Shifter’s University Page 14
“The headmistress sends people down here for you to kill?” Lacy asked, her voice gone hoarse.
“Don’t be silly,” he exclaimed. Realizing there was a wrinkle in his shirt that marred the bridge of Justin’s nose, he pulled on the hem to straighten it out. “She only sends the humans who have seen too much.” Then he realized we were both staring at him, so he rolled his eyes again, as if taking pains to explain what happened below the library would take forever. “I don’t kill them. I only take enough blood to keep me from going batty.” He stopped, then smiled, as if enjoying some inside joke, before continuing. “The venom in my bite causes temporary amnesia, so it’s a win-win for us both.”
“But I thought the witches were the ones in charge of all the magic,” I said, confused.
“My darling girl,” he drawled. “Don’t you know? Vampires always do it so much better.”
True, he was a vampire. And he was, without a doubt, crazy. But we were going to need his help. “Aeolith told us that the school’s first journals were down here. That’s why we’re here.”
“Ah yes, the grouchy fae sent you. She keeps the fancy books above, and I keep the moldy ones that no one wants below,” he said, finally understanding our mission. “You would be the first to venture down here. No one has asked for those records in years.” He turned and walked further into the room, disappearing behind a wall of bright-colored beads that hung in strands from the ceiling.
Lacy and I looked at one another and shrugged, then followed the slapping of his flip-flops.
On the other side, the room was pure chaos. Hints of what I guessed to be old wooden bookshelves lined the walls and there must have been actual books on them somewhere, because he was busily moving what looked to be half of his wardrobe off the shelves to unearth them, pitching shirts, pants, and even some sort of strange flowery hats to the floor in a jumble.
He must not get much company, I thought, realizing now that Lacy and I had dozens of eyes on us as we waited. Never had I seen so many posters and life-sized cutouts of singers and actors in my entire life. Lacy had been correct. The entire group of the Backstreet Boys were hanging out in all their cardboard glory to our left near an old leather sofa, and then on our right was a poster for the new Wonder Woman movie.
A jukebox sat in the center of the room with a CD player on top of it. Our host had possessions spanning several eras. I was curious how long he’d been down here as guardian to Imperium’s oldest books, but I decided to ask a different question first.
“What is your name?”
At that, he stopped throwing things to the floor and turned.
“I am Quinn,” he said, giving us a low, elaborate bow. “Keeper of dusty tomes, errant humans…” His gaze landed on the life-sized poster of Elvis hanging on the far wall, and he smiled, a small trace of fang showing on his lip. “…and other stuff.”
Acknowledgments
Special thanks go to my wonderful beta readers: Savannah Aust, O’Livia Clayton, Karlee Lawrence, Victoria Zumbrum, and Yvonne Farmer, who were the first to suffer through the rough draft of this story and give me their honest opinions. You guys are the best! (Logan and Claire are also eternally grateful.)
Thank you to Megan Linski, for the help in outlining my rather bizarre tale.
To Robin Allen and Cynthia Shepp, editors extraordinaire. Special thanks also to Echo Shea. You are all amazing. I couldn’t have done this without you.
Daqri Bernardo, your graphic designs are truly a work of art. I am honored to have your work as the “face” for my story.
Lastly to my family, whose love and support continues to astound me. I love you so much!
Other Books by K.R. Thompson
The Keeper Saga:
Hidden Moon
Once Upon a Haunted Moon
The Wolf
Wynter’s War
Charmed
Under a Dark Moon
Blood Moon Rising
Wynter’s End (coming soon)
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The Untold Stories of Neverland:
Pan
Hook
Nerida
Jack
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Anthologies:
Once Upon a Spell
Tales of Red
About the Author
K.R. Thompson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the mountains of southwestern Virginia with her husband, son, and a motley crew of pets.
An avid reader and firm believer in the magic of stories, she spends her nights either reading an adventure or writing one.
She still watches for evidence of Bigfoot in the mud of Wolf Creek.
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Stay up to date with her newest releases by signing up for her VIP newsletter at her website – www.krthompson.net