Author's Preface
When Casimir woke up, the first thing he did was check his watch. He sighed in relief. I should still be able to catch him.
The chattering of students and their shadows moving past the curtains around his bed also clued Casimir in that not much time had passed. He felt his Aether heart pulsing against his hand, the dull pain that was once there, only a memory.
I should not linger here much longer. He pushed the curtains aside and hopped out of bed.
“You’re finally up!” Tristan’s voice came from his bedside.
Casimir walked around the bed and saw Tristan sitting in a chair with an open pattern book in his lap.
“Tristan?”
“I just wanted to check on you. Are you feeling better?”
Casimir nodded and snuck a glance at Nurse Feverfew calmly prepping a stout brunette student for a shot. Finally, he made his way to the exit.
Tristan followed him in step. “Alistair also stopped by to visit.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No, he just looked at you and left.”
“That sounds like him.”
Tristan leaned over and whispered. “So, how is the investigation going? I understand if you weren’t able to do much because of your injury.”
“I should be able to make some progress soon. I’ll keep you posted.”
Once they bade each other goodbye, Casimir headed to Sully’s office but found him at the front desk conversing with Merritt.
Casimir groaned. This blighter is everywhere than where he needs to be… out of my way.
Merritt leaned in closer to the desk, his voice filled with intrigue. “So what did you do next?”
“Well,” Sully gave Casimir a cursory glance before casually resting his arm on the counter. “I scared the devil out of him, and he ran into his room screaming bloody murder.”
“Did he really think a door would keep you out?”
Sully smiled and shrugged. He looked at Casimir and motioned with his eyes to go. “Don’t know, most criminals are stupid and superstitious.”
“Yeah, my dad says the same thing.”
Casimir turned back down the hallway. I guess I’ll meet up with him later.
***
That night, Casimir stared up at the ceiling of his dorm room as he lay in bed. He shifted on his side and glanced at the glowing green face of his clock, midnight. This should be a good time to snoop.
He heard something tap on the window, then it opened, letting a cool breeze and snow enter his room. Casimir braced himself, and against his better judgment, he activated his Aether heart, but could only sense Cornelius sleeping in the other room.
Sully’s head poked through the window, and he held a finger up to his lips. “Shh.”
Casimir internally sighed with relief. It’s just Sully.
Carefully, Sully maneuvered himself off Casimir’s desk and shut the window. “Sorry about earlier, my apprentice needed me.” He shook the snow off his black trench coat.
“Shouldn’t you be finding and eliminating any threats to me instead of crowing to Merritt?” Casimir grumbled.
Sully gave him a mischievous smile. “Aww, is my baby cousin jealous?”
Casimir clenched his teeth. “Noo!”
Sully chuckled and pulled out the chair from Casimir’s desk and sat down. “Now what was it that you wanted to discuss with me?”
“Did you hear from Uncle?”
“Yes, he says it sounds like someone used Liquid Manipulation to spread Off-White C as an aerosol, using the mist as a cover. As I said before, it is not something easily available. Master Iker agrees with me that the criminal has some government ties.”
“So the Salamanders?”
“Yes, they specialize in pharmaceuticals and have the means and resources to produce them. Many of the staff here are linked to them. The chancellor might not be the mastermind, but we need to find out who recommended the new faculty to him. I doubt it was his sole decision.”
Casimir rubbed his chin. If Chancellor Salamander is involved, then that would explain why Cornelius looked guilty after he informed me about him at his uncle’s meeting. “Should I ask Cornelius?”
“Only if the opportunity arises, otherwise, I would not risk it. It is unlikely he is involved, but he might tip someone in his family off if you press him too hard and ruin a beneficial alliance.”
Casimir nodded. “Now, what would their motive be before killing off commoner students?”
“I can think of a couple of reasons, but first, we must take a look at our suspects. Other than Hadrian and that nurse, who sticks out to you?”
“Professor Awldriver, I could not find a toad big enough to grab Bryson, nor one that has strangely human-like hands. Also, I find it funny how there is another death involving the alchemy department.”
Sully rose from his seat. “Very well, who shall we investigate first?”
“The last person who saw Bryson alive.”
