Professor Rayna and Anya sat opposite Elara, who had her arms folded tightly across her chest, eyes narrowed on them like a hawk sizing up prey.
They had finally told her everything, and now the three of them sat in a thick silence. Elara's gaze shifted to Anya. "I didn't expect this from you," she said flatly.
Anya's shoulders slumped. She stared at her lap, twisting her fingers together. Like Elara, she was a businesswoman, and they had crossed paths many times since college.
In all those meetings, whenever Elara asked about Arin, Anya had always given the same answer: We're not friends anymore.
"I asked you...begged you, to tell me anything about Arin. And you always said you weren't friends with her anymore?" Elara's voice dropped to a low, dangerous register that made Anya shiver.
"Umm… Senior…" Anya's voice trembled as she fidgeted with her hands.
Rayna sensed the tension and exhaled, "Elara, try to understand. We promised Arin. We never wanted to break it."
Anya nodded vigorously. "Yes! And I'm still shocked Zara told you everything so easily."
Rayna gave a small nod. Elara rolled her eyes with a small huff, "Forget that. What's important is, I want my Arin back." She closed her eyes. "I hate seeing her behave like a stranger with me."
Anya and Rayna exchanged a look. They might not feel Elara's pain, but the way her voice broke on Arin's name made something twist in their own chests.
Elara opened her eyes as Rayna stood up. Rayna went to a nearby shelf. She lifted down a thick book and held it out. "Half the pages in this book are blank," she said as Elara took it.
Elara opened it, flipping through empty sheets. "But what is this book about, Professor?"
"The history of the South Wings of the Castle of Valoria," Anya replied.
Elara hummed, placing the book on her lap as she sat down, "Did you two try the moondust?"
Anya rolled her eyes while Rayna poured herself a drink. "Yes, we did, and that day almost turned into a wolf's dinner."
Anya bit her lip at the memory of the book slamming into the Professor's face. She cleared her throat and glanced at Elara. "Senior, we've been trying for years. Do you really think there's anything left?"
Elara rubbed her forehead, then rose and walked to the window. "And you said we can't tell Arin anything because every time she learns something, that cursed spirit takes over her and wrecks everything?"
Both Rayna and Anya nodded. Elara's eyes flickered an eerie blue. They both swallowed hard and took a step back. Elara's anger wasn't something they wanted to provoke.
"It sounds so..." she balled her fist "...childish!" Her punch left a crack in the wall.
Anya scooted closer to Rayna, gripping her hand. "Professor…" she whispered.
Rayna gave Elara a sharp look. "Control yourself. You two lovers have already turned my life into a mess. Don't break my lab on top of it."
Elara closed her eyes, drawing in a slow breath, then another. "Sorry, Professor," she said softly.
Rayna nodded and turned back to the shelves. "Maybe we've been at this too long, that's why we aren't getting any ideas. Sometimes new ideas work better…"
Elara frowned but followed. Rayna pulled out a thick diary. "Take this. It has a record of everything we've tried so far. Look it over and see if you can think of something new."
Elara flipped through the pages. "So many experiments!" She exclaimed.
"So many failures!" Anya added, half-mocking herself.
"I'm calling it a night," Rayna said, already walking toward a side room.
Elara stared at the closed door of Rayna's room when she felt an arm on her shoulder. She turned to see Anya touching her shoulder gently.
"Senior, be careful." She removed her hand from Elara's shoulder and crossed her hand before nodding toward the book in Elara's hand, "The book is magical. It's smacked Professor more than once for doing the wrong procedure, okay?"
Elara's jaw dropped as she looked at the book and gave a small nod.
Anya moved toward another room. "Take the room next to mine. And please, don't turn us into wolf chow or drown us in the moonlit river. We've already been there."
Elara set the diary on the table and sank into a chair, eyes scanning page after page of faded ink and cramped notes. Experiments and failures were all written there.
Her night passed while reading the book...
The next morning, when Rayna stepped out, she was shocked. Elara was still at the table, hair mussed, dark circles under her eyes, the diary nearly finished, and a spread of notes around her.
Rayna quickly tied her hair back into a bun and crossed the room. "What are you doing?"
Elara looked up, a faint, tired smile tugging at her lips. "I'm trying to understand the book first."
Rayna raised a brow with crossed arms. Seeing it, Elara added, "Professor, have you ever wondered why and how these pages are so well protected?"
Rayna nodded absently as she moved to the coffee machine. "Yeah. The words are written with melted silver. I mean the pages we can read. And the cover…"
She glanced over her shoulder, "It is made from dark-oak leaves pressed and cured. A tree that is said to repel curses. Nothing evil can touch it."
She returned with two cups, handing one to Elara and taking a sip from her own. "And if I'm not wrong, whoever wrote the book knew it would be impossible to keep the spirit locked inside the South Wing forever."
Elara took a sip of coffee, humming low. "So they wrote this book and made sure that even if the spirit escaped, it couldn't destroy the book itself." She glanced at Rayna, searching for confirmation.
Rayna set down her cup and picked up the book. "When Arin learned about it… I won't lie, she tried to destroy it. But it burned her hand and..."
"Not Arin," Elara cut in sharply, clearly offended. "The spirit took over Arin's body."
Rayna rolled her eyes. "I thought Anya was exaggerating when she said you turn into a teenager whenever it's about Arin."
Elara's mouth opened in protest, then closed again. She knew it was true. No matter how mature she was, when it came to Arin, she slipped back into something raw and young.
Rayna chuckled. "It's fine, you don't have to turn red."
Elara's eyes widened; she touched her cheeks and felt the heat there. Rayna bit her lip, clearing her throat to break the moment.
"What I'm trying to say," Rayna went on, voice steadier, "is that this book may hold the answer we've been searching for. If we can read what's really written here, maybe we can save Arin… and destroy the soul."
Elara set her coffee down, fingers tightening around the mug. "Don't get me wrong, but the more I think about it, the more I feel the spirit isn't evil. It's a victim...maybe even with a pure heart. And I have this feeling the woman was killed."
Rayna froze mid-sip and tilted her head, studying Elara. "But we've been working under the assumption she… you know… took her own life."
Elara bit her inner cheek and shook her head slowly. "No. My sixth sense rarely fails. And when it's about Arin, I don't make mistakes."