"Light reading?" Mrs. Lark repeated slowly. She blinked at Avalon, but her smile didn't falter. "Very well."
Avalon walked over to the separation between the circulation desk and the stacks. Wrought iron scroll work added during renovations twisted its way up from the half-wall to the ceiling, and a gate without a lock was the only thing to break the sprawling filigree. As she took hold of the gate, Mrs. Lark reached under the desk and pulled a lever to release the lock.
"Pride and Prejudice, read it," Avalon whispered. "In a Glass Darkly, read it." She trailed her fingers along the spines of the books, and enjoyed the tingling sensation that flooded up her arm and swept down her spine. The gold leafing, which should have been flecking off, was pristine and shimmered in the inconsistent candlelight. "Secret Garden, no, Nibelungenlied, read it, twice."
With a sigh, Avalon shifted her satchel as she walked back to the gate.
The key to the vaults was cast iron, ornate at the bow and carved with feathered wings down the shaft to create the teeth. The door was down three shallow stairs and behind a tapestry of the serpent offering Eve the forbidden fruit. Avalon wondered, yet again, why God would put a fruit tree in the Garden that he didn't want his children to eat from.
The candles in the vault were not lit, Avalon lit the ones set into the wall as she passed them by. Her heels echoed loudly as they hit the stone stairs, but she didn't hesitate to enter the space where the priceless and, as Mrs Lark claims, dangerous book were kept. Avalon located the gas valve and opened it, then pressed a switch to light the gas lamps along the ceiling and at the end of each shelf. Here were plenty of books she had not read yet, and they were always interesting.
The pocket watch declared that it was five minutes before eight when Avalon stepped out from the public stacks. Mrs Lark wasn't at the circulation desk, but it was nearing time to close. After she returned the key to the hidden slot on the edge of the desk, Avalon slipped out of the cathedral and into the cool, wet air.
The leaves crunched under her heels as she walked to the cobblestone sidewalk. She paused under the streetlight to look back up at the cathedral as the light in the windows became dimmer. She could count exactly as each candle was snuffed out, leaving the ancient stonework in quiet solitude once all was done. A chilling wind brushed by as the last candle sputtered out. It was hard to believe that not long ago the building would have been draped in the warm colors of sunset at this time. Avalon checked her watch just to be sure it wasn't later than usual.
Nine o' clock, on the dot.
She pulled a scarf out of her satchel and tied it around her neck as she walked away. The streetlights scattered against the round lenses of her glasses, which made her remove them to clean with her handkerchief. She walked through the small cathedral square blind, and continued past several row houses before she placed her glasses back over her crystal blue eyes. They didn't have ear pieces, so Avalon delicately balanced the frames on the bridge of her nose.
As she paused to tuck her handkerchief back into her vest pocket, Avalon turned her gaze down the dark alley beside her. She couldn't help staring down dark alleys or into graveyards as she passed them, even though she dreaded actually seeing anything. A clatter startled her idle gaze into focusing on what she couldn't see. A liquid splattered top hat rolled out of the curtain of shadow and circled to a stop at Avalon's feet.
"What is this?" she asked the air quietly as she crouched to pick up the hat. The street lamp behind her illuminated the dark stain, casting a sheen of dark red through it. "Blood?"
Avalon bit her lower lip as a shiver rattled her knees. She took a hesitant step into the alley and looked down at the sound of sloshing liquid. A short yelp escaped her as she stumbled back. Her foot landed squarely in the pooling blood and slipped forward, sending her skidding onto the ground. Pain blossomed along her hands, hip, and arms. Avalon struggled to her feet, and stared at the crimson blood that now stained her right side. She gave a strangled yip as another crash sounded in the alley and a black mass shot out at her. The impact knocked the wind out of her as both she and the creature crashed into the wall of the building across the street.
Avalon's last vision was the sidewalk rising to meet her.
No comments:
Post a Comment