Chapter 42

Julie

Professor Copeland wasn't in today, so Grace and I used the free seminar period to prepare for Economics.

Even though it was dry for Grace , I did pretty well with it because numbers and graphs were my area of expertise. I would have liked to go in the science department with my major, but we all had responsibilities to fulfill out of a sense of duty to the Circle. Computer science, math, and chemistry had to wait.

But since my role in the Circle wasn't of much importance, and I would probably never be part of the Councils because I was far too weak, I would study again after this business degree.

"Shit, Julie. Do you think the DeLoughreys are behind this?"

I looked up from my laptop at Grace, who, of course, was no longer on the university server's page but on the Bexleys'.

We'd heard about the murder in Fogs Forest on the car radio while Bayla had been asleep in the back seat.

Grace had already spoken to Amara on the phone, but she just told us to stay calm and avoid interviews and the campus rumor mill. An easy game for me, a challenge for Grace.

Jenny had wanted to interview her about measures taken by the town council, and now Grace was stuck on the topic with a horrified face instead of concentrating on her studies.

Of course , I was curious and wanted to know who was capable of something so disgusting, but another part of me wanted to escape the madness of this town for a day.

I didn't want to know if a human, or worse , a supernatural being, was behind it. It would be extremely unwise to break the contract and risk war, but what kind of person would tear open their victim's face ?

I realized that the perpetrator might even have done this specifically so that the woman's identity could not be identified as that of a Blairville resident. If it really had been a supernatural being, then he would have avoided breaking the contract. Among other things, the contract forbade the killing of Blairville residents.

The dominance of the murder topic was too immense, so I finally logged out of the university server and ended up on the net.

I was one click away from the Blairville Daily news page, but I spotted another open website. It was the DLSC' s.

I remembered that I had wanted to research about the strange molecular biology professor again. A welcomed distraction from all the chaos that was currently raging in town.

I typed the professor's name into the server, read all the posts about the awards he had received as the youngest professor in the field of molecular biology or as an expert in the field of epigenetics until I finally landed on his publications.

When I spotted the title of his latest publication, I sucked in a sharp breath.

The science of elemental magic

Without hesitation, I opened the description of the publication.

A molecular biology and physics perspective on the power of nature. In this captivating publication, the renowned molecular biologist, Professor Quentin Tiberius, explores the interactions between the elements and the subtle energies that permeate them. From chemical reactivity to quantum physics, the author thematizes the fundamentals of elemental magic and shows how scientific explanation expands understanding of the power and influence of the elements.

I blinked.

What in the name of the gods...

"Are you all right?"

I looked up at Grace, caught, and nodded. Thankfully, she immediately looked back at her laptop screen.

However, nothing was fine. And it didn't get any better when I discovered the other publications.

Unraveling the mysteries of lycanthropy

Molecular mechanisms that enable immortality

Unmasking metamorphosis

The influence of the lunar cycle on genes

After half an hour, I slammed the laptop shut. Undecided what to do with the information about my professor. Obviously, this fanatical human was onto something he was never allowed to find out.

I hadn't found any other personal information on him, as he seemed to keep his private life off the net. But what I knew was enough.

I had to do something. Or at least make sure this man didn't find out about Blairville's secrets.

Grace and I had tried to communicate with Bayla again, but she didn't seem convinced or in the right state of mind for it. Especially after last night's incident. Something that strange had never happened before, or at least not in my presence. Although, to be fair, I hadn't been an active Circle member for long and a new member didn't join every month.

I could still remember my own ritual, which had made me nauseous, but I couldn't remember my neck cracking so horribly or losing consciousness afterward.

I had even feared that Bayla would die because she had simply slipped off the altar and the activation spell had lost its effect.

Amara must have been right. Bayla Adams was an ungifted.

We would find out in a month, but until then, Bay was under our protection. In Grace's words: We were babysitters.

Amara had put us in charge. As if we didn't already have enough on our plates with university and our own elemental lessons.

Goosebumps spread up my arms.

Just don't think about it, Julie, and nothing will happen.

I breathed in deeply, then out, in and out again.

My body gradually relaxed.

"I'm allowed to sit down, right?"

Two hazel eyes looked at me questioningly.

Embarrassed, I slid closer to Emely, who eyed me suspiciously, to make room for Larissa.

I hadn't expected to see Larissa in my business English tutorial. Even less had I expected Emely Copeland to remain seated instead of jumping up and leaving as she usually did.

Grace had a theory that one of the Copelands had committed this murder. After all, they had all had to turn last night.

I pushed the thought away, because sitting next to Emely and thinking about ending up as her next meal wasn't really comforting.

"Have you seen Bay, by any chance?"

Larissa looked at me questioningly.

I noticed Emely starting to play with her pen. She probably didn't know about the news. I wondered if she had been punished for the incident. However, Vivienna had gotten off lightly.

"She came here with me and Grace." Larissa looked at me scrutinizingly. "I think she has literary history now," I added cautiously.

Emely gave me a suspicious sideways glance.

