Wraiths & Writers: A Library Witch Mystery Book 7 (Paperback)

I turned the page of my late father’s journal and prepared to read the translated document, hoping nobody would interrupt me this time around. A quiet morning might be too much to expect from a magical library inhabited by five people, three familiars, and more books than should logically have been able to fit into the space it occupied, but this stretch of time seemed promisingly quiet.

Time to unearth my dad’s long-kept secrets.

Getting my hands on a translation of my dad’s old journal entries had been a battle and a half already. Not only had I needed my Aunt Adelaide’s code-breaker spell to figure out how to read the journal, but I’d also had to track down a specific document my dad had hidden in the bookshop he’d worked at during my childhood in order to actually use said code-breaker, since he’d invented his very own magical code to prevent anyone else from reading a word of it. Complicating matters was the fact that after he’d met my mum, he’d made the decision to turn his back on the magical world entirely, so I’d grown up with no clue that my dad had once lived among witches, wizards, werewolves, elves… and vampires.

The latter were the primary reason for my apprehension when I looked down at the first page, which was dated more than twenty years ago. I’d been a small child at the time, and it was strange to imagine my dad scribbling away in the journal while I’d been utterly unaware of the world he’d once belonged to. 

I’ve been advised to write this in code. I think it’s unnecessary, but that way, if the journal is found by the wrong people, they won’t be able to make sense of it. 

So I’m using a code which even the library I grew up in wouldn’t be able to translate without access to the code-breaker document. Perhaps it’s overkill, but it’s easier this way. At least I can be certain Rory won’t be dragged into this. 

Reading my own name brought a pang to my chest. Whatever my dad had wanted to keep me safe from had eventually found its way to my doorstep in the form of a group of vampires who wanted to get their hands on the journal by any means possible. As a result, I’d been utterly unprepared for my sudden introduction to the paranormal world at the end of last year. Since then, I’d accepted that my dad had had a good reason for keeping secrets from me, but the vampires’ taunts about my dad’s history with them had wormed their way into my head. Specifically, their hints that he’d wanted to keep the magical world secret from me because there was something in his own history that he didn’t want me to know about.

There was nothing to prove they were telling the truth or not except for this document in my hands, so it was no wonder I’d been apprehensive to read it, but it’d remained like a lead weight on my chest regardless of whether I read it or not. Better that I got it over with.

I turned back to the page. More words in my dad’s cramped handwriting were scribbled in the margins, added at a later date. I’m glad I did this. The Founders have got wind of what I’m doing, so I’m grateful that there’s no way anyone can read this without access to the code-breaker document.

My heart gave a jolt at the confirmation that the group of vampires known as the Founders had indeed been looking for my father long before he’d died. They’d all but hinted as much to me already. Mortimer Vale and his two friends were locked up in a secure prison, but the remainder of the group remained at large, and my dad had seemingly laid his hands on some kind of information they were willing to kill to possess. If I read the journal in its entirety, I’d potentially make myself a target the way my dad had. Yet the Founders had already come after me more than once, and as long as I remained ignorant of what they were looking for, I’d remain at a disadvantage. 

I turned back to the page. Rustling sounded over my shoulder and I turned around to see a large tawny owl perched on the shelf behind me. “Don’t mind me,” he said. “Carry on with whatever you’re doing.”

I put down the journal. “This is private, Sylvester.”

“Ooh.” He ruffled his feathers as he peered over to read the page, and I swatted him on the beak. 

“Cut it out,” I told the owl. “Can you please go and bother someone else?”

Thanks, Sylvester. I should have guessed my family’s cantankerous and nosy owl familiar would show up the instant I began to get some answers about my dad’s mysterious history with the vampires.

He shuffled over to my shoulder. “It’s more fun to bother you.”

A small jet-black shape flew into view and landed next to the journal. Jet, my crow familiar, looked up at the owl from the desk. “Should I chase him off, partner?”

“He’s welcome to try,” said Sylvester. 

Typical. After all the other disruptions I’d dealt with in the process of trying to get the journal translated, Sylvester’s attention-seeking tendencies seemed minor, but that didn’t mean I wanted a feathery battle to erupt above my head. The owl hated being ignored, and he wasn’t a fan of most of the library’s other inhabitants, either.

