Footsteps were heard in the gallery outside the door, and the heart stopped for a moment. The fear of being caught right at the scene of the crime responded with a tingling sensation in the spine and a whole horde of goosebumps on the back. Now, in the next moment, the round brass knob will turn and…
No, it’s gone… Whoever it was, he passed by, glory to the Dark One!
Wait a few more seconds and you’re ready to get down to business.
A tiny light flashed on the fingertips, illuminating a piece of the surrounding space. It’s hard to see, of course, but the Guards can react to something more serious. If they’re on display here at all. Meadowill was an old asshole, he could have lied.
Never mind, step by step…
Over there, in that corner, in the center of the map…
Closer… And a little more…
There is so much rubbish here: not the office of the vice-rector, but some kind of warehouse! You’ll catch something, you’ll knock it down… Everybody will run in at once.
A speck of light danced on the wall. The hand went higher, almost touching Lake Sol, so realistically depicted on the oak panel. Yes! It is here!
A small voice began to weave incantations, their ornate, sparkling paths following the movements of fingers over the glass waves.
After a few minutes, which seemed like hours, as usual, a shimmering greenish spot began to loom beneath the blue surface. With each word spoken, it took on a more pronounced form, and soon it lit up in an even pattern of tangled spirals and angles. The Stamp of Rennes! Here it is! So, it’s all true…
The heart skipped a beat.
The last sentence slipped from the lips almost inaudibly.
The Stamp flickered and went out, leaving a black hole the width of a fist in its place.
Damn it, what if there’s a guard inside?!
The palms were sweating, but there was no time for fear.
The hand quickly sank into the hole and immediately came back. The fingers gripped the small figure tightly, its sharp curves ready to cut through the skin.
However, the pain didn’t matter.
Got it…
The second semester at Azuin-up-Farinech promised to be hot.
Yes, I knew very well that it was already the first month of winter, but for some reason I was sure that I would not notice the cold.
Hah! For some reason… We know why. More precisely, from whom…
Erchin Mavinus is our new professor of monstrology.
Cold, arrogant, snarky ass…
Yes… ass… His ass is what you need…
Here we go again!
I shook my head, pushing away the obsessive thoughts about the professor’s figure.
And why is the world so unfair?! Why couldn’t this guy be a lousy old man or a nice aunt like Ginnessa?
He walks around the faculty, smiling. The girls are just admired him. I wouldn’t be surprised if some guys are too…
I remembered our first meeting. It was impossible to imagine that it would have turned out worse than it actually was three months ago.
***
The noise outside the door caught my attention, and I went out to see who was making a mess on the first day of the school year. Jerry, the devil would have taken him away. Jerry missed the swinech again.
And, of course, who did this drooling and slime monster rush to? Naturally, to the owner of the chotta. To me, that is. What is it that attracts so many different animals to each other that even the smell makes them lose their heads? Who would have known? But the result is always the same.
With a screech and an excited grunt, the swinech flew straight at me, knocking down the gaping students.
I pressed myself against the wall, bracing myself for the inevitable. I was saved from the miserable fate of being licked from head to toe by someone’s brief call. The beast stopped dead in its tracks, just half a meter from my knees. It snorted and twitched loudly, looking annoyed, but it didn’t move.
Looking up from the blunt-eared gray muzzle staring at me, I finally got a look at my savior. My mouth parted, but I couldn’t get a sound out and just stared silently at the man approaching.
Saint Ignalia! I think I have a fever… overheated by the fireplace, no less…
Gray, no, silvery eyes under the whimsically curved arches of the eyebrows looked straight into the soul… And, I wouldn’t be surprised, they saw all my thoughts… very, very dirty thoughts, so that their…
His blue-black hair, styled in a smooth wave, and day-old stubble framed his chin and cheekbones. Broad shoulders, slim waist and endless legs. A well-tailored gray suit is also a rare phenomenon within the walls of our university. In general, I think I was not the only one whose mouth watered.
Speaking of drooling…
The handsome man held out his hand to me and said:
«Erchin Mavinus.»
…He took a step, slipped and fell under my feet, burying his face straight… right to me… In general, lower than the abdomen… ahem…
At the same moment, he abruptly pulled away and jumped up, leaving me with trembling knees and wet panties.
His convulsive apologies, as well as the laughter of those around us, I remember very vaguely. At that moment, all I could see was his head between my legs. Damn, this is something I’ll never forget.
