The Books Call

Ant and I sat and chatted and stared off into space contemplating our own things until we watched the two vampires and their lovely human servant walk past us and stand waiting for the elevators. That was when we stood up and shook hands before leaving the vampires waiting for their ride down to the ground floor.

Alex stood in his doorway watching and waiting for the two of us to join him. I walked in first and Ant followed me, Alex closed the door behind us. “Nox, where the fuck did you hide the book?”

I shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Did he steal it?” He looked accusingly at Ant.

Ant smirked, “Nope, I can’t find it either. No one can that I know of not even the Master of Shadow like my mother can break his veil.”

I let go of the mental pattern I’d been holding over the book and it reappeared unharmed still wrapped in the clothe it had been when Alex showed it to me. Alex visibly relaxed when he saw it. “You can take it with you, Son of Il Cane.”

“Mother says you are the Keeper of it now.” Ant refused.

“I don’t fucking want it.” Alex growled out.

Ant just shrugged. “Nox will help you protect it.”

“I don’t need his fucking help. I don’t want the fucking thing.” As they argued about the semantics of Alex’s guardian ship I felt a strong pull to look at the book. More than look, as I picked it up and ran my fingers over the leather bound cover I felt power radiating from it. I turned the cover carefully and opened to the first page.

The first page was fragile underneath my finger tips. There were strange symbols across the page, but the funny thing was I knew what it said. I figured it was because Ant told me the title of the book. But I flipped to the next page and I knew what it said. “The Origin of Man and … ” The next word didn’t translate well, I knew what it meant – felt it more than could explain it. It was the essence of supernatural beings, and even as I thought the words they became more clear in the reading. Like whatever was translating it to English understood the term now but had no word for it before.

I read outloud, “The Origin of Man and Supernatural beings.” It started like a story. “Once there was just the Umbra.”

A voice pulled me out of the words and I looked up to see Ant and Alex staring at me, “What?” I asked sort of dazed.

Ant asked, “You just read that?”

I nodded, “Yeah.” I looked down at the indecipherable symbols and then back up at him. They looked cryptic but I could read it without a problem. “It’s not an exact translation.” I said.

“Mother has tried for years to learn the language it’s written in.”

“It’s not a language really. I guess it is, but it’s more like magic. I don’t really know what it says, but I can read it.”

Ant shook his head. “Mother will be pleased and pissed at the same time. One she is right, and that you can read it and she can’t.” Ant laughed.

“So what the fuck does that mean?” Alex growled as he sat down next to me and touched the book. I looked down where his fingers slide across the symbols and I could read what he was looking at. And I felt Alex in my head. “Jesus fucking Christ this is fucked up.”

He looked up at Ant, “He really can’t translate the symbols he just knows what it says. It’s like the words just pop into his head, no calculation, it’s like when he’s looking at something and studying it – I’m assuming he’s assessing the patterns?” He looked at me with questioning eyes. He didn’t know exactly what I did, but he’d evase dropped in my head long before he and I were more than a thing.

“Yeah sorry about that Pretty boy.” Alex sighed.

I shrugged, “It’s okay. It brought you back to me.” And it really was okay. I was glad that Alex was in my life. So fucking glad.

Alex stood up and took the book from my hands and covered it back up before he placed it back inside the safe in his room. “Can you hide it in there?” He asked.

I nodded and it disappeared from the safe. His hand touched the safe as if it went through the book. And he looked back at me. “You see what you expect to see. If you tried hard enough, and were sensitive enough you could see it.”

“I can see it through you, but not when I look at it myself.” Alex said.

Ant nodded in agreement, “Same here. But only because I know it’s there. A veil he hides before I saw it, or I don’t already know it’s there – like on his back, then I can’t see through it. Mother is better at breaking through veils and shadows and such and she can’t break through Nox’s veils. It’s only the mental connection that allows us that limited power.”

Alex closed the safe and looked at Ant. “I’m taking Nox out. I’m gonna invite Benji and now you out with us – a bunch of friends getting to know each other a little bit more.” He said as he waved at me to stand up and he pulled me close once I was at his side. “We’re going someplace upscale, join us, I want to show him what Vegas really is about before he goes back home.”

Ant laughed, “He would rather stay home with you, than find out what Vegas is about but yeah sure. An hour?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, we’ll meet you downstairs and I’ll handle everything else.”

Ant left through the shadows chuckling to himself. I could only guess at what he was thinking. And that left me alone with Alex and I pressed a kiss to his cheek, then down his jaw line and a tender kiss to his lips.

Alex pulled away from me, “Nuh uh.” He pushed me in the direction of the shower. “I expect you take a lot longer than I do to get ready go shower.”

I glared at Alex mockingly, “You calling me a girl?”

Alex smirked, “Never. Please, go get ready?”

I couldn’t say no to Alex. And there was no way in fucking hell I could say no when he said please. So I went without further ado and took a shower – alone though I’m sure Alex was rather entertained with my thoughts.