"Zoe... Maybe they don't want to know more. This is already too much for them. Their opinion matters, do they not?"
William was not wrong. Indeed, I was speaking for them without even considering how my friends might feel.
"Asarys, please talk to me," I begged her.
She looked through the skylight, thinking at that moment about what she wanted.
"I always wondered what the Dome was doing there. Okay, we were told about the risks of attacks and possible threats in California, but all the other countries are just as concerned as we are. I always felt there was something else here. The atmosphere of this state is so...unexplainable. So, yes, I want to know exactly what this is about. There's no way you're bearing that alone."
David and Lexy also agreed with her. Faïz carried both his hands to his face, understanding that he had no choice but to tell them everything.
"If that's what you want, know that everything you thought you knew so far is nothing compared to the reality of this world. Everything is much more obscure. I warned you."
This is how he began his long story. I got in the background, leaving Faïz to explain everything to them with the help of William, who completed some passages. The Callis, The Maestro, the genetic experiments that led to the birth of the first Leviathans, the Sylphs... They were spared nothing. My friends listened, absorbed by these unbelievable revelations. Then came the time to explain to them my role in this story, how I was born into this world. I had no idea what time it could be. I had lost track of time. It was William who concluded the long story.
"Now you know. You are free to believe it or not. We just ask you not to tell anyone. International security depends on it."
"On a scale of one to ten, what is our chance of getting out of this?" asked Lexy.
"I'd like to tell you ten, but that would be a lie. Time is against us," Faïz confessed.
"Is there any way to help you?" asked David.
"Yes, by staying away from all this. Get on with your lives. Now you know how important every moment is," William assured them.
"Impossible!" roared Asarys, determined not to leave it at that. "Zoe is affected by this whole thing. There's no way I'm letting her face this demon alone. Surely you don't think we're going to sit and twiddle our thumbs while Hell decimates the planet?"
We understood what we should do now with my friends. Something that weighed heavily on me was gone at that moment. I felt stronger than ever. They had each just gained a little bit of the weight I was carrying. Asarys got up from the bed and approached me.
"We won't let you go through this alone," she said, hugging me.
"I suggest we get started right away," Lexy said, motivating us. "If the answers are in this book, then we don't have a minute to waste."
She leapt to her feet, which surprised everyone. It was William who opened the Callis and all five of us stationed ourselves around him.
"Why does it shine so brightly?" asked David, surprised.
"The Callis reacts to Zoe's presence. They are linked by some kind of invisible connection," Faïz replied.
I noticed that his voice had softened. He'd finally resigned himself to teaming up with my three friends.
"Does this manuscript have to stay at the mansion? It might be easier if we could go through it somewhere else," Asarys asked.
"The Callis cannot leave this place. Outside, it would be at the mercy of The Maestro, who could easily grab it. The mansion has been protected from the forces of evil for nearly two centuries," I explained.
William flipped through it, taking care not to damage the pages. He stopped on one of them, its title written in Latin.
"Here we are, the chapter on Athanasius's rest," William whispered.
Lexy cleared her throat and added,
"Somebody explain it to me? Apart from a title on this page, there's nothing to read. Unless I'm wrong?"
My hand rested on it and lines of writing magically appeared.
"Impossible," David whispered in awe.
Asarys and Lexy were equally shocked by what they saw happening before their eyes. They understood that all this was not a waking dream. On the page strange symbols were drawn. There were words here and there in a language I didn't recognize. I turned to Faïz and William.
"Can you decipher all this?"
"I should have suspected it," William whispered, discouraged.
"Shit!" Faïz growled, hitting his fist on the desk.
"Wait, don't tell me that no one here can read or decipher this," David said, panicked.
Faïz moved back and began pacing around the room, growling,
"Damn it, it's going to take us months, maybe even years, to decipher this chapter!"
"We cannot use Cryptanalysis, or a linguist?" asked Asarys.
"The book must stay here. Bringing in someone from outside would be too dangerous," William replied.
"Time is against us," Faïz added. "This text, the human race cannot decode it. Too few people aware of the myth of the traveler and all the rest."
"Artificial intelligence," David interrupted.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"We could create an algorithm. Look!"
He pointed at the page.
"That would be the easiest way to translate all this. A code for a letter. I just need to find out what the right encryption would be. Then we would have the answers we are looking for. I can try to create a series of algorithms to first identify the language that has been used and then decrypt the texts."
"I think that would be the best solution," William said. "What do you think, Faïz?"
He thought for a moment.
"How long would all this take?" he asked.
David flipped through the book to evaluate the work that awaited him.
"Eight pages or so, I'd say three or four months."
Faïz sighed deeply, disappointed by this answer.
"It's our only chance. We have no choice," William tried to convince him. "Thank you, David."
"You're right, we have no choice," Faïz admitted. "It must be a titanic job. Try not to waste time."
"Zoe, I'm going to take pictures of the pages and start working on them as soon as I get back to campus. Put your hand on it as you did before," David asked me.
