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“Otto doesn’t drink blood.” I doublechecked the bandage anyway, not wanting to drip on my beautiful hardwood floors. The bandage was spotless. I was already on the mend.
“What kind of vampire doesn’t drink blood?” she asked.
“He’s cursed. I’m sure you already knew that.” Sometimes I suspected Nana Pratt was being willfully obtuse.
“I’m an old woman. I can’t be expected to remember every detail of your life.”
“Fair enough. I can hardly keep up with myself.”
That reminded me, I also wanted to research changelings while I was at the library. Maybe I’d find information that would help me locate Sian’s sister. The fact that there was a changeling forum and phones in Faerie meant that, as much as I already knew, there was still plenty to learn.
I found the librarian hiding in the janitorial closet.
“Hailey? What are you doing in here?”
Hailey Jones peered out from behind a tower of buckets. “What are you doing opening the closet door?”
“It was ajar, and I couldn’t find you. Why are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m taking a quiet moment for myself.”
“You do realize libraries are meant to be quiet spaces, right? Maybe you could institute old-school policies and start shushing people.”
Hailey grimaced. “I don’t think I could hush anybody. I’m too polite.”
“You’d rather hide in the closet than shush someone? That seems like the kind of thing you ought to work on.”
Hailey struggled to get out from behind the buckets without knocking them over. I offered her a hand, which she accepted with a profuse apology.
“No need to be sorry,” I said. “We all have our issues.” And Hailey’s issue seemed to be a misalignment between her career choice and her personality needs.
“If it weren’t for my family, I’m not sure I would’ve gone down this route. I love books. People, not so much.”
Hailey’s mother Ida had been the librarian before her. Her grandfather apparently had had the Sight but refused to talk about it. I got the impression he’d viewed it as more of a curse than a gift.
“Never mind people,” I said. “Can we focus on your love of books? Because I need help with a research project.”
The sparkle returned to Hailey’s eyes. “Is this more mythology?”
“Yes. I’m hunting for a creature with three heads that’s built like a serpentine dragon. Can breathe fire and might have the ability to cause localized storms.”
Hailey pondered me for a moment. “That sounds very specific. I’m surprised you haven’t found anything online.”
I shrugged. “You know what the internet is like. Too noisy and crowded.”
Hailey’s lips formed a thin line. “Sounds a lot like the library.”
“If now isn’t a good time, I can come back.”
She nearly wrenched my arm out of its socket. “No, no. Stay. Please.” She cast a furtive glance around the corner. “Looks like a clear run to the mythology section. We can make a break for it.”
I trailed behind her as she bolted across the library.
“I’d also like to see what you have on changelings,” I said, once we were within the safety of the stacks.
Hailey started pulling books from the shelf. “Changelings I’ve heard of. Fae, right?”
“Yes. I’d like to know if there are any telltale signs for identifying them.”
