In less than two hours, we’re back at the house with a few bags full of vegetables, starches and some meat—all of which set me back quite a fewslovas.
Moe busies herself in the kitchen, taking the items out of the bags and arranging them on the shelves while I mentally do some calculations for my remaining budget. With her weekly wage and household expenses…
Damn it!My salary alone won’t be able to cover everything, and the last thing I want is to tell Moe she must buy cheaper items. No, that’s out of the question. So I must find a different way to solve this issue.
My short vacationcomes to an end—far too soon. Yet despite the fact that I was at home all day, my interactions with Moe were limited. Somehow wenevercrossed ways around the house aside from meal-times, which is quite unfortunate. I had hoped we could spend some more time together so we could get to know each other better.
I don’t want to force the issue, though, and make her feel uncomfortable. So I’ll have to wait until a better opportunity comes along.
For now, I’m back at work as usual.
As I arrive at the War Department, I’m instructed to go get another check-up by the healer.
“Nykander, welcome! How have you been?” Kendra, the healer, greets me.
“Good. My vision is back to normal.”
“That’s great to hear. Let me do a quick check up for you,” she says and motions for me to sit down on the exam chair.
“I’ve inquired with some colleagues about the seal and so far none of them have any knowledge of how to undo it. However, there was one colleague who thought he might knowwhatit is,” she starts.
“Really?”
“He has never seen one in real life, but he said he read about something similar, some five thousand years ago, in ancient Tartareian archives.”
“Ancient archives?” I frown. I’ve never heard of something like that before.
She nods. “The archives are controlled by the ruling house, and they contain information from hundreds of thousands yearsago. Unfortunately, they are not open to the public and it is very hard to get approval to read them even if you’re a scholar. The person in question was doing research on something different so he only glimpsed those files.”
My lips flatten into a thin line. My mother must have had access to those archives to use the seal on me, but saying that would betray my connection with the House of Jubal.
“His advice was to either try to apply for clearance to view the archives or to find a scholar who works with old rituals.”
“Both options sound rather difficult.”
“I know,” she mentions with a sad smile. “I wish I had better news than this. But don’t give up. I’m sure we can find something in time.”
Right… In time. But how much time doIhave?
Kendra starts my check up, hovering her hands over my body from head to toe. Her brows furrow in confusion, and she looks deep in thought as she takes a step back.
“Have you been doing anything unusual lately?”
I freeze. Can she… Can she tell I used Zantrax?
“Why?” I ask hesitantly.
“The seal. There’s something different about it,” she mumbles. Still pensive, she repeats the procedure, this time slower, concentrating more on my core.
“Yes, the seal has weakened. I’m sure of it.”
“What?”
“There are cracks all around it,” she mentions. Waving her hand, she projects an image of a sphere in front of me. “This is what I see inside of you.”
“This is the seal?”
“This is how it was initially. Now it’s like this.”
