The car pulled back into Louie's driveway. Now seeing it properly in daylight, Rosa noticed how Louie's entire front yard was completely bare except for a lawn of wild, overgrown grass.
"You should plant some flowers," Rosa suggested. She remembered how her mum would love to decorate their garden with vibrant and beautiful flora. As they wandered across the front yard she mentioned a variety of plants and flowers that look nice and where they could go. Louie gave her a quick glance, a mix of confusion and amusement. He seemed to like giving her that one.
"I'll think about it" he said before unlocking the door.
Once inside he stuck out his hand for the folder and files and she quickly passed them over. Without a word, Louie then headed down the hallway. Not wanting to be left on her own she trailed after him.
"Where are you going?" Rosa asked.
"My office."
Louie stopped at a door near the end of hall.
"Can I come in?" Rosa inquired. She remembered how protective her father was of his office, only understanding why now. She imagined the truth would've undoubtedly been revealed to her a lot earlier, if she'd uncovered the room's contents.
"If you want to," Louie shrugged before entering.
Rosa entered and was hit with a small wave of disappointment. She was hoping for bizarre, terrifying monster parts and weapons to be decorating the walls and displayed on pedestals, Thick, ancient tomes scattered around, a giant fanged skull hung on a mantle, maybe even a table in the corner covered in herbs and strange concoctions beside glassware and a mortar and pestle. Instead she was hit with an ordinary office. It contained a desk, chair, some storage cupboards and draws as well as a tall bookshelf on the right wall. At least there were a bunch of thick, old book Rosa thought.
Louie sat down at his desk and extracted a pile of papers from the folder Ruthor had given him. As he began shuffling through them, Rosa found herself wandering around. She stopped in front of the bookcase scanning over the titles. Despite the room not being very supernatural the books did not disappoint. Every shelf was filled with bulky, antique books, titled with a variety of bizarre names.
'Bestiaries, Alchemy, Incantations, Runes, Potions, Cures and Poisons, Witchcraft, Wards, Binds and Seals'.
Rosa's curiosity got the better of her, she pulled out one of the many bestiaries. It was a thick, leather tome and looked ancient however, despite its aged appearance was in surprisingly good shape. She took a seat on the floor and opened the book on her crossed legs. flipping a few pages into the book, she found the index.
'Avian, Alchemic, Demonic, Hybrid, Ghost, Lycanthrope, Mammalian, Marine, Miscellaneous, Necromancy, Reptilian, Vampire, Voodooism, Witchcraft'
Her eyes scanned over the books chapters, identifying the ones she found fascinating.
"There's so many," Rosa commented stunned, as she flipped through book, glancing over the monumental amount of creatures it contained.
"There is," Louie nodded as he peeked above his papers to see what she was reading.
"How many of you hunted?" she asked.
"A lot."
"Werewolves?".
"Many times."
"Vampires, Demons, Spirits?"
"Yes."
"What about," she flipped through more pages. "Hell-hound, Cockatrice, Basilisk, Siren, erm Chupacabra, Skin walker, Wendigo."
"Unfortunately," he nodded before returning to his case file again.
Rosa kept searching through the bestiary. She reached the chapter on Witchcraft creatures. "What about Gargoyles?"
"Why'd I hunt a gargoyle?" he questioned. "They're on our side. You'd only have to destroy one if it malfunctioned or became corrupted," he paused, "which as happened before … so actually the answer is yes, I've killed one."
Rosa stared at him blankly, completely confused. "What do you mean they're on our side?"
"Gargoyles are made through magic. Although a traditional one hasn't been made in over a century. They're protectors of sorts," Louie explained. "Read their entry if you're curious."
"How many monsters do you know?" Rosa asked.
"Don't know," he shrugged. "I have a basic knowledge of every book there," he said, gesturing to the bookcase with a nod, his eyes never leaving the case files. "Some a little more detailed than others and a few a lot more."
"Woah," Rosa stated.
"It's my job," Louie said. "Not knowing certain bits of information can mean life or death."
"Is every hunter like you? Or are you some kind of genius?" she questioned.
"Depends on who you ask. My old teachers would probably disagree," he joked.
Rosa smiled lightly and closed the bestiary. She stood up and wandered over to the desk.
"Is that my dad's case?" she asked.
He shook his head. "It's one Ruthor assigned me. I haven't looked at your father's case yet."
"How come?"
"James wanted me to help clean up the city. So that's what I'll do," he stood from his desk holding a case, "starting with this one," he declared.
Guessing they were finished here, Rosa went to return the bestiary into the bookshelf.
"I'd keep that on you," Louie said. "Recommend you have a read on direhounds. You'll find it under Lycanthrope."
"Why?" Rosa inquired apprehensively.
"It'll be useful when we go out later," Louie replied.
"I'm sorry we? You want to take me?" Rosa questioned.
The embers of fear began to spark inside her. She had no desire to come face to face with another monster any time soon. In fact if Rosa could go the rest of her life without coming across any creature she'd just seen in that bestiary she'd be beyond pleased.
"No I don't want to take you. But I also don't want you on your own. At the end of the day, the safest place for you is by my side," Louie answered. "So you're coming."
He then patted her shoulder as he walked passed.
"Read up. You won't feel as scared if you're prepared," Louie stated before leaving his office.
Rosa glanced down at the book in hands, staring deeply into the same strange symbol she'd seen at the Hunter HQ that was engraved into its cover.
"Great," she muttered.