Chereads / Twilight Academy / Chapter 28 - Luna meets Malum

Chapter 28 - Luna meets Malum

"um... Luna...?" Eclipse approached Luna.

"Ja?"

"Could you... help me with the project...? I tried asking dad but he told me to look in the library and... it's huge..." She explained.

"No problem. My parents are finishing the rest of my project," Luna mentioned. Since she had a big family, Luna wouldn't be able to complete it all by herself so Nyx and Gerhardt offered to finish it for her.

"Thanks," Eclipse replied.

After school, Luna quickly changed into a t-shirt and hoodie and went to Eclipse's house... Castle...

"It's so big!" Luna exclaimed in awe, staring at the victorian style black castle-like mansion. There were creepy gargoyles outside the door. Eclipse's house is a castle. They went inside to the entrance hall. The walls were red and had fancy decorations, there was even an entrance rug to the hallway. Luna followed Eclipse upstairs. The stairs were huge as well, they even had a rug on them as well as the fancy railing. As they walked through the echoey halls, Luna could see all the fancy gothic rooms.

"I'm gonna get changed. The library is over there if you want to go ahead," Eclipse pointed across the room.

"K, I'll see you there," Luna responded.

Eclipse went to her room to get changed into something more comfortable. Luna quietly entered the room and was in awe. The library was huge, it would take forever for Luna to find a family history book. That didn't stop her from searching. This library had everything from Science, folklore, mythology, business, and more. A lot of them were old books. Luna got distracted in the folklore section. she didn't grab anything but looked at the titles. So far, she couldn't find anything that would help with Eclipse's family tree project. Luna turned around, planning on finding Eclipse but froze. In front of her is a tall, intimidating-looking man with slicked-back and piercing amber-red eyes. His face showed no emotion and his eyes... there was something about his eyes that scared Luna, she just couldn't pinpoint it.

"Oh, how rude of me. I didn't introduce myself," He said.

"My name is Malum Tenebris. You must be Luna, I've heard about you," Malum smiled. His facial expression went from emotionless to a warm smile. Luna shifted a little. The sudden change in expression scared her.

"Did I scare you?" he asked.

"A... a little... s-s-sorry..." Luna stuttered.

"No need to apologize, it's my fault. I didn't think about how intimidating I must look to a small girl," he waved it off.

"So what brings you here?" Malum asked.

"Oh... I promised Eclipse I would help with her project," Luna nervously explained. Malum seemed confused then realized what Luna was talking about.

"Oh, you must be talking about the family tree project,"

"J-ja,"

"Unfortunately, you won't find much in this library. Due to our complex family history, any information about us is highly protected. Follow me, I believe I have what you are searching for," Malum signaled Luna to follow him. She did follow behind but was keeping her guard up. There was something about Malum that scared Luna.

(Where are you Eclipse..?) Luna wondered, scared. Meanwhile, Eclipse was hiding by a corner, watching. She saw her dad walk into the room. Eclipse was also scared of her Dad, so she didn't have the courage to go inside the library. Guilt was eating her up as Eclipse felt bad for leaving Luna alone with her father.

Luna followed Malum, passing through various paintings and decorations. She felt like the paintings were watching her every movement. Finally, Malum stopped at a black door with gold decoration on it. Luna walked, looking around. Immediately she could smell something but couldn't identify it. It was like herbs... a plant maybe.

"Welcome to my office," Malum said. Luna couldn't help but notice the weird smell in the air.

"Please, have a seat while I look for what you need," He suggested. Luna sat down on a gothic black armchair made of velvet fabric. It was more like a throne than an armchair, at least it was comfy and soft. Luna watched as Malum scanned the bookshelves until he found what he was looking for.

"Here you go," Malum showed a thick, vintage hardcover book with gold lining.

"Th-thanks," Luna stuttered, standing up.

"I should tell you something for a quick moment before you read anything, as you might get startled," Malum added. Luna was confused as to why she would be startled.

"I won't keep you waiting so here," Malum bent down to Luna's height.

"We're descendants of the Great Vlad Dracul," He said.

"You may know him by his nickname, Vlad the Impaler," Malum added. Luna was a bit startled when she heard that.

"Also, here's something else," Malum handed Luna two more books, smaller than the other one.

"It's some information about me and my parents," He explained.

"Now then, you should get going. Eclipse is waiting," Malum reminded. Luna stuttered and thanked Malum one last time before leaving the office.

"I can see why Shadow is obsessed with her," He commented. Malum had to admit, Luna was adorable.

Luna quickly walked up to Eclipse's room.

"Eclipse's I got what we need," Luna said. Eclipse was on her bed, nervous. She saw Luna and sighed in relief.

"Eclipse... are you okay?" Luna asked.

"My dad... did he do anything?" Eclipse asked, scared.

"N-no," Luna said. She was freaked out by Malum but he didn't hurt her.

"I was just worried that he hurt you," Eclipse confessed.

"I'm fine. I did find what we need for your project," Luna mentioned, showing Eclipse the books they needed.

"Okay... Let's just copy the information we need and you can return the books to my dad...." Eclipse said. She grabbed the papers and pencils then she and Luna proceeded to copy information.

"I'm related to Vlad the Impaler...?" Eclipse muttered to herself, reading the book about him. Luna was reading up on Malum's parents and brother. The book kept talking about how they died in a mysterious stabbing that only Malum survived. That part was weird to Luna, she pushed her thoughts away and continued taking notes.

"I finished, what about you?" Eclipse asked.

"I just finished," Luna replied, putting her notes together.

"Okay, the rest should be easy. I just have to put everything on my computer," Eclipse added.

"I'll return these to your dad, then," Luna picked up the books. Eclipse froze for a bit.

"Be careful," she warned.

"I will," Luna reassured, leaving the room. The way Eclipse is so scared of her father concerns Luna. So far, Eclipse told her that Malum doesn't pay attention to her, and Shadow never mentioned his parents.

(Stop overthinking, Luna!) She scolded herself, walking downstairs and over to Malum's office. She stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. She heard shuffling then the door opened.

"Ah, you're back!" He said.

"That was faster than I've expected," He commented. Luna wasn't sure what to say, luckily Malum took the books from her hands.

"Why don't you come in," He offered. Luna did and sat in the same black chair as before.

"Tell me, did you find everything okay?" He asked.

"J-Ja... Eclipse and I found everything we needed," Luna answered.

"Ah, that's good to hear. Would you care for a pop-tart?" Malum asked. Luna's eyes lit up. Her parents rarely bought her pop tarts, the only time Luna could get them was from vending machines and they only had strawberry flavor.

"Yes, please," She accepted his offer. Malum smiled, Luna is very cute. Malum had the new peach cobbler flavored pop tarts in his possession and gave one to Luna. She took a bite out of it and closed her eyes.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Malum commented.

"S-sorry. My parents never bought me pop tarts," Luna explained. They would buy her gummies and candies but never pop tarts, or little Debby unless it was for the holidays. It's funny because when people saw Luna for the first time they would think she's spoiled because she always candy yet she would be upset. After all, her parents didn't want her eating pop tarts, twinkies, anything little Debby, or store-bought desserts.

"Really? That's strange,"

"Don't have many flavors where I live and my aunt has some weird thing against them," Luna added.

(She's cute...) Malum thought. He'll have to invite Luna more often.