Chapter 18

Cassie drew her coat around her shivering body in a vain attempt to block the wind. She tucked her hands under her arms. The elegant gloves she wore were designed to look good with her coat rather than keep her hands warm.

"Do you see anything, Richie?" Cassie asked, her voice quivering with the cold.

Richie didn't seem to care about the wind, or the tiny snowflakes that struck his exposed face like icy pellets. His jacket was only half-fastened, part of it flapping with the breeze. In his gloveless hands he held the letter that contained the poem and the reason why Cassie, Richie, Ned, and Diane waited for the others in front of the Haven Public Library.

Richie screwed up his face. "Just bits and pieces. Like the dream I had before I found the ring. I can see some chick at a table writing a letter."

Diane stared, her hands thrust into the pockets of a thick winter coat. "Really? You can actually see something?" she asked, her breath fogging the air.

"Yeah. Kinda."

"What does she look like?" Cassie asked excitedly.

"Long black hair. Real funky dress, like from some old pic. Place looks weird, too."

"Jason might be right about how long ago the letter was written."

Ned also appeared not to mind the cold, his jacket open in the front. He glanced up at the leaden gray sky, squinting as the wind rose and blew tiny ice crystals in his face. "Least mebbe this weather'll keep everyone else away."

"Does anyone even use this place anymore?" Diane asked. "I always do everything on the internet."

"I can't see nothin' more'n that," Richie drawled, handing the letter back to Cassie.

"Well, it was worth a try, anyway," Cassie said. She carefully folded the letter and tucked it into an inside pocket of her coat. She shivered hard as the wind struck her. "I guess you really have to be at the place where the memory is."

Richie nodded absently, looking intensely thoughtful.

"I think they're here," Diane said, pointing.

A yellow cab pulled up to the curb. Jason, Heather, and Melinda got out.

"Well, good news is that the rumors of our sex lives hasn't gotten back to my Mom yet," Jason said as he walked up to them.

"And the bad news, kemosabe?" Ned asked.

"Bad news: I didn't really find anything about the library. Not even a single picture about what the interior of the library looked like before a renovation that was done in 1981. So this may be a wild goose chase after all."

"So, at least we'll get us some fine fixin's fer dinner if we catch one," Ned said, betraying his impatience. He jerked a thumb towards the entrance. "Let's go. That book ain't gonna find itself."

"And it's freezing out here anyway!" Melinda complained, hugging herself.

"Here, I better go in the lead," Jason said as he headed for the door.

The main doors of the library opened up into a small rotunda with a vaulted ceiling. Just off to the left lay the checkout and returns desk. Past that was the wide opening into the main wing of the library. On the opposite side, another similar entrance led to the reference section and administrative offices. Lining the wall in between the two openings were public access computers.

The rotunda was arranged around a bronze statue that rose from the exact center. About eight feet tall, it depicted a distinguished scholar holding a large book tucked under his left arm, his right arm raised high and holding a lantern. Red velvet ropes cordoned off a perimeter around it about a foot from the base. A small sign attached to one of the poles read: "Please do not touch the statue. Thank you."

There was a gold plaque attached to the base, but none of them were close enough to read it.

Richie brought up the rear. As he crossed the threshold, he froze. His eyes took on a distant look.

Melinda shivered as she felt another blast of wind against her back. She jerked her head around and glared at Richie. "Close the door, stupid."

Richie blinked, as if not even realizing he was still holding the handle. He let it go, a subdued look in his eyes.

An elderly lady from the checkout desk turned her head and smiled. "Hello, Jason. Nice to see you again."

"Hi, Ms. Johnson," Jason said softly.

She craned her neck as the others came into view. "Oh my. With this nasty wind, I didn't think I'd hardly see anyone today."

"Um, they're with me, actually. Group project for school."

"It's such a relief to see that some students understand how much better it is to do research here instead of online. Please, don't hesitate to call on me if you need anything. I'm sort of running the show today."

"You're the only one here, ma'am?"

"Oh yes." She sighed despondently. "We barely have enough funding as it is to stay open at all on Saturdays. Oh well."

"We should be okay. Thank you, anyway." Jason smiled to her and led the others into the main section of the library.

"Okay, now what?" Melinda whispered urgently.

Jason looked around. "Well, we have to make it look good in case Ms. Johnson looks in on us. Just wander about the aisles and take a book out every now and then. There's a study area in the back."

"But what are we looking for?" Heather asked.

"I wish I knew. I don't even know if the library is the right place to be."

"Yeah, this is the right place," Richie said.

The others stared at him. "And how do you know that?" Melinda demanded.

"I saw something in my head when we came in. The same chick I saw when I held the letter. She said something about hiding it quickly and getting out."

