Virgin Sacrifice to the Last Lycan - Chapter 180: Chapter 180

Helen’s POV
I wandered the room, running my fingers across the titles. Some were new and shiny, and some were so old you could barely read the script on the binding anymore. I paused at one of these, where the gold lettering was nearly smudged out, and pulled it towards me so that I could see more clearly what it was.
When I took the book, the whole bookshelf slid out and rotated to reveal a back side that had been hidden inside the wall. That side of the bookshelf was also lined with books, but these were titles that were much more interesting. Here, there were books on magic and herb lore and histories.
“Guys, check out what I found,” I called.
I didn’t really need to say anything, though. Because as soon as the bookcase had moved, all the other four were paying very close attention to what I’d discovered.
“What exactly did you find?” Russo said, coming over and peering at the titles.
Randy and Justin hurried to join him.
“This is amazing,” Randy gasped out. “These are the sorts of books we might need if we can’t find the Key of Solomon. Do you suppose the key is in here somewhere, too?”
“A moving secret bookcase?” Russo asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is there anywhere else it would be?”
“I’ll check all the titles on the top shelf,” Justin said. “I’m the tallest, so it will be easiest for me to read the titles on that one.”
“I’ll take the shelf below,” Randy said.
“I’ve got the next shelf down,” Russo volunteered, running his fingers across the titles of the books.
I crouched down so that I could read the bottom shelf. Lisa took the one between Russo and me. For a moment, we were all silent as we read through the titles. Then Russo squealed and jumped on me, scooping me up and swinging me around.
“We found the Key of Solomon! It’s right here.”
He grabbed a book off the shelf and brought it over to the table, setting it down. “This is combined volume. It has both the Greater and Lesser Keys in it. So let’s finish scanning the bookshelf and take along anything else we think might be useful in fighting the Huntsman.”
Justin shook his head. “No, you and Lisa head back to the hotel and get started on looking through that Key right away. It’s too important for us to all stay behind and look through these other books. These are only for backup information, anyway.”
He glanced at Randy and me for confirmation of our help. We both nodded our agreement with his plan. Justin finished his directions. “While we do that, you take those and get started on the real research.” T
“Sure,” Russo agreed, closing the book and cradling it carefully in his arms. Lisa joined him, and the two hurried off.
Randy, Justin, and I all set to work pulling out any books we thought might have useful information in them. The pile on the table grew quickly. We took a lot more than I thought we probably needed and a lot less than what sat on the bookshelf.
Randy went back to the old room that served as the guard room when he worked out of the palace and found a large duffel bag, then brought it back. We loaded the duffle full of the books and zipped it shut against the cold weather.
I tried to lift the loaded bag and was miserable at hoisting the weight of all of those books. Randy and Justin were going to have to carry it back between the two of them. Wanting to make up for not being helpful, I tried to offer assistance in any way that I could. So I made sure that the bookcase got back to normal and that we didn’t leave any obvious signs of our being there. On the way back to the front door, I saw that all of the lights got shut off, and the door got locked behind us.
My plan was that if Juden came back to use the building, which he probably would since he’d bothered to change the locks, no one would know that we had been there or what we had been looking for.
While we’d been searching, it had gotten completely dark outside and even colder than on our twilight walk to the mansion. I figured we were as safe walking back as we were anywhere else, but still, my imagination got the better of me. I swore I could see things lurking in the shadow, or maybe those were just the horrible memories of everything that had happened over the course of my life and my short marriage to Justin in this place.
This town held plenty of unpleasant memories to serve as ghosts. When something rustled in the bushes, I gave in to impulse and snatched at Justin’s hand, holding on for dear life. He chuckled and put his arm around me, drawing me close to him.
“Don’t worry, Little Wolf. I’ll look out for you.”
I scowled at him. “I don’t want you to think I’m completely helpless. My imagination is just running away with me.”
“So I can’t look out for you by driving the bad thoughts off?”
This made me pause. “I guess that is why I grabbed your hand in the first place.”
Justin chuckled again, rubbing at my shoulder. “And you were so quick to assume that I believed you can’t take care of yourself. There’s more than one way to help somebody.”
“I suppose that’s true,” I agreed.
The walk back took us a little longer than the walk to the mansion, but that had to do mostly with the fact that Justin and Randy kept trading the overloaded duffel bag back and forth. Those books were like lugging around a dead body. But if they led to the Huntsman being a dead body, then the effort was totally worth it.
When we arrived back, Russo and Lisa were still sitting at the table in Russo and Randy’s bedroom. They had the Key of Solomon open between them and were scanning the pages, both of them taking notes and comparing ideas. They were so absorbed I’m not sure they even saw us come in.
Justin cleared his throat to get their attention. “Have you found anything yet?” he asked.
“Possibly,” Russo replied. He pointed to his notes. “We found the instructions for a binding ritual. If we can’t come up with a method to actually destroy the demon, then maybe we can force him to submit to our will.”
A frown took over his face. “But forcing him to submit carries risk because if anything breaks the binding, then he’s free to roam about with a bigger chip on his shoulder than ever. So it would really be better to completely destroy him.”
“How long do you think it’s going to take?” Justin asked.
Russo shrugged and patted the book, which was really more like a tome. “I have no idea where in here I’m going to find the information we want, assuming it’s even in here. There’s hardly a glossary since the book was written thousands of years ago. It’s not like Solomon had the foresight to say, ‘well, in this year, for this problem, with this half-demon, here’s your solution.’”
“And I thought Solomon was supposed to be super powerful,” Randy snarked. “Guess he was just slacking off.”
Russo rolled his eyes. “We’re going to read for another half hour or so, and then I’m going to walk Lisa home. But I think we’re finally in a good place to fight this beast.”