Two

 

McCormack County, Peace Valley

Louisiana

 

The sun shone brightly down on the southern side of the lush green valley, known as McCormack County, as the early morning ended and the day edged toward noon. The birds filled the air with their sweet, beautiful morning songs. A cool, gentle breeze swept through the air, making the day’s weather pleasant.

McCormack County was the rural region of the large valley. The rich land was vast with lush green grass. Farms, large and small, as well as large family estates, dotted the countryside. A very limited amount of citizens populated the county, most of them populating the suburban Julian Town. Most of the occupants of the county came from farming households or estate-holding families.

The bright sun shining in through the crack of the curtains roused young Quinlan Carroll McCormack from his deep sleep. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand beside his large king-size bed, the nine-year-old vampire bolted upright, staring at the time in disbelief through bright sapphire-blue eyes. It was already nine o’clock and he was still in bed. He’d forgotten to set the alarm for his clock before drifting off to sleep the night before.

He was more than late for his first day at Sheldon Elementary, the school the head of the family had unexpectedly decided to enroll all elementary-aged children of the family in this year, which was located in Julian Town�"the urban northern region of the valley. He�"as well as the other children of the family�"had spent their first years of school in a local elementary school. This year, it had been decided to transfer all the children of the family, including the older children that were already in middle school, to schools in Julian Town upon a decision made by the head of the family for reasons still unknown.

Jumping out of bed, the young vampire ran to his cabinet and pulled out a fresh pair of clothes. Stripping out of his long johns, he pulled on the red T-shirt and dark blue jeans he’d chosen. Digging in his sock drawer, he pulled out a pair of gray socks and pulled them on. He pulled on his blue-and-white gym shoes and tied the laces. Not bothering about the rumpled mess his mop of thick wavy coal-black hair had become during his sleeping hours, he grabbed his schoolbag and hurried out of his bedroom, which was on the fourth floor of the ten-story McCormack manor with the bedrooms of his parents, two of his cousins, and his aunt and uncle, running down the hall, entering the bathroom and brushing his teeth as fast as he could, then down the flights of stairs.

Peeking in the dining room on the first floor, Quinlan found his great-great grandfather, the head of the large family, and his great uncle sitting alone at one of the several dining tables. Carroll McCormack was looking over papers on the table while his second-born son, Boyd, was reading the morning newspaper. Neither man noticed Quinlan standing in the doorway watching them.

The young boy entered the room, stopping at their table to frown at the two older men. “Why didn’t anyone wake me up?” he complained, his voice high with exasperation. “Now I missed the bus to Julian Town and I’m really late for school.”

Carroll looked up from his papers. “Your father bought you that alarm clock for a reason, Quinn,” he reminded the boy. “You should have used it.” He smiled. “You know how hard it is for us to go through all the bedrooms to make sure everyone is out of bed and getting ready. This morning was so hectic that no one noticed someone was missing.”

Sighing, Quinlan dropped down in one of the empty chairs across from his great-great grandfather. “How do I get to school now? There’s no one that can take me now, is there?”

Boyd, putting down his newspaper, glanced at his watch. “If you hurry, you should be able to make it to the bus stop in time for the next bus heading to Julian Town. It should be arriving in about ten minutes, so you better hurry. If you miss it, you can come back here and I’ll take you.”

“Thanks, Uncle Boyd.” Quinlan smiled gratefully.

Without waiting for a reply, the young vampire rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall. He hurried out of the door, shutting the door behind him. Using his developing power of speed, he zipped over the land of the McCormack estate, which was surrounded by high walls, enclosed by heavy iron gates, and protected by top-notch security to protect the founding family from unwanted visitors, unexpected surprises, and the dangers that surrounded the lives of members of high-status and political families.