“No need, Jet.” I slid the translated pages back into the journal and closed it firmly. “I’m done here.”

“Good, because I need your help upstairs,” said Sylvester. “That friend of yours is trying to get through one of the closed doors up on the first floor again.”

“Why didn’t you lead with that?” I beckoned the little crow over to me. “Can you fetch Estelle to watch the desk while I’m upstairs?”

“Of course, partner!” he squeaked.

While Jet took flight, I resigned myself to abandoning the journal for a bit. Shrugging my bag over my shoulder, I made for the curving staircase which linked all five stories. Towering shelves filled each floor behind wooden balconies, while the sun streamed through the stained-glass windows and bathed everything in golden light. The smell of old tomes and the faint sound of rustling pages pursued me up the staircase until I touched down on the first floor.

I wove through the towering shelves, following Sylvester’s tawny form, until I found Laney standing nose to nose with a stretch of brick wall.

“I know you’re a door,” she told the wall. “You can’t fool me. I saw you change into a wall just then.”

I stepped up behind her. “Which section are you trying to get into?”

Laney whirled around, startling both of us. “Whoa. Sorry, Rory. Didn’t hear you then.”

I remained tensed, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I waited for my body to get the message that I wasn’t being chased. “I thought you could hear things from a mile off.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” she said. “I can hear everything in the entire library and it’s distracting me. Every conversation, every small sound… it’s hard for me to focus.”

“Sorry.” I breathed in and out, willing my heart rate to calm down. My best friend, Laney, was adjusting after our last encounter with Mortimer Vale and his vampire friends had left some permanent aftereffects. She’d mostly taken her transformation into a vampire in stride, but she was having trouble with some of her newfound talents. As a result, she tended to hang out in the areas of the library which weren’t as crowded so her newly enhanced senses and mind-reading abilities didn’t overwhelm her.

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “Anyway, can you open this door?”

“Are you sure it’s a door?” I examined the flat bricks, seeing no signs of a door handle or anything else. “Which section were you trying to get into, anyway?”

“I thought it was the Vampire Section,” she said. “I wanted to look up more about my condition.”

“Nah, this isn’t the Vampire Section.” I stepped away from the wall. “C’mon, we’ll find it.”

I’d lost sight of Sylvester, but it didn’t particularly surprise me that he’d got bored and flown off. The owl wasn’t exactly what you’d call reliable, except when it came to matters such as disturbing me when I was in the middle of trying to read my dad’s journal.

Laney and I wove through the towering shelves until we came to the right area, but the door didn’t appear in its usual spot. Nothing was a hundred percent constant when it came to the library, but I’d memorised the location of this particular door after the amount of time I’d had to spend looking up information on our fanged companions in the last few weeks.

“Don’t tell me Cass rearranged things again.” I was willing to bet it was either Cass or Sylvester who was responsible, since both were prone to playing practical jokes and neither of them had taken to our new guest.

Laney rolled her eyes. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”

Just as well that nothing fazed Laney. Not even being undead, or my misanthropic cousin. She glided away from the wall with much more grace then she’d had as a human. I could never quite describe how vampires walked, any more than I could quite put my finger on the way she’d changed. Her face was paler, ethereal, her hair glossier, and her movements graceful as a ballet dancer. Yet underneath all that, she was still Laney.

It sometimes seemed as though the guilt over her predicament would never quite leave me. I’d wanted to introduce my best friend to the magical world ever since I’d first moved here to the library, but on the surface, it’d seemed like an impossible dream. Humans weren’t allowed to be part of the paranormal world, and my dad had adhered to those rules so strictly that I’d grown up without a clue I was magical at all. When Laney had found her way into my life anyway, I’d been thrilled. 

Yet it’d turned out to be too good to be true. The Founders had targeted her, which had resulted in her getting a crash-course in magic. Fuelled by vampire blood she’d drunk at one of their events, she’d attempted to take out the vampires hunting me down with her own hands. In the end, she’d wound up being bitten herself, losing her humanity in the process. After undergoing a painful transformation, she’d come to live here in the library with my family, and we were still figuring out where to go from there.

I examined the spot where the door ought to have been. “Nope, it’s gone. It’ll be back soon, I don’t doubt. I’m glad you didn’t end up stuck in there with the book wraith, anyway.”

