The helicopter descended and landed gently on the floor of an abandoned factory site. The group got out stiffly and packed up their equipment. They had left the thunderstorm behind, because the sky here was clear with stars.
Aurelia ran alongside Pareios as they left the fence behind them and headed for the adjacent wooded area. Their footsteps were the only sounds in the dark and after about five minutes' walk they reached the spot. Aiden, who had gone ahead, kicked the underside of an angular, dark rock. A trapdoor opened beneath the man-high rock, revealing the otherwise hidden staircase that led down to the bunker.
Aurelia was pushed to the entrance by Viktor, but she broke free. "I should move a little more ..."
He looked at her carefully, but understood immediately. He had known her long enough to know her habits inside out. Most of the time, the mind and body were so excited after a fight that she urgently needed the exercise so that all the stress hormones were broken down. With the exhaustion came the mental calm.
Aurelia's gift was like a drug. An intoxication that seized them and pulled them further and further into its vortex. Once she started it was hard to get out of. The more she used intuition, the stronger it became, the more Aurelia became gripped by it. If she didn't get out in time, she lost touch with the present, lost herself in the thousands of future versions and couldn't find her way back to herself.
The exercise also helped break down this particular drug.
"I feel uncomfortable letting you go alone," objected Viktor, but Pareios thrust his equipment into his hand. He only kept the handgun.
"I accompany her. You left last time and your wife is probably waiting for you too. ”He stretched himself extensively and then turned to Aurelia. "But please do me a favor and let me get into my bed before sunrise, okay?" His tone was reproachful, but he grinned cheekily and Aurelia thought she couldn't see the slightest trace of regret in his eyes. He was a hunter through and through.
His words were not meant as a question, so she didn't answer, but instead handed Viktor her things as well.
Then she spun around and started walking.
Since Pareios wanted to be here again soon, she accelerated and after a few meters fell into a sprint. Of course he followed without any problems and so they ran side by side through the dark forest. Aurelia had to avoid the trees and roots, which required all her concentration and prevented her from any further considerations for the time being.
The cool wind whistled in her face, making her hair flutter. It was like a cleansing shower for the mind. With every springy step on the soft ground it became clearer and she could now hear the sounds of the forest and those of Pareios more clearly. Now she felt just like herself again and gave in to her nature. Running, heard the constant pounding in her chest. The clarity that set in was a relief. As if after a day at a construction site full of noise you were finally sitting at a quiet, crystal mountain lake in the evening.
Mental cleansing made her aware of other things. Again she could feel this special aura of Pareios. The passion in each of his movements, how he ran smoothly and powerfully next to her.
All of this was familiar to her in a noncommittal way, but at that moment it was suddenly irritatingly alien. She was more than aware of his presence, she didn't care anymore.
The warmth that his body gave off to the surroundings was reflected on her skin. As if his aura would capture her, his heat and mood carried over to her. At first it was just a spark, but then the delicate glow grew to an incessant glow. A feeling of liveliness, completely different and much more intense than she usually felt when running, captured her heart and made it beat faster. Spellbound and confused by Pareios' effects, she became aware of who this gift was from.
From this guy, of all people.
Not even Viktor, her best friend, had had the power to lift her deafness over the years.
Excited by this feeling, she increased the speed and smiled inwardly. He would understand her invitation and accept the challenge. That was the language they both understood. Something they had in common.
As suspected, she had awakened his ambition and his breathing was now faster. But he stayed by her side effortlessly, even overtook her.
Aurelia made a pleased sound and flew only half a stride behind him. Even surprised by this outbreak of joy, she registered that he too had become pricked up and noticed the change in mood. Damn crap!
"Well wait!" She gasped out between her teeth. Then she bumped into Pareios, causing him to avoid a tree and lose his lead. While she was grinning, he swore to himself and called to her: "How was that saying?"
He was running so close to her now that her arms brushed against each other. It literally burned where her skin rubbed against his. A tingling sensation conquered her body from there. She was now completely enveloped by his aura and almost felt connected to him.
"There are two situations in life where everything is allowed, in which there are no rules," he gasped, smiling broadly at her from the side.
Suddenly he threw himself at her.
Aurelia was completely perplexed. How could he outsmart her like that? That had never happened to her before. Was she so distracted? And if so, from him?
The escape reflex sprouted in her as soon as they rolled down a slope together and landed in a heap of leaves.
Pareios was on top of her with his entire weight and although she tried with all her might to free herself, she was still pushed to the ground. In the dim light of the moon, which fell only sparsely through the leaves, she could see his eyes flashing with delight. In the liquid gray that Viktor also possessed, she discovered golden speckles that gave his gaze incredible intensity. It looked like a glittering swarm of fireflies in a gray-gold summer twilight.