"It's got to be here then!" Cassie cried softly.

"Did you see where she was hiding it?" Jason asked.

"Nah, man, sorry. That's all I saw."

Ned socked his fist into his open hand. "Okay, gang, we gotta find us a spell book. Let's go."

Melissa lounged against the hand rest at one end of the sofa, lazily turning the pages of a magazine and looking bored.

"Uhhn ... p-please, Melissa... " came her mother's breathless voice. "Please..."

Melissa sighed and ignored her.

Kathy moaned and writhed in her seat. Her fingers massaged her clit, knees spread. "Uhhn! ... Oh God ... n-no more..."

"Keep watching," Melissa said without looking up.

Kathy swallowed, her wide and shocked eyes staring at the TV despite her desire to look away. The images that flickered in faint reflection off her glistening eyes from the adult movie sent waves of unrelenting lust through her body. Her fingers could not move fast enough or make her cum hard enough to satisfy it.

"M-Melissa ... if your f-father comes in..." Kathy moaned desperately.

"How many times do I have to tell you? He won't come in unless I want him to. He's perfectly content to putter away in his workshop in the basement this morning."

"B-but ... ohh! ... n-not again ... stop ... uhhh!... uhhhnn!"

Kathy's thighs clenched as her pussy throbbed again. Her feet tugged at the panties that lay tangled around her ankles. Even as her orgasm faded and both cunt and fingers ached, she continued to masturbate without pause as the lead actor of the picture started fucking yet another girl hard and fast.

Melissa finished reading an article and leisurely turned the page. "Besides, you love watching porn movies now."

"P-please, no ... I can't ... this is wrong... "

Melissa raised her eyes. "Stop whining, Mom. I'm giving you a break. You don't want strange guys fucking you, so you take this instead." She smirked. "You know, I don't see Dad objecting to what I've done. He's fucked you himself, hasn't he?"

Kathy shuddered and blushed deeply, even as she pumped her fingers hard into her cunt and panted heavily.

"Probably the only action you've given him in years. All because of your stupid..."

Melissa trailed off, her eyes going wide.

They're close ... soon ... very soon...

Melissa's heart thumped, first in fear, then in mounting excitement. She had not recognized it at first. Until that moment, it had come to her only in her dreams. This was the first time she had heard the voice of the pendant while awake. But there was a reason why it had spoken to her so directly.

Someone was about to find the book.

Melissa clutched at her pendant and took a deep breath. It seemed almost too good to be true. She had given them the clue only days ago, and now they nearly had their hands upon the very object of her search! But where was it?

The pendant did not answer her.

Kathy moaned piteously as her aching pussy rose again.

Melissa let go of the pendant. "One more orgasm. Then you can stop. In fact, you can just go away. I won't bother you any more today." She slowly smiled. "I'm suddenly feeling in a very generous mood."

An hour later, the frustrated Harbingers came together around the largest table in the study area. Outside, the wind had eased, but the sky had darkened, and snow wafted down in thick flakes.

"This is ridiculous," Melinda piped. "I don't even know where to look."

"We tried searching bookshelves that looked like they were opposite an overhead light," Heather said. "We didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"But is that correct?" Cassie asked.

"How the hell should I know?!" Melinda cried, which was met with a chorus of "shh" sounds from the others.

"What I mean is, there was a line about it being hidden somewhere."

"But out in the open at the same time, right? That's what doesn't make sense."

"Didja try lookin' behind the books?" Ned asked.

"Yeah, we tried that," Melinda said in irritation. "We're not stupid, okay?"

"I thought I had something," Diane said. "There was a cart sitting directly across an aisle from a light. I searched it, but I didn't see anything but ordinary books. It didn't look like it had any compartments either."

"It was probably just left there by someone putting returned books back," Jason said. "But it was worth checking. Richie, are you sure you don't..."

"Look, man, I've been asked a freakin' zillion times by everyone," Richie snapped. "I don't fucking have any more for you. I gotta be holdin' something."

"Wait, what about the letter?"

"We tried it already," Cassie said. "Nothing. The letter wasn't written here."

Jason sighed. "Shit."

"Yeah, my thought 'xactly," Richie muttered.

"Jason, you said you couldn't find any pictures of the place online," Cassie said. "What about here? Maybe they have something we can look at."

Jason slowly nodded. "Yeah, it's worth a shot. Ms. Johnson has been with the place for twenty years. She might know something. Here, wait up, everyone."

Jason rushed into the rotunda and approached the checkout desk. Ms. Johnson looked up and beamed. "Yes, Jason, how can I help you?"

"My friend and I are doing a research project about the history of Haven," he began. "There's some information I was hoping you might have."