I felt uncomfortable talking a lot, especially in front of strangers. Larissa had been very friendly so far, which made it easier for me to open up to her, even if I needed a little more time to do so.

There were people who were livelier, like Grace, and there were those who were quieter. And usually, the former kind of person had a talent for either annoying the latter relentlessly or dragging them everywhere with them. And from what I'd noticed so far, the latter was the case with Larissa and Bayla.

" Wow , that was quick," Larissa laughed and unpacked her black backpack, taking off the large camera around her neck to slide it into her bag.

"That's how fast it happens when people change."

I looked startled at Emely, who rolled her eyes.

How could she say that so casually? Larissa didn't know anything, and that's how it should stay. Wasn't she the one of the Senseque who had made the contract and their Senseque Code her religion?

I looked at Larissa again and tried to activate my non-existent social strengths.

"She's kind of trying to adapt here, I guess."

Larissa looked at me with an unclear expression.

"You should just talk to each other, I think," I added, but I didn't know if that was unnecessary. As always, when I talked.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

She picked up her cell phone, and I reflexively did the same.

Ten unread text messages from Erik immediately jumped out at me.

I swallowed, and immediately a deep sense of guilt spread through me. The longing inside me for our nightly texting, especially after emotionally overwhelming days when he would randomly text me and make me forget this life here for a few minutes, grew and grew.

Why hadn't I answered him?

After my attack, I hadn't been able to do anything for a day and hadn't left my bed. I hadn't drunk anything, hadn't eaten anything, had tried to forget, had started hurting myself again, and had racked my brains about this damn magic inside of me.

I was broken. That was the only logical explanation. I was broken, and I must have deserved it somehow. And the worst part was that Erik had to suffer for it. First, Ivy, and now him .

I'd been dependent on people my whole life and Erik was, too. I wanted to be a friend to him, to take care of his needs as much as I was able. I wanted to be there for him, but how could I do that if I couldn't even be strong for myself?

All these thoughts about Erik made my stomach tingle pleasantly. A strange feeling. One that I didn't know until now.

Confused, I typed my message.

When he immediately went online, the tingling got a little stronger. So did the guilt.

Please, just don't be mad, Erik.

I swallowed.

My heart made an overwhelming leap.

Mostly, we texted about the books we were reading, about gods, and of course we had developed our insiders and jokes over time, and shared our other interests. But it had never been as personal as it was at that moment.

He replied quickly.

Awkwardly, I replied.

I sucked in a sharp breath and felt warmth in my cheeks.

More warmth.

And even more warmth.

And my breathing immediately quickened again.

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no...

The thought that he was sitting somewhere ten meters away in another lecture hall left me breathless.

On the one hand, I felt so wrong, like I was lying to him because I was too much of a coward. On the other hand, he was human, and therefore completely misplaced in my complicated world.

While Erik typed his answer, I looked around the lecture hall. Nash and his guys had just entered the hall, and he looked up from his smartphone, spotting Emely, then me, next to her. His eyes darkened and his expression hardened. Luckily, his buddies pushed him into the next best row of seats.

I looked at my cell phone again.

It took Erik a long time before he finally answered.

My face was literally glowing now.

He wanted to text with you, Julie.

How had I come up with the idea that he would ask for a meeting again? Erik knew my inhibitions and respected them.

Was I perhaps the one who secretly wished to be friends with him in real life?

I had never had any friends, especially not outside the Circle. Grace and I had grown up together, or rather, had grown together through similar problems due to our backgrounds. We were united in many ways, except for our attitude toward the Circle. While she tried to immerse herself in it all, I stayed in the background and suffered from the countless duties as Discipulus.

I had thought I was socially incapable of finding someone else, or even someone with whom I could share so many personal things.

"Whoever this Erik is, he seems to care about you."

I pulled my phone to my chest, startled.

Larissa grinned.

"Your boyfriend?"

I felt my cheeks almost burn.

"You have a secret boyfriend?" she continued, turning to face me completely. "How did you get together?"

There was a gleam in her eyes.

I looked at her ashamed, shook my head quickly and looked around, hoping no one had heard us.

"You're not even together yet? Oh my God!"

"Larissa!"

I signaled her not to be so loud and just hoped she'd back down. She just grinned at me with a mischievous expression.

The thought that Erik could be my boyfriend in a romantic sense gave me a violent shock and I immediately pushed it aside.

I had no room for something like that in my life.

"I'll talk to you about it sooner or later," Larissa said with the same look on her face.

I just hoped she would forget about it.

I cautiously opened the chat, squinting over at Larissa to check that she wasn't shadowing me again, but she was still looking at her own phone with a grin.

I'd love to. I texted Erik back, but he had already gone offline.

Neither the lecturer nor the rest of the students showed up for the rest of the seminar.

Something was wrong with the professors today. Probably that meeting Grace had told me about?

It was just strange that no one had posted anything in the substitution plans. But everything was going haywire here anyway. The director was a lost cause, and so was Vanderwood University.