We walk deeper and deeper into the library and the feeling of being in such an old building becomes greater. It is comforting almost, the strange feeling, kind of felt like a hug.
Alex stopped suddenly. I turn to him slightly as I walk past him. "Why did you stop...." I felt like a shock went through me for a second and then fell back. "That felt weird." I mumble and scratch the back of my neck where I still feel a light buzz. I got up and dusted myself off. When I look up I can tell that he is stunned.
"You're glowing..." He said in awe. I am so confused and tilt my head to the side. I look around, and in fact, I am glowing ever so slightly. The glow fades within seconds and Alex seems to come out of his daze. "I have never seen anything like that before," He says as he passes. As he did, his ears pointen and his eyes dilated. "Every species is affected differently by the protective border that keeps humans out." He explains.
I nod as he leads us through the supernatural side of the local Library. The northern lights seem to float through the shelves. Stars dance through the lights. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I turn to him and he smirks at me as he stops at the door. "Lily, Welcome to the City of Nore!" He announces as he opens the door wide.
Beyond the door is a city bustling with life. Beings of all shapes and sizes walked the streets. There is a park in the center with humongous swamp-like trees with vines that had glowing fruit on them. When I look up I realizes that we are in a massive underground cavern held up by giant buildings, giant trees, and magical ice that acted as pillars. There are hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites all around with houses built on them. Buildings came down from the ceiling of the cave as well as rising from the ground. Fairy lights lit the entire space. To sum it in one word, this place was magnificent.
"Most supernatural beings are nocturnal, so when New York starts to wind down, the city of Nore, starts to wake up." He smiles as he looks around. I try to take it all in, but there is always more to see. He led me through the city. There aren't any cars or anything electronic, everything seemed to run on magic. There are mine cars, bikes, even some kids with skateboards. Some people were flying above us. Alex looks at what had my attention, "Gargoyles and demons." He explains.
I smile as he shows me some of the shops. Currency from all over the world is used. There are vendors along the streets. There is also food from all over the place. Now that I look at all the species, they seem to have come from all over as well. The more I look around, the more I learn. Alex explains things to me as we walk around.
"I am wondering if there are those out there that can't really die like I can?" I ask, unsure.
"Well, zombis are practically immortal as long as their soul is destroyed, or they aren't poisoned. Ghosts are also considered immortal, being dead already. Demons are said to be able to kill them, but no one is totally sure. Why did you ask?"
"It is comforting to know that I won't live forever alone. Though the idea of living with ghosts as my only company is terrifying."
"Out of all the species you have learned about, are you most scared of ghosts?" He shakes his head in surprise before continuing the tour. "There are different cities all over the US, Werewolves have been here long before even the Europeans. The Native American people and werewolves have been on good terms with each other. Haiti is the only other place where humans know about us."
I stopped at that. Mir...Mirlande is from Haiti. Is it possible that she knew about this world? It would make sense, she did seem to know what Criston was. She is human...isn't she? "What species live in Haiti?" I ask.
"Zombis and Witches mostly. Are you ok, did I say something wrong?" He asks, and I shook my head.
"No, not you. I think a friend of mine might be a supernatural being. You said zombis don't have blood?" He nods and I sigh.
"A person isn't born a zombi. When people die, certain witches are able to bring them back by capturing their soul before they pass on. Originally, zombi were used as slaves, but they aren't anymore. The zombi is led by a Governor. The current Governor made it illegal in Haiti about 271 years ago, being a zombi himself." He informed me.
Death, the person has to die... "Mir got in a really bad car crash a week before she joined the SNI..." That's when it clicked. There is a whole new world for the supernatural, why not an investigation division? "Do zombis happen to have dull eyes?"
"If they don't eat human brains, most of them eat rat and mice brains. There are quite a few rats and mice farms in the supernatural world that supply both brains, blood, and raw meat. It might sound gross, but we can't pick what we eat."
"That makes sense. While I can eat normal food, I only eat once a day. A ham sandwich can get me through the day easily. It is why I never go out to eat, the food goes bad before I can finish it. I will have to ask Mir when I get back." I smile at him. We walked around for a few more hours, and I knew I needed to get home soon.
We rode in one of the mine cars to one of the old museums that was another gateway. The exit would drop us off near my home. As we pass through the gateway, Alex's ears shrank and his eyes return to normal. The buzz in the back of my neck returns temporarily, before fading again.
It is almost midnight, but for some reason, I didn't feel tired. Life is looking up for me. There is a whole other world with people like me. I might not know exactly what I am yet, but that didn't mean I couldn't figure it out later. Alex did say that there were other supernatural cities out there. I could travel the world and maybe find out what happened to my parents. The only problem is, I need to find a way to end this stupid case. I would like to get out of this city before the person that hired Alex to kill me decided to poison me.
I sigh deeply, I would hate to leave the supernatural world after just learning how to get there, but I can't stay here much longer. I could always come back later... Deep down a part of me wants to stay and help Mir with the case, but I ignore it for now. My main objective right now is getting to a safe place, and New York is no longer safe.
Regina was tired of looking through the old library. What did it matter that someone had O-blood? She headed back to the office and found only a few guys still clocked in; the ones guarding the suspect at the hospital. She would have to do something about him, but first she needed to know why she was forced to go to the stupid library. Regina hated reading more than anything else, besides work.
She looked over Mir's files, which she had once again left out. Seeing a lunch box, she smirked and hid it in another girls locker. Turning, she saw a paper on Mir's work table and snatched it up before stumbling back. There was no way, there was no way that measly little wretch was...was a star spirit! They died out centuries ago, the royals made sure of it!
Regina crumpled up the blood test and burned it until there was nothing but ashes left before storming out and into the foyer, and taking one of the gates to the hospital. "Guards, I would like to speak with the suspect," She hummed out, and they nodded blankly before letting her pass...