“I can handle a book wraith.” She turned away from the wall with the same graceful movements as before. “All right, I’ll come back later.”

We crossed the first floor, hearing footsteps from somewhere above. When we reached the staircase, Cass came into view, heading down from the second floor, where she kept a number of animals which she liked considerably more than the rest of us. There was also a good chance she was responsible for the missing door. Since Cass didn’t like people in general, she’d been less than impressed when a normal had showed up in the library, much less when she’d ended up turning into a vampire and having to stay here as a result. It’d taken Cass long enough to accept that I’d be staying here in the library for the long-term, let alone this new development.

Laney tensed behind me at the sight of my cousin. While her transformation into a vampire had caused them to come to a temporary truce, I’d often caught them glaring at one another, and a constant low-level tension simmered underneath the surface. Unlike me, Laney wasn’t Cass’s relation, so I didn’t know what more she could do to prove she wasn’t a threat to Cass or the library. While my own induction to the magical world had got off to a rocky start, I’d ended up settling in well and even had my dad’s old wand to prove my legitimacy. While Cass and I didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things—including my decision to date the Grim Reaper’s apprentice, Xavier—she’d developed a grudging respect for me which might even turn into friendship later down the line.

Laney, though, wasn’t even officially working in the library yet, while she hadn’t met most of the town’s citizens. She’d wanted to make sure she had her bloodlust under control before venturing outside the library. As a result, Cass was forced into proximity with her whether she liked it or not.

I caught up to Cass as she breezed past me. Her red hair was twisted into a topknot, her glasses and cloak sprinkled with sawdust, and a book was tucked underneath her arm. 

“Did you rearrange the doors?” I asked her. “On the first floor? The Vampire Section has wandered off.”

Cass gave me a brief look. “Why would I bother doing that?”

“Sylvester did it, then,” I said. “He’s in one of his annoying moods today.” 

We reached the lowest floor again, where a number of patrons gathered in the Reading Corner at the back. Plush sofas, bean bags and chairs were nestled between the shelves, while several tables formed a studying area for students from the local academy and university. I didn’t blame Laney for seeking higher ground to get away from the noise.

We made our way to the front desk to find Estelle clearing away a pile of books. She shared our family’s trademark red hair, though hers was loose and she was shorter and curvier than Cass was. Spark the pixie fluttered overhead, making chattering noises. I couldn’t understand a word he said, but Estelle had been making an effort to learn his language so they could communicate with one another. The pixie was yet another source of annoyance to Cass, who’d made no shortage of complaints about him dropping glitter on everything in sight.

“Hey, Rory,” Estelle said. “And you too, Laney. No problems?”

“Not at all,” said Laney, with a glare at Cass. “I can hear your thoughts, you know. I don’t appreciate you broadcasting your insults at me. It’s getting old.”

Cass scoffed. “Shouldn’t nose around in my head, then. You might not like what you find in there.”

“That’s enough,” said Estelle. “Cass, can you at least try not to be antagonistic?”

“We never discussed keeping a long-term guest in here amongst ourselves as a family,” said Cass. “You just assumed we all agreed with you.”

“Yes, we did discuss it,” I said. “And you were outvoted. Laney isn’t going anywhere.”

“Damn right I’m not,” Laney said. “Where’s that vampire book of yours?”

“Over here.” I moved to the desk and hunted for the Vampire Defence book, which had been instrumental in helping Laney adjust to the change without the aid of the other vampires. I then handed the book to Laney, suppressing the urge to give Cass a stern talking-to. It wouldn’t do any good, not as long as the source of her irritation was still here. Besides, Laney herself wasn’t exactly helping matters by exercising her mind-reading skills whenever Cass got too close to her.

In a way, I understood Cass’s annoyance, given her general aversion to strangers, but Laney had nowhere else to stay. Her mind-reading powers made it hard for her to handle large crowds… and that wasn’t even getting into her newly acquired thirst for human blood. 

Despite all the bumps in the road we’d faced, I had to admit it was nice to be in the same place as my best friend again, while I no longer had to worry about keeping my new life hidden from the person I trusted the most. As a bonus, spending so much time around Laney had gone a long way to helping me begin to move past the fear of vampires which had pursued me ever since my induction to the magical world. 