The McCormack manor had been the first household structure built in the McCormack County. The manor had been built by Carroll McCormack and several of his followers in the year of 1930. It was built completely of solid stone, standing ten stories high with ten rooms on each floor, holding one hundred rooms in all. The connecting horse farm, which was run by the family members and several hired men, was built on wide, vast land, holding ten stables, each stable holding one-hundred stalls, holding one-thousand horses in all, which were used by the family or rented to visitors for horse riding on the land. A land that had several buildings, houses rented out to boarders or hired employees as well as a recreational center open to anyone that lived in or visited the estate, was also a part of the large estate the McCormacks lived on, making their property much larger than that of the other family estates in the area.

Colin Harrison and Fredrick Phillips, two of the several security guards of the estate, smiled in amusement as they saw the young boy running toward them, but didn’t comment. Instead, they opened the black iron gates to allow him through.

The young vampire ran through the open gates and then as the gates were closed behind him, he took off through the green fields of the neighboring farms and estates, neither as guarded as his own home, as he hurried toward his destination. He reached the bus stop seconds after leaving his home, finding it to be empty except for him. Glancing at his black leather wristwatch to make sure he wasn’t late, he sat down on the bench to wait for the bus.

Quinlan didn’t have long to wait. Soon enough, the bus appeared from around the bend and stopped in front of the boy. Without hesitation, he jumped to his feet and boarded the bus, which had two other passengers�"an elderly lady and a young woman. He paid the required bus fare and sat down in one of the empty seats. Looking out of the window, he watched the passing sights as he waited for them to reach a bus stop in Julian Town.

The bus picked up several other passengers as it followed its route, stopping at bus stop after bus stop in the county. The driver picked up an elderly couple, a mother and baby, and a group of young men from the bus stops it stopped at. Finally, the bus stopped at the first bus stop in Julian Town.

Taking his bag with him, Quinlan got off the bus. He watched the bus pull away and drive down the street, disappearing around a corner. He started the walk in the direction of the school’s location as soon as the bus was out of sight. Glancing at his wristwatch, he realized it was already nine-thirty. Using his paranormal ability of speed, which was still being molded and increased as he used it, he sped to the elementary school, zipping past buildings and streets.

Quinlan reached Sheldon Elementary, known as one of the best elementary schools in the area, stopping in front of the open gates. He looked in at the empty, quiet grounds and the tall building. He walked through the gates and raced up to the building, hurrying up the stairs and through the doors.

As he entered the building, he headed straight for the administration, knowing he wouldn’t be able to find his class on his own. He stopped in front of the school secretary’s desk. “Hi. I’m Quinlan McCormack. Can I see Principal Dennis?”

Caroline Patrick lifted aquamarine-blue eyes from the stack of papers she was arranging to look at the young boy before her. She nodded her head toward the door marked “Principal” beside her desk. “You may go in. He wants to see you.”

“Thank you.” Quinlan sighed. The principal had obviously noticed his failure to make it to school in time before he had even had the chance to show up and explain his tardiness. He opened the principal’s office door and looked inside as he entered the room.

The sapphire-blue eyes took in the mahogany desk and file cabinets furnishing the moderate-sized office, the desk in the center of the room and the cabinets lining the walls. His eyes landed on the middle-aged principal sitting behind the desk. “Mr. Dennis.”

Michael Dennis smiled at the young boy, his coffee-brown eyes shining warmly. “Quinlan McCormack.” Rising from his chair, he walked around to the front of his desk. “You finally came. You’re quite late, you know.”

Quinlan nodded. “I know, sir. I overslept. I’m sorry.”

“Well, try to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We can’t have you missing your classes like today.” Crossing the office to the boy, Michael placed a hand on the young vampire’s shoulder. “Come with me. I’ll show you to your class.” He opened the door and led the boy out of the office, shutting the door behind them.

The twosome walked away from the office and the secretary’s desk. They headed down the hall side by side. They walked down several halls, passing rows of lockers and classrooms. After walking around several corners and halls, they stopped in front of a door. They entered the classroom together.

