Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

smiled as I glanced around at the rows of shelves filled with books. The original hardwood floors were scratched up and aging, showing that this place got a lot of love and care. The shop was way bigger than I thought it would be from the outside. It was more like a library, and there were only a few people milling around here and there.

A book floated through the air and then placed itself on the bookshelf right before a man came around the corner with his face buried in another book. He adjusted his wire framed glasses perched on his nose. His dark brown hair was wavy and parted to the side but kept getting in his face, and he let out a frustrated sigh as he pushed it away, just as he spotted me standing in the doorway. Freddy finally got his head out of his ass and followed me in.

“Welcome to The Wicked Quill,” the man said with a welcoming smile. “I’m Baen, owner of this fine establishment. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.” His voice was like smooth honey dripping over a biscuit, the New Orleans southern drawl notable, and I started to wonder what the South looked like in this world.

Dear god, the possibilities are endless.

I could only nod like an idiot with my mouth slightly parted, because this guy was gorgeous. Yet something about his hazel eyes was harsh, contrasting the softness of his smile. He had caramel colored skin kissed lightly by the sun—or moon? I supposed he was naturally tanned.

Baen pushed his glasses up his nose again, flashed a white toothed smile, and walked around another bookcase while I leaned to the side, following him with my eyes. Damn… He was tall and strong with rippling muscles under that white button-down shirt, and those tan pants were pulled over heavy brown boots, as if he was about to go for a hike in the jungle. He was a bookish explorer type, and I immediately felt like fanning myself.

“Stop staring,” Freddy growled low in his chest. I startled, looking up at him. His eyes were narrowed on Mr. Hottie, as if he was suddenly planning the guy's very gruesome death.

“Shut up,” I muttered, attempting to shove him aside and follow Baen. “I just have to ask him where I can find necrom—”

I barely got a step away before Freddy was pulling me by the hand in a different direction. He practically sprinted down row after row of bookcases, until it felt like we were traversing some hidden labyrinth.

“You don’t even know where you're going!” I shouted, but still tried to keep my voice low. “We need a directory or something. There's no way we’ll find what I need like this!” He just smirked over his shoulder. “Freddy, come on!”

He stopped at the very back of the shop where it was quiet and noticeably darker without so many overhead lights. Some of the lights even flickered. “Every book store is the same, Carrot Top. The forbidden books are always tucked away in the back,” he said with an eye roll at my dubious expression.

He skimmed a few shelves, muttering to himself as he scanned the titles. Back here, there seemed to be older books, some still coated in dust and cobwebs. He hummed in the back of his throat and reached for a book near the bottom, just as it slid out, right into his hand. He shook his head and handed it over to me with a shiver. Rolling his shoulders, he said, “Well, that was easier than I planned.”

The moment the old, black leather book made contact with my fingertips, the lights flickered off and then on again, then the book snapped open with a sudden gust of wind that whipped my hair over my shoulders.

“That was…” He glanced from me to the book and back again, gulping loudly.

“Creepy,” I finished for him before looking down at the page splayed open in my hands.

Freddy stepped closer, reading over my shoulder, his body heat like a furnace. It made it easier to dive into the unknown, pretending that he was here to keep me safe. I decided to read out loud as I leaned back into his chest, needing the extra support to do this. He placed his hand on my waist and just kept staring at the book as I cleared my throat.

Necromancer: Those with the power to speak to and summon the dead. It is said that the person(s) who bears this gift will lead a cursed life. The purpose of death is to provide rebirth, therefore the dead should stay dead. Necromancy is the art of wielding the balance of life and death by utilizing one's own soul. Not only does the soul suffer while wielding this power, but so does the one welding the soul.

Above all, a necromancer's power is coveted yet feared, and those who know the truth will seek it for themselves.

I slammed the book closed, unable to keep going. Reading it was like reading about my own impending doom. A ‘cursed life,’ it said.

How on Earth was I supposed to learn to control a power I knew nothing about? How, when my parents never told me and now they were gone forever? There was no one left to help me.

Is it hot in here?

Maybe I was beginning to panic, but I was suddenly sweltering. I felt trapped in the back of this store, like the bookcases were closing in on me, and it was becoming difficult to breathe.

“October, look at me!” Freddy demanded, spinning me around by the shoulders to face him. His emerald eyes held me captive.

“I hate it when she cries…” his voice whispered softly in my head as he gazed down at me, but once again, his lips didn’t move. What the hell was this? Was this some kind of freaky side effect of bringing the guys back? I couldn’t handle any more of it!

Also…was I really crying?

“Freddy, I can’t—it’s