Page 51 of Professor and the Seer
“Mr. Cloak?” I couldn’t stop my giggle.
“He needs a name, and the only other one I could think of was rather grim.”
My head tilted. “What was it?”
“Reaper. As in Grim Reaper, on account of the cloak.”
I outright laughed. “You know what, I think I like Reaper better than Mr. Cloak. At least we know he isn’t the God of Death.” The world saw too many a day for that god to be missing for centuries.
“True, but given his power, I would wager he’s some kind of deity or very powerful magic being.”
“If he’s so strong, why would this Reaper need me and my sisters? Why give us power?”
“I would have thought to free him, but that didn’t actually require any of you to be present, just the door opening, which the monsters set out to achieve.”
“Who sent the monsters then?” Funny how when I did the question thing with my sisters, they got annoyed, but John took the time to not only consider them but reply.
“Could be they weren’t guided but simply drawn. The curse that bound the portal and Bane as Warden had complexity to it. No one ever managed to unravel even a tiny bit of it.”
“Meaning it could even be alien magic.” And by alien, I didn’t mean the UFO-visiting kind, but rather those from another dimension or world.
“You know, that’s an interesting theory. If the symbols aren’t native to this world, then that would explain the lack of information.”
“Only the existence of those ruins seems to blow a hole in that idea.”
“Not necessarily. Could be someone got trapped in our world and tried to recreate something of where they came from. There is only one way to find out. We need to figure out Reaper’s identity, and I think our best shot at that is finding the place he called home.”
On his phone, he pulled up the image of the cavern. Just seeing it gave me a shiver.
“How do we start our search?”
“By uploading and running its structure against known ruins and excavations. I don’t have a computer in here, so I’ll have to go to my office for a secure login. Want to come or stay here? I won’t be gone long.”
“You’d leave me alone in your archive?” The very trust blew me away.
“I know you’re enjoying the quiet.”
My lips curved. “Is it that noticeable?”
“Your whole body relaxed the moment you entered.”
“What if I break another mirror?”
“There is no other mirror. Just an evil candlestick, but given there’s no matches, I don’t think you’ll be lighting it.”
“I don’t even want to know what you mean by evil candlestick.” I laughed.
“I guess the last thing to ask is if you are planning to use any of the spell books for evil?”
“No. Even if I wanted to, I’m not capable of real magic.”
His lips quirked. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Last night was pretty damned powerful, if you ask me.”
I blushed.
He dragged me close. “In case I forgot to tell you, thank you.”
“For what? You did most of the work.”