The classroom was settled and almost in complete silence. The students all sat in their places, looking through their belongings or talking in hushed whispers. Their teacher, Victoria Fernandez, stood behind her desk, looking through the Peace Valley history curriculum she would be following with the fourth grade this year.

“This is your class,” Michael informed Quinlan. “Good morning, Ms. Fernandez,” he said, nodding at the young Mexican-American history teacher, standing in front of the blackboard. “Can you come over here, please?”

Leaving the front of the classroom, Victoria crossed the room to the principal and young boy standing by the door. “Good morning.” She smiled, looking between the two visitors with a curious expression in her chocolate-brown eyes.

Michael placed a hand on the shoulder of the young vampire. “This is Quinlan McCormack. He’ll be in your class. I’ll leave him to you. I’ll see you later, Quinlan.” Without another word, the principal walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Barely noticing Michael’s departure, Quinlan looked around him at the faces of his sixteen classmates before his eyes finally settled back on his teacher. “Hi,” he said brightly with a cheerful grin. “Sorry I’m late.”

Victoria smiled at the young boy. “It’s alright.” She gestured at an empty seat with her hand. “You may sit over there.” As he headed toward the empty place she had pointed out to him, she walked back up to the front of the classroom to start the lesson.

Quinlan made his way down the aisle to the empty place, sitting down beside a boy that was about half his size with orange-red curls and deep brown eyes. Setting his schoolbag down beside him, he placed his hands on his desktop and focused his attention on the front, listening with attentive ears to what the teacher was saying.

Victoria picked up a stalk of white chalk from the blackboard chalk tray and turned to face the class. “This year we’re going to study the birth and growth of Peace Valley. Peace Valley wasn’t born until the year of 1926. Before that, all this land was called Quincy. Today we will talk about the dividing of Quincy.”

She turned to the board and began to write. First, she wrote Quincy. Below it, she wrote out Williams�"Peace Valley�"Freewill. She turned back to the class, pointing to the chalk at the last three names she’d written. “Williams, Peace Valley, and Freewill�"these are the places that replaced Quincy.”

Quinlan listened to the teacher attentively. Williams and Freewill, the two closest human societies to the valley, had always interested him. Though he was aware of the way the humans of Williams and Freewill would probably regard him, he was determined to find a way to enter one or both places and earn himself a friend of humankind to change the view human society had of him and other Peace Valley vampires, comparing them to the blood-thirsty homicidae lamia.

“Williams and Freewill are closer to us than some of us realize,” Victoria continued, keeping an eye on her students to make sure they were listening. “The border between Peace Valley and Freewill is only a five-minute walk away from this school.” She smiled. “As for Williams, it is just on the other side of Dark Forest.”

A smile played across the young boy’s lips and lit up in his eyes as he processed what his teacher had just said. Finding a way to one of the nearby human societies was suddenly easier than he had imagined it ever being. All he had to do was cross the border after school. With excitement and apprehension rushing through him, the young vampire sat through the rest of the class patiently listening attentively for more information, waiting for the end of the school day to arrive, allowing him to carry out his plan.

 

The bell rang shrilly, echoing through the school building to announce recess. Children grabbed their lunches or their money and left their classes, heading toward the cafeteria. Some children left the building to play outside on the playground instead. The younger children left their classes with their classmates and teacher, while the older children were allowed to leave on their own.

Quinlan, sitting in math class, wrote out the answers to the last several questions that he hadn’t finished. Isabelle Anderson, the blond, young math teacher, was sitting at her desk correcting the work of the children while the students abandoned their desks and hurried out for recess. Quinlan, however, didn’t follow them, determined to finish his work first.

Jaden Gifford, sitting in front of the other boy, turned in his chair. “It’s recess. Aren’t you going?”

Though Jaden Gifford seemed to be the ordinary nine-year-old pacis lamia boy at first glance, he was far from it. At the age of six, he had been chosen to enroll in Sullivan Training Academy to graduate as an altor, the protector of the valley and the people, now training in skills of protection and defense and molding his abilities to reach their full potential with the aid of a trainer, which would be far beyond the powers and abilities of the pacis lamia civilians.