Estelle eyed the book in Laney’s hands. “Are you sure you need self-defence classes? Didn’t you knock a bookshelf onto Cass the other day when she startled you?”

“That was an accident,” she said. “Anyway, it’s Rory who wanted to practise.”

Laney and I had begun taking our magical theory classes together, since we were both new to the magical world and my own knowledge didn’t go much further than hers. Practical lessons were harder, because while she was happy to act as a dummy for me to practise spells on, I had zero desire to become a human pincushion while she refined her blood-drinking technique. As for mind-reading, she had yet to master the art of focusing for long enough to intentionally read someone’s thoughts, which was probably a good thing.

“Which spell are you on now?” asked Estelle.

“Locking and unlocking spells,” I said. “Last time I locked myself in the vampire’s basement and then couldn’t get out, so we need a little more practise.”

After the recent upheavals in my life, the focus of my magical lessons had revolved around learning to defend myself. Locking myself in the basement with the library’s resident sleeping vampire had not been on my plan, though.

“How are you doing with duelling spells?” asked Estelle.

“I can conjure up a shield, but I still drop it whenever there’s a sudden movement.” Which was not helpful when I was faced with any vampires, who were incapable of not being startlingly fast.

“You’re doing great,” said Estelle. “Honestly, a lot of veteran witches and wizards struggle with practical magic. It’s not like we’re built for combat—Cass, what are you doing?”

“What?” Cass had begun to walk back towards the stairs, as though she had every intention of hiding with her animals again.

“I thought you were going to help with the returns.” Estelle indicated the towering pile beside the front desk.

Cass glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t see you falling over yourself to ask your new friend to help you out.”

“Cass.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Why did you even come down here if you’re just going to be obnoxious?”

“She’s thinking about getting a unicorn next,” Laney supplied.

Cass went brick red. “Get out of my head.”

“Wait!” Estelle protested, but Cass was already marching away, her cloak streaming behind her. 

I rolled my eyes after her, and then turned to Laney. “Really?” 

“She asked for it,” said Laney. “Besides, do you really want a unicorn in here?”

Aunt Adelaide bustled into view. “Oh, there you are, Rory, Estelle. Have you seen Candace?”

“No.” Like Estelle, my aunt had the family’s signature red hair, and a curvier figure than her sister. She wore the same uniform as all of us: a silver-lined black cloak embossed with our family symbol, which consisted of a pair of wands crossed above an owl sitting atop an open book.

Estelle moved over to the pile of returns. “Why, is she not working on her book?”

“She isn’t in her room,” said her mother. “I wondered if she went out.”

“She might have.” Of all of us, Aunt Candace left the library the least often and only on special occasions, but that didn’t mean I had the slightest idea what she might be up to this time. With Aunt Candace, I was usually better off not knowing.

“Yeah, she probably went to get some air. Or inspiration.” Estelle waved her wand and moved some of the books from the return pile into a separate stack on the desk. “Right, we really need to deal with these returns. I’ll divide them up by floor.”

“That works,” I said. “Laney and I can do the first floor. Then we can look for that door again. The Vampire Section has moved somewhere. We couldn’t find it earlier.”’

“Seriously?” she said. “Well, that’s annoying.”

“It’s okay, I have this,” said Laney, waving the Vampire Defence book I’d given her. “If Cass wants to keep screwing around with the doors, I’ll wait until later.”

“I think it was Sylvester, actually,” I said. “He’s the one who told me you were stuck. If he keeps showing up to pester me whenever I have a moment’s peace, at this rate I’ll be lucky to finish reading my dad’s journal at the end of the century.”

Between dealing with the library and its many inhabitants, not to mention my ongoing lessons in magic, the odds of sneaking a quiet moment were low enough already. Still, I couldn’t complain about having a boring life.

“I’ll have a word with him,” said Aunt Adelaide. “Ah—there she is.”

Aunt Candace came sailing into the library, her cloak billowing behind her and her hair windswept. “I have great news.”

“Oh?” I said warily. To Aunt Candace, good news either consisted of an idea for her next book, or some kind of research opportunity, some of which had ended badly. Like when she’d got herself locked in jail and driven the police out of their minds by bombarding them with questions. Oh, and the time when she’d scored us all invitations to a party at the vampires’ home which had ended with someone being murdered. Admittedly, that part wasn’t actually her fault, but trouble followed her consistently wherever she went. If anything, she welcomed it.