Fortunately, this time Pareios did not seem to realize what had just happened. He had beaten her, got her absolutely cold. But he seemed to blame her changed mood on the fact that she had decided to let it happen that way."In war and in ... love," he completed the saying he had quoted and stared defiantly into her eyes.That tingling again.Aurelia tried to hide the not unpleasant surprise and the growing aversion. Both feelings wrestled inside her. Outwardly she tried to glare at Pareios angrily and look behind the cool facade. What was that in his look that had changed? Did he understand the fact that she had let him outline her as an attempt to flirt?She couldn't grasp it before he jumped up with lightning speed and dashed away through the trees. "Tricked!" He called back, giggling like a little boy.Dazed and a little confused, Aurelia sat petrified, still where he had pushed her to the ground. But finally got up indignantly and started a cha
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 judgm
Viktor saw it confused, but misunderstood it and immediately rowed back. "I mean, it's okay, you don't have to. I just thought, maybe… it's close enough! ”She stared at him and understood the words that had ripped them out of their thoughts. He said that the meaning of the stones would soon be woven into their destiny so that it became visible to their intuition. And that it would happen soon and that Aurelia wouldn't have to think so far into the future to see this.She was uncomfortable with these thoughts. “Viktor, you know how it is. Once I'm in and looking for it, it doesn't stop until I find it. And if it's too far away ... then I can't go back. "He continued to look pleadingly at her. “What if we try what we did in Argentina? It worked out pretty well at the time! ”Aurelia gave back an angry and horrified look. He wasn't serious!"Do you mean you would be willing to knock me down for this information?" The sente
It wasn't even a hundredth of a second before she was hit hard by something on the side of the neck. His speed and precision were terrifying, but he managed to pull her out of the thundering waves of impressions with one jerk. She exchanged the shimmer of the images for deep, impenetrable blackness. She quickly passed out. He had hit the spot on her neck where the artery split into a deeper and a more superficial path. The point was very sensitive. When subjected to severe compression, the brain was signaled that the pressure in the carotid arteries was getting too high and that systemic blood pressure needed to be lowered. The result was a sharp slowdown in the heartbeat, most of which led to unconsciousness if the body was upright and you hit hard enough. Viktor wasn't squeamish with her. At least not anymore.She wished the dull numbness of fainting had lasted, but the old nightmares soon haunted her again.Row's bright, warm voice woke her from
After pulling on the black all-purpose boots, they left their room together. Then Row went right, and she herself left, toward the training hall. Next to the dining room, this was the largest room in the underground bunker. Row had been born here and they had used the bunker as their headquarters since Markus became a council member. The underground facility was also a good choice because a larger part of the council also lived in it. Of course it wasn't complete, it would have been too dangerous to be able to erase them all at once. Nevertheless, the bunker had so far remained unmolested by attacks. They were all very careful to keep his location a secret.She strolled through the deserted tunnels. Apparently it was dinner time and most of the residents were in the canteen. After a few minutes, she arrived in front of the large double-walled door that was supposed to enclose the sounds of the exercisers in the room. Only muffled noises came out, telling her that a few
Until then, she wanted to vent a little with the punching bag, she still had way too much energy. For a while she just beat her fists on the firm, coarse leather and tried to keep the cinema out of her mind. It worked out worse and worse now. But it manifested itself in different lines of thought. They were rotating in a brisk exchange in her head and she was slowly wondering as if she was going mad. But you couldn't escape the past, no matter how far your feet took you. Whatever she did, as long as she couldn't undo that one event, she was never free.She punched with all her might, putting her desperation into a hard, straight blow, and lifting the punching bag from its attachment. Breathing heavily, she stood in front of her victim, who was now lying motionless on the ground. Then she heard a rough voice behind her. His voice!"Damn Aurelia, what louse ran down your liver?" She heard the smile in his words. One part of her got a shiver when she registered his presen
Because of her little outburst it became quiet and she noticed that the hall was meanwhile swept as if it were instructive. He raised his hands soothingly. "It's okay, I definitely didn't want to offend you!" He then said, slightly sour. "I…"At that moment the double doors of the large training room opened and Viktor stormed in, followed by Row and Aiden.Pareios turned around, startled. His expression suggested that he wasn't exactly happy about the interruption. He rolled his eyes when he recognized Viktor. What was that?Viktor looked angry, but he came straight up to her without detour. He grabbed her shoulders in concern and pulled her into a caring, fatherly hug. Past his ear she saw Pareios turn his head, now his face was no longer in her field of vision."I'm really sorry!" Viktor muttered into her hair. “If I had known that… I was really worried when you didn't wake up. But your heart was beating regularly, so I
Over the centuries they had spun their web all over the world. They looked for other Elevender to increase their power, created various secret organizations that have been tampering with throughout history. Tried here and there in larger and smaller actions to take over the regiment of all of humanity. But just as from the beginning there had been a small group of adversaries. And they survived to this day.For a long time they had been very few. Even today they were still outnumbered, but since the Hegeduns had tightened their grip on the world in the middle of the 19th century in order to squeeze out the last bit of human labor, the situation of the population had visibly deteriorated and they had more influx to get.Back then, the Hegedunen had covered up their operations with wars that had nearly dragged the world to its ruin.They had cleverly prepared the first of the two largest of these by usurping the money creation system in 1913. They financed t