I complied, the writings and drawings reappearing on contact with my palm. David ripped the phone out of Lexy's hands and photographed the whole thing, careful not to miss anything.
"Make sure the result is readable," I said once he was finished.
"We will make an assessment before the end of the month to see what new information you have to provide us," Faïz said.
He then headed for the door. Before leaving, he turned around to us.
"We've been here for a while. There can't be many people left down there. We'd better go home, too."
William closed the Callis and left it on the desk. We went out together and undertook to retrieve our belongings, which were in one of the rooms next door. William accompanied us, while Faïz preferred to go down directly without waiting for us.
"Zoe, my brother and I are going to be away for three days in Detroit to visit our sister, Kayla. If you need to come here to consult the manuscript or even another document, the Mattew have their own keys to the mansion."
"All right, I'll remember."
We headed for the stairs. David, Lexy, and Asarys followed us.
"Perhaps we will have the opportunity to meet when I return?"
How could I explain to him without being clumsy that he should not expect to have a closer relationship with me than the one we'd already had?
"Why not try to organize something nice? In friendship, if you don't mind," I answered with some restraint.
"Don't worry, I'll make an effort to keep a good distance between us, if that's what scares you. But don't worry, I have all the time in the world," he said with a stunning smile.
I was blushing despite myself.
"Thank you."
Downstairs, the last guests were saying goodbye to the Mattew family. Lily seemed relieved to see us reappear.
"I was wondering where you had all gone!"
"There were some minor complications."
William nodded at my three friends. Lily's expression immediately changed. The Sylph's words worried her.
"We had to tell them everything," William informed her.
She took a few steps back as she watched us one after the other. Faïz and Victoria were at the other end of the room. Apparently, he was also telling her the same news.
"We had a great time tonight, my darling," Lily's mother interrupted before she left, too.
"Faïz will take you back, mom. I'll come and see you and dad later this week."
Lily then hugged her father, and it was my turn to say goodbye.
"Take care of yourself, Zoe," said Mr. Austin, hugging me.
The only ones left were us and the waiters, who were busy putting everything away as quickly as possible. Lily took me aside.
"I trust your friends, Zoe, but I don't want them to put themselves in danger because of us."
"I promise you I'll spare them as much as possible."
"Zoe, Mrs. Mattew!" called Lexy. "We're going to go. It's getting late."
"I am coming with you," I told her. "Lily, we'll see you in Elora."
"Yes. Tomorrow, after church, we'll take the time to talk about this again."
I went to kiss Victoria by holding her tightly against me, then my friends and I headed for the exit. William took the trouble to escort us to the gate. When he opened the front door, Asarys started to growl.
"Damn stairs! I really don't have the courage to walk through this right now."
"Move it, Asarys, don't count on me to carry you!" Lexy grumbled.
I said goodbye to William and wished him a pleasant stay in Detroit. He seemed to let me go reluctantly.
The heat in the air surprised me. I had almost forgotten it, despite a lower temperature than when we had arrived. We made it, silent, in front of our two cars parked one behind the other. Faïz had already left the premises to drop off his grandparents. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him again since we'd come down from William's room.
"Let's just enjoy being the four of us. If you have any questions before we separate, let me know."
"For my part, Faïz and William explained everything perfectly," Asarys replied.
"I agree with you," Lexy said. "We'll probably have some questions in the next few days. Give us time to assimilate what we just learned."
Then I turned to David, who suddenly seemed uncomfortable.
"I was just wondering...if...if men with superhuman strength are real, as well as elves, demons, and so on...in short, does Edward Cullen exist, too?"
Lexy began to rant,
"Vampires? Are you kidding, David? Fuck off, we're in the real world! Leave your vampire and werewolf stories in your head."
David looked dismayed, not knowing what to think about all this. I refrained from laughing. The situation was ludicrous. Asarys added,
"Take care of translating the manuscript, David, while keeping your feet firmly on the ground. We're not in a fiction here. It's unbelievable to say such crap!"
He raised his arms to the heavens before adding,
"No, but I'm dreaming."
The girls went to get in the Bentley and left him like that. I approached him to give him a on the cheek.
"Your question is a legitimate one. I'm sorry to break your heart, but Edward Cullen doesn't exist. Good night."
"All I have to do now is go home and mope around in my bed," he told me in a tired tone. "Get home safe, Zoe. Good luck with your job on Monday."
The evening ended in a way I'd never imagined. My friends were aware of everything. Well, there was just a thing or two I had preferred to keep to myself. Indeed, I considered it was not necessary to tell them about the existence of the Banshees, nor even that one of them had predicted my death, or that of someone else around me. I intended to reverse the curse. I had not told them about Gurt and Meriden either, the two dogs whose mission was to close the doors of evil. Lily had made me understand that not everything was to be taken literally. We left in the middle of that hot night, the excitement of the last few hours subsiding. Deep down, I was angry at myself for being responsible for the loss of my friends' carelessness. Now, nothing would be the same as before.
