Chapter 21
Julie
Suspenseful Investigation Piano
RealTunesStudio
I couldn’t believe I was here again. Only because the fact that he had let me leave early gave me the certainty that he would spend another thirty minutes in this seminar room.
It was pure madness that guided me to return here so quickly, especially after what I had observed only yesterday.
I had tried to find a logical explanation for what had happened here. That moment when his eyes had turned completely black after he had injected himself with that dark, shimmering elixir.
What if he had more of it and I could find it? What if I was able to decipher the formula of this substance? But what if he found out? What if he already knew that I had been here before?
My nervousness drove me around the desk in the quiet office. And I checked if all the other drawers were locked.
My eyes fell on my hands, on which fine ice crystals had formed.
This damned ice magic had almost broken out of me, just like down there in Moenia’s temple. And as much as I would have liked to stab that crazy man with an icicle, if only my hands had turned blue, I would have collapsed due to this overwhelming situation.
My whole body was shaking, and my heart was racing.
I tore my panicked gaze away from my hands and pulled at every single drawer.
Of course, they were all locked. And of course, I left ice crystals everywhere.
Calm down Julie. Concentrate on the here and now.
“I see, Mr. Suspicious. You’re hiding something...” I whispered intently as I opened the lock on the nearest drawers with my hand. When it clicked, the corners of my mouth turned up slightly. “Let’s see how good you really are at playing hide and seek.”
With a tingling sensation in my fingers, I pulled open the drawer and curiously scanned the documents in front of me. They were scribbled notes that I had to pull out of the drawer to decipher them more precisely.
Analysis of the biochemical processes in Ruisangors has shown that they have specialized enzymes that enable them to digest blood efficiently and optimally absorb the nutrients it contains. Their metabolic rate is remarkably high, which could explain their exceptional endurance and regenerative capacity. Enzyme inhibition or the introduction of toxic substances into the Ruisangors’ blood could be a way to eliminate them, but so far only the Senseque’s neurotoxin is known to work (...)
I had begun to read his books, including one on alleged vampirism, but I was puzzled by the fact that he clearly seemed to know the species by name.
Was he keeping up appearances in his books because he was afraid of being exposed? But then why was he publishing them at all?
I turned the pages.
Research into the bioactive compounds in plants has shown that certain herbs and substances do indeed seem to have an effect on the elemental magic of the Earth Quatura. For example, some plants could influence the strength of their powers or protect them from negative influences. This means that Earth Quatura can not only use the energetic as well as chemical composition of plants, but that these can also be used against them.
I came to a loose protocol:
Statistic B2 reveals that certain neurological areas are more developed in Quatura and that they may react differently to element-specific stimuli than normal human beings.
I skimmed over the statistics mentioned, which dealt with Quatura’s reactions to influences such as heat, water, or lack of oxygen, and I felt uneasy. What if this man had experimented on Quatura?
It was the strangely elegant, albeit spidery handwriting, which was very different from the handwriting I knew from Professor Tiberius, that gave me hope that I was wrong.
The longer I flicked through the folder, the clearer it became to me what the professor had compiled here. Insights into the supposed weaknesses of the species that even I hadn’t known about until now.
I swallowed, but decided to take a few photos, not only to have evidence against him, but also to go through his discoveries at home in undisturbed privacy.
I quickly pulled out the next folder with research notes and interesting, unfamiliar formulas and statistics.
Genetic findings research file C07 was written in scrawly handwriting on the first page.
I read the sticky note stuck to the edge of the cover page.
To what extent can genes influence the development and inheritance of elemental magic?
Gripped by a strange curiosity, I continued turning the pages when something suddenly slipped out of the file and sailed to the floor. I quickly put the folder down on the desk and bent down, but paused on the floor when I discovered that it was a photograph.
It was of a tall man with light brown hair, peridot-green eyes and a memorable smile. He was wearing black trousers, a black shirt and a vest of the same color, a necklace with a golden snake pendant and several golden rings. He had his arm around the waist of a woman with loose champagne-blond hair and deep blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean. Her smile was soft, and she wore a light blue summer dress that made her appear more feminine. In her arms she held a toddler, almost a baby, who played with the mother’s hair and was smiling wildly, just like the two little boys in front of them, who were sitting on a rock at the coast and holding each other. They looked the same age, wore the same clothes, but one boy was the exact image of the tall man, only short, while the other had the woman’s hair.
I knew immediately who the second boy was.
The professor...
A warm feeling settled on my chest, and I didn’t know whether to push it away or allow it to corrupt me.
I had just found a family photo of that unpredictable man who didn’t seem even close to being a family man and who would probably kill me if he found out I was holding something so intimate of his.
Tick.
Heart pounding, I looked up. First to the window, where once again a raven was hopping around, then to the wall, where a golden clock showed me that it was already twelve noon.
The seminar was over. The professor would be back here soon. And Grace was probably already looking for me again.
Crap . I’d wasted my time getting lost in the first file, and now I couldn’t think of anything better to do than sympathize with complete strangers in a family photo? God, Julie.
Shaking my head, I shoved the picture back into the file and was just about to close the drawer to get out of here when I spotted the black runes on the next folder in the drawer.
Goosebumps spread across the back of my neck.
Forbidden magic... Umbra.
Mesmerized, I stared at the black ink symbols. Curved, jagged and with elegant serpentine lines. Yet not as lovely as fairytale runes. The symbols on the parchment in front of me seemed complex, mystical, dark; like an ancient, long-forgotten language. Dangerous...
Clack.
My head shot up. I stared at the door.
Clack.
Rhinoceros
Tony Morales
My fingers began to tingle. I hastily stuffed everything into the drawer and, to my horror, ice crystals spread across the paper.
“No, no...” I gasped in panic, but I pressed my hand over my mouth, pushed the drawer shut and hurried to the wardrobe where I had hidden the last time.
The moment the door opened, I closed the closet door.
My heart was racing far too fast and as I touched the wood to hold on to something, I felt more ice crystals forming under my fingertips. Quickly, I pulled my hand away and stared through the slit in the cupboard, my heart pounding.
Mr. Suspicious entered the room and let the door fall into the lock. But when he turned around this time, he didn’t walk to the desk. He stopped, stared at the window, then at his desk.
The panic in my chest grew rapidly, and I looked to see if there was anything there that wasn’t the way it should be.
My heart jumped. The photo. It must have slipped out of the file again.
No, damn it.
My hands began to tremble, as did my knees.
The professor walked slowly toward his desk, walking around it like last time, without taking his eyes off the family photo. His pressed lips automatically made me press mine together as well.
The wall clock ticked menacingly slow and all of a sudden far too loud.
He reached for the picture, looked at it, and then... he pulled on his desk drawer. It opened. But he paused.
No... I had forgotten to lock it again.
I prayed to the non-existent gods that this would end well for me, but his eyes were glued to the open drawer. He seemed frozen.
And suddenly, he turned his head in my direction.
That was the moment when my heart stopped.