How was someone as weak as me supposed to stop him? He was human, but that was what made him so unpredictable.
I hadn't told Grace anything because she never let me finish, and I also could never discuss this crazy fanatic with Erik.
The thought of Erik made me open my laptop absent-mindedly.
We would meet. Here in Blairville. I would see him. He would see me…
My stomach began to tingle in a strange way, and I could feel my fingertips getting colder. I gritted my teeth and shoved my hands under the table.
What was wrong with me? Couldn't I just be happy that this meeting might take our friendship to a new level? What if I did manage to have a normal friendship with him, just like other Quatura did with humans? What if I was simply overreacting? What if I was able to keep these two lives well apart?
Deep down, I knew what I was afraid of. That he wouldn't like the real Julie, that my personality would repel him and that I wouldn't be able to keep these two sides apart because I would risk putting all my weight on his shoulders, breaking down in front of him and maybe even hurting him with my magic.
“Neuropathic pain, muscle weakness...” the professor's far too pleasant deep voice rang out, bringing me back to the present.
The girls had already scurried to their seats, and he had walked around his table, to the front, leaning against it and, as always, rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt.
On purpose, I tried not to stare at his forbiddingly handsome veins, but my gaze landed on his gray vest, wandering further up over his tie to his neck.
“Paralysis, seizures...”
I swallowed as his sharp Adam's apple moved as he spoke, and I wanted to slap myself for not being able to take my eyes off his skin.
“...and psychiatric symptoms such as disorientation, anxiety and hallucinations.”
He stopped rolling up his sleeves and crossed his arms, putting one foot over the other and looking around the seminar room with expectation.
“What did I just list?”
Amber's arm shot up.
Professor Tiberius nodded at her.
“Neurobiological symptoms.”
He nodded with satisfaction. “Right, Miss Smith.”
I almost rolled my eyes at this remarkable accomplishment, but controlled myself and forced my eyes on my laptop, where I opened my notes program.
“They are triggered by disease,” the professor continued. “I've brought you the example of porphyria.”
He walked around the table to his laptop to open the PowerPoint.
“Porphyria is a rare genetic metabolic disorder in which enzyme defects lead to an excessive accumulation of porphyrins in nerve cells.”
I started taking notes. And even though I would have preferred it if Mr. Suspicious had put the PowerPoint up for us the day before so that we could prepare ourselves optimally, I liked learning by taking notes.
“In ancient times, certain diseases such as porphyria or xeroderma pigmentosum contributed to rumors and legends about vampirism because these diseases caused skin sensitivity to sunlight.”
I looked up, startled. Perhaps a little too startled, because the professor was looking directly at me, as if he wanted to observe my reaction. His expression was unclear to me.
In the corner of my eye, I earned a warning glance from Amber and David next to me leaned in slightly to whisper, “Make it more obvious, Quatura girl.”
Was I that easy to read?
Oh man, I really wasn't qualified to take care of the Mr. Suspicious problem. I would probably even betray my own kind if I continued to react so conspicuously to his theories.
“Today we know that there are no supernatural beings,” Professor Tiberius continued, and my pulse wanted to calm down, but he went on. “At least, they deny it.” He gave the class a challenging, almost sly look. A look that gave me goose bumps. “But just because something hasn't been proven doesn't mean it doesn't exist.”
I bit my lower lip and looked at Amber, who also seemed to be looking at the professor with irritation. Then I looked behind to Noah, who was sitting there with his legs apart, just staring at the professor. Even David stared at him. They all sensed that something was wrong with this man, but no one dared to say anything.
Damn... If I didn't do anything, then...
The professor wanted to continue, but I was quicker.
“So, you're encouraging us to turn conspiracy theories into scientific hypotheses?”
For once, my voice didn't break, but I felt the cold returning to my fingers, so I slipped them under my legs.
Mr. Suspicious pulled up the right corner of his mouth, showing one of his dimples.
And I hated myself for the warmth in my cheeks.
“In fact, I encourage you to question the very things that society minimizes or labels as untrue.” He looked around the room. “All the creatures of legend: Witches, vampires, werewolves... All these myths have their origins somewhere and if you take a closer look at these topics with the help of science, you will quickly realize that behind every so-called conspiracy theory...” He looked at me again. “...there is a truth.”
Great, Julie. Now he was building a castle of arguments on top of your rescue attempt. And there was only one way to bring down this castle of sand.
“Don't you think it's unscientific, after so much evidence against the existence of such creatures and things, to still insist on it and link a subject like neurobiology to mythology?”
