Chapter 1.36

It took a couple of minutes to get the extra people out of the hall. Only Michael, Catherine, Aireen, and the investigator from the Capital Guard remained. The investigator insisted on his presence, arguing that he was in charge of the investigation. In his opinion, it was too early to clear Mike of suspicion. And the more the de Graaf clan and the Ministry of Foreign Intelligence cooperated, the sooner everything would be cleared up and suspicions would be lifted.

Catherine de Graaf agreed, and Michael began his story.

"When I got home, Colonel Tirel and Eric were already here waiting for me. They were a little on edge. Tirel was obviously in a hurry to get somewhere…", said Mike and looked at Aireen.

"She already knows," Catherine de Graaf said, noticing the direction of his gaze. Michael sighed.

It was hard for Mike to tell in Aireen's presence. After all, he had caused her father's death.

"He was going to leave the capital today... Alone. He came to me to find my supposedly secret laboratory. According to him, that's where I'm supposed to have the improved technology for growing crystals and tablets. At first, he wanted to get there himself without me."

As Mike lay on the floor, on a stretcher, he pointed to the pentagram on the floor with a motion of his head. Catherine and Aireen also looked at where he was pointing.

"But it didn't work out," he continued his story. "And then he waited for me. Started threatening me. Daren tried to stand up for Martha, but before I could do anything, Eric killed him. Tirel wouldn't let me intervene. Then they forced me to go to the lab. Tirel and I both went there. But he was wrong. I didn't have what he was looking for. He got angry and tried to kill me. I had to defend myself..."

Mike couldn't tell the whole truth. But he couldn't lie either. The matriarch of the clan de Graaf was before him, after all. So, he chose his words carefully.

"But he is three ranks stronger than you?" Catherine wondered. "How did you manage to defeat him?"

Mike had already thought of that. He certainly couldn't say that he killed Colonel Tirel de Graaf. Neither could he mention Efi.

"The lab has a defense system installed," Mike said as a result.

"It can handle a mage of rank eight?" Catherine wondered.

"Yes, if you have a functioning reactor under your feet. The rest isn't that hard…", Mike said and stammered, realizing he'd given away more than he needed to.

"Reactor… Cultivation… Laboratory," Catherine muttered quietly.

What he said puzzled her somewhat. She tried to remember why it all seemed familiar to her. She had always known Mike had a lab, back when his parents…

"I remembered! That's where it seemed familiar to me," Catherine said. "Your parents. Before they disappeared, your mother placed an order for a new reactor. But it never got installed in the factory. It turns out to have been installed in the lab. Michael, do you know that this is a serious violation?"

Unexpectedly, everyone felt a surge of magical energy. They turned their heads toward the source. In a second, moths of light appeared where they were looking. Their number grew with each second, but the magical energy was gone. Soon the moths began to gather into a female silhouette. For a while, everyone had to cover their eyes because of the bright light. When the light subsided and everyone opened their eyes, they saw a young woman in that spot.

Mike and Catherine recognized her immediately. Anabelle, that's what she called herself. Unlike Mike, though, Catherine knew who she really was. Anabelle was dressed the same as she had been the last time Mike had seen her. A light blue dress, to match her eyes, with short sleeves. She was thin, with shoulder-length blond hair, and side strands of hair styled back and secured with a barrette. On her feet, Mike noticed light blue, low-heeled shoes.

Catherine de Graaf made a low bow and greeted the girl.

"Mistress. It is an honor to see you."

Even without knowing who the girl was, Aireen and the investigator from the city guard present followed Catherine's example and bowed.

Anabelle glanced briefly at those present, and then made her way toward Colonel Tirel's corpse. She leaned over it and placed her hand on Tirel's head. She immediately furrowed her brow and looked in Mike's direction, and then said loudly.

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"Michael," she turned to him. "It's not like he was killed by magic. His soul was sucked out. Where is his soul? Have you nothing to say?"

"You are right mistress," he replied. "But I cannot tell you the details."

Hearing his answer, Anabelle frowned. She stood up and approached him. She stared at him for a couple of seconds, and then leaned over and put her hand on his head as well. She immediately found his spiritual connection, which was already fully formed.

"Unbelievably," she sighed. "And with whom did you, Mike, make a contract?"

"Contract?" He didn't understand her question.

"You have a full spiritual connection. That only happens when you make a contract with a high-ranking spiritual being."

Mike immediately remembered Efi's satisfied face and her words, "Now you are definitely mine." Paint flushed to his face, and he looked away from Lady Anabelle.