***
Several minutes later, Sully and Casimir crept through the long shadows that stretched across the hall of the main building. When they reached the infirmary, Sully checked before motioning for Casimir to follow.
“We need to be fast.” Sully narrowed his eyes, his scrutinizing gaze scanned over the vacant beds and dark corners of the room. “I can’t hold this Aether masking field as long as Master Iker.”
“I will put more effort into learning Aether Suppression.”
“Think about that later.” Sully passed Casimir a flashlight. “You’ll check the nurse’s desk. I’ll look around back.”
Casimir studied the antique secretary desk. It was clear of paper, and all of its drawers were locked. He slipped his hand into his coat pocket, pulling out his lockpicking kit, then worked the lock until he heard it click open.
Inside was a patient log. Casimir looked for Bryson’s name and found his three entries. One for his first check-up, the second when he injured his hand from the explosion, and the third after the frog incident. None of the drugs she listed here is out of the ordinary. But then again, she would be stupid to write it down if it was.
It was the same for his, Tristan’s, Merritt’s, and Cornelius’ files. All of their check-ups were meticulously recorded. She gave me Halocin for my Aether heart, and took spinal fluid from me, huh?
Casimir pulled out his subminiature camera and took pictures of the files before returning it to the drawer.
A side panel with an inlaid iron owl caught his eye, so he gently knocked on it and listened for secret compartments. Bingo!
He felt around the owl and pushed down on the button, releasing the lock mechanism on the panel and sliding it off, revealing yet another locked drawer. He picked the lock and opened it, finishing the action by pulling out a wooden container of unmarked brown bottles of solution, and underneath it was a notebook. “Sully, I found something.”
Sully closed the cabinets and joined Casimir at the desk. He picked up one of the bottles. “Interesting.”
“I could not find any label or hint of what this is.” Casimir flipped through the notebook.
It is written in code, and some of the entries are crossed out. And the dates… Casimir’s face turned grim.
Sully turned open the lid and weaved a square pattern. He frowned slightly. “Hmm, I’ve handled a solution like this before.”
“What is it? Is it something illegal?”
“No, no, but it is Somuthane, a common anesthetic used for surgeries. This isn’t too out of the ordinary. You might use it to knock out an agitated patient.”
He returned the bottle to the crate. “What about the notebook?”
“It is written in code, but I’m certain that in the left column are students’ names and next to it are dates, all coinciding with the blood drawing. She already has it recorded in the patient log, so why keep a copy of it in code unless she is hiding something?”
Sully narrowed his eyes. “I want to check something. Come here.”
Casimir followed Sully away from the desk to a side door near the interior wall. They stepped inside a small, tidy lab. There was a long white counter against the wall, holding a microscope, various trays, petri dishes, and vials. Both above and below it was more cabinet space.
Sully headed straight for a locked fridge, and after unlocking it, he began searching through the vials of blood Nurse Feverfew collected. “I saw yours earlier… There it is.”
Casimir looked at the tray containing his blood sample and was immediately alarmed. “Only one is here, but she took eight from me, and according to the log, she only processed one vial for a test.”
“Now check the notebook.”
Casimir scanned through the entries and found two with the same date and a missing number of vials. This supposed name matches the same number of letters as mine. “I believe I found it.”
Sully glanced at the entry. “We are going to have to decipher her notes to make sure they are missing due to poor bookkeeping and not for something else.”
“Was my spinal fluid in there?”
“No.” Sully closed the fridge. “We should get going before she pops in and catches us.”
After Casimir took pictures, they locked everything back up and left the nurse’s office exactly how it once was.
Sully held out his hand, and Casimir passed him his camera. “I will contact Master Iker, but we are going to have everything analyzed here.”
“What is the next step?” Casimir followed Sully down the corridor, heading to the back entrance.
“I’ll process the photos and decipher the code, and you will keep an eye on Tristan. I fear he might be their next target; all of his vials were missing.”
Casimir frowned. “Would they be bold enough to go after the friend of the victim, so soon? If that conversation I overheard was about that, even Feverfew sounded apprehensive about it.”
“It is just a precaution. We know he is next, we just don’t know when.”
Casimir nodded, and they parted ways.