The darkness engulfed them as the team of agents and Kate wandered further into the library.
Hellboy had assured them there was no trace of any dangerous entity still inside, but Kate found her eyes rapidly surveying her surroundings for danger. After a minute or so, Abe stopped and Kate nearly collided with him, distracted by a shadow.
"What?" she blurted, blushing when several agents shushed her promptly.
Abe held out his hand, waving it slowly in front of him as if he was searching for something. In one swift movement, Abe's hand was back at his side, and he spun around to face Kate and the other agents.
"Come with me."
He took off with the team following behind, switching on their flashlights as they moved between isles surrounded by tall bookshelves. Their lights soon fell on Hellboy who held up his hand, signaling them to stop. Kate squealed in surprise when an agent accidentally let the black box containing her books bump her in the rear. Again, she was shushed. Hellboy motioned for Abe and another agent to come forward and for a moment. Kate could only see the light coming from the agent's flashlight before they returned. The group seemed solemn.
"Craig, get a hold of Professor Broom and tell him it's important that he get here as soon as possible," said the agent who'd gone with Hellboy.
Agent Craig, standing at Kate's side, nodded and left swiftly.
If she was going to be of any use at all, Kate knew she had to see what Abe and Hellboy had seen. Not knowing what to expect, Kate began forward anyway, determined to see what the problem was.
"No, Kate!" Myers whispered harshly from behind her.
She glanced at him, but pressed on.
Hellboy was distracted talking to Abe and barely noticed Kate brush by him before it was too late. Reaching into her bag, Kate pulled out a flashlight she'd been given earlier and switched it on, pointing it directly in front of her. Sitting at a table covered in books, were two dead men. The one closest to her was sitting back in his chair; head slumped forward, staring lifelessly into his lap. The other sitting next to him was face down on the table.
Kate shrieked and dropped her flashlight instantly, plunging herself into darkness. She turned and found herself in Myers' arms, who'd followed behind her. Too shocked to have any other reaction, Kate clung to him for a moment before stepping back and smoothing out her skirt. Taking deep breaths, she leaned down and picked up her flashlight.
"You shouldn't be in here," she heard Hellboy mumble near her.
Kate glanced at Hellboy who grunted and pushed past her, making his way back to the scene of the crime. She looked at Myers who gave her a sad smile before joining Hellboy to observe the scene. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder and Kate faced Abe.
"You have the same right as any of us to be here. Hellboy is just…focused on his work," he reassured, trying to apologize for Hellboy's behavior.
Kate nodded, trying to calm herself. She was beginning to feel nauseated and lightheaded and steadied herself on a nearby shelf.
Half an hour later, Professor Broom arrived with Manning just as pictures of the crime scene were being taken. They passed Kate who hadn't moved and was feeling weaker than before. Professor Broom gave her a slight smile, not surprised at all to see her there, before going to talk with Hellboy.
"What do you think you're doing here?" said Manning, surprised and furious to see Kate on the field.
Kate, in no mood to talk for fear of being sick, merely shook her head.
Manning wasn't through with her.
"I thought you were specifically told to stay at the Bureau. You aren't an agent. Someone could have gotten hurt because of you, do you understand?"
He was yelling and a few heads began turning in their direction.
Finding her voice, Kate retorted, "What good is it for me to just sit around back at the Bureau never getting to see anything? If I am going to be able to research properly, I need to see what exactly is going on so I know what to look for. Do you understand?"
Manning opened his mouth to reply, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Myers indicated a group of agents with a nod. "Clay needs to talk to you."
Manning nodded once and scowled at Kate.
"We are not through," he warned, leaving to find Clay.
Sighing, Kate slumped back against the bookshelf.
"You really didn't have to," she breathed, still dizzy.
Myers shrugged. "I didn't think you deserved that. Manning's just mad that you made it here without him knowing."
Reaching into her bag, Kate found a packet of tissues and took one, dabbing the sweat away from her brow. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic, surrounded by the bookshelves and groups of agents.
