Literally Dead Book Club Novels & Stories

“—SLIPPING.” My ears rang, and I slammed my hands over them. “Ow!” “Sorry.” The librarian closed the book and began typing at her computer, the keys click-clacking so fast it was dizzying. “Ellie, listen to me. Vivian is dead.” My hands fell. “What?”

There are only two rules: •Get the orb through the Obsidian Gate and score. •Don’t die. Cheer team: The Death Sirens (Tryouts mandatory, uniforms are enchanted and show blood stains as trophies.) “Okay yeah. This place is definitely insane,” I muttered. “But also... Bloodbane sounds hot as hell.” The Grim Quill Society – Magical Book Club Advisor: Librarian Merix Thorne Summary: A gathering of literary monsters, magical scholars, cursed poets, and those who want to read (or argue) about forbidden texts, divine scrolls, and old spellbooks no one else is allowed to touch. Weekly meetings in the restricted section of the library.

“Trust me when I say you’re never too old to be orphaned. We learned that lesson the hard way. There was a group of us. When we were all together we were stronger than steel and that was enough.” Emily smiled as they both wiped down Mr. Mabry’s chest and stomach area. “That sounds nice. Are the other people in the group going to come and visit?” “They’re all dead.” “Oh, I’m so sorry. That was silly of me to say.” “What can you do? It happens to us all. There’s no fighting it. They were all infected except me.”

“Come in, then. But be quiet.” So she went in. The library felt less like an oasis of knowledge and culture and more like the setting for a low-budget horror flick. The reading room was dim, the air thick with the musty smell. A streak of light spilled from a distant doorway, whispering, “The murderous cult meeting is this way, please.” Linda pushed open the door and stepped into a larger room illuminated by a single orange-shaded lamp hanging low over a round oak table. The place was crawling with people dressed head-to-toe in black, all looking like extras from a Goth fashion show.

she pointed to the underlined words of the other book. Mr. Evans looked at the words as Hazel then explained, “The Chosen One will make a sacrifice on the land of the dead.” She stood upright and faced Mr. Evans. She said, “The gathering of the dead means the place where the last war took place, where everyone died. That is the land of the dead and also the land of ashes. The Vampires bodies turned into ashes later on and now, we need to know where that land is.” When Mr. Evans didn’t speak, Hazel said, “Think Aiden, you were there that day. Where is that land?” she asked him and looked into his eyes as if the answers would come out.

"He's hiding something from me. Or the world is hiding it from him." I began to move through the rows of the last section, where the shelves were made of actual wood, smelling of cedar and rot. This was the dead Row, where books too fragile for digital scanning were kept. I spent hours there, my fingers trailing over spines that crumbled at the touch. I checked liturgy of the Fire, Genealogy of the Unmarked, and the Shadow Rites to see if I would see something concerning what I was. But there was nothing but dry, academic theories.

“That was only going to kill him. Maybe parts of you, but only small parts. Tiny little parts that would have also rejoiced in the bloodshed. Sure, Sweet Marie would have died, but Bloodthirsty Marie would have been born. And it would have been something . . . desirable. Something you wanted. Like putting your jaws to a bleeding throat. But this? This will kill all of you. It will kill your soul.” “I don’t care about my soul. I want to know if it will work.” “Don’t do it. Please don’t do it.” If he carried storms in his eyes, she carried desolation in hers. “Don’t you understand that I’m already dead?” “Marie.” “What else can be taken from me? You tell me that. What else can they take?” Lyle

All that was there were just a few books—maybe six or seven—and a small purse. “Did you see anything when you arrived?” I asked the locker owner, whose eyes were already bloodshot from crying and who was still shivering from shock. She shook her head. “No… Alpha,” her voice cracking. I nodded. What was I thinking? That this was some kind of crime series or what? And I was now playing FBI? I guess I was watching too many human movies. I should cut down on those. But then, it dawned on me. This was serious—very serious. How could two council members die in the space of how many weeks? Both deaths—not in their houses, but in the school. No doubt, something fishy was definitely going on.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ I don’t know how long I sat there staring at that damn screen after it went dark. Maybe a minute, maybe ten. My brain just… couldn’t process it. Dead. The word looped through my head over and over, echoing like a broken record. Dead? How could I be dead? I could feel my heartbeat. I could breathe, my chest rising and falling, air filling my lungs. My palms were sweaty, my muscles ached from being thrown — dead people didn’t feel all that, right?

Penn whispered. “Fuck the first mate!” I exclaimed. “Just because a woman doesn’t love him he has to kill her?” “Sound familiar?” Posy asked, glancing at Cedric. “I don’t want Zelda dead!” Cedric snapped. “Is there anything else there?” Zeke asked. “I see nothing else.” I passed the book onto Posy who didn’t see anything. The book was passed around the circle and then stopped at Cedric. He groaned. “I can read it.”