“Do you know where my parents are? Can you tell me what the word means?” I asked him, fighting down the urge to grab the edges of his sweater and shake all I needed to know from him.
“I don’t know where your parents have gone. Since your phone call I did some digging and made a few phone calls of my own. A few of my sources haven’t been able to get back to me yet, but so far no one knows anything about your parents’ whereabouts.”
I gulped, fighting back more damn tears.
Professor Pops continued, “As for information on Vaktare, I can give you most of it.” He moved and indicated I should stand in front of the book.
Why not all of it? Where were my parents? What didn’t Professor Pops know and where would I find the answers?
Professor Pops tapped his fingers against the book. The movement sent particles of dust into the air, leaving a smell of old paper hanging around us. “Within these pages is most of the history of the Vaktare. It isn’t as thick as histories from other magical realms or creatures, but that’s because your species are relatively new to me.”
My fingers brushed the pages. I was thrilled too. “Have you ever seen a Vaktare? A werecat?”
He glanced at his watch. “I have not, at least not in its original form.”
For some reason that made me sad.
“It’s eleven-thirty. Are you hungry? I can prepare you a steak,” Professor Pops said.
I’d eaten on the plane. “I think I’m too excited for food.”
Professor Pops nodded. “Very well. I’ll leave you down here to read. You’ll be safe. The only person with a key is me.” He patted at the key around his neck. “If you get tired, there’s a cot in the other room.” He pointed to a smaller room without a door. “There’s a bathroom as well.”
Did he think I would sleep down here all night? No way. Just thinking about being so far underground, away from the moon and the sky made my heart race. “Professor Pops, I have my driver waiting outside. I think I’ll have him take me to the hotel where I can get some rest and then come back in the morning.”
Professor Pops came forward. “I know this is odd and not at all what you’re used to.”
“That’s right.” He obviously didn’t know my family that well at all if he thought I’d do anything except what I wanted. I was a Cavanaugh after all.
“Have you changed forms yet?”
His question frightened me and I couldn’t meet his gaze. I turned my focus to the words in the book. The first two sentencesread:Hiraken is the tenth realm on Earth. The Vaktare came first, followed by the Locanis.
So the Locanis were a species and not the name of the wolf who’d protected me the other night. One question answered. “Yes,” I finally said.
“If you were to change in the hotel tonight, and needed to hunt, what do you think you would go after?” He pointed to a line in the book. “Read it.”
“The Vaktare and Locanis hunt and eat all flesh.”
“All flesh,” he reiterated.
“Are you saying you think I would hunt people?” I was disgusted. How could he think that? I was a person too.
He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I don’t know for sure, but do you want to take the chance?”
I glared at Professor Pops. So many wicked ideas ran through my head. “No, I don’t.” I leaned on the stand. “Fine. I’ll remain down here, but don’t leave me for too long.”
“Of course not. I’ll be down first thing in the morning.” He went to the door. “And if there’s an emergency, text me. You have my number.”
I’d forgotten that.
“I’ll have the driver leave your suitcases here and then we can reassess the situation in the morning, after you have some of your answers.”
“All right.” I heard him, but I had another question. “The werewolf over there. Is he a Locanis?”
Professor Pops seemed perplexed. “I don’t think so. This werewolf came from a small town in Arizona. It was believed he was the last of his kind.” He shrugged. “Anything is possible.” His eyes twinkled as he touched the pages of the book. “This is the history of your people but it’s more than that. It’s the history of your realm. Read it with care.”
“Thank you, Professor Pops.”
He used the key to unlock the door. So it locks from the outside and the inside, I thought, making a mental note. Before he closed the door, he turned to me and said, “I can count on you to keep this room secret, right? I think you can imagine what might happen if so much supernatural information fell into the wrong hands.”
“Oh, um, right. Yes. I won’t say anything.”
Professor Pops smiled. “Excellent. It’s been lovely to see you again, Beatrice.”
Thirteen
Vaktare And Locanis
When Professor Pops was gone, I checked my phone. I still had bars. Adam hadn’t texted from the last time, but I texted him again anyway: Hope you’re good. I’m getting answers. Talk more in the morning.
Thinking about Adam sent my mind immediately to our kiss. What a kiss it was. I’d kissed several guys over the years but Adam’s kiss was the first for me with feelings so I had nothing to gauge against it. I thought about Will and the awkward way he’d tried to feel me up when we kissed. I had a feeling Adam’s kiss was better than any other guy ever.
Taking a deep breath, I forced away thoughts of kissing Adam and began to read. The history of the Vaktare and Locanis went back thousands of years. The book included many details including several legends.
I read the first one. It was about a Vaktare with red fur who would be born with all abilities and talents. She would be called Unduyee, which meant Red Warrior. The Unduyee would restore peace between the Vaktare and the Locanis.
I glided over the other legends, including one about a demon spawn that was half Vaktare and half Locanis. It seemed many Vaktare and Locanis indulged in sexual relations over the centuries, but they could never conceive. I didn’t delve into the details. It was getting late and I needed to read the material that actually happened in Hiraken.
After reading about several wars, I came to a part that mentioned my father’s name. It made me wonder who the author of the history book was.
“Show me the title page,” I said, feeling weird talking to the podium. Pages immediately flipped back to the beginning. When they stopped, I leaned over, reading:
A History of Hiraken and its People
The Vaktare and Locanis
By:
Fisher and Lenora Cavanaugh
“My parents wrote this.” For some reason knowing they were responsible for the words on the pages made the histories all the more interesting. It also saddened me. I needed to find them. It bothered me that they’d left just as my life was turned upside down. Though they hadn’t shown me emotion, they’d done lots to prove they cared for me. I couldn’t believe they’d abandoned me when I needed them most.
Around two in the morning, when I was almost at the end, I found a very interesting piece of information about my parents:
Fisher Cavanaugh was next in line to rule Hiraken. When war broke out between the Vaktare and the Locanis, all of the Cavanaughs were believed killed except Fisher, his mate Lenora and their child, Beatrice.
“That’s me,” I whispered, feeling tingles run the length and breadth of my body. Seeing my name in the histories of my people made me more anxious to know everything.
Near the beginning of the book they’d mentioned that all Vaktare were born with a magical skill. I flipped back to read that part again. There were hundreds of abilities. Sometimes an ability was passed down from one generation to the next, but more often than not, the gift was random.