Dark Waters (Elemental Book 1) by Rain Oxford Page B

inside the
room, it would be a while before I could go in, so I wandered the hallways of
the school. I tried not to think of Darwin. Hell, I hated Regina, but I
wouldn’t want to spend my life unable to touch anyone. Marrying the hell-bitch
didn’t put me off women altogether, as much as she tried to.
    I came upon a familiar staircase that was missing
every other step. Remembering that it led to another library, I decided to
check it out. I was still curious about the missing pages, mostly because
someone specifically tore them out. I wanted to know what people didn’t want me
to know.
    I made it up the stairs and opened the door, almost
surprised to find it was well-lit. What it was lit with, I didn’t know, because
I couldn’t see any actual source of light. The library was huge compared to
others, so I knew it would take a long time to search. I started at the nearest
shelf and scanned every title. Nothing on the history of the school. Nothing on
vampires.
    I did run across a book on the water element, though
I didn’t pull it down. I knew Remington was going to have a fit, but solving a
mystery was more important than learning about magic I couldn’t do.
    A book hit me in the head, startling me from my
thoughts. I looked up and saw nothing odd, so I picked up the book. Get
Familiar with Your Familiar , the title read. No, thanks . I slid the
book into the shelf and backed up to try to see over the top. Since the
bookcase was about ten feet tall I wasn’t seeing much.
    I went around to the other side, saw nothing
suspicious, and moved to the next shelf. Curious if there was a “darker”
section, possibly a private section, I headed up the circular staircase. The
second level seemed to have thicker, older books of more dubious natures, so I
resumed my search.
    Three shelves down, I found that I wasn’t alone.
Heather Anne was putting a book back into place on a shelf when she turned and
saw me. She wore a button-up, almost see-through, greenish paisley shirt tucked
into short jean shorts and black high-heeled sandals.
    She smiled. “Hello, Devon. I’m surprised to see you
here.”
    “You’re surprised to see me in a library?”
    “I’m surprised to see you in this library.
Only certain kinds of people find this library.”
    “What kinds of people?”
    “I have to go now. I’ll see you around.”
    A door opened downstairs and I looked over the
balcony to see Mrs. Ashcraft enter. I turned back to warn Heather to hide, but
she was gone. I ducked behind the closest shelf and listened.
    “I believe Logan knows about the reports,” the deputy
principal said.
    Student reports or police reports?
    “Then why hasn’t he found me out yet?” a younger
woman asked.
    I hadn’t heard her voice before, but my instincts
were screaming at me to look. Slowly, hesitantly, I peeked over the balcony.
She looked to be about twenty-five with long, straight black hair, a smooth
complexion, and a figure that would make any man look twice.
    It was the vampire from the hallway.
    “You just let me worry about that. And steer clear of
Devon Sanders. I believe Logan hired him to investigate the files. Lay low for
a few days and I will get him out of the picture.”
    Nope, definitely not worth five grand a week.

Chapter 4
    On the night I met Astrid,
she didn’t talk much, so I told her all about school until the cold wind chased
me back into my room. The next night, I knocked again. When she knocked back, I
got up and ran to the clothes I had laid out earlier; my thickest jeans and a
jacket. My room was small and boring, so I hadn’t bothered to unpack any of my
boxes. Hoping to talk to Astrid again, I had made sure my clothes were set out.
    After dressing, I went to the window, pulled myself
out onto the flower bed, and leaned over to knock on her window. I felt fear as
I looked down, but when Astrid opened her window and pulled herself out like I
had, the height didn’t seem like such a big deal.
    She was slightly less pale