Duke University Libraries Novels & Stories

“Why is she so nosy?” Anthony sighed as soon as Jessica and Jaden were out of sight. Immediately, he got up and packed all the chemistry and physics text books into his school bag. He hadn’t come here to read chemistry. He came for something else. The university's mini library was hardly used because there was a much bigger one in the main campus. The main library was so beautiful and it even had a museum in it. The e-library and ‘graphic charts' that helped aids explanation for any course, was a huge topping on the parfait.

I have a lot of things to do but all are centered and turn around the main topic, this world. Yep! This side building of the main manor was built for the late duchess, my late mother. The late duchess liked reading a lot, she was a fan of Literature and research, and so to please her, Cassius built this annex with a library inside where he collected all kind of books from all over the world and offered it to his wife whom he cherished a lot as a pregnancy gift worried that she would go outside and get hurt. Yep… we are talking about the same Cassius, that same old grumpy duke from yesterday. It’s sad that his love story ended with a tragedy…

When the Duke remained lost in thought, he continued, “Sir Lucas was a very shrewd businessman, Your Grace.” “So it would appear. So each of these girls is an heiress in her own right?” This time, Mr. Bailey nodded decisively.

The Duke’s carriage stopped in front of a giant arch. Fredrich helped the princess descend the carriage and they both stared at the Beldania Memorial. It was a mass grave with a single mausoleum that housed the deceased former duke and the other nobles who died during the invasion. It was properly maintained since it was a historical site but it didn’t take away the fact that it was a graveyard.

I reply, feeling guilty. "Oh, that's ok. My name is Dimitri Gold, but please call me Duke." He says. "Oh, yeah, you are in my class. Hello. How are you?" I say, suddenly remembering him. "Fine. I've wanted to come to talk to you for a while, but that stupid rule that Alpha Sage created stopped me. I know you will be graduating this year, and I see you going to Yale University. I'm also going there. I was hoping we could be friends. I won't be offended if you don't want to." Duke blurts out quickly. But before I can reply, he quickly starts talking again.

"Oh, man. He actually told you that?" "Yes," I said, my defensive instincts kicking in as a strange, nervous warmth began to spread through my chest. "He said it was his grandfather's diverse collection." "Doc, I’ve lived and worked on this estate with Dante for over ten years," Luca said, his laughter simmering down into a highly amused, teasing grin. "Before yesterday, this room wasn't a library. It was a dusty, concrete storage unit filled with old security monitors, extra tactical gear, and broken crates. There wasn't a single book in here, let alone thousands of leather-bound novels and current-year medical journals."

“What’s in Mauros?” “It’s a quiet seaside town, nothing flashy this time of year,” he said, sitting a little straighter. “But my uncle lives there he’s part of the Priory. They’ve got the most comprehensive library in all the lands. I thought… if there were questions you didn’t want to ask me, maybe we could find some answers there.” “A library?” I blinked, staring at him. Did he forget I dropped out of high school? Research wasn’t exactly my comfort zone.

I scanned the shelves, hoping to get some sense of what I should be looking for. We wandered through the aisles for a bit before Duke sighed. "You've never been in the library." My face heated. He took my hand and tugged me to the end of the aisle to show me how to search the catalog. Soon enough, we were heading to a section filled with books on various aspects of magic, combat techniques, and historical accounts of past confrontations with hunters. Duke wandered away from me as I pulled out books. Before I realized it, I had lost track of him.

Past memories taunted between us, flashes of the academy, of late nights in the library where he'd worked, of training sessions where he'd always been just a little too observant, a little too interested in my movements. "So the academy was a facade," I said, not quite making it a question. "You'd be right about that," Duke answered, clicking his tongue against the back of his mouth. And then, in a low voice that carried something genuine beneath the smugness, he told me, "It's good to see you, Jude." His eyes twinkled like he meant what he said and deep down, I knew he did. Duke, the librarian. The fucking librarian in a police academy was a Black Rose member. God, where didn't they reach?

The heavy oak doors clicked shut, leaving only the two of us surrounded by rows of leather-bound ledgers. "Follow me," I commanded, walking toward the high metal shelves at the back of the library where the old Duke’s private records were stored. I pulled a thick, iron-clasped ledger from the shelf and threw it onto the nearest circular table. "Look at this page." Obi approached slowly, his thumb wrapped in the bloodied cloth. He looked down at the schematic drawn on the parchment. "It’s a chemical blueprint for the high-grade refinery components. Why are you showing me this?"