Huh, funny for a library assistant to be afraid in a library, she mused.
Myers was beginning to look concerned. "You doing okay?"
Kate shook her head. "No. Not really."
The nausea wasn't passing, but it wasn't getting worse. At least she had that going for her.
Myers moved next to her and leaned against the shelf.
"I remember my first time. I don't think I hardly ate for three days. It's funny how much it affects you, even if you didn't know them."
Kate slid her back down along the shelf until she was sitting on the floor. Myers did the same.
"I just need to sit down for a while," said Kate.
"Do you want me to get you out of here?" whispered Myers, not wanting to embarrass her.
He knew she was trying her best to downplay her reaction to the crime scene, and he felt for her. It wasn't easy seeing someone dead for the first time, especially around a group of F.B.I. agents who were used to the sight.
"No. I've got to take a look at the scene," Kate explained.
She needed to find out why those men were important to Ystehogol and why he killed them.
Myers watched her take a few deep breaths. He wished he could help, but there was really nothing comforting to say.
"I won't lie to you; you'll never forget what you saw. In fact, you'll probably remember it daily for a while, but I will promise you one thing; you'll get better at dealing with it."
Knowing he wasn't just being cynical, Kate nodded.
"Thanks," she said, but she wasn't being sarcastic at all.
She appreciated that he was being truthful with her, and not sugarcoating the situation.
"Hey, Boy Scout! Get your ass over here and give us a hand," yelled Hellboy from down the aisle.
Myers stood up and left his hand on her head briefly before going to meet Hellboy.
A while later, some of the commotion had died down, as the bodies had been bagged and taken away, and the scene of the crime had been examined. Kate figured it was the best time for her to examine the scene herself and left her spot on the floor making her way toward the table where the men had been discovered earlier. When she arrived at the table, she surveyed the scene more closely. Numbered cards had been placed around the chairs where each body had been, and along the table, which was still covered in books.
No one seemed to be around, but as Kate reached for a book, someone called out, "Dr. Hayward!"
Kate spun around and saw Agent Stein, an agent she'd been previously introduced to by Agent Clay.
"No one is allowed to touch anything until Dr. Manning has given permission," he explained, rubbing a hand through his hair nervously.
Kate sighed, exasperated. "Look, couldn't I just take a look quickly? I'll put everything back where I found it, I promise. If you've got some surgical gloves on you, I'll use those. Please?"
Stein seemed torn. "But, Dr. Manning…"
"Dr. Manning and I aren't on the best of terms right now. Please, I really need to check this out so I know what to research," she pleaded.
Sighing nervously, Agent Stein nodded. "Alright, you've got five minutes. I'll cover you."
Kate smiled as he pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and tossed them to her. He began to walk away as she put the gloves on, but he stopped suddenly.
"I'm denying everything if you get caught, okay?" he said with a half smile.
Kate chuckled weakly, turning to examine the table. Picking up the book closest to her, Kate read the title aloud to herself.
"Monsters: An Investigative Guide to Magical Beings by John Michael Greer."
Setting the book where she'd found it, she picked up another.
"A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and other Subversive Spirits by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack."
She flipped through the pages for a moment before putting it down and glancing at the title of the one beside it.
"Out of the Dark: The Complete Guide to Beings from Beyondby Brad Steiger," she read, her voice hardly above a whisper.
Clearly there was a common theme.
While Kate would need to wait for the autopsy results, she was fairly certain who killed those men. Why he'd done it was completely beyond her and until she found out who the men were, she could only speculate. They had obviously been aware of Ystehogol and may have even known he was targeting them, but Kate needed to look into it further.
Kate glanced around the chairs where the men had been sitting when they died. Not one drop of blood was visible anywhere. Picking up the last book she'd looked at, she opened the cover.
A sudden crash caused her head to snap up and she stared out beyond the table to the isle in front of her. A book had fallen to the ground. Glancing around, she noticed that no one was there to have done it. As she began to step toward the isle, a voice brought her to a halt.