Every year, approved males and females of the pacis lamia population from families all over the valley, aged between six and nine, entered the academy to be trained to use and improve their supernatural powers to its fullest, males graduating as altor and females as curatricis, which made them stronger than the ordinary individuals of their genders. The males then qualified for positions as bodyguards, law enforcement, and other similar jobs, and the females as chaperones of unwed plenus females and the caretakers of children.

Before being eligible for the training, both males and females were tested for traits that could endanger their missions, jobs, or cause problems in the future. A potential altor or curatricis was calm-natured and tranquil, able to remain level-headed at all times. Applicants that carried traits of stubbornness, a hot temper, or impulsiveness were instantly disqualified. Risks could not be taken with the males or females enrolling for the training because of the great physical power they would hold over others that could cause great damage if entrusted to the wrong kind of individual.

The enrollees were trained from the time of their entrance until the age of thirteen before graduating, thirteen being the age any individual of the pacis lamia would reach his or her full potential in the abilities they’d acquired, based on the training or lack of it that had received. The pacis lamia males and females couldn’t enroll in altor and curatricis training later than eight or nine, for it became harder to train as they became older. A thirteen-year-old pacis lamia individual would be impossible to train, his or her powers having already reached their peak, with or without training. Without early intervention, it would be impossible for a pacis lamia to acquire the powers of the altors or curatricises. Upon graduation, the altor and curatricis vampires were entered into the system of the Protection and Defense Agency and appointed for positions in protecting people or the valley.

Not looking up to even glance at who was speaking to him, Quinlan shrugged. “I’m not done yet. I’ll go after I finish here.”

Jaden eyed Quinlan with curiosity in his jade-green eyes. “The other kids that didn’t finish just left their books. They didn’t care about finishing.”

Quinlan lifted his head to stare at the lanky boy sitting in front of him. He dropped his gaze back to the book, making a quick calculation in his head and then writing the answer. “I’m not other kids.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re not,” Jaden agreed. He ran a hand through his curly coal-black hair. “Will you be coming to the cafeteria after you’re done?”

Quinlan had already decided on going to the school library for more information on Freewill during recess since he hadn’t brought money or food with him for lunch. He shook his head without looking up. “No.”

“Playground?” Jaden guessed.

“Don’t want to,” Quinlan stated, not having any interest in playing with other kids when he had other things on his mind. “I’m going to the library.”

“The library?” Jaden stared. “You’re given time to play and have fun, but you’re going to the library? Are you nuts?”

Quinlan raised an eyebrow. He raised his head, focusing his piercing sapphire gaze on the other boy. “You’re really annoying.”

Jaden grinned, not offended in the least. Almost everyone he knew shared that opinion of him and he was used to it. “I know. Everyone tells me that. Aren’t you done yet?”

Quinlan sighed as he wrote the answer to the last question, wondering how he’d caught the attention of this particular classmate when all the others hadn’t even spoken a word to him. “You’re done, aren’t you? Why are you still here?”

“I’m waiting for you,” Jaden informed him with a bright smile. “Done yet?”

“Why are you waiting for me?” Quinlan asked as he closed his book. “I know I didn’t ask you to.”

Jaden shrugged. “Everyone left and you were alone. It was the nice thing to do. By the way, I’m Jaden Gifford.”

Quinlan smiled slightly, amused by the other boy’s answer. “Quinlan McCormack.”

Jaden grinned knowingly. “I know.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes and sighed. “So does everyone else.”

