Ernie ran a shaky hand through his greasy orange-red hair. His eyes darted around the small used book shop although not one customer had passed through the door in three hours. Once again he reached under the counter and pulled out the book. The yellowed pages were bound in leather that was once dark as a winter night. Now the aged leather was scarred and molted with patches of greenish mildew. Barely discernable was an embossed title in Latin De Damnatus, Book of the Damned. He threw the book back under the counter as if it had bitten him. Each time he touched its binding the feelings of dread that came over him were stronger. He wished they would hurry and pick the damn thing up.
Ernie wondered how the hell he had gotten into this mess in the first place. His shop was a hole in the wall set in a building that probably should have been condemned years ago. The neighborhood did not get much worse in New York and most other businesses had gone bankrupt or simply got tired of being robbed and gave up. Ernie never had a problem with either. Any would be bandit had only to walk in and take a quick look to know it was not worth his time. Ernie’s Discount Books was a cramped maze of overstuffed shelves threatening to collapse. Even the floor in many places was stacked high with musty old books long forgotten. The shop always smelled of mold, mildew, decay, and whatever cheap takeout Ernie happen to being eating that day. Ernie himself was no more inviting. He was tall and sickly thin. His hair hung limp around a face that was pale save for the scattered freckles and pimples.
However Ernie’s Discount Books was a treasure trove for those who adored old books and did not mind digging through the volumes. But it was not these patrons that had kept his business afloat. It was Ernie’s little known talent for getting his hands on very rare items. It was a talent he kept well guarded for various reasons. He did not always come by these items by honorable means.
So as he stood behind his littered counter waiting for his new clients to arrive he wondered how the hell they knew to come to him in the first place. Why him?
“Damn fucking vampires” he muttered to himself.
The little bell over the door jingled and Ernie nearly jumped out of his skin. But it was only the cute blonde that worked over at Charlie’s Dinner. She came in about once a week looking for tacky romance novels which Ernie priced a quarter a piece just for her.
The blonde, he thought her name was Jill, or maybe Jane, smiled at Ernie as she passed the counter heading up an aisle.
“Shit, not now.” Ernie cringed. Jill or Jane would be just the sort to earn unwanted attention from his new clients. That sort of attention was not good for your health.
Ernie franticly shuffled through the books littering the counter. Paperbacks flew through the air to land where they may as he searched. “Yes!” he held two paperbacks up in victory. Jill or Jane looked up from the volume she had been appraising to look at him strangely.
“Um a …” Ernie cleared his throat nervously; “These two just came in, I know you like this stuff so I set them aside for you” he lied. It was the only way he could think to get her out of there fast.
“Yeah?” Jill or Jane smiled and moved to the counter. “I will take them and this one” she laid the book on the counter she had been looking at. “That was very kind of you” she fished three quarters out of her waitress apron.
“Yeah um no problem.” Ernie shoved the books in a crinkled paper bag and handed them over.
“Thanks again” Jill or Jane smiled and headed towards the door. As she reached the door, two men shoved their way inside. They were both tall, well built and well dressed. One was handsome in a dark way while the other wore is blonde tresses in long wavy locks. The blonde looked Jill or Jane up and down. His grin reminded Ernie of a hungry hyena. The dark man signaled to his companion and Jill or Jane pushed passed them and out the door.
Ernie sighed in relief as she disappeared out into the night. A loud click echoed through the shop as the blonde turned the deadbolt and swung the Open sign to Closed.
With shaking hands Ernie placed De Damnatus on the counter.
