Cale followed the road back around the way that Cassidy directed, and Cadence asked, “Who let you know to pick us up?”
“Hannah. I just got here a few minutes before you did, so she asked me to wait for you at the airport.”
“Oh, how was your flight?” Cadence realized she was just making polite conversation at this point and hoped he didn’t mind a little bit of normalcy for normalcy’s sake.
“Not bad. The movie was lame, but I had all of the peanuts to myself.” He pulled into a parking lot and flashed her a goofy grin, and Cadence found herself chuckling for the first time in a long time. He’d taken a private plane, she was certain, which made the comment even more ridiculous.
“Was it Chicken Run?” Cassidy asked, pushing her door open. “Because I hate that movie.”
“Nah. National Lampoons Vacation—the Ed Helms version.”
“Oh, God, even worse,” Cassidy declared. “Although, I’m pretty sure that’s just called Vacation.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s just called lame,” Cale retorted as they all climbed out and headed toward the door of the small, one-story building.
“If you were by yourself, why didn’t you just watch something else?” Ashley asked, bringing up the rear.
“He didn’t really watch that. He’s joking,” Cassidy explained in a sharp whisper, loud enough for them to all hear.
“Oh,” Ashley said. “I don’t get it.”
If Cassidy was explaining Cale’s wit, she was doing it through her IAC, and the big sister was thankful for it because the last thing she wanted to do was listen to someone explain why it would be funny that someone on a private plane would watch a terrible movie they didn’t have to.
Inside, the archives reminded Cadence a lot of a library. There was a small table out front, sort of like a checkout counter, but behind it were rows and rows of books. She was expecting something else, something more secretive. This seemed like the sort of place anyone could stroll into and pick out a few books to read over the weekend.
As she headed toward the sound of voices in the back, the scent of book binding and mildew overcame her. She was sure Cassidy loved it as into books as her little sister was, but to Cadence it just reminded her of all the book reports she’d had to do in high school, and for a moment she was glad she hadn’t ever actually become the kindergarten teacher she thought she’d be a few years ago, before Vampires. If she had taken that route, she’d definitely be visiting the library a lot more often than she did now.
A conference room took up a large portion of the back of the building. A huge oak table with large plush chairs sat in the center with microfiche machines on desks against one wall next to a copy machine. The conversation stopped as they walked in. Hannah, Christian, Aurora, and Ward all looked up at the newcomers, the same sympathetic looks on two of their faces while Aurora generally looked distraught, and Christian’s expression revealed he wanted to teach Cassidy a lesson.
Aurora got up and came around the table, wrapping her lengthy arms around Cadence, and it was almost impossible for Cadence to hold back her tears, especially when Aurora started sobbing into her shoulder. A waft of calmness came over both of them, and Cadence realized that had to be Hannah’s doing. Aurora stopped crying and took a step back. “It’s gonna be okay, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Cadence assured her, hoping her words were true. She gave her friend another squeeze and then took a seat next to Ward who had the thick, old book in front of him.
Aurora went back around the table and sat down next to Christian. Hannah was on the end of the table between the two men, and Cassidy sat down next to Cadence, far away from Christian while Ashley filled in next to Aurora, and Cale continued to stand in the doorway.
“Do you want me in here, or is there something else you’d like for me to do?” he asked, clearly feeling out of place.
“No, come on in,” Cadence assured him. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone of Cale’s intelligence in the room. “Unless you can think of something you’d rather send him to do?” she asked Hannah.
“Everything else is under control,” Hannah assured them. “Meagan and Shane have been very helpful even though they’re still in Shenandoah. Emma and Fannie are researching cell signals and portals, though I have no idea what they might be able to find out. And I’ve got Lucy and Tara keeping an eye on airports, as well as all of the local teams around where Holland was last sighted. I think we’re good.”
Cadence nodded, thinking it was best that Fannie, who happened to be in Montana, and Cassidy’s good friend Emma, who was still in Iowa, were the ones working on the technology, not Christian. She’d lost all of her faith in him. Remembering what he’d said to her the day before about why he hadn’t said anything to Aaron regarding the portal made her stomach roll so that she couldn’t even look at him.
“Ward, what have you been able to find out?” Cadence asked.
“This book is very old,” he began, his hand hovering over the cover of the leather bound book but not touching it, though he was wearing a pair of the white gloves Cadence had seen historians wear on television shows. “I believe it was likely written in the mid- to late-sixteenth century, possibly earlier. At that time, Vampires controlled much of Scotland and Ireland, as you know, and they would continue to dominate that area of the world for the next several centuries. It’s basically a manual for all sorts of information to be left for successors, should anything become of the kings and queens of the time, though they obviously expected to live forever.”