As the eldest son of Brennan McCormack, who was the eldest son of Lyam McCormack, who was the eldest son of the late Gannon McCormack who, in turn, was the eldest son of Carroll McCormack, Quinlan had been in the spotlight of the media since he was five years old, third-in-line heir to his great-great grandfather. There wasn’t a person in Peace Valley�"man, woman, or child�"that didn’t recognize him on sight, which he found to be annoying when they treated him as if he was a celebrity, as a member of the founding family and Carroll McCormack’s heir, instead of just the normal child he wanted to be. His cousins weren’t given the same attention by the media at all and were mostly ignored. Most of his cousins wouldn’t even be recognized on sight unless they were with him.

Jaden gave him a knowing smile. “You hate it, don’t you?”

 Quinlan placed the book on the teacher’s desk and turned back to Jaden. “Hate what?”

Jaden led the way out of the door. “That you can’t be normal like everyone else�"what else? Everyone knows your name and what you look like, and a lot of other things that only friends and family usually know, and you hate it.”

Quinlan nodded. “You’re right. I hate it. Everything I ever do will always be the public news. They pay more attention to me than they do my father and grandfathers. My cousins have an almost normal life. The media never notices them so no one would even recognize them or know who they are. But I’ll never have that life.”

“I always thought it’d be cool to be famous,” Jaden said thoughtfully. “You don’t make it sound so fun though.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes. “It’s not cool and it’s not fun either.”

Jaden grinned.  “I’ll come with you to the library. You don’t mind, do you?”

“You’ll annoy me,” Quinlan pointed out. “Don’t you want to eat or play or something? Why do you want to come to the library with me?”

“It’ll be fun,” Jaden said with a grin. “Let me come, McCormack. I won’t annoy you too much.”

“But you will annoy me,” Quinlan observed pointedly.

Jaden shrugged. “It’s in my nature to annoy everyone around me. I can’t control myself.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes and shrugged as he moved down the halls. “If you get kicked out by the librarian, you’re on your own.”

“Agreed.” Jaden smiled.

The two boys made their way down the halls in the direction of the library. They passed classrooms and rows of lockers. They also passed other students and teachers. Just as they were about to turn the corner the library was at, two of Quinlan’s cousins, Declan and Gordon, and another boy stepped in front of them.

Declan McCormack raised pale green eyes to stare at his elder cousin in surprise, certain Quinlan had not come to school with him and the others. “Quinn, where’d you come from? I thought we left you at home.”

Declan, like Jaden, was more than just an ordinary boy. His path in life had been chosen at the age of six. He’d been enrolled in Sullivan Training Academy with a number of others boys and girls that had been chosen to be trained as altors and curatricises. It was training that he took very seriously and longed for the day he’d graduate and be given his first job as the protector of the people.

When the training academy had started offering altor and curatricis training, it had been optional to the families located in the valley to enroll one of their sons or daughters. However, it wasn’t easy to get into the training academy. The applicant had to be six years old at the minimum and had to have had the assessment the Pacis Lamia Vampire Welfare Organization offered once a pacis lamia child turned six.

Only children that had passed the assessment with the estimate that they’d score between level-one and level-three when reaching their plenus and possessed the traits of a calm nature and the ability to remain level-headed at all times required in an altor or curatricis, could enroll in the program and be trained. The program needed applicants with high tolerance and endurance for the hardships they would possibly have on the missions they might take part in after graduation as well as tranquility in times of stress. Accepting and training a child that could score from level-four to a level-ten  as well as a child that was hot-tempered, impulsive, or carried any other negative traits would be dangerous for the people and the valley since that individual had the potential of becoming unpredictable and would hold great power that only other altors or curatricises could challenge.

Altor and curatricis services to the public were also quite expensive since most of the trainees had to be trained between six and seven years. The ones that joined late would also need extra special training, which added to the cost. Because of the expense of the training, the price of hiring an official altor or curatricis was very high and many of the families couldn’t afford it at times they most needed it. However, though the education was expensive on families that enrolled their children into the training academy as well, there were options for sponsorship through the government, making it easier on families that couldn’t afford it.