I dropped Victoria off in front of her high school. Faïz was away at the beginning of this week. In addition to verifying Virgil's statements, Inspector Barthey had called him urgently shortly before. Graham had reportedly been spotted in a motel located in the Nevada Desert, not far from Las Vegas. This information reinforced Faïz's idea that there was indeed something going on there. Not knowing with whom he could be with, or even what he was planning, Barthey preferred to take precautions and limit the damage to Faïz by his side.
"Thank you, Zoe," Victoria said with a smile before getting out of the Mustang.
Her boyfriend, Jonathan, was waiting for her in the parking lot. The young man's physique had all the characteristics of the American type, with his haircut at the top of the class! He greeted me from afar.
"I will pick you up later," I said to her at the last moment before she closed her door.
Her head reappeared in the car.
"If you don't mind, I'd rather you pick me up directly from the cafeteria at your university. I need to consult your library. The one at the high school is sorely lacking in books, and I have to finish a presentation for next week."
"All right, wait for me at 5:00 p.m. in the cafeteria, then. If you change your plans, call me. Have a good day. See you later."
She ran, impatient, to the one who made her heart beat. As for me, I hurried to my office building.
During the drive, I thought about tonight. I was so excited at the idea of having my first date with Faïz. Yesterday, I'd taken the opportunity to carefully choose the outfit I would wear for this occasion, with butterflies in my stomach. The weather would become overcast and the sky rumbling, but nothing could spoil my good mood. Stopped at a red light, with my hands on the wheel, I looked up at the clouds, which were almost a terrifying black. They even covered the Dome, which seemed to have disappeared.
Once parked in the basement of the press house, I rushed to the premises as quickly as possible. In the lobby, I said a furtive hello to the security guards and the receptionist. On the double, I reached my desk. I sighed, relieved to arrive on time at my workstation.
"Ah, Zoe, you're here!"
My boss, obviously eager to see me, threw herself at me.
"So how was your stay in New York? Did you do a good job?" she asked without embarrassing herself with politeness.
"Hello, Mrs. Bonny. I prepared a first draft of the article yesterday. I would like to first check this with Agustin and then put it on your desk, say, at the end of the day?"
"Perfect. For your information, there is a service meeting at 1:00 p.m. You will have to prepare the room for me, as well as the material I asked you in the email this morning."
"It will be done."
When Mrs. Bonny walked away, I put my jacket on my office chair and put my bag underneath. My colleague, Dillan, arrived a few minutes after me, soaked.
"You're lucky Zoe, you avoided the worst. Outside, it's pouring rain."
"Gee, I didn't think to bring an umbrella!" I sighed as I thought of my hair.
"You're not the only one."
He pointed at other colleagues who arrived in poor condition. The news had mentioned all weekend that the weather would take a turn for the worse. However, bad weather was so rare in Los Angeles that few had taken it seriously.
"With these gigantic, devastating fires, the city needed it. This is the first time we've been happy to have such a flood," Dillan added.
It was true that the natural disaster had already killed dozens of people, a sad toll in just a few days. I grabbed my handset and dialed Agusti
n's number, but no one answered. I then looked at the large clock on the wall, rather surprised that he had not yet arrived. Indeed, it was not his style to be late, so I decided to go directly to his office to look for him. I strode along the room, looking around in case I saw him. I was amazed to find his office empty. I addressed his young colleague at the next desk, an African American woman, radiant with a smile that revealed a row of simply perfect teeth.
"Excuse me, do you know what time Agustin starts today?"
"He's stuck in traffic jams. The streets are beginning to turn into a real wading pool. The roads are difficult."
"Well, I'm going to have to deal with it," I sighed, accepting the shock.
"Maybe I can help you? Just tell me what you needed."
"I needed him to proofread and format an article I did in New York last week."
"Come bring it to me, I'll do it for you."
I went to get my flash drive from my things. I was happy that Agustin had been blocked by the rain. I found Clara much more likable and pleasant. When I returned to her office, I settled next to her. Without delay, she began to read the work I had done in the past few days.
We had been working all morning and lunchtime arrived at full speed without me noticing. We only had a couple of things left to refine on my article before presenting it to my chief editor.
"I'm going to go eat with colleagues. Do you want to come with us?"
"Some other time. I'm going to eat on the go because I have to prepare for a meeting. Thank you for your help."
"Okay, let's do this another time. Good luck!"
Upstairs was practically empty, and the fact that it was dark today made the place look different. Daylight could not penetrate the heavy rain and cloud layer. I went back to my office and checked my phone. A message from Faïz was waiting for me. I hurried to open it.
Still in the desert, but don't worry, I'll be back as agreed for tonight. You haven't changed your mind?
I couldn't help but flaunt a blissful smile on my lips. I now considered myself a couple with the one I had been waiting for for so long. I answered without delay.
DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend Page 28