The Chronophages

Lord Knox picked up the egg of memory the insect laid, seeing how it emitted a dull colour showed how little it's memory was, that had also given him an idea of the hierarchy of wolf the insect had bitten.

If it was a wolf who participated in activities or take part in core roles in the pack like a beta or gamma, the egg would have shone brightly but the dull colour could mean it was an omega memory or a random member of the pack who held insignificant role.

He looked at the other eggs in various degree of light, together they illuminated the room, shredding light to the space before the sun rose.

Lord Knox pondered over his search, he needed the little piece of information he needed to achieve his goal. His family had secretly made it their lifelong goal to possess Phemerah's eyes. Something other vampires didn't seem to take to mind. He remembered how his grandfather spent hours in the library pouring over books, looking for any information he could find about the location of Phemerah's eyes and abilities. The congested library is the result of his ancestors' hard work which must not go to waste, how each generation had worked endlessly to find the eyes before anyone would.

His family had known the significance of laying their hands on the Eyes first, he couldn't even imagine how powerful their household would become if they were the controller of the eyes, the vampire would also be worshipped among other creatures.

He placed the egg back in the magical book among the other books, when the last of the insect returned, he would take the book to his witch friend who would sieve their memories and see if she could find anything useful.

He closed the book to return it to the shelf, the grey sky is already turning white, brightening the room a little. His eyes fell on a piece of cloth at the far end of the shelf.

"How did this gets here?" Picking up the handkerchief, the feel of the cloth already suggested it belonged to a member of their high society. Seeing the family crest embellished at the edge, he couldn't believe someone other than him and his associate whom he just brought in the night before had entered the room.

Checking out the drawing of claws which formed the letter F. W meant it belonged to a wolf, his heart skipped a bit, could the werewolves already know about this hidden room?

The room had been in existence long before he was born and very few people in his household knew about it.  He needed to silence the owner of the handkerchief before word spread.

Taking a deep breath to think clearly without making a rash move, if the owner had known everything that resided in the room, shouldn't he had been summoned by the Upper House members for questioning by now, which means he needed to act fast before whoever it is divulge his secret.

Firstly, he needed to identify the owner on time before he shut them up, the thought of resting had long gone. He had an idea of what the W stands for since the Weinroff are the only wolf whose surname started with one, he exited the room, "time to visit a friend"

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Chronophages are enigmatic insects known for their unique feeding habits. These creatures have a distinctive ability to devour memories, rendering their prey susceptible to their predation. Using sharp, pointed whisk-like appendages, Chronophages first immobilize their victims before extracting their memories. This peculiar memory consumption makes them a mysterious and intriguing species in the insect world.

It was believed that long ago, one of the gods had created these creatures during the time when the gods wanders the earth. No one knows the purpose of its creation. Chronophages are one of the insects which had gone extinct way before the dinosaurs.

"Would you like to tell me what you saw at the Knox's last night?"

Seraphine jerked her head up suddenly, quickly putting on her spectacle, she closed the book hurriedly and set it aside.

"How did you get in that I didn't hear the bell?" Perhaps, she had been so engrossed in the book to hear the bell jingle.

Xavier now understood the reason why she wears spectacle was because of the pigment of her eyes. I know you, you're the little girl whose father was stoned to death several years ago. She had turned out to be the Pawnshop manager, interesting!

Keeping the little piece of information to himself, he moved around like he owned the place, checking out the items. Much had changed from the last time he was visited, excluding the night he rescued her from Stephen.

Following Xavier with her eyes as he roamed the shop, Seraphine blinked twice when she saw him disappeared.

"The Book of the Past"

She whirled around to see Xavier holding the book she was just reading.

"Give me that" she reached out for it and was met with thin air.

"Should I guess what you were reading or you'll tell me what you saw?" He appeared at the far corner of the room, checking how the book.

This was the first time she was witnessing a vampire use their speed. Trying hard not to give him the satisfaction of showing her irritation, "why are you so concerned about what I saw?"

Xavier ignored her as he flipped the pages to perceive the page which carried her scent the most, that would be the exact page she had spent much time on reading.

Seraphine studied the Vampire who carried himself with grace as he stood out in their shabby shop, the content he was reading must have gotten his attention because he had stopped flipping and had focused on it. She watched how his brows drew together and his long eyelash almost close over one another. His smooth clean fingers separated the pages.

She crept to his side to take the book from him, again, she collided with the thin air.

"Tell me more about these creatures. Was this what you saw? And before you lie, I hope you know that some vampires are good at detecting lies, and I'm one of them"

Torn between saying the  whole truth which might make him question her eyes, something she was also trying to understand herself or lie and endure his annoying presence for God knows when.

Feeling resigned, she looked at him and nodded, "yes. I saw these insects in his library yesterday amongst the countless books on the shelf"

Watching the light green shade of his eyes turned darker, she proceeded to the shelf beside the counter to hide the note where we wrote the strange things happening to her while pretending to be arranging the books.

"I've been in Lord Knox's library before, I wouldn't describe the books there as countless" joining her a the counter on the opposite side meant for customers, "I assume that was where you were yesterday when Diane were looking for you. Where exactly did you see the library?"

Finally putting the note in a safe place, she answered "upstairs" she doesn't need to say where it was yet unless it was necessary.

"Interesting, did I need to tell you again that I searched the rooms upstairs while looking for you and I'm quite sure I didn't come across any room which looked like a place where books are kept" he tapped the counter, waiting for her to explain further.

She hesitated, how will he react to knowing she could see what others don't?

"Does the library have something to do with the wall upstairs?" He heard the shift in her heart even before she nodded.

Seraphine gasped in amazement, "how did you know?"

"I knew there was more to the wall when I saw the structure of the house the first time I visited, I never thought more about it until I saw the window while going back home. Who builds a window in a wall except if there was a hidden room?"

Amazed at his observant mind and level of reasoning, she remembered Diane had mentioned how observant he was. "Anyone who have assumed it to be one of the windows to the room. Seeing how they made it similar to the others."

"You're right, except I'm not anyone" Xavier thought of the little note he saw her slipped between the books on the shelf and her eyes, he concluded that there was more to Seraphine that she was letting on, "I tend to see a little too much than what people let on."

Seraphine coughed, shaking off her irritation, "now that you know what I saw, could you excuse me while I attend to a customer?" Grateful for the man who entered.

He didn't bulge from where he stood, rather, he turned to the man and told him to come back later. Seraphine opened her mouth wide when the man complied. Most of their customers are always in a hurry to get their things pawned. This is because they would have been so desperate for money to visit a pawn shop in the first place.

"We're not done talking actually, I need you to take me to exactly where the library is and show me the book"

"But you already know the location of the library and I can easily tell you the shelf where it is" she doesn't want to go back to that place.

Xavier smirked, "tell me, what is the name of the book?"

Seraphine realised she had been fascinated with the light to know the title of the book, "erm I don't know but once you entered, you'll see a book that brightens in there"

"Did you read the part where it said Chronophages' egg don't shine during the day and we have to go as soon as possible, if I could guess correctly the kind of person Lord Knox his, the eggs wouldn't stay long in that place. What if he had used them before we lay our hands on them? Did you see anything else aside from the creatures?"

"I couldn't, I had to hide when Lord Knox and his partner entered"

"His partner?" Now this is getting more interesting, "do you know the person?"

Seraphine shook her head, "I don't but I can identify him through his voice"

Wanting to confirm his suspicion, "did they mention anything about the werewolf "

"Yes, they did. How did you know?"

Xavier tapped the counter continuously as he tried to figure out the situation.

"I'll send a carriage for you in two hour's time" he announced before leaving.