his middle and ring finger. Looking up at him, I couldn’t move. A deer staring down a wolf.
“You, are not a deer,” he whispered. Before I had a chance to respond, or even contemplate the fact that this man might have very well have read my mind, the scent of the ocean crashed into the stacks, and there was Conrad.
8
“Ray-ven. ” He said, his normally calm voice almost a snarl. He stood at the end of the aisle, looking for all the world as if he would murder something. The man before me pulled away, gently handing the book back to me, before turning to face Conrad. He said nothing, just stood quietly next to me, with that small smile still playing on his mouth.
“C-Conrad.” I gasped, still reeling from the closeness of the stranger. Reeling from the lines he had read from the book. The same words that had whispered to me from the pages as I had run my fingers down the novel’s spine.
Conrad barreled forward, very obviously putting himself between me and the stranger.
“Leave .” He said to the strange, beautiful man, as he pressed me farther back away from the intruder. The rolling emotion coming from Conrad smelled so profoundly of salt water that I thought I might drown. I swear the lights in the library flickered. I looked at the silver haired man, my eyes wide, how was he not afraid? Shit, I was afraid of Conrad right now. The man chuckled.
“Where is Patricia?” The stranger asked softly. I didn’t know who Patricia was. I gaped at the two of them.
“You two…do you know each other?” I asked from over Conrad’s shoulder. Conrad almost snarled again. The other man merely smirked.
“We’re old family friends.” The stranger said dryly, as if that explained everything.
“If yuh touch her. Yuh will have Di Board to contend with.” Conrad exclaimed. The other man did not look concerned. In fact, he examined the fingernails on one hand before sliding his other into the pocket of his perfect slacks.
Conrad nearly exploded before me in rage at the man’s indifference. The stranger with the beautiful green eyes met his gaze. Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped. When I exhaled, I could see my breath, and that infuriating smile on the stranger’s face widened as Conrad visibly wilted before me. The green-eyed man hadn’t moved. Someone was going to explain to me what the hell was going on.
“Be careful Obeah Man,” The stranger said softly, before turning away. “You’ll disturb the books.” His voice slithered over his shoulder as he slowly exited the aisle that we stood in.
The temperature of the library returned to normal, and I grabbed Conrad’s shoulder, spinning him to face me.
“What is an Obeah Man? Who is Patricia? What did you mean by The Board ? What the hell is going on, Conrad?” I snapped at him, the familiar feeling of rage finally building in my chest, pushing back the anxiety that had been gripping me since I had destroyed Jeremy’s office. Conrad looked so panicked, I almost felt bad for yelling at him. Almost.
He gripped my shoulders so hard it hurt.
“Him touch yuh?” He demanded.
“No, I-I’m fine,” I stammered, and Conrad shook me.
“Rayven. Did he touch yuh? ” He asked again. The desperation in his voice was palpable. I blanched as I remembered how close the stranger had leaned into me, his index finger resting against my chin, tilting my face towards his. As the memory flashed through my mind, Conrad’s eyes widened in fear, as if he had seen the image himself.
“Shit.” He swore. He grabbed my wrist and began to pull me out of the stacks. “Wi have tuh go. Right now .” I pulled back against him, ripping my hand away from his.
“I am not going anywhere , until you tell me what is happening.” I crossed my arms defiantly over my chest and locked him down with one of my worst glares.
“Please Rayven,” He begged, glancing around the library, as if the books themselves might attack us at any moment. “Dere’s no time. Dey’re coming. Dey know where yuh’are now.”
“Who is coming, and who are they ?” I pressed, still refusing to move. “And how do they know where I am? Because that guy touched my chin?” Conrad let out the most exasperated sound I had ever heard.
“What happened dis afternoon Rayven?” He asked, the sudden change in topic made me hesitate.
“What do you mean?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. He held my gaze, face serious.
“Why didn’t yuh answer yuh phone? Someting happened at home, didn’t it?” I gaped at him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said stubbornly, pushing back the memory of the wrecked office, and the birds. Conrad’s eyes flashed again, and I could swear he was somehow reading my mind.
“Yes, yuh do. Dat is why dey are coming. It’s why dey know where yuh are. Yuh might as well have sent out an S.O.S flare.” I was shaking again. My eyes were burning. What was he talking about? I was not going to cry.
“We got to go somewhere safe, Rayven. Yuh got to trust me! Please! I will explain everything on the way. But we got to move. Now!” The urgency in his tone was mounting. I could almost hear waves crashing against a distant shore, as if a storm were brewing.