"What an interesting project! This town does have a rather fascinating history, indeed. A bit checkered, in fact. What do you need?"

"I'd like some history about the library itself. Are there any old photos of the place back about mid-century?"

Ms. Johnson's eyes widened. "Oh my, you want to know about the library's founding, then."

"Founding?"

"Yes, it was built in 1950. Sadly, there are few records of that time. A fire in 1965 burned down the reference wing and much of the library's records."

Jason's face fell. "Oh."

Ms. Johnson gave him a sympathetic look and touched his hand. "I'm so sorry, Jason. No one was more heartbroken than the librarian at the time."

Jason nodded. "Well, thank you anyway, Ms. Johnson."

She smiled and dropped her eyes back to her paperwork.

Jason suppressed a sigh as he wandered away from the desk. Rather than heading back to the main wing, he drifted towards the statue, placing a hand on one of the poles that held the velvet ropes in place. He raised his eyes to the statue's face.

So now what? They had two tantalizing clues and no leads. And if the book was not at the library after all, it could be anywhere.

His eyes drifted across the outstretched arm of the statue, then down to the book. Finally he dropped his eyes to the plaque. Engraved on the plaque were the words "The Light Of Knowledge."

Jason's mouth dropped open. His eyes snapped back to the lantern that the statue carried. To the light.

Opposite the light...

Jason stepped back from the statue. The lantern was held towards the main section of the library. But it was intended to be viewed as someone stepped inside. So the front doors were opposite the statue.

And right next to the doors was the checkout desk.

"Ms. Johnson!"

She looked up. "Yes, Jason?"

"Was this statue always here?"

"Oh yes. It was placed here when the library was built. A generous gift of the governor at the time."

"And the arrangement of the rotunda here. Was that always the same?"

Ms. Johnson looked thoughtful. "I am not sure. It was as far back as the fire, and that was before the first major renovation."

Jason smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Johnson, that was very helpful."

He walked out of the rotunda, then when he was out of sight of Ms. Johnson, he raced back to the others and explained his revelation.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Jason said excitedly. "It's the only thing even remotely like a light that's been here since the place was built. And that was about when we think the letter was written. It's the best thing that fits with what we have."

"So what do we do?" Ned asked.

"We have to search the checkout desk."

"Uh, small problem, chief. Whadda we do with the old biddy behind the desk?"

"Aw, c'mon, that's easy," Richie drawled. "Wait til she goes to the bathroom. She's a woman and she old. She'll be in there for an hour."

Diane and Heather snickered. Melinda rolled her eyes.

"I can't come up with anything better, so we'll do it," said Jason. "Is there anyone else in the library now?"

"Two older guys in the ref section," Ned said. "Sittin' readin' mags in the corner."

"Okay, how about this? One of us keeps an eye on Ms. Johnson and lets us know when she leaves her desk. Then someone watches the hall to the restrooms and gives us some sort of signal when she's coming back. We post someone else to watch for anyone else in the library coming into the rotunda, and a third to watch for new people coming in."

There was a nodding of heads.

"I'll keep an eye on Ms. Johnson, then. She's used to me hanging around."

Melissa sat alone in the living room. The TV was off. Utensils clattered in the kitchen as her father made himself lunch.

She tried to remain patient and failed. Several times she attempted to prod the pendant into telling her how much longer it would take. Each time she was met with silence. Then out of the blue she would hear the voice again, and it would say the same thing to her. Just as it did at that moment.

They are so close ... they will seek it ... they will find it...

"Yes, I know, but when?!" Melissa hissed under her breath.

Again, there was only irritating silence in return.

An antsy forty-minutes later, Jason flagged down the others.

"She finally left her desk, but then I had to wait for someone else lingering right near the entrance to the reference section to leave, so we don't have much time. Let's go."

The Harbingers poured into the rotunda. Diane went to the reference section, Melinda to the hall that led to the rest rooms. Richie stood watch at the door.

Ned vaulted over the desk and landed with a thump on the other side. Cassie grinned faintly as she, Jason, and Heather joined him via the swinging gate instead.

Very soon, the rotunda was filled with sounds of drawers opening and closing, papers rustling, and eventually, frustrated sighs and grumbling.

"We're not finding anything, Jason," Heather said as she looked through a drawer for the third time.

"Look for false bottoms," Jason said. He pulled up a set of folders in the drawer he was currently searching and rapped the bottom with his knuckles.

Cassie shut a drawer and sighed. "I don't think it's here, Jason."

"But it's the only thing that makes sense! This is as 'opposite the light' as we can get."

"Maybe the reference section? The lantern is pointing towards the main section. The references section is on the opposite side of the rotunda from it."

