Chapter 12

Jane

Matt lit the crude building with a torch, made from the union of wood and coal.

I took a turn on myself to look around.

"You live here?" I asked, with some contempt.

In the less lighted corner of the room, there was a brownish bat to keep him company, hanging upside down.

"Is he one of your roommates?" I pointed to the animal, smiling.

The boy is really weird, I told myself.

"No, I don't have a proper home on this island anymore.

I'm used to living in the dark, in a hidden place where I find refuge, and no, in case you were wondering, I'm not Batman, "she revealed in a low voice.

"Sin. I was almost hoping for it, "I mocked.

"If you like, I can show you the room. Of course, if I had known before your arrival, I would have fixed it better, but these are details. "

"All right," I replied.

The room was very tidy, I didn't understand the reason for that incoherent joke.

"There is the cauldron, where I collect rainwater. It can also be used to wash clothes, or dye them, according to your needs. Near the cauldron, I built a blast furnace, also called "Forno Fusorio". It is a more optimal version of the common furnace, but I usually use it to melt metals, not to cook food. Over there, on the other hand, you can see the alembic, it is used to distill the water for the potions. "

I found it difficult to move while he was talking. The room was overflowing with fragile objects and I was afraid that at any moment I would indiscreetly break something, so I moved slowly, retracing his steps.

"You delight in playing the role of an alchemist, playing a sorcerer and moving like a ninja it seems. You seem absurd to me. " I commented.

«You have to adapt to everything in life. Don't you think so too? "

"Of course yes."

"So why did you summon me?"

"I would like you to help me find the raw materials for the potions, so I need you to read these, I suppose they are recipe books or, at most, transcribed spells," said the blond, showing me the two magic books he kept in a backpack.

"Why do you need spells?"

"To train. I'm in danger."

"Hey, wait! How did you find the book in my custody? "

"I have my resources."

"Can you stop being mysterious for once?" I can not stand you."

I was struggling to settle for his "half answers".

"It was delivered to me by the resident who stole it from you, at my request.

We had made a pact: I would defend him and his village and in exchange, he would give me enough news, information, and materials to work on and ... experiment. "

"Can you tell me something about it?"

"I've been studying them for several months."

"How long have you been here?"

"I do not know. I believe that time passes differently depending on the individual. Then speaking of the books… "he sighed.

«I don't know much to tell you. I tried to write on it with a pen and inkwell, the ink disappears after a few minutes without leaving a trace. I tried to erase the words already written, but I have the impression that they are indelible. "

"I noticed that in the evening, my book starts to throb."

«Mhh, as I imagined.

These are not normal books. They are alive.

An old man once told me that you have to create a connection, between the two books and a person. Only then can they be read. "

"Can I get mine back?"

I was very fond of the book.

"You can keep them both," he replied calmly, and then handed them to me.

There was a long pause, after which he looked me straight in the eye.

"In my opinion, you should be the one creating the bond."

"What makes you think so?"

"You like reading, you write a lot, you love riddles, especially those where you substitute letters for numbers to create texts."

"How do you know these things?" I asked, embarrassed.

Nobody had ever noticed.

"Every so often, in class, you brought a book to read or a notebook on which you wrote, I don't know exactly what, just to pass the hours when there was no class."

He looked down, perhaps not to see my reaction.

"Quite right. I see that you are very attentive to details ... "I answered vacantly, but in reality, I never expected to hear something like this, especially from him.

"I think to know a person you need to observe what he does," he finally said.

"I believe it too."

"The carpet is mainly used to hide a dark wooden trap door. Downstairs I keep chests in which I store minerals and useful items. Behind the painting, there is a niche with a button, which activates mechanisms to get to the basement of the village. "

He resumed the conversation, describing the latest objects.

"Can I ask you a question?" I blurted out at one point.

I wanted to change the subject.

"Yup"

"So it was you, the shadow circling my house?"

He tilted his head to one side, glaring at me for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.

"Oh right, only you laugh like this."

A smile escaped me.

"You also want to ask me how I can run so fast and disappear, only to reappear somewhere else?"

"Everyone has his secrets."

"See those potions over there I mentioned earlier? The green and orange ones are used to increase speed and fire resistance, the pink ones cure any discomfort, and the lilac ones ... make you invisible.

"Interesting. The effect is not permanent, otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Quite right?"

«The effect is momentary, it lasts about twenty minutes. For now, I can only create these, I suppose there is something capable of canceling them, but I still don't know what kind of substance it is ... I've tried them all. " she confided to me, saddened.

"Be wary of him. He's still your enemy," a voice from my soul told me.

You will not hesitate to help him.

People are like the seasons: they change; every day they wake up with different feelings.

"Don't be disheartened. Do you want me to do some research about it in the future? "

"If you have time, you'd be doing me a favor."

"About before ... how is it that you are in danger?" Whom are you hiding from? Did you forget to do your homework this time? " I asked, to play down.

He rarely forgot the exercises they assigned us and I knew it well since the one who easily forgot about them was me.

"No, no. He ... saw me fighting and now he's looking for me. "

"Him, who?"

"The Supreme Leader".