The small passage was in the upper area of a room wall. The room beyond was bathed in dim light generated by control lights and computer screens. Small machines rotated, robotic arms moved as they worked. On the opposite side was a large plexiglass pane through which spectators could watch what was happening in the laboratory. Sideways, Aurelia saw what they had come for.A glass case housed six pea-sized stones, which were anchored in a socket in a chemical bath. The box was swung back and forth by a machine so that the liquid sloshed around the stones in motion. A faint green light made the stuff slightly fluorescent.After a short concentration, she gave Row a curt wave to understand that it could start. This pushed up next to her and briefly closed her green eyes to collect herself. She folded her hands and jerked them open facing the grille. The silent pressure wave blew the square cover into the laboratory, first with a metallic tear, then accompanied by a rattle

While the others smirked, Aurelia couldn't take pleasure in the banter. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, a memory made its way into her consciousness. Although she struggled to concentrate, she couldn't prevent the first of a series of images from quietly creeping into her mind's eyes. Just one of the many gruesome scenes her job brought with it. She screwed up her ice-blue eyes to push away the feeling of oppression, but quickly opened them again. Pareios was fixing her with his gaze. His face took on a concerned look, then he skillfully changed the subject. He, of all people, interrupted the fateful course of the conversation. The two of them were a team on a professional level, but didn't know each other very well privately, as Aurelia was not personally close to anyone, except maybe Viktor. Pareios, on the other hand, had many ... contacts.“Can you finally tell us why you dragged us out of bed in the middle of the night and dragged u

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

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

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