"Me and Melinda already looked in the ref section," Heather said. "But I think you're right, it's not here."

Jason stepped back, exasperated. He glanced behind him. "Start looking for compartments in the walls and floor." He crouched and rapped his knuckles against the worn hardwood.

Heather paused, then slowly shook her head. "It doesn't feel right. It's not here."

Jason straightened. "How do you know that?"

"Finding this book is pretty important, right? I think I would sense it if we were going to find it. If..." Heather trailed off. Her eyes widened. "Ms. Johnson is..."

Melinda dashed into the rotunda. "She's coming back!"

" ... coming back," Heather said at the same time.

"Dammit," Jason muttered. All of them rushed out from behind the desk. Diane joined them from the reference section. Richie wandered past them, looking up at the statue.

"What now, o wise one?" Ned asked.

Jason sighed. "No freaking clue. But we better get out of here, first."

Jason started back towards the main section of the library, the others falling into step behind him, save for Richie. He was still lingering at the statue, standing close enough that the rope was touching his waist.

Cassie glanced behind her. She came to a stop and turned. "Richie?"

Richie continued to stare up at the statue. Images were forming in his head, just like they had in his room before he had discovered the ring.

Cassie started towards him. "Richie, did you hear Jason? We have to get back."

Richie's eyes lowered, but he did not acknowledge Cassie at all.

A worried look on her face, Cassie approached him and reached out a hand. "Richie, are you all right?"

Richie reached out his hand towards the statue. Cassie's hand alighted on his shoulder.

Richie touched the statue...

... and reality shifted.

He heard a loud gasp just behind him and whirled around. "Cassie?? What the fuck?!"

Cassie's eyes were wide and staring as she frantically looked around her. The place where they stood bore little resemblance to the library rotunda save for its general shape and the statue that still dominated its center. The walls were open to the studs, wire and pipe exposed. Large scaffolds rose towards the ceiling, some dwarfing the statue itself.

The room was shrouded in darkness, save for what feeble illumination remained from a string of work lights draped between two scaffolds. The night breeze blew in through the opening that would hold the front entrance, making the lights swing and shadows sway along the debris-strewn floor.

"How the hell did you get here?" Richie demanded loudly.

Cassie's eyes were drawn to movement on the other side of the chamber. She pointed and tried to draw Richie into the shadows. "Shh! They'll hear you!" she whispered, but it sounded embarrassingly loud in the quiet of the dark rotunda.

"No, they won't," Richie said. "And that one in the front is the chick I saw in my head."

Cassie stared at Richie for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the approaching figures.

A tall, lean woman with flowing black hair was picking her way carefully through the detritus that littered the unfinished floor of the library. She carried a flashlight. Or rather, they assumed it was a flashlight. While it had the familiar electric lamp and reflector, it was shaped and carried much like a lantern.

She was dressed in clothing similar to what Richie had seen in his thoughts. She had a bag hanging by a thin rope tied around her waist. It gave a faint, metallic rattle as she walked.

She turned her head and looked at her companion, who was only just barely discernible in the light. "Hurry up, please, I want to get this over with," she said in a melodic, though irritated voice.

"I am going as fast as these old legs can carry me, Jessica," came the reply. He was panting, as if trying to catch his breath. "You are going to have to help me. My arthritis is positively awful today."

"They can't hear us?" Cassie whispered.

Richie brought his fingers to his lips and gave a piercing whistle that made Cassie jump. "Yo! Over here!" he shouted. The figures took no notice. He turned to Cassie. "See?"

"Richie, did you touch the statue just now?"

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to see if I could get anything. Looks like I hit the jackpot, huh?"

Cassie's expression quickly turned from fear to fascination. "And I'm seeing it too! Oh my goodness! It must be because I was touching you when..."

"We'll need a ladder," said Jessica as they stopped in front of the statue. "Are you sure it will be safe in there, Gary?"

Cassie gasped and pointed. "Richie, look!"

Under one of Jessica's arms was a thick, leather-bound book.

"Huh. Yeah. Think that's what we're lookin' for?" Richie drawled.

The man named Gary, a wizened, slightly stooped man with a bushy gray mustache, paused a moment before responding. "As safe as it can be, so long as neither of us tells anyone about it. Honestly, Jessica, I don't like this. I can get into a lot of trouble if anyone finds out. I want to retire next year and live out my days in peace."

Jessica turned. As she did, Richie and Cassie got a glimpse of the cover of the book. Inscribed upon it was a large, gold pentagram, pointed downward. In the center was a stylized eye.

The eye...

Cassie stared at it for a long moment, and it was as if something were about to click in her head. She felt like she had seen the eye before. It almost seemed to glow...