Fear and pheromones (1)

Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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The air in the small dark room was heavy. There were no windows and the space was illuminated with only a few candles. The walls were filled with shelves and drawers, mostly obstructed by heavy dark curtains that extended from the ceiling to the wall. I could see on the shelves outlines of items that looked like containers of various sizes, but it was too dark to see more details.

In the middle of the room was a round table and Vesper circled around it, pulling three stools that were initially hidden under the table behind the dark red cloth that nearly touched the floor.

Now this looked like a witch's place, and not a modern apartment.

Vesper gestured for me and Aldus to sit on stools at the table.

"I will stand…", Aldus said while taking a spot next to me and I knew that he wanted to make sure Vesper does not try anything funny.

I noticed that the dark red cloth which is covering the table has black symbols embroidered on it and I reached to touch it. Aldus cleared his throat, reminding me to keep my hands to myself.

Vesper threw a match in an incense burner and a second later, a soft lemony scent with a hint of sandalwood filled the room.

"This will help us focus…", Vesper said and took a seat on the stool opposite from me. She extended her hand toward me, palm up. "Your hand, please…"

I looked up at Aldus, silently asking for his approval and Vesper spoke to me grumpily: "In order to identify what triggers your pheromone production, I need physical contact. We can either do it with hands, or would you rather that I hold onto your neck?"

Aldus gave me a small nod and I reluctantly placed my hand into Vesper's. I was disappointed that I felt… nothing. I thought there will be some sizzling or some heat, cold, smoke, glow, anything. But it was nothing unusual. Just two hands touching.

"Can you feel my emotions?", I asked Vesper.

She gave me a strange look, but still answered. "Anxious, curious… nothing excessive."

I was not sure if she is actually feeling it or maybe she is simply good at reading expressions. Anyone would be curious and anxious in my position. If not for Aldus bringing me here, I would call her a fraud because this much I could get from a fortune teller at the fair. Other than a weird personality and unpleasant attitude, Vesper looked quite ordinary.

Vesper ignored my skeptical look and started explaining: "Since there were three instances when you noticed your power manifesting, I need you to think about those exact situations. It will be one at a time, and you will remember as many details as possible. Don't try to recollect how you felt, focus on the actions, smells, sounds, and let the feelings flow through you."

After she was done with general instructions, Vesper closed her eyes. "Start with the one when you met Lazarus. No need to say anything, just think about it…"

I saw that Aldus had his spiky measuring tool ready and my pheromone levels were going higher with every passing second. Oh, God! Just hearing Lazarus's name is creeping me out. I closed my eyes and thought about the garden, Lazarus, him holding me and sniffing my neck… my inability to escape his grasp…

"That's enough…", Vesper said stiffly, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Fear."

"Mhm… that's what we thought…", Aldus mumbled.

"OK. Clear your mind or think happy thoughts before we go to the next one…", Vesper told me. "You have one minute."

Vesper closed her eyes and took deep breaths, and I could see that her shoulders relaxed. It seems that feeling my fear impacted her as well.

"For the next one…", Vesper drawled. "Think about the incident in the dungeon, the one with the werewolf…"

I understood that this is my cue to think about the lab and Krob. After I spent some time with him, it was difficult to think about him as dangerous, but I did my best to recollect the moment when I opened my eyes in the lab and he was standing in front of me, staring at me with his completely black eyes, his dry cracked skin, mouth opening to show me a void…

"Fear…", I heard Vesper say and she let go of my hand.

Aldus gave me a small smile, silently encouraging me. I must admit that having him by my side put me at ease, but still… I was not convinced that Vesper has any power to feel what I'm feeling. She heard descriptions of both incidents, and it should be normal that I experienced fear.

"OK. Last one. The fair and the puppy…", Vesper said when she placed her hand back on the table.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as soon as our hands connected.

This one was the easiest out of three to recollect. I could hear the noise from the fair and the scent of grilled seafood… a puppy… Aldus telling me how the puppy will die… mortals perishing… heartbreaks…

"Fear…", Vesper's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Are you sure?", I asked Vesper suspiciously. I was confident that it's sadness.

Vesper shook her hand violently like she is trying to shake something off. "I can confirm that what you experienced just now was fear."

I was not willing to accept that result. In that alley was one dirty puppy, Aldus, and me. I'm not afraid of Aldus, and that puppy was pitiful, not scary. "No. I was looking at the puppy in the alley and Aldus was telling me how the puppy will die and how he watched others perish in front of him, and I was sad because of that."

"Maybe you were sad at that point, but right now, I only sensed fear.", Vesper said. Her lips lifted into a knowing smile. "There is a way to confirm."

"How?", I asked, ignoring Aldus's frown.

Vesper reached to the side and placed a crystal ball in the middle of the table. The sphere was slightly smaller than a regular volleyball and it was filled with tiny clouds that moved slowly.

"With this, I can see things clearly, from your perspective...", Vesper said to me and then glanced up. "Or from Aldus's perspective, as he was there."

I understood that this is the point of Vesper looking into the past. Aldus mentioned this before, so it was not unexpected. I looked at the crystal ball with curiosity and a bit of skepticism. "How does this work?"

"I will need a part of you. A nail or a strand of hair…"

"Absolutely not!", Aldus cut off Vesper.

Vesper made a face. "How protective."

Aldus narrowed his eyes at Vesper. "Isn't there something less permanent that you can use?"

Vesper pursed her lips and pretended to think. "Sure, we can always use blood."

"Fine."

Vesper was visibly surprised by how easily Aldus agreed to this, and so was I.

It took me a few seconds to connect the dots. Aldus asked for something 'less permanent' than nails and hair which means that Vesper could use that for more than just peering into the past, probably after we leave.

My blood is a different thing because numerous experiments proved that when my blood leaves my body unless preserved in a special way that Aldus perfected, my cells start attacking each other and within minutes, nothing is left.

I nodded in agreement with Aldus.

Vesper's eyes moved from Aldus to me a few times, as if she expected us to change our mind.

"Alright…", Vesper said and put on the table a paper while handing me a pen. "Write down the location and time of the event, as close as possible. You will need to focus on what the crystal ball shows, and make sure that is the exact scene… Since I will see the event and have parts of you, I will be able to experience what you did at that time without your current input. Aldus, you will focus on the images shown and help me navigate if I need to adjust location or time…"

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