Free Unearthed by Lauren Stewart Page B

to call him, especially because she still didn’t know his name.
    So Keira went to the only person she’d ever seen get rid of a demon. The woman responsible for giving her info on whichever super she was supposed to kill after her recruiter died. Parker knew all kinds of obscure shit, having spent most of her life holding a book.

    From the outside, the library looked like any other library. Hell, it did from the inside too, but it wasn’t. Humans came and left without ever noticing the enchantment. Keira didn’t know how Addison had pulled it off, because supers didn’t do favors for anyone, especially not the group that was trying to take them down.
    The enchantment made it impossible for normal humans to see the metal door near the restrooms that led into the archives. But the true beauty of the magic was that supers were blind to the whole place—they couldn’t see the building, even if they knew exactly where it was. No non-human could step foot inside, making it a sanctuary. Fitting, seeing how Keira kind of considered Addison a saint. But Addison didn’t hang out here—only a few people knew where she lived, and Keira wasn’t one of those people.
    A familiar-looking seer sat in an oversized chair near the archive door. His hair was just long enough to hide his eyes, make the way he checked her out a little less obvious. To those less distrustful and jaded than Keira, it looked like he was reading. She sensed the tension in his body more than saw it, felt an increased amount of energy or something. A lookout? Security? That was new.
    He wouldn’t start anything unless completely necessary, not with so many humans around, but that was a fight she’d love to be in. Even though he was sitting, she could tell the guy was tall, at least 6’3”, with a lot of muscle beneath his jeans and button-down shirt. He must have been a toy—any seer that attractive and fit got put into a toy box the second they turned eighteen, becoming a plaything for any horny supernatural with enough cash.
    He lifted his head but didn’t get up, even when she was close enough to have jumped him. She’d never understand people.
    “Hey.”
    The guy didn’t acknowledge she’d said anything.
    “I’m going to…” Keira gestured to the door, unsure of how to deal with him.
    Shaking his head slowly, he leaned forward and whispered, “Weapons stay out here.”
    “No, they stay with me.” Always. She’d been here a few times and had never had to get past security. “What’s going on?”
    “The world is a dangerous place. Behind that door isn’t…unless you make it so. Are you going to make it so?”
    “I’m just here to talk to Parker.”
    He grumbled something, taking his cellphone out and calling someone. “Seer. Early twenties.” Judgmental eyes slowly traveled the length of Keira’s body. “Why would I care about that?” He sighed at whatever the person said. “What’s your name?”
    She gave it to him, knowing he’d be fine with keeping her ass waiting around all day. “What’s yours?”
    He ignored her, grumbling something else into the phone before hanging up. “You can go in, but you don’t want to fuck with me, seer.”
    “Yeah, I got that. Maybe we should work out a secret handshake or something. Make your job easier.”
    “Leave me alone now,” he said. “I’m reading.”
    “Wow, thanks, stranger,” she said as she opened the door. Imagine how nice he’d be if we weren’t on the same side. After making sure the door latch clicked back into place, she walked down the short hallway to the main archive room.
    “Parker? You in here?” Keira trailed her finger uneasily along the line of books at shoulder height, glancing up about five more feet to the top of the shelf. Why the hell would anyone want this much paper? Huge fire hazard. Huge.
    The Rising’s unofficial lead historian looked up from what had to be the world’s fattest book—probably the most boring, too. All Keira could see of the