The Rede Breaker

Chapter 23: Visions

I choose a pair of black and white checkered slim fit pants with a black turtleneck to wear with my first official meeting with Dean Jaffe. I get a little research done with my book before it is time for me to head to campus.

I dread sending an ignis to Aria about the scope of the situation, but there is no way I'm telling her the demon pierced the living world in person.

Collins is curled up on my bed as I head out. A quick stop at Moonpetal soothes my need for coffee before I head over to campus.

My stomach settles as I arrive on campus. I'm halfway across campus, leaving the quad, when I spot Diego walking towards me. He is coming from the direction of the dorms, beyond the science building.

We meet in the middle of the quad.

Diego is a walking endorsement for a life of crime. He is wearing a white button-up with a pair of beige slacks. His gun holster sticks from his pocket with a black pistol in the clasp.

He makes me want to get arrested.

His scruffy jaw makes him look gruffer than usual. He examines me closely before nodding in what appears to be approval.

"You look very professional. I'd gladly take a course here if the teachers look this good." He says.

His obvious flirtation throws me for a loop. I'm not wearing anything noteworthy. In fact, I feel underdressed for my meeting. His attention is nebulous. I am still angry at him about his attack on Archer, but I also like the compliments.

"Detective Asshole. What're you doing here? Are you using your badge to pick up coeds again?"

"Whoa! I see someone's still pissed at me. Look, I'm sorry for asking Tereso about his cult."

"One, his friends are not a cult. Two, you didn't ask him much. You interrogated him and, very nastily, insinuated he was a party to the many crimes that go on in this town."

"I wasn't that bad."

"Diego, you led him to a wall and handed him and blindfold."

"Fine. Next time I see him, I'll apologize. Does that make us good?"

"What do you care if we're good?"

"I have my reasons."

I am rushed by an unsettling feeling. It covers me like slime. Diego's reasons are as clear as glass to me and I find it strange. Though, I find it strange that anyone is attracted to me, let alone more than one man.

Guys are suddenly falling over each other in my presence.

Maybe it's pheromones.

"You never did answer my question. Exactly what are you doing here?" I ask.

Diego shifts on his heels. "Well, I'm not exactly supposed to tell you. It's official police business, civilian."

"Ah, so it has something to do with Nanoki?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe if you were a tad bit nicer to me, I'd tell you."

I can't help but roll my eyes at him as I decide to abandon the conversation. As I pass him, Diego grabs my arm. I glance at his hand clutching my arm and he recoils, raising his hands in surrender.

"Hey, look, I may have gone too far with how Tereso, but weird crap happens at Shadowfield. If you're going to make moon eyes at the guy, just keep your eyes open. Be careful with him."

"Noted and appreciated. But I'm tougher than I look. And I've got mace now."

Diego is perplexed by the comment as I leave him standing in the quad. I jog to Dean Jaffe's office to make it on time.

Pam greets me with a smile and tells me the Dean is currently in a meeting. I take a seat in a chair along the wall and patiently wait my turn.

The door finally opens and Dean Jaffe shows a couple out of his office.

It is not hard to sense something is off with the couple. The woman has an ethereal glow about her. In a tight red dress, her slender frame is on full display. Her form is too perfect to be real.

I can't tell if it's magic or surgery.

Her long, straight Auburn hair has blonde highlights under a wide-brimmed hat. She slides a pair of designer sunglasses over her turquoise eyes.

The man with her is wearing a black suit with red accents and a blood red button-up. His thin mustache makes him look like the classic villain from an early black-and-white movie. His undercut is slicked back in a way only stars from the golden age of film would wear their hair.

The two are aware of me the moment they step out of his office. They act as if it is impossible not to see me, as if I am some mythic being that should not be walking or breathing.

The wife is the first to break her gaze beneath the sunglasses. She breaks her husband's gaze as she clasps his hand and nods politely at me. The two disappear around the corner.

Pam seems put off by their presence. Her upbeat personality returns when they are gone.

She is not the only one. I realize I have been holding my breath the entire time. The two of them are haunting and a bit frightening.

"Parker!" Dean Jaffe booms. He shakes my hand hard enough to pull me to my feet. "Sorry about that! I know you're new here, so you may not have met them, but that is the illustrious mayor and his exquisite wife. They have been very interested in your demonstration and wanted to discuss a curriculum for the course."

"Oh. That was the mayor. Explains a lot, actually."

"You'll meet them another time. Come in!"

Dean Jaffe leads me into his office. I shake off the strange feeling the mayor and his wife gave me as my anxiety returns.

Dean Jaffe explains the mayor is excited to see the curriculum for the course. We take a moment to discuss ideas before he reveals he wants to move up the timetable for our demonstration.

As Dean Jaffe discusses the theological connections to occultism and demonology, a feeling of dysphoria swallows me. It feels as if I am traveling while I am awake.

My vision is blurred as my sight goes completely black.

A woman screams just beyond my sight as the figure of a woman appears to me. The woman is climbing out of the shower, and she walks to the mirror.

She moves her wet red hair over her right shoulder. She looks to her side, to something just out of sight. Her face morphs into terror as she screams and is pulled out of my sight.

"Holy sh—"

Dean Jaffe appears again as my sight returns. He is sitting on the edge of the desk, staring blankly at me.

"Am I pronouncing it wrong?"

"Yes! No! What were you saying, sorry?" I ask.

"Selkies? I'm sorry, I was under the impression you were listening to me."

"No. I mean, I was. I just had a thing happen and it—you know what, I think your ideas are perfect. I think the best idea would be to gather any hard stops you have or anything you absolutely want covered and send that information to me. I'll put together the best damn—darn curriculum in the history of this university." I push myself out of the chair. "But I've got to go. Now."

"Go? We're just getting started. Are you alright?" He asks.

"I don't know. I feel a little sick. I've really got to go."

Without another word, I retreat from the office and sprint past Pam's desk. My mind is aflutter. If my knowledge of magic is correct, I just received a premonition.

I can't be sure if it's the future, the past or the present.

One thing is clear, I need to pass off the information to Eric, so we can find the woman before something terrible happens to her.

If it already hasn't.