Chapter Eight

I skip heading home as the sun is making its grand entrance on this day. After going round and round with no answers or ideas, we finally called it a night or morning, I guess. My thoughts wander to the Moonstone that I have locked away at home. To do with as I see fit. My mate would be worth it. But first I want to know more about the stone.

I haul my tired legs up the large stone staircase to the library, pushing through the heavy wood doors. Once inside, the stale, still air assaults my nose as I glance around, trying to remember where everything is. This wasn’t my scene, whereas for Rafe, if he wasn’t at home, he was here, buried in books and learning everything he could. A sigh escapes as I give up and go look at the directory board. Of course, there is no section specific to our origins or creation, so I take a guess and go to the oldest section I know of.

Stars dance across my eyes as I press the heels of my palms into them. I’ve been here for hours, scouring through these books and finding nothing. I found the ritual we use every full moon and how it incorporates the Moonstone. But not why we use it, or what its true purpose is. With a frustrated groan, I release my head. Pain shoots through my skull as it hits the table, a whimper escapes my lips.

I leave my head resting on the table as I feel someone sit across from me.

“Raven,”

Peering up, I meet Finnian’s curious gaze.

“Finn, long time no see. How are you?” I ask my old school friend with as much cheeriness I can muster.

“I’ve been well. I would ask after you, but I think I have a clue,” he jokes. I think it’s a joke. With Finnian, it’s hard to tell. He’s the scholarly type, very serious and dedicated. He places a hand on the open book in front of me and drags it closer as his eyes search the page I was reading last. After a moment, he’s again gazing at me curiously. “What is it exactly that you are looking for, Raven?” He asks in a hushed voice.

I straighten up as I ponder what to tell him. If I have any hope of finding information, I bet he would know where to look.

“Did you hear about what went down tonight?” I ask.

He gives me a slight nod, not breaking eye contact.

“Well, I want to know more about the Moonstone. And what Duncan could want with it.”

I shift and clear my throat as he stares at me for a few moments.

Finally, he speaks, “well, shall we see what we can find? I know where the restricted books are kept. Those may hold more information.” There’s a glint in his eyes I can’t place.

“Wait. Restricted books? How, as a council member, was I not aware of a restricted section?” I’ve been on the council for seven years, and they did not mention this.

“Few remember it. But I know about it. Shall we?” he asks again as he stands waiting for me.

“Lead the way, sir.”

He leads us through the stacks and toward the back corner. Standing on his tippy toes, which is funny to see a six-foot-something guy do, he pulls on a dark brown book, and the bookcase rumbles and shudders before sinking into the wall, revealing a dark stairwell.

My eyes sting from how wide they are open as I look at Finn, slack-jawed.

“What the hell?”

He gives me a tight smile before moving forward onto the first step, grabbing a lantern hanging on the wall. Goosebumps cover my arms as the light illuminates the stairwell that goes down a few floors.

He goes on, not giving me a choice but to follow, so I’m not left in the dark.

After what feels like an eternity in the musty stairwell, we make it to the bottom where it opens into a larger round room; they filled the walls with books and a table with chairs sits in the middle. Nothing else here, and from the looks of the dust that is covering everything, no one has been here in some time.

“Wow. This is a lot of restricted books. Do you have any idea where to look?” I ask as I spin, taking it all in.

“No, so we will have our work cut out for us.”

Fun. But I am glad to hear him say us. I’m not alone in this search.

I walk forward and browse the books in front of me, and groan when I see no names on the spines. Pulling one out, it appears to be an old journal. Well, whatever, better get to it. I grab three and haul them off the shelf, not expecting the weight that drags down my arms as I bring them to the table.

Book after book, I find nothing on the Moonstone. There are a lot of other significant histories in here that I would love to come back and take more time with. But that’s for another time. Finn closes his current book and places it in his read stack before moving on to the next, and I follow his lead, grabbing the next book.

“Woah,” I whisper as I reread the paragraph.

“What did you find?” Finn asks laying his book down and leaning toward me.

“Um, I found out that the Moon goddess created both species, us and the witches. Did you know this?” I look up to see the perplexed look on his face. I guess he didn’t.

“No, I was not aware. Why such hatred between the species then?”

“I don’t know.” I say softly, “The last book I read said some about the Moonstone, but nothing of importance. This book mentions a different stone. Have you ever heard of the Bloodstone?”

He shakes his head.

“Well, let me keep reading and see what I find.”

We come across a few more books that talk about the Bloodstone, but I don’t dig into those, as my search is still on the Moonstone. And I find some more on it, but never does it talk about any significance that it holds. Just that when used in a ritual, it can show the truth and fortify the connection one has with the Moon goddess. We knew about the connection because that’s how we use it during our full moon rituals and how the Moon goddess can bless mate bonds during their mating ceremonies. But is that the same as showing the truth?

“This is so frustrating. I’m not finding anything out about the Moonstone that would make Duncan go to war over it. Does he misunderstand what its purpose is?”

“At this point, I would think that is the case,” Finnian says, rubbing his eyes. I feel horrible. We’ve been here for hours searching and he has yet to complain.

“Thank you for your help, Finnian. Why don’t we call it a day? I should get home. The kids will be out of school soon.” I close the book and stand as he does. He stops and looks at me with those calculating eyes of his.

“You’re not thinking about handing the stone over, are you?”

“No. I know better than that.” I squeeze his shoulder and say with conviction, “I will not be giving the Moonstone to Duncan. We should be able to leave these out, since no one knows about this area. I want to come back and look through some of this a little more.”

“That’s fine. Just let me know if you need my help again.” He says picking up the lantern and walking to the stairs.

Following him up the stairs and out of the library, I think over everything I learned about the Moonstone. Which wasn’t next to nothing new. But I keep thinking back to the mysterious Bloodstone and want to know more about that and its role in creating us.

“Mama,” Jasper shouts while jumping up into my arms. I catch him in time as we fall back into the door I just closed behind me.

“Woah, little man,” I squeeze him in a big hug, letting my worries disappear while I calm myself holding him and inhaling his sweet scent. I press a kiss to his temple as he wiggles down out of my arms.

They’re still in the shoes and coats and their backpacks are on the table, so looks like I got home just in time. Jade just stares at me with a sad look from where she’s sitting at the table. Walking over to her, I lean down and wrap her in a tight hug. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”

“Are you mad at me, mama?” she asks in a small quivering voice.

Shocked by her question, I pull her chair out so she’s facing me. Gripping her face in my hands, “why on earth would I be mad at you Jade?” I search her face, seeing how upset and concerned she is. My heart stings seeing her in this pain.

“I just thought you were mad that I showed up at the meeting last night. And mad that I spoke up.”

I pull her back into a hug. Her poor little heart, the weight she is carrying on her small shoulders. “Oh, my love. No, never. You make me so proud when you stand up for what you believe in. I could not be mad at you for that,” placing a few kisses on her hair, “so stop worrying your pretty head about that. I love you. Always.”

My heart pangs at those last words. That’s something that Rafe and I have said to each other over the years, like our little own saying.

I sit down and help the kids with their homework and coloring some pictures before starting dinner. Trying to ignore the ball of apprehension in my stomach at what will happen when I meet up with Duncan again tonight and deny him the Moonstone.