Chapter 5

Students filed slowly out of the library, each having received their Library passes.

There was an excitement in the air with the start of a new term.

A stress-free mood reigned with the young boys and girls walking around getting accustomed to walking along the corridors of the university with no burden of assignments or lessons yet.

Professor Theodore stood away from the current of students; his shoulder leaned against a large shelf of books. He watched the lazy group of kids, scanning them for a certain tall boy; a student who had promised to speak with him before classes began.

He sighed.

He caught a slight scent of Half-myth. Someone of the students that he hadn’t yet met it seemed.

Usually, this would excite him.

Half-Myths were not common. It was extremely rare to find a Half-Myth. A scent of Half-Myth in the area would make him incredibly happy.

The professor would love to walk around and trace the scent to the person and maybe talk to the person, revealing his own Half-Myth traits and gain the friendship of the new companion.

Things had changed with the massacre that had occurred a few days ago.

Seventeen Half-Myths had been brutally murdered and the killers had declared a hunt of all the other half-breeds that walked around.

It had been chilling news to hear.

The first thing Professor Theodore had done was making certain that the two boys he had close acquaintances with were safe.

The news had left him in worry for days now. He needed a plan to make sure the Half-Myths he knew would be safe.

One thing that consoled him was that Damon would not risk the humans being made known of the existence of Mythical Creatures or Half-Myths which granted him enough weaknesses.

He would not be able to attack any Half-Myths in the sight of humans for fear that the Half-Myths’ true appearance would break out when their body fell.

Second, with Damon being a full-fledged Mythical Creature, he would have extreme difficulty changing his appearance to human as easily as the Half-Myths could. This ensured that most of his travel would have to be in the night, giving Half-Myths more time to run or to hide until the Head of Mythical Creatures stepped in to stop Damon.

The professor leaned his head back against the shelf and sighed.

For a long time, Theodore had suspected that the main council that was in charge of keeping order and safety in the Mythical Creatures Society cared very little for the welfare of Half-Myths. This most likely had to do with a good majority of the Council being Elven members.

The man closed his eyes, his chest constricting with painful memories.

Most times, it wasn’t very easy being a Half-Myth. It was harder still for a Mythical Creature who was married to a human, to ever be truly welcomed back by the rest of his family.

His mother had gone through much but Theodore had walked into the human world to gain their approval instead, although the humans did not know of his Half-Myth identity.

“Excuse me.”

Theodore jerked back from his thoughts.

He looked down to see two young students with polite smiles.

The professor smiled back at the girls, “Yes?”

The two seemed giddy with excitement by the looks of their hands gripping the straps of their bags and their eyes, sparkling with happiness.

 He watched the taller, blond student speak up, “We’ve missed our Library passes! We got them only a few minutes ago! Any chance we can get them issued again?”

Theodore blinked.

The tone just did not match the words.

At least, the other girl by her side showed a tiny bit of embarrassment.

“Well,” he pushed away from the book shelf to stand to his full height, “I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem. Maybe after classes end for the day? I don’t think we’ll have any more time to in the morning.”

The two nodded, seeming to be happy that they would get their Library Passes at all.

The professor watched the students leave before looking around.

The scent was still around.

He wondered how he would trace the person and hopefully make a quick acquaintance with them.

Placing a hand to his forehead, he sighed again. A slight ache was starting to form with the stress.

Concealing Half-Myth scents would be difficult without proper materials.

He wondered how he would possibly keep the two students he knew, safe from Damon and his murderous friends.

Daryl skipped along beside Beryl, knowing the happy attitude was slowly getting on her pretty brunette friend’s nerves.

“Okay, how-,” Beryl turned to glare at Daryl as the two made it up a flight of stairs, “do you lose the Library Passes five minutes after we get them?”

Daryl shrugged, “I don’t know, Ber. I was definitely holding on to them when we left the library-“

“Daryl, seriously? We’re off to a great start already!”

Daryl rolled her eyes, “The kind professor said we’d get them in the evening. No big deal.”

The blond bit her lip in amusement as her friend silently fumed beside her.

As the girls continued to make it up the stairs, Daryl paused when she saw a boy walk past them.

He had one of the most handsome faces she had ever seen. Gorgeous, blond hair swept across the forehead, he had dark eyes, sharp features and a strong jaw. He had a lean physique and a regal aura.

“Daryl, you’re drooling.”

She blinked; standing midway up the stairs, realizing the boy had sped past them.

Beryl gave her an annoyed look with a hand on her hip.

Daryl smiled, looking a little embarrassed, “Did you see that guy just now?”

Beryl rolled her eyes.

“I did. We all did. You stopped walking and stared at him for a whole minute. Everyone saw that too.”

Daryl ruffled her blond hair, letting out a sheepish laugh, “Oh yeah?”

Beryl’s lips curled into an amused smile, “It did feel like a prince was walking by.”

Daryl laughed as she stalked up the stairs, still embarrassed, feet making an extra noise on the ground, “Didn’t it?”

Beryl smiled, following her up the stairs.

“Please get it together, Daryl.”

“Beryl, I’m fine!”

Ethan walked into class, looking for his friend.

He hadn’t had enough time to see the professor like he’d wanted.

The gorgeous blond caught sight of his friend, Abel, slumped in the back, a hood covering his head.

Ethan sighed.

His friend always walked around like a fugitive.

Making his way up the small steps that lined the seats, Ethan smiled politely at anyone who stared at him.

Most blushed and turned away with the occasional still staring without acknowledging his smile at all.

Sliding into his seat beside Abel, he sighed as he placed his bag down on the table.

“Hey.”

Abel looked over to nod, the green streak in his hair prominent, “Hey.”

“I want to speak with the professor today. Probably after classes end.”

Abel quirked an eyebrow, “What about?”

Ethan sighed, pulling out a book and a couple of pens, “My family is very worried about my safety. They’ve heard of the murders.”

Abel was quiet for a few seconds before he answered, “Mine have too. They’re not too bothered.”

Ethan sighed, “How are merpeople so calm all the time.”

“On the contrary,” a corner of Abel’s mouth lifted in a dry smile, “They have too much going on underwater to worry about what goes on overhead until it reaches them.”

“But, you’re overhead!”

Abel nodded, looking away, “They aren’t too bothered yet. Merpeople are trained to fight growing up.”

Ethan frowned, concerned, “You can’t fight all by yourself.”

Abel shrugged, “I’m sure we’ll be fine. Professor Theo’s problem. He’ll find a way to keep us safe.”

The blond boy nodded again, still looking worried, “He’s probably working something out now… Okay. What about professor Dorothy?”

Abel made a face, “I really don’t like her.”

Ethan rolled his eyes at his tall friend, “We all know that. You make it very clear when she’s around.”

“I can’t just smile at her when I don’t like her.”

Ethan sighed before raking a hand through his hair, eyebrows still furrowed in worry, “Come with me to see the professor later.”

Abel nodded before he paused.

“Oops. I think I told him I’d see him in the library this morning.”