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Cassie tried to focus on the colonial architecture and bucolic country roads, but the suspense was killing her
"So why this librarian? What can you tell lasses, propped theht ahead "You’ll h," she said
"But how do you know hirandmother He’s an elder, a bit of an eccentric"
Cassie noticed herwheel
"What aren’t you telling me?" Cassie asked
Her , barely paved road stretched out before the out with John Blake sixteen years ago," she said
Cassie knew there had to be more She waited for it, and after a few more seconds, her mother added, "As a result, he was stripped of his power and banished from New Salem"
"So they were ene over?"
"By the end they were fighting about everything," her mother said "Timothy was extremely powerful back then But he wasn’t a Crowhaven witch He wasn’t a part of any Circle Which hy your father did to him what he did"
"But he was friends with Grandma Howard," Cassie said
"You have to understand, Cassie, it was a crazy ti up into factions Friends becahting with soic?" Cassie asked "Is that what all the fighting was about?"
But her mother didn’t respond to that question, perhaps because the ansas too obvious "Let’s just say Tilasses back on and continued driving in silence
Chapter 3
The library was on an un stretch of rocky, barren land The two-story building’s gray facade of cru a bow Cassie could barelyover the door: THE TIMOTHY DENT LIBRARY OF THE OCCULT
Cassie stepped out of the car first, and then her mother followed suit They stood side by side for a few seconds taking it all in before ’s exterior, Cassie thought theyThe library seemed empty, possibly even abandoned But her mother assured her that Timothy would be in there, quite possibly alone, but there
They pushed open a heavy wooden door and stepped inside
It took a few seconds for Cassie’s eyes to adjust froht to the dimly lit foyer lined with tall wooden bookcases The floor was a checkerboard of stone-gray squares that led to a high brown counter Standing behind it was a s over a massive manuscript He didn’t look up
Cassie’s mother led Cassie toward the counter "That’s him," she whispered
As they stepped closer, the man came into focus Cassie could see his wrinkles and the raised freckle on the side of his face Dust streaked his black short-sleeved dress shirt, and his fingernails were yellow Still with his eyes on the toravelly voice "Alexandra"
Cassie’s mother remained quiet until he finally looked up His eyes ray of the floor tile
"After all these years, you show up here like this without warning," he said "I can only iine the horrors that have driven you here Too bad I don’t care"
The gravel of his voice shot across the foyer, ricocheting between the rickety colu the perimeter of the roo her breath
Her mother stepped forward in spite of Tie to pull her back
"You’re right, we are in trouble," her mother said in a barely audible tone "Please just hear " Timothy shut his book and stared at Cassie’s hter Cassie," her mother said
Tiet a better look at Cassie The sensation was siht
"Black John’s daughter, you " But it wasn’t sy her; it was pity It was a condolence
Tinize how frail his body was
"You" He pointed a dirty fingernail at Cassie’s mother "Coain to look at Cassie while continuing to address her mother "This victim of your foolishness and that evil man’s darkness can colass doors, which Cassie understood to be his office, without bothering to check if she was following hiave her a sharp nudge "Go," she said "Don’t let him scare you Listen carefully to what he has to say"
Cassie obeyed and followed Tilass doors behind hie vinyl chair opposite his desk Hesitantly, she settled into the chair
The office was much like the rest of the library: dusty, pulpy, and a little creepy The wall behind Timothy’s desk was a row of dark cabinets protected by chunky brass padlocks He unlocked one of them and retrieved an oversized book, thick with plastic-covered pages
"Have you always knohat you are?" he asked, dropping the tanned leather book onto the desk in front of her
What, not who you are
"No," Cassie said, looking at the book Branded onto its cover were the letters B-L-A-K
"I worked closely with your grandmother, you know," Timothy said "To try to save yourShe was a lost cause"
"I’randmother passed away earlier this year"