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He swallowed hard again, his thick eyebrows wrinkling. “That’s what the book says. It says there’s no cure.” He flipped around in the book backward and forward. “I’m sorry, Paige. I–I just can’t believe this.”

Paige’s jaw hung open as she processed the news. “You and me both.”

She pressed her lips together as tears stung her eyes. One rolled to her cheek, and she flicked it away.

Dewey lowered his head, seeming unsure of what to say or do.

“Well,” Paige said with a sniffle, “at least I got to be a librarian before I died. It was almost my dream job.”

Dewey curled his little paws into fists. “No!”

“Yes, it was,” Paige argued. “I always wanted to be a librarian, but–“

“No, not that,” Dewey said with a shake of his head. “I meant like a dramatic no. No, I don’t accept this. There must be a solution.”

“But the book says there isn’t.”

“Maybe it doesn’t need to be cured. Or maybe it wasn’t found at the time of the book’s printing. Perhaps there’s more up-to-date information on this that can be found by researching day-walking vampires.”

Paige offered a slight smile. “Does that happen often?”

“New information? Yes, constantly. Don’t worry, Paige. I’m on it. We’ll find the cure.”

Paige nodded, drawing in a deep breath and blinking away her tears. “What can I do to help?”

“We need to get that talisman to prevent you from any further attacks. And for that, we’ll need the Seepy Sap. Go find that and bring it back here in its container. Do not take it out!”

Paige sucked in a breath and pressed her lips together, rubbing her already sweaty palms up and down her sweats. “Here’s the thing with that…”

She winced, shooting a glance at the dragon across the room.

When she didn’t continue, he ceased his work and lifted his eyes to her. “Yes?”

“I couldn’t find it. I mean, I found it in the system on the Locartifact, but the container wasn’t there. No container matching the reference number was on the shelf. Then I thought maybe the reference number was a typo, and that’s why I had the lion-conjuring whip out.”

Dewey huffed out a breath and shoved the books aside. “This can wait anyway. We need to get that talisman and find the mirror.”

“Umm, wait a minute,” Paige said as he flew from the chaise, hovering in the air to clear the books from the seat. “I’ve got weeks to live, so this can’t wait.”

“Exactly. Weeks. I’ll have solved it by then. But we’ll have lost out on the talisman and the mirror. We’ve got to get the talisman, find the mirror, and then solve your wound problem.”

Paige grimaced. “But–“

“Priorities, Paige. You’ve got to learn to prioritize.”

Paige slid her gaze upward to the ceiling as she tapped a finger in the air. “Yeah, I usually put staying alive really close to the top of the list, so…”

“That’s why we need the talisman first. That’ll keep you alive, and then we’ll work on the other two. We’ll work on them in tandem. But as it stands, you can’t go out of this library without risking your life, so we need that talisman first.”

“Okay,” Paige said with a nod. “And to get that, we need the Soupy stuff or whatever, which I can’t find.”

Dewey finished stacking his books and buzzed past her. “Come on. I’ll show you. Do you have the reference number?”

“Yes,” Paige answered as she followed him into the archives. “Oh, wait, I dropped it in the aisle with the lions.”

The little dragon shook his head as he darted toward the floor. “There is no aisle with the lions. Honestly, Paige. I’ll just go look it up again.”

Paige hurried around the circular staircase and raced across the archive, puffing for breath by the time she reached Dewey who already had a pink sticky note stuck to his claw.