NOVEL NEXT Chapter 309: The Artifact, Part Five
{Melisa}
Melisa paced back and forth across Javir's study, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall. It had been almost an hour since the two of them decided to wait for Jaylin to come back so they could figure this out.
Just as Melisa was about to ask if they should wait till tomorrow, the study door burst open with enough force to rattle the bookshelves. Jaylin stood in the doorway, her hair disheveled and her eyes wild with a mixture of horror and rage.
She didn't say a word. Instead, she raised her hand, fingers already tracing a spellsign in the air.
"Ventus, turbo, impetu!"
A blast of wind shot from her fingertips straight at Melisa, who barely managed to duck in time. The spell hit a bookshelf behind her, sending scrolls flying.
"Jaylin!" Javir shouted.
But Jaylin was already drawing another spellsign.
"Glacies, acus, penetrare!"
Tiny ice needles materialized and shot toward Melisa, who this time had to roll behind a chair to avoid them.
"What the fuck, Jaylin?!" Melisa yelled from her improvised cover.
"You!" Jaylin's voice shook with fury. "You and your stupid, irresponsible, reckless... IGNIS, FLAMMA, ARDERE!"
A jet of flame erupted from Jaylin's fingers, and would have singed Melisa's hair if Javir hadn't finally intervened.
"ENOUGH!" A ripple of force emanated from Javir's outstretched hands, instantly dissipating Jaylin's flame spell and pushing both girls back several steps. "Both of you, sit down. Now."
It wasn't a request. Melisa scrambled to one of the chairs in front of Javir's desk while Jaylin, still glaring daggers, stiffly took the other.
"Jaylin," Javir said, her voice calmer but no less authoritative, "I understand you're upset—"
"Upset?" Jaylin's laugh bordered on hysterical. "I just spent the last hour experiencing other people's most... most... depraved memories! I saw things I can never unsee!"
"I know," Javir said sympathetically. "The same thing is happening to Melisa and me."
That seemed to take some of the wind out of Jaylin's sails.
"...You too?"
"Yes. It appears the disc we found has created some sort of memory transference effect when we touch other people," Javir explained. "Melisa experienced one of Isabella's memories, and I experienced one of Melistair's."
Jaylin visibly shuddered at the mention of Melistair.
"Margaret," she said hoarsely. "I touched Margaret and I saw... I saw..."
"We can guess," Melisa interrupted quickly, cringing. "Let's not relive it, okay?"
Jaylin turned her glare back to Melisa.
"This is all your fault! If you hadn't gone poking around in that hidden room—"
"Hey, you followed me in there!" Melisa shot back. "And you touched the disc too!"
"Girls," Javir's tone was warning enough. "Assigning blame isn't going to solve our problem. What we need to do is understand the artifact and find a way to reverse its effects."
Jaylin took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm herself.
"What's the plan, then?"
"We need to examine the disc more carefully," Javir said. "Which means we need to return to the academy library."
"Now?" Melisa asked, glancing at the darkened window. "Won't it be closed?"
"I think this qualifies as an emergency, don't you? Besides, as faculty, I have access."
---
None of them spoke much as they made their way through the quiet streets of Syux toward the academy. Melisa kept a careful distance from both Javir and Jaylin, her hands shoved deep in her pockets just in case. Jaylin had wrapped a scarf around the lower half of her face and was wearing gloves, looking like she was prepared for a blizzard despite the mild evening.
[This is going to be the longest walk of my life,] Melisa thought miserably.
The academy grounds were mostly deserted, with only a few lights visible in dormitory windows. Javir led them to a side entrance, using a small key to unlock the door.
"Stay close," she whispered as they entered the dark hallway. "And try not to make any noise. The last thing we need is to be discovered sneaking around at night."
"Breaking school rules," Jaylin muttered. "Perfect. Another offense to add to my growing list."
"Oh, lighten up," Melisa whispered back. "It's not like we're stealing anything. We're just... borrowing without permission. Temporarily."
"That's the definition of stealing!"
"Shh!" Javir hissed, and both girls fell silent.
They reached the library without incident, and Javir used another key to unlock the heavy doors. Inside, the vast room was eerie in the darkness, shelves casting long shadows that seemed to move when viewed from the corner of one's eye.
"Illumina, car ei," Javir whispered, conjuring a small globe of light above her palm. "Melisa, lead the way."
Melisa nodded, heading toward the restricted section at the back of the library. The rope barrier seemed almost comical now, as if a simple piece of cord could protect anyone from the chaos that disc had unleashed.
"It's this shelf here," she said, pointing to the massive oak bookcase. She reached for the small, unmarked volume that had triggered the hidden passage.
The shelf swung inward silently, revealing the dark corridor beyond.
"Impressive," Javir murmured. "This passage doesn't appear on any of the academy blueprints I've seen."
