Olivia and Mia stood in the dusty study, their eyes scanning the dimly lit room. The air was thick with the smell of old paper and wood, the kind of musty aroma that settled in untouched places. Every inch of the study was covered in rows of bookshelves, stacked with ancient volumes whose spines were mostly hidden in darkness. Cobwebs clung to corners, and flickering candlelight danced off rows of dark leather-bound books, casting shifting shadows that made the room seem almost alive.
"This… might take a while," Mia muttered, biting her lip as she glanced over the countless black-covered books lining each shelf. "How do we even find it when most of the are all black?"
Olivia steadied herself, remembering Evelyn's instructions. "Miss Price said it was on the top left side of the shelf."
Mia squinted up at the towering shelf, counting eight tall columns stretching all the way to the ceiling. Her shoulders dropped. "You said 'top left'? How do we even get up there?"
The remnants of an old wooden ladder lay against the wall, broken in two from their earlier scuffle with the banshee. Its middle section was splintered, and a long crack ran across one of the supports. Olivia sighed, recalling how they had barely dodged the banshee's claws as it tore through the room.
"Damn, that banshee really did a number on this place," she muttered.
Mia was already thinking ahead, her gaze darting around the study. "How about one of us climbs on the other's shoulders? It might be the only way to reach it."
Olivia's eyes briefly lingered on a broken table in the corner. She'd thought of using it to reach the top shelf but dismissed the idea when she noticed one of its legs hanging loose, barely attached. She exhaled, nodding to Mia.
"Yeah, let's do it. We don't have much time."
Mia hesitated, glancing at Olivia with a mixture of worry and doubt. "Okay, but which one of us goes up?"
"I'll lift you," Olivia said almost immediately. After the cross's healing effect, her strength felt renewed, her muscles steadier than before. "That cross did more than just heal my bruises—it restored my energy too. I think I can hold you up there."
Mia blinked in surprise, glancing at the cross she held with newfound respect. "How magical are you?" she whispered, almost in awe.
Olivia rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Come on, Mia. We don't have time to admire it."
Mia chuckled, tucking the cross away. She climbed onto Olivia's shoulders, positioning herself carefully, and Olivia braced herself, gripping Mia's legs to keep her steady as she rose to her full height. Wobbling for a moment, Olivia steadied herself against the bookshelf.
"Mia," Olivia grinned playfully, despite the tension. "I didn't know you'd be this heavy. What did you eat this morning?"
Mia flushed. "We had the same breakfast, Liv! And stop teasing; this is hard enough."
The two shared a quiet laugh, a brief comfort before Mia turned serious again, looking at the shelf's top.
Up close, she could see three black-covered books, each worn with age and mysterious symbols that had faded over time. One had a label that read "Dictionary," another "Historical Records," while the third was unmarked, its cover cracked and faded.
"I think this is it," Mia called down, reaching for the unmarked book, though her hand hovered with uncertainty.
"Just grab it," Olivia urged. "It's probably the bible."
As Mia's fingers closed around the book, a deep rumbling sound echoed through the room, followed by a tremor that shook the floor beneath them. Olivia's balance wavered, and Mia instinctively clutched the shelf with one hand, clutching the book tightly with the other.
"Oh, no, no—don't fall," Olivia muttered, gripping the shelf's frame and regaining her balance just as the quake subsided.
The silence returned, heavier than before. They both sighed in relief, their breaths mingling in the dim light.
"Why did it have to shake again?" Mia whispered, her voice barely audible as she took a calming breath. She knew the answer, though: Cain's struggle was worsening. The barrier was weakening, and their time was slipping away.
"We're losing time," Olivia replied, her voice low and urgent. "Did you get the book?"
Mia held it up triumphantly. "Got it, Liv. You can put me down now."
Olivia knelt, letting Mia climb off her shoulders as they both turned to examine the book. The black bible was worn and cracked, its leather cover bearing a faint symbol—a crescent intertwined with a broken circle—that tugged at Olivia's memory, though she couldn't place why it felt so familiar. For a moment, she was overwhelmed by a strange sensation, a fleeting memory of standing in a similar room, shadows whispering around her. She shook it off, focusing on the task at hand.
"There it is," Mia whispered, her fingers trembling as she touched the cover, sensing a heartbeat-like rhythm under her touch.
"Let's see if this map is real," Olivia murmured, casting a wary glance over her shoulder, half-expecting another monstrous presence to lunge from the shadows.
Mia flipped open the bible, but her face fell when she saw blank pages. "It's… empty?"
"Remember what Evelyn said," Olivia replied. "The ink will only show up in the dark."
Olivia moved to switch off the lights. The room plunged into darkness, and they held their breath, waiting. As they watched, faint lines and symbols began to emerge on the page, illuminating like stars against the black. The glowing lines mapped out the cemetery, marking locations in an ancient, winding script.
"Got it!" Mia exclaimed in a hushed voice, running her fingers over the map. "The gems' locations and their matching tombstones—they're all here."
Olivia nodded, committing the layout to memory. As they studied the map, they noticed certain locations were marked with strange warnings or symbols they couldn't decipher, adding a layer of mystery to their task.
Olivia and Mia looked at each other, the weight of their mission settling on them. "We should start with the nearest tombstone," Mia suggested, glancing back down at the map. "Maybe this one here."
Olivia's gaze lingered on a different location, one marked by an unusual symbol she couldn't ignore. "Actually… what about this one?" she said, pointing. "I don't know why, but I feel drawn to it."
Mia glanced between Olivia and the map, hesitating. But time was running out, and they could feel the room's oppressive silence closing in, as if something beyond was watching them, waiting for them to act. Mia nodded.
"All right. Let's do it."