The longer Anabelle watched his spiritual connection, the more questions she began to have. The first thing that surprised her was the direction of the connection. The connection was headed parallel to a portal through a pentagram. Obviously, the person he was communicating with was on the other side of the portal. Anabelle decided to trace his connection and directed her energy along it. To her surprise, it led into subspace, into the void. That was the second thing that surprised her. Suddenly her progress was blocked and Anabelle felt an unpleasant sting, like a lightning strike. She pulled her hand sharply away from Mike.

"Catherine, baby. I think we should visit his lab, too. Many interesting things are waiting for us there."

"What?" She didn't understand what Lady Anabel was talking about.

Mike went pale. He hadn't expected such a development.

"You can't," Mike replied, which surprised everyone present. "You can't today," he corrected quickly. "Tomorrow at this time, I'll take you through the portal. Besides, I need to charge the crystals. She'll be ready by then."

"She?" Lady Anabelle interrupted, frowning even harder.

Mike mentally cursed himself. He couldn't let them get into the lab today. He didn't know the exact reason, but he wouldn't dare hurt Efi.

"You'll find out tomorrow, Mistress."

She stared at him for a few more seconds, then nodded slightly.

"Fine. I'll wait for you here tomorrow at this time," she said and turned to Catherine. "You need to be here tomorrow, too."

"Yes, Mistress," answered Catherine de Graaf and bowed.

Lady Anabel's body began to evaporate like a cloud in a second, leaving not even a hint that anyone was there.

Aireen and the investigator from the Capital Guard, for another minute, could not recover from what they had seen. They couldn't have imagined that today they would meet an actual deity at arm's length.

"It was…"

"Yes, that's right," Catherine confirmed. "It was her." and then looked at Mike. "Go to the hospital, Michael. Tomorrow we'll talk more about what to do with you next."

Soon the healers were called. Doran's body had already been taken away. Now it was his turn. Two big guys in white coats carried him out on a stretcher. Mike tried to protest, saying he could walk, but they wouldn't listen.

He was worried about the house, and Catherine assured him that she would look after it. A few servants would stay here and clean up and take care of things. In addition, the front door needed to be repaired.

It was crowded outside. Michael noticed a whole crowd of reporters. When they saw Mike on the stretcher, they began taking pictures and shouting their questions from afar. The most insolent ones tried to get closer, and the guards had to chase them away.

The central hospital occupied a fairly large space - several hectares. There was a whole complex of buildings on its territory. In the middle, between the buildings, there was a small park with a pond for patients.

Mike was placed in the therapeutic section on the third floor of a five-story building. He had a private ward with a single bed.

The room was small with a not very large window. There was nothing inside except a bed and a small bedside table along one wall. A washstand with a small mirror adorned the other wall. Inside, however, there was perfect cleanliness. The floor was clean and shiny as if it was only recently been washed. The bed was made up with clean, snow-white linens. Surprisingly, even the air was fresh, without the smell common in all hospitals.

Upon arrival, a nurse picked out new hospital clothes for him. As soon as Mike had changed, a healer visited him. He looked like a short, sweet old man with glasses and a white coat. He took a quick look at Mike, asked a few questions, and made some notes in his notebook. In the end, the healer prescribed medicine for Mike. He gave the list to the nurse. She immediately went to get them. Mike didn't have to take care of the medicine himself. But at the end of the treatment, he would be billed for the treatment and the medicine used.

Mike took the opportunity to ask the healer about his friend Stan Baltimore. He, too, should be in this hospital. Fortunately for him, the healer knew of such a patient. Stan Baltimore was on the fifth floor of the same building in another section. Mike wanted to visit his friend right away, but the healer absolutely forbade him. A nurse came back with medication.

Mike took his medication and lay down in his bed. The sun was already setting outside and he began to feel sleepy. Yawning and getting comfortable, Mike closed his eyes.

19th day of the 5th month of the year 50143.

He slept until morning. In the morning a nurse woke him up. Mike needed to undergo procedures and take a new batch of medication. In half an hour a healer would then come in and examine him.

There were plenty of medications to take, just like yesterday. The nurse put them on a tray, which she placed next to him. Three different pills and a herb decoction to drink.

After a quarter of an hour, a healer came in to see him. He examined Mike. The bruising on his chest was practically gone. Only in the places of direct contact were three small round spots with a slightly different shade. The healer had cast a weak healing spell as a precaution. As he explained, the weak spell was necessary for faster healing of the body's cells.

Mike asked the healer again about his friend. To his surprise, he allowed the visit, much to Mike's delight. Mike wanted to visit him immediately, but the healer made him lie down for half an hour to absorb the medicine. Those minutes took forever for Mike.