"What did you see?"

"It was the night of the fires, like in the locket visions. Ethan Carter Wate was already dead. Ivy had The Book of Moons , and she gave it to Abraham Ravenwood. He was in both of the visions." His name sounded thick and fuzzy on my tongue. Abraham Ravenwood was the original boogeyman of Gatlin County.

I gripped the edge of the table, steadying myself. Who wanted me to see the visions? More important, why?

Marian paused, stil holding the book. "Oh?" She looked at me careful y.

"And someone else. His name began with a J. Judas? Joseph? Jonah. That was it. I think they were brothers. They were Incubuses."

"Not just Incubuses." Marian snapped the book shut. "Abraham Ravenwood was a powerful Blood Incubus, the father of the Ravenwood Blood Incubus line."

"What do you mean?" So, the story folks had been tel ing for years was true? I had cleared another layer of fog from the supernatural map of Gatlin.

"Although al Incubuses are Dark by nature, not al of them choose to feed on blood. But once one does, the instinct appears to be inherited."

I leaned against the table as the vision sharpened in my mind. "Abraham -- he's the reason Ravenwood Manor never burned, right? He didn't make a deal with the Devil. He made it with The Book of Moons ."

"Abraham was dangerous, maybe more dangerous than any Caster. I can't imagine why you're seeing him now. Fortunately, he died young, before Macon was born."

I tried to do the math. "That's young? How long do Incubuses usual y live?"

"A hundred and fifty to two hundred years." She replaced the book on her worktable. "I don't know what any of this has to do with you or Macon's journal, but I never should have given it to you. I interfered. We should leave this book locked up here."

"Aunt Marian --"

"Ethan! Don't pursue this, and don't tel anyone else about it, not even Amma. I can't imagine how she would react if you said the name Abraham Ravenwood in her presence." She put her arm around me and gave me a halfhearted squeeze. "Now, let's go finish up in the stacks before Olivia cal s the police." She turned to the door and stuck her key in the lock.

There was one more thing. I had to say it. "He could see me, Aunt Marian. Abraham looked right at me and said my name. That's never happened in the visions before."

Marian stopped, staring at the door as if she could see right through it. It was more than a few seconds before she turned the key in the lock and swung the door open. "Olivia? Do you think Melvil Dewey could spare you for a cup of tea?"

Our conversation was over. Marian was a Keeper and the Head Librarian of the Caster Library, the Lunae Libri. She could only tel me so much without violating her obligations. She couldn't take sides or change the course of events once they were set in motion. She couldn't be Macon for me, and she wasn't my mom. I was on my own.

6.14

Beneath the Paper

Al of those?" There were three stacks of brown paper packages on the checkout desk. Marian marked the last one with the familiar GATLIN COUNTY LIBRARY stamp, always twice and always tied with the same white string.

"No, take that pile, too." She pointed to a second pile, on the nearest trol ey.

"I thought nobody in this town reads."

"Oh, they read. They just don't own up to what they read, which is why we make not only library-to-library deliveries but library-to-home ones as wel . Circulating books only. Al owing two to three days for the processing of requests, of course."

Great. I was afraid to ask what was in these brown paper packages, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. I picked up a stack of books and groaned. "What are these, encyclopedias?"

Liv pul ed the receipt from the top bundle. "Yes. The Encyclopedia of Ammunition , actual y."

Marian waved us out the door. "Go with Ethan, Liv. You haven't had an opportunity to see our beautiful little town yet."

"I can handle it."

Liv sighed and pushed the trol ey toward the door. "Come on, Hercules. I'l help you load up. Can't keep the ladies of Gatlin waiting on their ..." She consulted another receipt. "... Carolin-er Cake Doctor Cookbook , now can we?"

"Carolina," I said, automatical y.

"That's what I said. Carolin-er."

Two hours later, we had delivered most of the books and driven by both Jackson High and the Stop & Steal. As we circled the General's Green, I realized why Marian had been so eager to hire me at a library that was always empty and didn't need summer employees. She had planned for me to be Liv's teenage tour guide al along. It was my job to show her the lake and the Dar-ee Keen and fil in the gaps between what folks around here said and what they meant. My job was to be her friend.

I wondered how Lena was going to feel about that. If she noticed.

"I stil don't understand why there's a statue of a general from a war the South didn't win, and one which was general y embarrassing for your country, in the middle of town." Of course she didn't.

"Folks honor the fal en around here. There's a whole museum dedicated to them." I didn't mention the Fal en Soldiers was also the scene of my dad's Ridley-induced suicide attempt a few months ago.

I looked over at Liv from behind the wheel of the Volvo. I couldn't remember the last time there had been any girl except Lena in the passenger's seat.

"You're a terrible tour guide."