She is taken aback for a moment before a frown appears on her face and she goes on the defensive. "Will you stop yelling? I came home and met the door open and when I called out no one answered, I just came to check to see if you were at home and look, wow you are!"

And then she turns around and slams the door shut as she storms away in anger. I stay on my bed dumbly as my heartbeat begins to slow, I shouldn't have shouted at her, she just wanted to see if I was home, besides, she knocked didn't she? She only came in because I decided to cover up what I was doing instead of answering her. I make a note to myself to apologize to her later. I shoot a look at the door and with barely a thought it locks itself, a second later I shoot a noer at the door, it touches the wood and glows strongly for a moment before fading away. The noer is one I just learned, composed of two Alphabets. The first alphabet meant to absorb, while the other meant energy, to put things simply it can absorb small amounts of energy like sound. To put it simply, I just made the door soundproof, slightly fireproof as well as other proofs. I do the same to all the walls, including the ceiling and floor, I only stop when my room is effectively soundproofed.

I take a deep breath and continue to read the textbook.

* * * * * *

Hugo

I move around to make sure all the books are in place, after that I check on all the spells only stopping after I confirm that everything is in its right place. Once that is done I begin to clean up the store. When I am almost done, I look up suddenly, I can sense someone outside the door. The door opens and I am about to tell the intruder that the store is closed when I feel the power the person contains. It is not as strong as I am but it is strong enough. I can't think of any reason for a Laen to be here and immediately I am alert. I move to the door ready for anything and relax when I see the intruder, still, to make sure I use second sight to look at his forehead and fully relax when I see the seal.

"Hugo," Daren says, looking slightly tired, "how are you?" He is dressed in a police uniform which looks a bit tight on his body.

"Good. What happened to you?" I ask as I finish cleaning up the store.

He shrugs. "Just tired. Wanna drink?"

"I do, but I don't feel like going to a bar right now."

He gives a tired smile. "You never do. Don't worry, I have a drink." He reaches out with his hand and pulls, grabbing a beer can from the air. He repeats the motion, getting another can which he passes to me. I pull up a chair and scan the drink in my hand to ensure nothing is wrong with it, once it passes my inspection I open the can and take a long pull. Daren watches me with slight amusement. He says."It won't kill you to trust once in a while you know."

I give him a look. "Okay, cut the crap, what happened today?"

He shrugs as he breathes out deeply. "I've been working for two days straight, isn't that enough reason to get tired?" My disbelieving look is the only reply I give him. He sighs once more. "There was another murder yesterday, four people like last time, the same manner of death. All four of them were drained of blood, it was horrible."

I frown when I hear that, remembering the mission I had been instructed to give Drew and his team. "I thought Liam left the country?"

"It wasn't Liam this time, or at least I don't think it's him. This isn't his style. The first few murders were probably done by him, but he won't gain anything by continuing with it. No amount of money will change that. I won't be surprised if he knew who did this though. I've been trying to track them down since yesterday and right now, I'm tired. And stumped. I have no idea who did this, where they did this or what they even used."

"What about forensics?"

He shrugs. "They just came up with a load of crap to keep people's noses away from our investigations. The bodies were whole when we found them, with no sign of trauma or injury, the only strange thing about them was their shriveled look. And to make it worse, we found another set of bodies today." At this point, he raises his beer and drinks. My frown only deepens.

He continues, this time with a slightly disturbed look. "There were four bodies again, with the same shriveled look, no drop of blood in their bodies. They looked as if they had been there for quite some time." He pauses, giving me a searching look. "Do you think it's happening again?"

My mind immediately goes back to three years ago and the horrors that rocked the Laen community during that time. It started just like this, unknown deaths sprouting left and right. "It can't be, Bran is dead."

"I know, but…"

He doesn't finish his sentence but he doesn't have to, I already know what he is thinking about, there is no Laen who hasn't wondered in the last few years. What if Bran wasn't the only one? Still, I shake my head, more confidently this time. "The Eldest is still here, if anyone is stupid enough to try that with him around then they should prepare to be disappointed."

He says gravely. "The Eldest won't stay forever. You know how he is, for all we know he could disappear tomorrow and stay missing for the next fifty years."

Silence falls between both of us as we drink slowly. "Do the Elders know?"

He nods. "They've been informed. Look, let's stop with all this depressing talk. What have you been up to? Found a good girlfriend yet?"

I glare at him, but he doesn't seem bothered. "Look Hugo, you can't keep dwelling on the past, you have to move on. And the first step will be getting a good girlfriend. Oh don't give me that look, it may have worked before but it won't work now. Anyway, I'm taking the Waim exam tomorrow."

"Your third eye…"

He nods, a smug smile on his face. "I've made a breakthrough."

That surprises me, Daren has been a Wranth for seven years, unable to progress because of his lack of a breakthrough with his third eye. Still, he is quite a knowledgeable and capable fighter. He could even go up against me without losing too badly if he truly tried. Still, it's good to know he has finally progressed.

I let out a laugh. "That's great. So you'll finally become a Waim. Once you're done call me for a duel will you?"

He nods, smiling. "I will."

After that, we talk about a bunch of random stuff before he leaves. Once he leaves, my mind goes to what he told me as my stomach tightens and I hope what I fear does not come to pass.