Page 30 of Vampire's Cupcake
"I don't know.What do you think it is?"
Humbert glanced at the ceiling."Bears are kind and spare humans off the paved road.But it's not true."
This time Eli looked at Thano instead of Romeo."Eh..."
Thano took a step closer to Eli."The lesson is to choose your friends wisely.The tree-climbing human sacrificed his friend to get away from the bear, so he wasn't a good friend."
"Ah...yeah, I see."Humbert looked at him."But in reality, the bear would've killed both of them.He'd climb the tree after the coward.And the crows would tell everyone else there were humans in the territory."
"Have you finished your tea?"Thano directed the question to Eli.
Eli looked into the cup and gulped down the last of it."Yes."
It would be best if Eli could eat something, but they'd be here all evening if they didn't get a move on."Can I take Eli to the office?"
Romeo nodded."Yeah, sure, go ahead."
Last year, they'd kept all books in Romeo's bedroom to make sure no one stole them, but Ciar had grown annoyed at people wanting to come and look at them there, so he'd carried them into the smaller room next to the big room on the first floor.They kept them in their different boxes and Romeo had thrown a sheet over them, but if someone wanted to know something, they could sit in the office and read about it.
* * * *
Chapter 7
Eli followed Thano into a small office.He was still a bit stunned over having seen the bear boy.It was hard to tell how old he was, definitely not an adult.Romeo had told him about Humbert who wanted to come to Last Hope but wasn't allowed to because he wasn't human-passing, yet Eli hadn't been prepared.
"He's...eh...sweet."
"Who?"Thano glared at him, and Eli took a step back.
"Humbert."
"I wouldn't know.I haven't tasted him."
Eli stared.Was it a joke?Thano didn't look as if he was joking."O-Okay."Note to self, Thano ate people.Which he already knew but had somehow forgotten.Did it mean he ate others too?
"Hopefully, we'll find what we need in one of these boxes."Thano pulled a sheet off several boxes stacked on top of each other.Each had something written on the side of them.
"I think non-fiction, right?There are no recipes in fiction books."Thano looked into his eyes."Right?"
Eli couldn't speak, could hardly breathe.Were those boxes of books?A tremor went through him."Thano."It was nothing more than a whisper."If anyone finds these, they'll kill Romeo."
Thano shook his head."No."
"Yes!"He gestured at the boxes."This, this is a lot."
"Not like a library.Romeo read a book mostly taking place in a library, and there were thousands of books.Not like these.Here are only a hundred or maybe two hundred."He shrugged."Maybe two hundred and sixty if there are twenty books in every box."
Eli reached out to steady himself on the wall.
"Are you ill?"Thano was in front of him in a blink of an eye.
"No.A little...eh...overwhelmed."
Thano looked between Eli and the boxes."They're just books.You were excited about the gardening book."
Eli nodded.It was amazing, but this...This was a treasure, a dangerous treasure.
Thano studied him for a few seconds."No one will come for Romeo's books.They tried it once, and it didn't go well.We're off the paved road.Humans have no say here."
