Professor Grayson's Point of View
I threw myself forward just as Seraphina's claws cut through the air where my head had been a second before.
"Run, Ruby!" I shouted, swinging my walking stick at the vampire queen. "Get out of here!"
But instead of running, Ruby stepped beside me, the Awakening Book shining brighter in her hands. "I'm not leaving you!"
Seraphina laughed, a sound like broken glass. "How sweet. The old hunter and the baby Guardian, standing together against the big bad vampire."
My walking stick connected with her arm, and she hissed in pain. The wood was carved with protective symbols I had learned fifty years ago, back when I thought all monsters deserved to die. Back when I didn't know the difference between evil and hurt.
"You're not welcome here, Seraphina," I said, keeping myself between her and Ruby.
"Oh, but I am," Seraphina said, licking the small cut on her arm. "You see, this library sits on a meeting point. A place where the human world and the magical world meet. I have every right to be here."
She was right, and I knew it. The library had been built on this spot specifically because it was a crossing place between worlds. That's why it drew so many supernatural creatures. That's why Ruby's parents had been picked as its Guardians.
"What do you want?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"The book," Seraphina said, pointing at Ruby. "And the girl. In that order."
"You can't have either," Ruby said strongly.
Seraphina's eyes flashed with anger. "Child, you have no idea what you're dealing with. I am over three hundred years old. I have destroyed entire countries. I have turned kings into my slaves and queens into my meals."
"And I bet you've never met a librarian before," Ruby said, and I almost smiled despite our terrible position.
Seraphina moved faster than a human eye could follow, but I had been expecting it. I spoke a word of power, and a shield of silver light appeared between us and the vampire queen.
She slammed into it and bounced back, growling with rage. "You still remember the old ways, hunter."
"I remember everything," I said. "Including how to stop you."
But the shield was already weakening. I was old, and my power wasn't what it used to be. In a few seconds, Seraphina would break through, and then Ruby and I would be in real trouble.
"Professor Grayson," Ruby said quickly. "The book is showing me something. I can see you when you were younger. You're fighting a monster, but then you stop. Why did you stop?"
I glanced at her, shocked. The Awakening Book was showing her my memories. That had never happened before with any Guardian.
"Because I realized he wasn't trying to hurt anyone," I said. "He was protecting his cubs."
"Tell me," Ruby said. "Tell me your story. The book says it's important."
Seraphina was scratching at the barrier, making it crack and spark. We didn't have much time.
"Fifty years ago," I said quickly, "I was the best monster hunter in the country. I had killed vampires, werewolves, shadow demons, and dozens of other monsters. I thought they were all evil. I thought the world was better off without them."
"What changed your mind?" Ruby asked.
"A little girl," I said. "A werewolf child who had been abandoned by her pack. She was hungry and scared, hiding in an old barn. When I found her, she didn't try to attack me. She just looked at me with these big, sad eyes and asked if I was going to hurt her."
The barrier cracked harder. Seraphina was almost through.
"I couldn't do it," I continued. "I couldn't kill a child, even a werewolf kid. So I took her home and fed her. I taught her how to control her changes. I helped her find a new pack that would accept her."
"That's when you realized not all monsters are evil," Ruby said.
"That's when I realized most of them aren't monsters at all," I said. "They're just different. They're scared and lonely and trying to live in a world that hates them."
The barrier broke like glass. Seraphina stepped through, her teeth gleaming.
"How touching," she sneered. "The big bad hunter learned to love the monsters. But I'm not a lost little monster, old man. I am evil. I choose to be bad. And I enjoy it."
She was right. Some animals, like Seraphina, were truly evil. They picked cruelty over kindness, death over life. But others, like Asher, were just broken souls who needed repair.
"That's why I became the library's Guardian," I said to Ruby. "To protect the good creatures from the bad ones. And to protect people from both."
"Very noble," Seraphina said. "But it ends now."
She lunged at Ruby, moving faster than lightning. I tried to stop her, but my old body was too slow.
That's when something incredible happened.
The Awakening Book burst into flames in Ruby's hands. Not burning flames, but silver flames that filled the entire room with light. Seraphina screamed and threw herself backward, hiding her eyes.
"The book chose me," Ruby said, and her voice was different now. Stronger. More sure. "It chose me to be its Guardian, and I choose to protect everyone who needs protecting."
The fires spread from the book to Ruby's hands, then up her arms. She looked like an angel made of moonlight and starfire.
"Impossible," Seraphina hissed. "You're just a person. You can't handle Guardian magic."
"I'm not just a human," Ruby said. "I'm Ruby Martinez, daughter of two Guardians, friend to shadow demons, and guardian of lost souls. And you're not welcome in my library."
She raised her hands, and the silver sparks shot toward Seraphina like arrows. The vampire queen dodged them easily, but she was no longer striking. She was fleeing.
"This isn't over," Seraphina growled. "I will have that book. And I will have the dark demon. And when I do, this sad little town will burn."
She vanished into the shadows between the bookshelves, leaving only the smell of sulfur and old blood.
Ruby fell into a chair, the flames dying out. The book fell from her hands and dropped on the floor with a heavy thud.
"Are you okay?" I asked, running to her side.
"I don't know," Ruby said, looking at her hands. "I could feel the magic running through me. It was like... like I was linked to every Guardian who ever lived. Including my parents."
"The book is teaching you," I said. "Preparing you for what's coming."
"What is coming?"
I looked toward the darkness where Seraphina had disappeared. "War," I said sadly. "She's going to gather an army of truly evil creatures. And then she's going to come back for you and Asher."
"We have to warn him," Ruby said, standing up. "We have to find Asher and tell him what's happening."
"We will," I said. "But first, we need to make sure you're ready. The magic you just used was strong, but it was also dangerous. If you're not careful, it could swallow you."
Ruby picked up the book and hugged it to her chest. "I'll be careful. But I won't hide. Not while people are in danger."
I smiled at her. She sounded just like her parents.
But as we headed toward the door, I heard something that made my blood freeze.
Howling.
Not just one scream, but dozens of them. Coming from the woods around town.
Ruby grabbed my arm. "What is that?"
I looked out the window and saw sparkling eyes in the darkness between the trees. Lots of sparkling eyes.
"Seraphina's army," I whispered. "She's not waiting for war. She's starting it now."
The howling got stronger, and I could hear something else mixed in with it. Laughter. Cold, cruel laughs that I recognized.
Seraphina was coming back.
And she wasn't coming alone.