“No need to look so frightened,” she said. “Where are the others? They’ll want to hear this.”

“Hear what?” Aunt Adelaide asked her sister. “The only person not here is Cass.”

“And I doubt she’d care either way,” I added.

“You’ve got that right,” Cass’s voice drifted down from the direction of the stairs.

Aunt Candace tutted. “You never fail to disappoint. This is the best news I’ve had in a long time.”

“Go on, tell us,” said Aunt Adelaide. 

“I’ve been nominated for an award,” Aunt Candace announced. “Or to be more accurate, my alter ego has.”

“Which one?” I asked. Aunt Candace had a pen name for every day of the week.

“My mystery pen name, Zora Martine,” she said. “I’ve been shortlisted for the Merry Mysteries award.”

At least it wasn’t for the book based on my dad’s life story. That was a bit too personal for my liking.

“Well done,” said Estelle, and the rest of us chimed in agreement.

“So when does the winner get announced?” asked Aunt Adelaide.

“There will be an award ceremony,” she said, “and the library has been nominated as one of the possible venues. It’s a great honour for all of us.”

“By nominated, do you mean you put it forward?” I turned to Aunt Adelaide, who wore an expression which suggested she’d come to the same conclusion as I had. She was usually the one whose permission we had to ask before using the library to host an event. Even Estelle, head of social events, deferred to her mother when it came to this sort of thing. Especially any events which involved Aunt Candace.

“Are they likely to choose the library as the venue?” said Aunt Adelaide.

“Maybe,” said Aunt Candace. “I think it would be great for us. A new way to bring more tourism to the town. There’ll be dozens of people attending the ceremony.”

Estelle’s mouth pressed together. “I suppose our tourism industry is in need of a boost. There’s not much else going on at this time of year.”

“The library has enough guest rooms for all the nominees, doesn’t it?” said Aunt Candace. “The other venues are hotels, but I’m sure the library can be an effective substitute.”

“I don’t know,” said Aunt Adelaide. “We’ve never had that number of guests in here before, much less overnight.”

“There aren’t that many shortlisted nominees,” said Aunt Candace. “Besides, it’ll be good for the library’s reputation.”

Estelle’s back straightened, her eyes brightening. I could see the thoughts ticking over in her mind. “I suppose.”

“I’ll also be unmasking my pen name,” she added. “So that’ll be worth watching.”

“Um, Aunt Candace, I’m pretty sure people will figure out your identity when you invite them to the library,” said Estelle. “Considering we’re the only ones who live here. And the library is well-known enough that they’ll make the connection.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” she said. “I’ve kept this name a secret for years.”

“Except from us,” said Cass, sauntering into view. “And Edwin. And half the students at the academy. Oh, and Zee at the bakery—”

“You’ve made your point,” said Aunt Candace. “Anyway, it shouldn’t take much preparation to get the library ready. We’ve done events like this before, haven’t we?”

“We have,” said Estelle. “I can handle that side of things, no problem.”

“If you’re sure,” said Aunt Adelaide. “We don’t have anything else going on for the next few months, at least until the weather improves.”

“Precisely,” said Aunt Candace.

Cass gave an eye-roll. “Have you ever noticed that when we do have things going on, it ends up being more trouble than it’s worth?”

“It’s only an award ceremony,” said Aunt Candace. “Really. I thought you’d be happy.”

“I am,” said Estelle. “Just trying to figure out the logistics. When is it?”

“One week from Friday. Is that enough time to plan?”

“It is.” We all knew Estelle could pull together a great event at a moment’s notice, given the chance. She’d done it before.

The slight issue? We hadn’t held an event bigger than the weekly poetry night since Laney had come to live here in the library. We certainly hadn’t had other guests staying overnight either.

“Okay,” said Aunt Adelaide. “We’ll put the library forward as one of the contenders for the venue. If we win, we’ll deal with that when it comes to it.”

I hoped it’d be that simple. When I looked at Laney, I saw wariness in her expression, and a flutter of unease stirred within me.

If she was having difficulty being around individual people, how would she cope with a huge event with a bunch of strangers?