They followed the corridor to the small circular chamber. The disc sat exactly where Jaylin had placed it, gleaming softly on its stone pedestal.
"Don't touch it," Javir warned, though neither girl needed the reminder. She conjured more light, illuminating the runes on the walls. "Fascinating."
"Can you read it?" Jaylin asked, her academic curiosity temporarily overriding her anger.
"Eh... Parts of it," Javir admitted, studying the walls. "This section speaks of 'sharing sight' and 'walking in another's steps'. And here," she pointed to a series of symbols directly above the pedestal, "it mentions something about 'the truth hidden behind flesh.'"
"Sounds ominous," Melisa commented. "Any mention of how to turn it off?"
"None that are immediately obvious," Javir said, moving closer to the pedestal. She examined the disc without touching it, then carefully removed a silk handkerchief from her pocket. Using it as a barrier, she picked up the disc, like she was afraid the disc itself would give her memories to look through. "Let's take this back to my office where I can study it properly."
They made their way back through the library and across the academy grounds to Javir's office. Once inside, Javir placed the disc on her desk, still wrapped in the handkerchief.
"So what now?" Melisa asked, perching on the edge of a chair, careful not to brush against either of the other women.
"Now," Javir said, already pulling books from her shelves, "I conduct some research. This will likely take all night. Possibly a few nights."
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Jaylin demanded.
"For now, minimize physical contact as much as possible," Javir advised. "Gloves might work as a barrier, so wear those if you have them. And perhaps limit your contact to people you're... comfortable sharing intimate memories with."
Melisa couldn't help but grin at that.
"So Isabella's fair game, then."
"Melisa!" Both Javir and Jaylin exclaimed in unison.
"What? Just saying."
Javir sighed.
"You two should head back to the house. Try to get some sleep. We'll continue this tomorrow. I'm going to work through the night and see what I can discover."
"You sure?" Melisa asked, genuinely concerned. "You need sleep too, you know."
"I'll be fine," Javir assured her. "This isn't the first all-nighter I've pulled for research."
Melisa and Jaylin left Javir's office, stepping back into the cool night air. For a moment, they stood in awkward silence.
"So..." Melisa began.
"Don't," Jaylin cut her off. "Just... don't. Let's get back to the house without talking or touching or interacting in any way."
"Sounds healthy," Melisa muttered, but fell into step beside Jaylin, maintaining a careful distance between them.
They managed to walk almost halfway back to the house before Jaylin broke the silence.
"Was it worth it?" she asked suddenly. "Finding that stupid disc? Was your precious 'adventure' worth all of this?"
Melisa felt a flare of irritation.
"How was I supposed to know it would do this? It's not like it came with a warning label: 'Caution, will make you experience other people's sexy memories.'"
"You never think about consequences," Jaylin shot back. "You just do whatever you want, whenever you want, and the rest of us have to deal with the fallout."
"Oh, come on! It's not like I forced you to follow me into that room. You chose to come along!"
"Because I didn't trust you not to destroy priceless historical artifacts!"
"Well, mission accomplished! The disc is fine, and now we're all cursed with magical memory-sharing powers. Great job, Jaylin!"
They had stopped walking and were facing each other, both red-faced with anger. Jaylin's hands were balled into fists at her sides.
"You're... Ugh!" she snapped. "Do you have any idea what I've been through tonight? The things I've seen?"
"Yeah, welcome to the club! You think I enjoyed seeing Isabella's private wand time?"
"That's different! You've probably seen her in every single position imaginable. I had to see strangers doing... things!"
"Oh, and that's my fault too?"
Jaylin made a sound of pure frustration, and before Melisa could react, she reached out and grabbed Melisa's shoulders, presumably to shake some sense into her.
The moment their skin connected, the world twisted around them both.
Melisa found herself in Jaylin's bedroom, but seeing it through Jaylin's eyes. She was lying on her bed, one hand between her legs, moving in small circles. Her other hand was clamped over her mouth, stifling any sounds she might make.
And in her mind—in Jaylin's mind—was an image of Margaret, her silver hair loose around her shoulders, her lips curved in a smile that promised pleasure...
And her tits.
The vision ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving Melisa gasping and wide-eyed, staring at an equally shocked Jaylin.
"You... You..." Jaylin couldn't even form a coherent sentence, her face flushing so deeply it looked painful.
Melisa realized with horror that Jaylin must have experienced one of her memories too—and given the look on Jaylin's face, it was probably not an innocent one.
[Please don't let it be the time with Armia in the training room shower. Please, please, please...]
Based on Jaylin's expression of utter mortification, Melisa guessed her prayer had gone unanswered.
"We never speak of this," Jaylin said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "Ever. To anyone."
"Agreed," Melisa said quickly. "100% agreed."