up the greenish uniform that stretched over his vast belly, he said:
«In connection with an unprecedented event – the alleged theft of the precious artifact The Emerald Azuin – by the will of the Rector Tahoni, the university is declared a temporarily closed territory. Teachers and students are not allowed to leave its walls, meaning the main buildings and the territory of the college’s settlements, until further notice. Each of those present will be called in for an additional interview when competent specialists arrive,» he looked around the three of us, making sure he had been heard, and chuckled. «Sit in your seats, in short, and don’t set foot in the city until the rector and the investigators allow it, okay?»
After waiting for our nods, he left, slamming the door, as always, not commensurate with the effort exerted. Even the glass in the window on the opposite wall rattled with the bang.
Outside, in keeping with our mood, gray clouds crept over the university from behind the Ney Ridge, reflecting like dark shadows in the turbulent waters of the Farinech.
Chapter 3
It was a lousy morning.
More precisely, it was unpleasant: firstly, it was still pouring outside, and since it was already December, it could not be called a warm rain; secondly, we will obviously be interrogated today.
Yesterday, despite the fact that we sat in our offices until late at night, the investigators did not have time to talk to everyone, as well as to inspect the countless premises of the university. So now this confusion threatened to continue, and it did not bode well.
In the evening, Adiree burst in, snorting and growling in annoyance. She was so angry that her scarlet hair, which was so bright beyond belief, was ablaze. Someone had definitely managed to infuriate the Demonology Professor, who was usually quite unflappable.
«How dare he!» She said as she flew into the office. "Who let this bloodhound think he was in charge, huh? As if he thinks I’m some kind of tramp!» She sat down on the couch, snorted again, and said, «I need a drink. Do you have anything?»
I shrugged my shoulders and grinned knowingly: not that I set up a bar here, but I did stash some supplies in case I was in a bad mood. Getting up from the table, I walked over to the book-filled bookcase by the window, pulled out a couple of tomes from the middle shelf, fumbled with my hand in the vacant space, and pulled out a small bottle. A liquid as green as young leaves splashed in the frosted glass.
«Whoa!» Adiree leaned forward at the sight of the bottle and licked her lips in anticipation. «May absinthe? Wow, girl, I didn’t know you were into that.»
I giggled.
«No, not really. It’s just that the whiskey has long since run out. Well, remember, back then, about three months ago, when your Oris had evaporated and we were going to… console ourselves…» I winked at her, and she burst out laughing, remembering her recent follies. «And one autumn I was in the Dark World, hmm…» She stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow in interest. «One word led to another and Saul gave me this as a gift.» I plopped down beside her and poured a few drops of the drink into the small coffee cups on the table: for some reason I didn’t have any glass for shots.
«Yeah, Saul» Adiree’s eyes, green as absinthe, flashed like eyes of a cat scenting a bird. «Of course. Our darling, longing for you incubus…»
«Not at all, I’ve told you a hundred times. Nothing more, just a good buddy… well, as far as a demon of his level can be a buddy.»
«I don’t believe that Saul was just friends with a woman from the Core World! Nope… he’s just waiting for a chance to drag you into bed,» she tipped the glowing liquid into herself in one gulp.
«Ugh… don’t be like that,» I took a sip of absinthe, tart and sweet, gently enveloping my mouth, not feeling strong at all. «He’s not dragging you or Sunny to bed by the way.»
«I’m not sure he even knows the word ’bed’,» she smiled again. «As for me, it’s not surprising: demons don’t like demonologists too much, to tell the truth, they barely tolerate them. As for Sunny…» Adiree shook her head, but didn’t elaborate. «Nice stuff,» she reached for the bottle and refilled her cup, but now she drank more slowly, savoring it.
«So, what’s the matter with the investigator,» I reminded. The alcohol ran through my veins, causing a pleasant tingling sensation throughout body. A relaxing mist enveloped my head.
«Oh, yes! Screw him!» She leaned back on the couch and stretched, shaking off her irritation. «There are three of them, plus a dozen assistants, but one is clearly in charge. Captain Wolfrock, as he introduced himself. A donkey with a conceit!»
«Well, why don’t you leave the animal to conceit?» We both puffed and coughed.
When she came to her senses, she continued:
«All right, let it be. But not so inflated. Suspect everyone? Suspect me?! Just because I’m a demonologist… Of course. What kind of bias, tell me? He stared at me with those blue eyes and thought we would all go soft at once, huh.»
«So, they think it’s a demon too,» I muttered.
«Yes, yes… reasonably. But what made him think that I would help such a demon or, worse, summon him?»
«Summon? Did he say that?! " I was surprised. «Why did you summon a thief?»
«No, of course not,» Adiree grimaced, «he didn’t do anything like that directly. But how he formulated the questions! Hinted, bastard!»
«Come on, you just misunderstood. That’s their job.»
«His job is to piss everyone off.»
«In a way,» I agreed, «to throw people off balance, yes, to understand better, to make the criminal make a mistake. We had a couple of lectures on this topic in psychology.»
«Phew! You never know… lecture. I had them too, so what?»
«Well, you piss off both humans and demons professionally, there would be someone to complain about.»
«That’s always how you are. I’m me,» she shook her hair. «But some kind of policeman… not even a mage. How dare he?»
«You’ve taken it too personally.»
«You’ll get to him yourself, you’ll find out how he’s trying to turn you inside out, to dig out all the little things, all the dirty things.»
«I don’t think there’s any need to worry too much: our personal affairs are not in his competence, only theft.»
«And how do you manage to stay so calm?»
«It’s all absinthe,» I nodded at the half-empty flask, «we’re getting carried away, huh?»
Laughing again, we forgot for a while about the abductions
