Page 66 of Monster's Pet

“I hope we can solve this riddle quickly and save these creatures from any more harm.”

“From your lips to the ears of the gods.”

CHAPTER 18

I wokeup in the middle of the night parched beyond belief.

Fortunately, I had believed Professor Puddlemoan when he’d said I’d be dehydrated, and I had prepared by having a glass of water beside my bed.

Unfortunately, I had underestimated the quantity I would need to drink before I felt better.

Needless to say, I was relieved that we had a sink in our room. The toilet came in handy as well.

I wondered if everyone was having a similar three-in-the-morning experience.

It was eerie, being awake while everyone else was asleep. Even the dragons were snoring musically on either side of Lilia.

Having all three of us in our room was a nice change, even though Hazel had fallen asleep mid-sentence. She had been using her magic more often than the rest of us in her thesis; something to do with the growth cycle of plants under the effects of ambient magic. Without the ley lines, she had an excellent control group, but the blanket the teachers had built meant that there was just slightly more magic than what she required.

I hoped that we would be able to bring the ley lines back. I dreamed that we uncovered a beaver dam in the Philippines—not that I knew whether there were beavers there, but it was a dream! —and once we demolished it, magic exploded back into the proper channels.

If only it were that simple.

I tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep, finally giving up and pulling open my grimoire. If I’d only stayed in Aiden’s room last night, at least I could find an interesting outlet for this insomnia.

I sighed, flipping the pages of the grimoire and finding nothing to occupy my mind. I finally gave up on trying and picked up a copy of the newest romance book from my favorite author. I rarely engaged in pleasure reading, typically there was always some class I had to read for, so when once couldn’t sleep but also couldn’t focus on schoolwork, one indulged.

I settled in, quickly getting lost in the magical fantasy world building of alphas, omegas, and aliens.

I movedthrough Qualitative Spellcraft likeitwas a dream. My magic pulled on my bones, making my already fatigued body feel heavier. The rest of the nexus class seemed to be having similar issues, and Professor Reynolds took pity on us, using the class time to repeat concepts we had learned earlier that semester.

After lunch, Aiden and I met Professor Akhtar at his office. He greeted us cheerfully, and I wanted to hate him a little bit.

“You’ll feel better once we get to Easter Island,” the professor said kindly. “I have a working theory, but we need to take the measurements first.”

I felt a little more energetic at the thought. “Great. When do we leave?”

“Now.” He locked his office and led us down to the basement, where the portal to Easter Island was located in a tapestry on the wall. He activated it, and waved us through.

The instant my feet hit the sand, I began to feel better. I didn’t need to activate the sight spell to know that the ley lines were present here.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that the ocean had something to do with magical abilities,” Aiden said.

Professor Akhtar’s bushy eyebrows rose. “Who says it doesn’t?” He whistled tunelessly as he handed us each a circular device.

“I don’t remember you having these in Atlantis,” I said, examining the smooth bronze. The bright sunlight glinted off the device, reflecting into my eyes. I squinted and turned away, casting my shadow over them. “How do they work?”

“These make my job easier. In Atlantis, I had to take the measurements by hand. It was nearly impossible. Spread out please. About ten feet apart, yes, thank you.”

They made a lopsided triangle on the beach between the Easter Island heads.

“Hold the device by the chain at shoulder height. It shouldn’t take long.”

The bronze circle spun lazily in one direction and then the next. I couldn’t tell what it was doing beyond that, but I trusted Professor Akhtar.

The ocean was just beyond the men, a brilliant blue-green that made me want to splash about in it. I chuckled to myself. After being in the water for so long yesterday, I had thought I’d be sick of it. I’d certainly felt waterlogged enough when we’d returned.

“Slowly walk to the center of our triangle. We need to arrive at the exact same moment, or else we need to restart,” Professor Akhtar interrupted my musings.

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