Threatening aftertaste

The windowless chamber was filled with heavy, aromatic smoke that made her eyelids heavy. The ventilation would soon have sucked him outside.

While she inhaled the last few puffs and so slumbered in front of her, she tiredly tried to ward off these strange new thoughts about Pareios, mainly because, thanks to her messed up manner, they were accompanied by this terribly familiar feeling of fear. Funny that these absolutely different emotions, affection and disgust, were linked in her. How often had she tried to break this absurd connection, even if her attempts were rather weak and not very convinced. They mainly arose out of the need not to attract attention, in which one conformed. But not from the desire for genuine attention.

She thought about her relationship with Viktor and secretly compared him to Pareios. Viktor enjoyed her complete confidence. She respected him and appreciated his straightforward and sincere character. He never failed in his judgment and was one of those people who gave you the impression that they always had everything under control and that they succeeded in every project in a miraculous way. He had saved her, freed her, taken her by the hand and led her out of absolute despair. He was the only person who really knew her, who knew everything about her. He was her only relative, so to speak, her brother, or at least what came closest to that. She almost felt sorry for him.

When she looked at Pareios, her mind was colored very differently. They were filled with billowing gray clouds, through whose veil the small, flashing fireflies created a magical atmosphere. Everything seemed possible.

Immediately she felt bad again. Where was that supposed to lead? She forbade herself to consider the matter further, after all it didn't matter either way. She had made a decision a long time ago.

While she was still nodding, her intuition was vaguely passing a subliminal thought that had an irritatingly threatening aftertaste. He didn't quite make it into her vanishing consciousness and so images of small obsidian-colored peas mingled with the first onset of nightmares. The ice-blue eyes were present in it like every night and prepared her an ordeal that made sleep unrefreshing.

******

The confusing unsteady sleep and the drug had erased the worrying thoughts of the previous morning from her mind when she suddenly awoke at noon. Her heart was pounding as if something had frightened her and wrenched her out of her dark dreams. She was breathing hard. 

Drunk with sleep, she blinked into her dark room, which of course had no indication of the time. Her head felt heavy and dizzy. There was a knock and she realized that something previous must have woken her. She wanted to answer, but had a frog in her throat. After a quick clearing of her throat, she called: "Yes?" And pulled the thin blanket over her rightly. 

The door opened a crack and Viktor's face appeared in it. "May I?" He asked and pointed into the room. Aurelia nodded and turned to one side to rest her head on her bent, upright forearm. So she could reach the switch for her night lamp, which she turned on immediately. Viktor pushed the door a little wider and as he pushed his way through the opening, she discovered the small tray that he was balancing on his right hand. A seductive smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted around her nose and attracted her spirits.

 He pushed the tray onto the bed and, in a barely visible movement, grabbed the desk chair, pulled it to the bed and sat on it. When they were together, Viktor didn't bother moving extra slowly. He knew that she preferred it when he acted as he was, just as she acted towards him as she was. He enjoyed it as much as she did.

When she straightened up with a grateful smile, grabbed the coffee cup and then inspected the rest of the breakfast, he finally said apologetically: "I thought if I get you out of bed again, I'll bring you at least a little refreshment."

 She cleverly tucked the blanket under her arms and sat up completely. "You have always been very smart," she replied patronizingly and took the gruel Viktor had brought with him. This was the daily breakfast, bread rolls or the like were a rarity. After a few spoonfuls, she registered the worried expression that had taken on his face and asked, “What's going on? Is Meredia okay? "

 He made a waving hand. “It's doing great. She's breastfeeding the little one. ”At the thought of his son a bliss came to his eyes that Aurelia was completely unfamiliar with. He must have had a hard time breaking away from the sight of his perfect little family. Apparently he was bothered by something even more urgent, because since he was married he rarely visited her, and certainly not when she was still asleep. "What is it then? Out with it! ”She encouraged him between sips of coffee. He shot her a look as if she had to realize what was on his mind.

 Yesterday's mission simmered like lava in her head, burying everything else under itself. She understood immediately. "The stones?"

 He nodded anxiously, then continued. "I couldn't sleep properly, so I went to Syrus early in the morning and asked him about it."

"Is the analysis done yet?"

He shook his head. “But he discovered something else. Something is engraved on each of the stones. All the signs look the same, some curly flourishes. Then he cut off a corner from one of the stones with a diamond laser and wanted to examine it. ”She looked at him intently as he paused for a moment. "So he puts the splinter under the microscope and when all the chemical liquid had evaporated, the light from the microscope suddenly got brighter and brighter until it just gave up the ghost after a few seconds."

 Aurelia wondered where to put this information. "You mean they are something like a source of electrical energy, maybe magnets?"

 Viktor shrugged his shoulders slightly. “That's what I thought of first. But maybe they are even more than that! You are warm Aurelia! Have you ever touched a warm stone? ”He sank briefly into his thoughts and Aurelia thought too. “I just had to talk to someone about it. The whole thing is getting really bad to me! ”He looked at her searchingly and then began to answer his question. "Couldn't you ...?"

 She hated turning him away. He was the only person she didn't want to disappoint, although maybe not the only one anymore! Immediately, part of her brain remembered the night before. How did that happen?

 She had become very lonely since she and Viktor hadn't spent that much time together. At first it was fine for her to be to herself. Somehow she was used to it. But over time, one lonely, boring day lined up and she began to miss the jokes and conversations that drove away her own dark thoughts and gave her peace of mind for a brief moment. Looking back, she suddenly realized that she had deepened her relationship with Pareios step by step.

 At first it was just a few jokes and heated verbal fights. Later they trained together more and more often. The more often they did this, the easier it got. They played themselves in, even more than was previously the case with the five-man team. The fact that he immediately captured her mood in the helicopter and protected her from the subject of the conversation was the result of this rapprochement. Did it go soft after all these centuries? She had been too sure of her shiny hard facade and then succumbed to the human needs after which she had suppressed them for so long. And now something had arisen that could not be denied. Her nausea, which rose again this time, and was driven by disgust, confirmed her growing suspicion. Hell, she cursed herself. Her masochistic features were slowly taking over. The excursion of this part of the brain made her face flush with anger.