Chapter 5 Lucian
I’m sorry, but why were we all sleeping in Sage’s bed? I had to sleep hanging off the edge of the bed instead of spooning Sage because Khalid had to be close to her so he didn’t shift again, and Liam threatened me with that fucking knife because he said it was his turn.
He didn’t need to bring the switchblade out because I would have let him if he had asked. I’d been snuggling with her every night, and I wasn’t a selfish prick. Liam stole the blankets and my pillow. He also stuck his cold feet all over me.
I eventually realized I was never going to get back to sleep, and breakfast was in two hours, anyway.
Instead of lying in bed and thinking about biting Liam, I should probably get up and research.
I knew they were all counting on the library and Headmaster Mykene, but after doing a lot of digging, I finally found what I knew definitely had to exist.
I hadn’t been in this world long, but I knew damned well there was a place in the dark recesses of the supernatural web where you could have someone cursed, buy something illegal, or hell, even post that potion recipe Lola wasn’t supposed to have.
In theory, Lola could have gotten it there, but I honestly didn’t think she was smart enough to pull it off.
She’d made several glaring mistakes in her big, evil plot, and I honestly hadn’t figured out why she attacked Liam like that.
Then again, I knew nothing about the reincarnation of Apep. Maybe he’d figured out the supernatural dark web, and that was why I couldn’t find any messages on Lola’s phone. She could be using a burner phone with no internet, or they could be passing coded messages on the dark web.
One of the vampires had introduced me to this blood drink in the dining hall.
I could really go for one right now. I usually liked to work with Turkish coffee and some papanasi back home, but I couldn’t get that here.
With everything going on with Samhain, I really needed blood and had visions dancing in my head of punching a boba straw in Liam’s jugular and drinking until I felt better that he stole my pillow.
Sage would probably be upset, so I tabled that and ignored my thirst. Let’s see what kind of depravity supernaturals got up to in the dark corners of the internet.
Before I could even look, someone joined me.
I would have preferred Sage, but I didn’t mind Khalid. I actually really liked his company.
“Did you find something? Sage might have figured out how to change me back, but I’m still worried.”
“So, to access the dark web, you need a special browser. To access supernatural websites, you also need a special browser. I figured there also has to be a special browser to access the supernatural dark web. I found it and downloaded it before we left for the bonfire, but I haven’t had a chance to play with it, and we hadn’t been visited by Sage’s father to know we were dealing with Apep. ”
“What do you think you’ll find there? Can I help?”
“I had my own little corner of the dark web. If you gave me a name and a good enough reason to look twice at a person or corporation, I’d dig into it to see if you were telling the truth.
If you were, I’d take them down. Other shit goes down there.
You can buy black market items, or sometimes criminals use it to pass messages.
An illegal fairy roofie potion could be posted there, but if you don’t want to risk someone finding your burner phone, you could chat with your coconspirator. ”
“Yeah, but you’re one of the smartest people I know when it comes to electronics. How would anyone else find this before you did?”
Yeah, I preened a little. It didn’t mean shit when most people told me I was smart because they were fucking morons and it wasn’t hard to be smarter than them.
But Khalid was brilliant, so it meant something.
He was smart in a different way than I was.
It was an honor to be bonded with Sage, with him.
“Apep might not be in our year, and they might have been awake before they got here. And I figured out how now that we know it’s Apep.”
That was part of what was preventing me from sleeping. That and my lack of a pillow and Liam’s cold feet. They said it was very rare for one of us to come out of the pool awake. I didn’t think it would happen to two people at the same time.
“Apep could be older and helped Lola remember everything. They might have even started figuring everything out before they got kidnapped and have been searching for their Hemlock. They get kidnapped and end up in a place where other reincarnations are or wind up, hears Headmaster Mykene’s speech, and decides to bide their time.
“I don’t understand most of these cosmic connections.
Liam and Sage have one, and he felt it while they were still at that hostel in Amsterdam.
I’m not quite sure why he wasn’t as obnoxious about it in Amsterdam as he is here, but Sage feels it now that she’s around him.
She felt it when Lola was trying to hurt him.
It stands to reason Apep would be able to feel when his Hemlock was back. ”
“We never saw Lola around anyone else,” Khalid said.
“I have no idea why she asked to be on Ivar’s team initially, but maybe she just snuck out of the tent to piss and Apep found her.
No one seems to know what all the void beings are capable of doing.
It could have forced Lola to remember. Apep would have had time waiting for his Hemlock to appear.
“Why do you think Apep was awake before they got here? Professor Kane has done extensive research on the pools. She said it’s impossible to accidentally find one if you don’t have magic. All the other professors agree with her.”
“Because you’re here. I’m not sure if they would have brought you here since you were going to Oxford anyway, but Egypt has a school for magical creatures and reincarnations.
It’s been closed for a few years for renovations.
Headmaster Mykene says this castle looks like ruins to any human who might end up in the village nearby.
“I’m guessing they do everywhere else, too, but Egypt is going to have a lot of foot traffic because of the renovations.
And no trespassing signs are like the ‘don’t take selfies with buffalos’ signs in America.
Someone sees it and thinks they are the exception.
The construction crew is going to check out when their work is done.
I’m not sure how many people would be there to make sure a curious person didn’t decide to explore the ruins with clear tire tracks. ”
“Holy shit, you’re right. We need to find out what kind of security they have.”
A soft, sleepy voice called both of our names from the bed, and we zeroed in on Sage. We’d get back in bed if she wanted, or we could go to breakfast. I really needed blood.
I planned on biting Liam for the feet and pillow thing.