Due to those circumstances, it became a law that each family had to enroll one approved family member�"aged nine or younger, though it was preferred for them to be enrolled at the age of six or seven�"of the family into the academy, which would provide them with free altor or curatricis services if needed. Now, all families in the valley had at least one child, if he or she had been an approved applicant, enrolled into the academy for training.

“You did,” Quinlan informed his cousin with a shrug. “I had to catch a late bus to get here.”

Jaden stared at his classmate. “You could’ve enjoyed one extra day of no school but you actually came? You’re strange, McCormack.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond.

The seven-year-old grinned. “We wouldn’t have left you if you’d gotten up and been ready.”

Gordon O’Donnell, younger than Declan by a year at the age of six, eyed Quinlan with curious pale blue eyes. “Don’t you have an alarm clock? Why didn’t you wake up?”

“I forgot to set the alarm,” Quinlan admitted with a grin. “I ended up waking up around nine this morning.”

“Your own fault,” Gordon said scornfully. “Set your alarm next time.”

Aaron Edison, Declan’s classmate both in school and the training academy, smiled brightly, his eyes aglow. The exuberant, cheerful personality made it a surprise to everyone that met him to discover that he’d been abandoned by his parents when he was a baby and that he’d been passing through foster homes during most of his seven years of life.

He had an aim in life, and that was to graduate as an altor and finally walk away from the foster system that only brought more heartache each time a family told him that he wasn’t the kind of child they wanted as their son. He would free himself of the heartache and the constant feeling of being unwanted. He couldn’t guarantee that anyone would ever want him, even in the future, but he could make sure that he’d be the best altor he could be and at least be needed by the agency he would work for. Until then, he forced himself to find joy in the smaller things and not give in to the hurt and depression that tried to weigh him down.

“I’m Aaron Edison,” he said brightly, his gaze flitting between Quinlan and Jaden. “I’m Declan’s classmate in school and at the training academy.”

Quinlan raised an eyebrow. “You’re an altor, too?” At the age of six, he had been assessed for qualification of enrolling in altor training, just as every other pacis lamia male. He’d been disqualified on the grounds that he’d be too hot-tempered and impulsive to be considered.

Jaden looked between Declan and Aaron. “You’re both altors? I’m an altor, too. I’m Jaden Gifford.”

“You, too?” Quinlan groaned. “I’m surrounded.”

Gordon grinned. He’d also been tested for qualifications of enrolling in the training and had been disqualified as being too hot-tempered and stubborn, traits of someone that wouldn’t respond well to orders he didn’t agree with in the call of duty and too much of a risk to take, which made Declan the only member of the founding family to qualify as an altor.

Declan, Aaron, and Jaden laughed.

“I’m Declan McCormack,” Declan introduced himself to Jaden.

“I’m Gordon O’Donnell,” Gordon spoke up. “We’re cousins.”

Aaron grinned. “I already told you my name.”

“We’re going to the playground,” Declan told the two older boys. “Do you two want to come with us?”

“Maybe next time,” Quinlan said with a shake of his head. “I’m going to the library.”

Declan turned to Jaden. “What about you?”

“I’m going with him,” Jaden said.

Declan shrugged. “Alright then. I guess we’ll see you later.” He turned to Gordon and Aaron. He gestured for them to follow and started down the hall. “Let’s go, guys.”

“See you, Quinlan, Jaden,” Aaron said, and turned to follow Declan’s lead down the hall in the opposite direction.

“Bye, guys.” Gordon smiled and then ran off after his other cousin and Aaron.

Quinlan watched his two cousins and the other boy disappear from sight. Then he continued on his way to the library, leaving Jaden to follow.

The boys found the doors of the library open and the librarian sitting at her desk. The library had very few students inside it, apart from the few, mostly girls, that preferred reading over playing with other kids. Most of the occupants were teachers looking over the resources that stocked the shelves that could be used for their classes.

Quinlan, Jaden following his every step, browsed the shelves looking for a book that would give him more information about Freewill. He looked through book after book for one that would be easy enough to understand as he went through the non-fiction section of the school library.