"Man, I've sure rubbed off on you." Kate watched Hellboy come her way, placing his gun back at his belt.
"I'll bet Manning didn't give you permission to do that," he said, indicating the book in her hand.
Slamming the book shut, Kate placed it back on the table.
"Well, someone's got to start trying to figure things out around here," she said, defiantly.
Kate began to feel ill again, and braced herself on the table.
Hellboy placed his hands on his hips. "Who the hell let you come in here earlier anyway? You should have waited until we were sure nothing was here."
Kate watched him, confused. "But, you said there wasn't anything..."
"Yeah, well, I've been wrong before," admitted Hellboy, shrugging.
Being so close to the place the men had died was causing a fresh wave of nausea for Kate.
"Earlier when Abe asked you if Ystehogol was here, you said he was long gone but, I thought you said you didn't believe in Ystehogol?"
It was best to change the subject as Kate was growing tired of being yelled at.
Hellboy sighed. "I still don't. I was a little distracted at the time," he explained.
Kate didn't buy it. With her findings through her research and Professor Broom's discovery, she was beginning to think Hellboy was starting to believe.
Letting it go, Kate nodded.
"Did you ever check out that part of the library?" asked Kate, pointing at the spot where she'd seen the book drop.
Hellboy nodded. "Yep, checked out the whole place."
Shivering slightly, Kate said, "Would you check over there again? A book fell when I was standing here and there was no one there to have caused it. It's giving me the creeps."
She felt like a little kid again, asking her dad to check her closet for monsters.
Hellboy rolled his eyes, but pulled out his gun and headed off to look. Once he disappeared, Kate walked to where the book had fallen. The book was open, but face down. She looked down at the cover.
"The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe," she read, softly. Kate picked it up and looked at the open page. The title of the page read 'Spirits of the Dead' in large, bold letters and beneath it was a poem.
Thy soul shall find itself alone
'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone --
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy:
Be silent in that solitude
Which is not loneliness -- for then
The spirits of the dead who stood
In life before thee are again
In death around thee -- and their will
Shall then overshadow thee: be still.
For the night -- tho' clear -- shall frown --
And the stars shall look not down,
From their high thrones in the Heaven,
With light like Hope to mortals given --
But their red orbs, without beam,
To thy weariness shall seem
As a burning and a fever
Which would cling to thee for ever :
Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish --
Now are visions ne'er to vanish --
From thy spirit shall they pass
No more -- like dew-drop from the grass:
The breeze -- the breath of God -- is still --
And the mist upon the hill
Shadowy -- shadowy -- yet unbroken,
Is a symbol and a token --
How it hangs upon the trees,
A mystery of mysteries! –
Closing the book slowly, Kate glanced up to see Hellboy returning. He stopped when he reached her and put his gun back at his belt.
"Sorry, kid. There's nothing there."
Kate clutched the book tightly and nodded.
"Thanks anyway," she whispered.
Patting her roughly on her shoulder with his stone hand, Hellboy made his way past her and headed back to a group of agents who were packing up to return to the Bureau. Kate took one last look around before walking back to the large, black box containing her books and placed the book she held inside. Closing up the box, she slowly began to wheel it to the front of the library, glancing around the darkened isles as she did. At the library entrance, another agent offered to pack up the box to be taken back to the B.P.R.D., and Kate agreed. Leaving the library, she sat on the steps in front, resting her head in her hands. She knew she had a lot to think about, and a lot of work coming her way. Ystehogol had killed again, as far as she was concerned, and she needed to stop him.
A/N: Well, the updates are slow, but they keep coming. A round of applause for The-Gothly-Emo, my beta, who fixes my mistakes and gives me ideas and encouragement. Thank you! To all of my reviewers, I thank you for making my day, and giving me the feedback I need to know when I'm doing something right/wrong. You are all wonderful. To those of you who have Need on your alerts and have not reviewed...I know who you are. Please, take the time to leave a review so I know how the story is being received. I hope you enjoyed chapter eleven, now go review! :D