"What did he do? It has to be here."
In the small gap between the two walls of the church, Geralt was having a mental breakdown. The wooden floor under his foot creaked loudly as he paced around the area.
He had already gone over the whole thing several times, but until now he had not found anything.
"He played me! He played me all along!" In the end, Geralt finally snapped and kicked the mesh wall before him.
Crack!
Maybe it was because of his heightened emotions that when Geralt kicked, his dragon energy charged through his feet.
As a result, the wall shook, and a very well-hidden trapdoor in the wooden planks on the floor flipped open inwardly, creating a square gap right under his feet.
"Uh-oh!" the boy barely had time to react before he fell down the dark hole.
Thud!
***
"AAAHH…Chooo!" The flames in the fireplace flickered, licking the air and dissipating. Kyle stood before the flames, wrapped in a warm blanket, his face flushed and his eyes droopy.
Sitting to his right was Sally, who looked much better than him. Wrapped in a different blanket, she hugged her knees while staring into the flames with a dazed look on her face.
"When will you kids start to listen to the adults?"
Sister Agnes walked into the room with a helpless look on her face. She was holding a tray of freshly brewed tea and snacks. She placed the tray on the table in the center of the room before walking up to the kids.
Sally and Kyle flinched hearing her voice. They slowly turned their heads to face her with an ashamed look on their faces. None of the two dared to meet her gaze and kept their heads down, staring at their feet.
"Now, tell me, what were you three doing out in this rain when you were asked to stay in your buildings?" The matron sighed, looking at their pitiful appearance.
At the same time Jinn happened to step into the room. "I wanted to go out; they followed me since they could not stop me from going." He spoke before anyone else could say anything. "Thanks for letting me use your bathroom, sister Agnes."
"You..." the matron took a deep breath and shook her head. "All these years, you've never done something like this. Why are you suddenly so rebellious?"
'Maybe it's a good thing that he is finally acting like other kids.' The kind woman thought to herself.
"I just could not stay longer in that depressingly gloomy building. So I wanted to take a small walk." Jinn pulled her hand and dragged her towards the sofa and pushed her to sit down on it before taking a seat opposite to her. "Besides, we are fine, aren't we?"
With a resigned sigh, she said, "Don't do it again. You always find ways to make me worried despite being so mature all the time."
"Three more days and I will be out of your hair."
Although Jinn said it lightly, the matron did not seem thrilled about him leaving.
"Time slips away without telling anyone." Her gaze drifted to the tea she had prepared. A flicker of sadness flashed through her eyes, which she quickly concealed, and she looked at the still downcast duo in the corner.
"You two, don't get swayed by this child's whim. If you are warmed up, come and drink some ginger tea. It will help you with the cold."
Sally stood up from the ground and took Kyle's hand, guiding him to the sofa.
"What were you thinking, running into the rain? It's winter, not summer." Sister Agnes brushed Kyle's hair back to feel his hot forehead. "Come drink some tea."
Passing each cup to Sally and Kyle, she looked at Jinn, who had yet to touch his tea. He was just watching her silently with a small smile on his face.
"What?" She asked, feeling a bit odd by the way he was looking at her.
Saying nothing, Jinn raised his cup to his mouth and took a sip.
***
"Do they clean this place or not?"
Miss Angelia entered the attic with a white handkerchief covering her mouth and nose. With a face full of reluctance, she stepped through the clean gaps and looked at everything from the distance.
"Check this." Hearing the feminine voice of her teammate, she turned and saw him standing next to a closed glass window. "This was the place from which the boy jumped. There is a lot of dark energy gathered in this place."
"Did you find something?" She asked, moving closer to the window.
Dark energy slowly drained all the light from Mr. Acosta's eyes.
His skin turned paler, and a pair of dark horns materialized above his forehead.
"This is…"
"What?" The oddity in his tone alerted Miss Angelia.
"Nothing, it was just a spider." The man waved his hand awkwardly, making her stare at him. Seeing the emotionless look on his face that matched her own, she shook her head without saying anything.
For a second there was a pause between them before Mr. Acosta spoke up, "it seems like you can finally use your powers. The psychic energy in the area is quite high."
Without a word, the cold-looking middle-aged investigator tapped into her dragon energy. Within a second, her body went through some changes.
Several crack-like marks appeared around her ears, and her eyes seemed to have lost their luster. Unlike what happened with her colleague, her eyes did not turn black; instead, their color paled.
Clasping her hands before her chest, she prayed. "Oh lord Nerial, the deaf god who hears nothing but sees everything, grant me your blessing to trespass in what has passed and seek the truth."
Once done, she lowered her hands and raised her gaze.
"This is it…" The world as she saw it had changed. Everything had turned shades of black and white beside her body. The items around her faded into the background as she focused ahead.