Connor Gifford, browsing through the non-fiction section for a book about altor duties, sighted his younger cousin and Quinlan. Like his cousin, he was in Sullivan Training Academy training to be an altor. However, he often felt that he was more serious about it than his cousin was, a far more quiet-spoken and serious individual than the younger boy. Out of curiosity, he approached the two of them. “What are you two doing?”

Jaden turned his head at the familiar sound of his ten-year-old cousin’s voice. “Con.”

Quinlan glanced over his shoulder at the other boy with curiosity. “I’m looking for a book and Jaden is playing shadow.”

Connor grinned. “He’s annoying, isn’t he?”

“I’m not annoying,” Jaden argued. “I’m fun. You’re just too boring to see it.”

“I don’t see it either,” Quinlan commented. “I think you’re annoying.”

Jaden glared. “You must be boring, too.”

Connor shoved his hands in his pockets as his deep green eyes looked over the younger boy with his cousin. “I’m Connor Gifford.”

“Are you brothers?” Quinlan looked between the two boys. They shared the same deep green eyes, but it was the only similarity he saw between them. Everything about them to their facial features and complexion was different. “You don’t look very much alike.”

“We’re cousins,” Connor corrected.

Jaden’s eyes gleamed as he grinned at Quinlan. “Connor is an altor, too.”

“How many altors can we possibly have in this school?” Quinlan said with a groan. “Other than my own cousin, I’ve already met three and it hasn’t even been an hour yet.”

“Our cousin Nicholas is an altor, too,” Jaden said helpfully with a grin. “My sister is a curatricis, too.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes.

“Half of the males in this school from first grade to fifth are altors,” Connor informed Quinlan, ignoring his cousin. “Half of the females are curatricis as well. You’re bound to meet a lot more than three altors by the end of this school year.”

Quinlan shrugged and continued searching the shelves. He pulled out a book titled Freewill, and opened it. He found that it was easier to read and understand than any of the other books he’d looked at and even had pictures.

Connor eyed the book in Quinlan’s hand with suspicion as he raked his fingers through his red-brown hair. “What do you want with a book about Freewill?”

“I just want to read,” Quinlan returned innocently, hoping the boy believed him. “We were learning about Freewill in class today.”

Connor stared at Quinlan as a thought formed in his mind. “You’re going to try to get into Freewill and talk to the humans, aren’t you?” he whispered to prevent the librarian from overhearing them. “Don’t do it. It’ll only be a disaster. They aren’t worth it.”

“Are you really going to do that?” Jaden asked, suddenly serious. “Freewill is off-limits and for a good reason, too. Some of them hate us enough to kill us. You can’t go there.”

Quinlan feigned innocence, giving the boys his best clueless look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just going to read.” He took his book and walked off to a table to sit down and read, hoping the Giffords wouldn’t report their suspicions to an adult and destroy his plans.

Connor watched Quinlan and then glanced at his cousin. “I don’t believe him. I think we should keep an eye on him after school.”

Jaden grabbed a random book off a bookshelf about ancient history. “Let’s sit with him.”

Connor glanced at the book his cousin had chosen strangely, but shrugged. He found the book about altor duties that he’d been looking for and grabbed it off its shelf. Then he nodded at his cousin. “Come on.”

Quinlan lifted his head as the two cousins sat across from him at the table with books of their own choice. He doubted the one Jaden had with him�"one about the fall of ancient Rome�"was one the boy would normally read and was certain it was just a reason for the boy to remain in the library.  He looked between the cousins suspiciously. “Are you going to be following me all day?”

“Yes,” Jaden said.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Connor said bluntly. “I don’t trust you and I know you’re up to something. Your plans can get you hurt or worse so I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you. It’s part of my job to protect and serve, so you can’t get rid of me.”

Quinlan shrugged. “At least you didn’t lie. Do what you will, but you can’t stop me.”