Page 33 of Monster's Mystery

“I had no idea that the heads had bodies!” I said excitedly. “Why are they underground?”

“Erosion of the soil caused the statues to slowly sink,” the professor explained. “What is special about these bodies?”

“You can see the carvings much more clearly than those on the head,” I said.

“Wind erosion must have whittled those away,” Aiden mused.

“Correct. The earth has protected these symbols for future generations to find. The Polynesians were incredible craftsmen—and women—and many of them were also witches, although they worked their magic in very different ways than we do. It’s a little difficult to tell today, because it’s so overcast, but I’d like you to theorize with me. What was the purpose of these statues?”

I walked a little further away from the statue to look at its position compared to the ones around it. “They’re facing inland, rather than toward the sea,” I observed.

“Why is that relevant?” Aiden asked me.

“Well, the Polynesian people are well known for their seafaring knowledge. Why would their statues be facinginland? There has to be a reason.”

“They traveled using the stars, didn’t they?” Aiden said. “Maybe these are related to star positions?”

My jaw dropped open in shock. “Of course they are!”

We hurried back to the rest of the class to tell them our theory.

Professor Akhtar nodded, impressed. “That’s exactly it. Good job. Now, I want you to chart these Moai, keeping in mind that constellations shift over time. Use whatever methods you deem necessary, barring touching the statues in any way. Make sure no mundanes see you using magic. We don’t want to cause an uproar.”

“Yes, Sir!”

I grabbed Aiden’s hand and we headed over to the statues standing a little further away from the rest. There was a family standing in front of one of the Moai, taking pictures with it.

“I want to see if I can figure out what the markings mean,” I told him. “I took Ancient Languages last year. Maybe that can help me figure these out!”

He smiled at me. “Your brain turns me on. The way you think about things is so different from anyone else I’ve ever known.”

I glanced at the family, now walking away from us through the grass. “I like how you can keep up with me when I suggest one of my philosophical ideas.”

“I like that you keep up with me when I fuck you three times in a row,” Aiden growled, snaking one arm around my waist.

“I like that you can get me to orgasm more times than I can count,” I whispered. “But we should really be focusing on the statues right now.”

Fire flared in Aiden’s eyes. He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and then released me. “To be continued back at school,” he promised.

I shivered pleasantly. “Looking forward to it.”

I took out my glasses again, comparing the markings on two of the statues. “I don’t think I can do a thing with this in the short time that we’re here. I’m going to copy some of them down and maybe I can figure them out later, when I have a break from my studies.”

Aiden chuckled. “A break. So, next summer?”

“I have the holidays,” I replied archly. I looked for the family again—they were far away now. “We should be able to start charting.”

We paced out the distance between three Moai, marking it down on our papers, and then compared it to our star charts. The calculations were intense and made my head hurt.

“This is definitely my least favorite part of this class,” I complained to Aiden. “Why doeseverythingrelate to math?”

“Probably because physics is the building block of our universe?” he teased. “Have I found something that you’re not good at?”

“Ugh, don’t make fun of me. Math and physics are my worst subjects. They’re so hard.” I pouted. “Why do they come so easily for you?”

“Maybe our soul bond knows what the other person needs. It knows that you need help with mathematics, and so it gave me a better than average ability with numbers.” Aiden kissed my forehead. “I would never make fun of you.”

“I hate not being the best at something,” I grumbled.

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