Page 66 of Monster's Baby

“That would be an immense help,” the professor said gratefully.

It was as tedious as he had said it would be.I found Clarissa’s ring and the ruby earrings from Grandfather within the first fifteen minutes, but there was no trace of my ring, or of my grimoire, by the time we reached the bottom of the bin.

“You know what I think?”I asked, leaning on my fist.“I think that whoever stole the items did so to cover up what they were really after; my grimoire.And I think we might have gotten too close, so the thief did the only reasonable thing.He planted them on someone who knew something.So the question becomes ‘What did Grain know that he didn’t know he knew?’”

Aiden chuckled.“That’s a little convoluted.”

“But think about it,” I persisted.“Grain knew that my grimoire and ring were bloodlinked.What could he possibly want with them?I bet if we turned his office and room inside out, we still wouldn’t find them.But someone else who has seen me use them, but not be close enough to me to understand why they wouldn’t be able to use them, would love to get their hands on that amount of power.”

“That eliminates your professors,” Professor Akhtar said quietly.“Leaving only the students.”

“Why does it eliminate the professors?”I asked.

To my surprise, Akhtar flushed.“Ah, well.Professor Reynolds and I discussed your impressive skills and the grimoire’s abilities last year after the trip to Australia.In the staff room.So pretty much every professor was aware that it couldn’t be used by just anyone.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” I said with a chuckle.“Which of my classmates would want power?”

“Emma?”Aiden suggested.“Maybe she feels guilty about turning Professor Reynolds into a baby and was looking for a way to turn him back.Make him proud of her?”

I nodded thoughtfully.“That’s a distinct possibility.We should reach out to her.”

I scanned the list of stolen items.She had reported a necklace stolen near the beginning of the thefts.“That could be a way of diverting attention away from her.”

Professor Akhtar shook his head.“I doubt it was Emma.We put power-dampening spells on her after the incident.She wouldn’t be able to cast the spells necessary to get into the rooms without alarms going off.”

“Could she still create a potion without activating the spells?”I asked.

The professor snorted.“She could perhaps instruct another person in creating a potion, but she would not be capable of it.”

“Plus, what beef does she have against Grain?”Aiden pointed out.

“Maybe he was just convenient,” I said with a scowl.

“We’ll think on it,” the professor advised.“Discuss this again tomorrow.Keep your suspicions to yourself.”

CHAPTER17

I was so drainedfrom this last event.I had thought charms would be simpler, but they were proving to be the most complex of all.

The elimination round had just finished, and everyone was waiting eagerly for their scores to see who would compete in the final round.

Bruce and Pierre flanked me, facing the scoreboard, which was blank.

I was grateful for them, but I really wanted Aiden.Just his presence was comforting.

We had each been given a chunk of clay and told to create a homunculus for a fight.The charms had been tricky, to say the least.

We had competed against our contingent for the elimination round, so I wasn’t sure how well the other contingents had done.There had been six rings, one for each group.I had caught glimpses of the homunculi as they passed, but nothing of the charms used on them.

I swallowed anxiously.

“You will be fine,” Pierre said suddenly.“Your little man lasted five rounds before he was destroyed.”

I wrinkled my nose.“I was hoping for six.Bruce lasted six.”

“Mine lasted five as well,” Pierre continued.“We should be proud, no?”

I nodded.“You’re right.We should be proud.I’ve never done anything like this before.”

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