Ray looked around the library with grudging respect. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls, and a staircase led to a second-floor balcony with yet more books. Large diagrams woven into tapestries lined the walls.

'The library is actually the only original part of this building that remains.' Xavier rapped his knuckles against the stone.

'How old is the Bureau?' Ray rotated slowly as she looked up at the mural on the ceiling. Men with swords battled what could only be described as monsters.

Humanoid creatures, but with fangs that fell below their chins, drank the blood from the necks of the fallen. At their heels were black furry animals with snouts dripping with blood and vicious looking teeth that could rip apart bone.

'Vampires and shifters, though shifters are pretty much extinct now,' he explained, noticing her fixation. 'Officially, the Bureau was formed before the First World War, but it's been around for centuries. Some of these books date back to the 13th century.'

'That long?' she whispered.

'It was a secret society dedicated to protecting humanity and keeping the two worlds separate. But the Awakening changed everything. In order for our government to prove they were being proactive, the Bureau was revealed. An elite task force that can neutralise the threat,' he quoted in a pompous voice.

Ray twirled her hand. 'And there aren't any cameras here?'

'The stone is refractive in case of a vampire attack. But it interferes with any recording device, so they could never install security here,' he said.

'And what about your partner? I'm guessing she doesn't know about this?' Ray challenged.

'I trust her,' Xavier defended.

'And that's not what I asked.'

He scowled at her. 'I don't know what you and Mari are involved in. I'd rather not drag Dylan into this until I know.'

Ray watched him before shrugging. 'Okay. So what do we do now?'

'Have you got Mari's letter?'

She lifted the back of her shirt and pulled out the letter where it had been wedged between her trousers and back.

'These clothes aren't the best, but at least they make it easy to hide things.' She smirked.

Xavier took the piece of paper, noting the message Mari had left which looked almost identical to his own. He flicked on his cigar lighter and held the paper over it.

'What the fuck?' Ray blew the lighter out and glared at him.

'I'm not destroying it. There's something on there I need to see.'

'And setting it on fire will help you see it?' she demanded.

'In a way, yes. Some inks only appear when heat is applied.'

Hesitantly, Ray drew back, allowing him to try again, though her eyes bored into him, as if daring him to damage even one word on the letter.

Xavier flicked the lighter on and held it over the page. He waited until a hand written 1 appeared in the top left corner before switching it off.

'What does it mean?' Ray asked as the number faded.

'It means your letter is the first key.'

'But a key to what?'

Xavier unfolded his letter and placed it side by side with Ray's. 

You must be strong for what is about to come.

I wish I had told you everything but, though you may not believe it, my secrets kept you safe.

You've grown so much from the little girl who feared iron wagons and their loud clanging.

And despite the difficulties, cold nights, and arguments, you became the family I never knew I wanted.

But now it's time for you to go forth and find yourself and all that comes with it.

I know you will do great things and become the person I know you to be.

Trust your instincts and follow the right path.

'14 lines,' she said.

'What?' he asked.

She counted them out. 'Your letter has seven lines and mine has seven lines. Do you know what else has 14 lines?' He shook his head, mystified. 'A sonnet,' she explained.

'What else do you know about sonnets?'

She shrugged. 'There's a rhythm. Alternate lines until you get to the last two.'

'So what if the lines are mixed? Yours is the first line of the message.'

'And yours is the second,' she finished his thought.

Xavier rummaged in his pockets until he found a pen. It took a few tries for the ink to run, but eventually, he underlined all the relevant lines. 

'You must be strong for what is about to come.

I remember the good days, us, Rosa, Charlie, before all the madness happened.

You've grown so much from the little girl who feared iron wagons and their loud clanging.

I wished that I had figured out the key to happiness was doing something I was proud of with the people I loved.

But now it's time for you to go forth and find yourself and all that comes with it.

You once accused me of not being true to myself, and I think you were right.

Trust your instincts and follow the right path.'

Xavier read aloud.

'Wow, yours was just as much sentiment bull crap as mine,' Ray said.

'We need to dissect it line by line.'

Ray pointed to the first line. 'Seems pretty self explanatory.'

'But it could mean mental strength or an arduous task,' Xavier reasoned.

'So what about the second line? That's one of yours.'

He tapped his letter. 'Rosa and Charlie died the night of the Awakening.'

'So it has something to do with the past?'

Xavier sighed. 'I don't know,' he said with frustration.

'Tell me about them. Rosa and Charlie,' she asked gently. 'Mari barely spoke about them.'

'We all met during first training. They were due to get married. Locker loved goofy black and white films and Charlie loved vintage cars,' he rambled.

'Wait, wait. Who's Locker?'

'That was our nickname for Rosa. We hardly ever called her by her first name.'

'Then why did Mari write Rosa?'

'She could mean a real locker somewhere? But where?'

Ray jabbed at the next line. 'St Pancras station. We squatted there for a month when I was six. And I hated the trains. Mari would tell me stories about iron wagons that transported people anywhere they needed to go.'

'Did they have lockers there?' Xavier demanded.

'Yep. Mari would make up stories about agents using them as drop-off points.'

'So she left us something in a locker in St Pancras station?'

'And the key is happiness?' Ray guessed, paraphrasing the next line.

'That line is something that Mari would never have said,' he said with certainty.

'So when you knew her, what made her happy?'

'I didn't speak to her for fifteen years. She may have been an entirely different person to who I remember,' he argued.

'But she didn't write that line for me,' persisted Ray. 'These letters are built on moments and people. She must have shared something with you that made her write that line.'

'I don't know.' Xavier clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to crumple the letters and toss them in the rubbish. Why couldn't you make this easy, Mari, he thought to himself.

'Xavier, you're discounting how much Mari still thought of you. She was private and reserved, but she told me about you. I don't know what happened back then, but you're the only person who she trusted,' she said, looking anywhere but at his face.

Xavier swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak when Ray doubled over, holding her hands over her ears.

'Ray?'

'What the hell is that sound?' she screamed.

Xavier listened, but heard nothing until the main alarm kicked in, drowning out every thought.

'The Bureau is being attacked!' he shouted at her.

'It's unbearable,' she cried.

'Ray, we have to go,' he urged. He grabbed the letters and put them in his pocket before gripping her arm and dragging her up the stairs.

As they left the library, a warning came over the speakers.

'All vampires in containment have been released. Agents are needed on floors -4,-2, 0.'

Both of them looked at the big -5 on the wall next to them.

'How are we going to get out?' Ray yelled.

Xavier went over to a cupboard and swiped his keycard against the wall. He picked up numerous weapons before handing two to Ray, who stood gawking at the armoury built into the wall.

'We're going to fight our way out, so you stick close to my side, and you do exactly as I say, understood?' He tossed a pair of ear defenders to her.

'Don't you need them?' she asked as she slid them into place.

'The alarm won't affect me as much as it'll affect you,' he rushed.

He marched off, his gun raised high, leaving Ray to wonder what he meant.

'Come on,' he shouted.

His command jogged her back to the present, and she raced to catch up to him as they ascended the stairs together.