Chapter 24 The mysterious twin's mystery
Byron
Supernaturals liked to believe they were different, but in reality we were all the same. We all have the same telltales.
When Eloise told me she was going to study, I knew she was lying. But I didn't pressure her for the truth. She wouldn't tell me anyway.
So I walked away, letting her believe I was gone so she could carry on with her plan. I cloaked myself in darkness and watched as she ran to the library.
I hadn't planned on staying at Drakmor tonight. It just felt better than going to the Keep. I wasn't in the mood to listen to my father talk about what a horrible son I was. So I had stayed while the other Heirs had left.
I watched as Eloise disappeared into the library before I let the shadows cloaking me fall. Several thoughts ran across my mind as I took long strides towards the building.
Was she planning an escape?
If that was the case, then she was stupider than I thought. There was no escaping Drakmor. The wards surrounding the school would throw her back as soon as she makes contact with it.
And if she did make it outside the wards, she couldn't navigate this place all by herself. Drakmor wasn't located anywhere close to Thornwood. She wouldn't make it far.
A part of me hoped she was trying to escape. I was bored out of my mind and I needed something to elevate my mood. Maybe I will ask her more about Christopher when I caught her.
My steps screeched to a halt as I heard her scream.
A strange sense of terror washed over me at the fear in her voice. Before I could think much of it, I shadowshifted the rest of the way and ended up at the entrance of the library.
Just like the college and The Nest, the wards surrounding the library made it impossible to shadowshift inside. The scribes had insisted on the extra layer of protection of their precious books. I didn't have a problem with it until now.
My heart thundered in my chest as I searched for Eloise in the library. I was approaching the end of the first floor when I heard whimpering sounds. I didn't think, I just rushed towards it.
I hadn't expected the scene I met. Eloise sat on the floor, sobbing and shaking vehemently as she stared at the corpse of a Waterborn on the floor. Judging by the girl's uniform, she was a first year.
It was impossible to gauge the cause of her death. Her arms and legs were broken and twisted at an uneven angle, her jaw was broken, her head was disconnected from her body and her eyes popped out of their sockets. The sight was gruesome and unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Whoever did this didn't have a heart. ‘Cruel’ didn't even qualify what they did. To a first year nonetheless.
Eloise shivered as she continued to stare at the dead body, her eyes widened with terror. She hadn't noticed my presence yet. I recognized the shock state she was in.
I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to come up with a solution. I couldn't alert the other staffs, they would only cause pandemonium which will make the students aware of the situation. I couldn't let that happen.
I placed a hand on Eloise's shoulder. She flinched and staggered back. Her eyes widened when she realized who was standing behind her.
“I… Lord B… I w..was…” she stuttered, her chest heaving.
I didn't wait for her to complete her statement. I grabbed her arm and dragged her up. I didn't need Waterborn magic to feel the fear emitting from her in waves.
Whether the fear was because of me or the corpse, I didn't know. I figured it was both.
I draped the corpse with my shadows, making it invisible entirely. It was near the dark end of the library and the moon wasn't entirely full. No one would question the patch of darkness if they came in here.
I dragged the werewolf out of the library. She didn't fight me or scream, she just followed silently, a quiet acceptance. She would definitely spiral once her shock was over. I wasn't going to be here for that.
“Go back to your room and don't come out until morning.” I said in a stern voice. She nodded slowly and turned to leave.
“And Eloise,” I lowered my voice into the cold, unfeeling tone that elicit fear in people. “If you tell anyone what you saw, I will make you regret it.”
My chest tightened as fear sparked in her eyes. Suddenly, I felt like the threat wasn't necessary. She didn't seem like she would tell anyone. I just had to make sure.
“You should run to your room, Eloise. You never know what monster lurk in the shadows.” The last word had barely left my mouth before she broke into a run.
I trailed her figure until she disappeared into the dormitories. I averted my gaze just in time to see the other Heirs appear before me.
“What's the emergency?” Carden asked immediately, a hint of panic in his voice. The expression was mirrored on Aidas face.
They were both clutching the magic orb imbued with our joint powers. They had used the thread of my power to shadowshift here immediately I sent out the signal.
The orb wasn't like a regular one. Ours was rare and only a few could be found in Varethin. It didn't just store our powers so we could be evenly matched, it doubled as an emergency alarm when tapped repeatedly.
I had tapped the orb so many times as I walked Eloise out of the library, half hoping they were both with their orbs. Given how fast they shadowshifted here, I doubted if either of them had been at the Dragon Keep. They'd probably stayed back too.
I beckoned to them to follow me into the library. I let the shadows fade off when we got to where the corpse was.
“Holy Hearth!”
“Mother below!” They exclaimed simultaneously.
“Who did this?” Aidas asked, his face twisted with disgust.
“I don't know. But whoever it was could get past the wards without alerting the scribes.” I said.
“The scribes,” Carden said suddenly. “There are no scribes present. The library is always locked when the scribes aren't present. Why is it opened?”
The three of us exchanged glances, none of us having answers to the question.
“Let's just bury the body first. We'll deal with all the questions later.” I suggested and they nodded in agreement.
I lifted the body up with the help of my shadows. Moonlight spilled on the girl's face. I was about to cloak it with darkness when Aidas suddenly gasped.
“Aubrey Vega.” Carden and I turned to him.
“You know her?” Carden asked while Aidas nodded.
“She was a bright student, always eager to learn. She has a twin. They're the only Waterborn twins in first year. It's impossible not to know them. Her sister would be devastated.”
“Oh, the Vega twins!” Carden exclaimed. “But why would anyone target one twin in the library of all places?”
A huge realization dawned on us as soon as Carden said those words. One sister was dead, what are the chances the other was still alive?
“I'll go check on her twin.” Aidas said and left immediately.
“Well, I guess it's just you and me. Where should we bury her? And what the hell do we tell her sister?” Carden groaned.
“Why don't you head out first? I'll meet up with you. I need to take care of this.” I gestured to the pool of dried blood on the floor and the scattered paper.
“Shadowshift to The Nest. I'll meet you there.”
Carden nodded in agreement. He encircled the body in a ball of fire and dimmed the fire light with the shadows in the orb. He strode out with the body in tow.
I let out tendrils of shadows. The shadows picked up the papers, arranging them neatly on the table. I used some of Aidas water magic imbued in the orb to wash the blood of the floor and swept the water out the door with his air magic.
The papers had mostly contained research work, details on the Great War, origin of the dragons, The Burn, and the Hollowborns. It was just harmless research by a curious student. There were no classified information in there, although there were lots of question marks.
I packed the papers and hid them beneath my cloak. I was going to study them later. I was about to walk out when something else caught my eyes.
A half burnt paper hidden under the table. I picked it up and skimmed through it. Most of the content had been burned away, but one detail stood out.
The world walkers.