“Let’s go visit Blair first.” Rufus was wearing a formal suit. He probably had just come from a meeting.
“How is he?” I asked worriedly, wringing my fingers anxiously. The doctors all averted their gazes. They didn’t look optimistic.
Rufus sighed. “He hasn’t woken up yet, but the doctors have urgently set up a special team to find out the cause of Blair’s condition.”
As he spoke, he led me to the confidential VIP ward. With two beeps, the coded locked door was opened and we entered the room.
The award was very quiet. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of medical instruments at work. Blair was lying unconscious in the bed. His face was serene, as if he was just sleeping. But a scar marred his face.
I remembered that he had this scar on the day he came back. It didn’t look very serious and was almost healed back then.
“Blair’s condition has something to do with the wound on his face,” Rufus explained in a low voice, breaking the eerie silence.
“Huh?” I whirled around to look at him in surprise. “But how? It looks like it’s about to heal.”
Rufus shook his head and frowned. “Before Blair completely blacked out, he told me that he got this wound when he accidentally touched something in Gamma Mateo’s room.”
I was so shocked that my hand shot up to cover my mouth. “But he looked fine on the day of the search and rescue operations! And on the day of the trial, he spoke on behalf of the army. I was under the impression that he was in a good mental state.”
Guilt crept into my heart and started to gnaw at me. The last thing I wanted to see had actually happened. The day Blair came back safe and sound, I was so relieved. Little did I know that something was festering inside him.
“Blair thought it wasn’t a big deal, but his mental state deteriorated fast. He even went to the hospital for an examination, but the report showed that there was nothing wrong with him, especially since he had no other injuries,” Rufus explained, his expression darkening.
“So Blair suspected that the wound on his face was behind it?” I surmised.
Rufus nodded slightly and walked over to Blair’s bed. He frowned, his brows furrowing with worry. “The doctors can’t pinpoint the cause. But the longer Blair’s in a coma, the less likely he’ll wake up.”
“Could his wound be tainted by a toxin? Back when I was in a coma, the doctors couldn’t find out the cause either. Later, you realized that there was something wrong with my wound.” Like Rufus, I also felt anxious and depressed. Unfortunately, Gamma Mateo had already been executed. Otherwise, we probably could’ve gotten some information out of him.
Rufus sighed and shook his head remorsefully. “The doctors have already checked his wound. There’s no toxin whatsoever. If there was, then we could’ve solved this problem by now, but unfortunately that is not the case.”
“There will be a solution, Rufus,” I reached for his hand and tried to comfort him.
Blair was Rufus’ only good friend. I knew that Rufus was worried sick.
“Although we have no concrete solutions yet, we do have one clue.” Rufus turned around and looked at me seriously. “Because I can smell a familiar scent on Blair. It’s the smell of Noreen the witch.”
Rufus’ POV
“Noreen?” Sylvia looked at me in confusion.
“She was the witch my father had an affair with. She later cursed my father and his offspring because her love turned into hatred,” I explained to Sylvia, pulling a long face. “We didn’t know until after we were cursed that Noreen was from the evil dark witch race.”
The difference between dark witches and ordinary witches and wizards was that the former were born in darkness and were destined to go against the light. Their magic was evil and all the spells they practiced were fatally dangerous. They tended to hide among ordinary people and rarely ever exposed their identities. If it weren’t for Blair’s incident, I wouldn’t have realized that the dark witches were actually closer to us than I’ve imagined.
“There are witches and wizards among the werewolves?” Sylvia narrowed her eyes, clearly unable to wrap her head around the situation. “But werewolves seldom talk about them.”
“There are, but they’re rare-especially the dark witches,” I patiently spelled it out for her. “Witches and wizards in general are hostile to neither vampires nor werewolves. They are neutral and are on relatively good terms with both sides. In fact, they have cooperated with both sides before. But since vampires and werewolves signed the truce, their race has been keeping a lower profile. They only showed up occasionally.”
About a hundred years ago, they had their own territory.
But later, a civil war broke out, and it lasted for nearly thirty years. As a result, their race gradually declined, until it collapsed completely.
After they lost their territory, the remaining witches and wizards scattered all over the place. Their whereabouts these days were mysterious, especially since they hid themselves among creatures from other races.
“So do they will also disguise themselves and live on werewolf territory?” Sylvia cocked her head to the side curiously.
“Yes. They usually develop all sorts of drugs and potions and sell them. The poison Kyle used on you was made by a witch. And the test stone used to gauge strength during the placement test was also developed by a witch. Also, all the products of a powerful witch or wizard will have their own unique scent.”
“Just like a patent?”
Amused by Sylvia’s analogy, I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, just like a patent-comparable to a logo.”
Generally speaking, more basic potions were made by primary level witches and wizards, such as beauty products and the like. Whereas poisons were usually made by high level ones.
“Since we didn’t find any toxins on Blair’s wound, he must’ve been cursed. What if we go to the black market to find someone who can remove the curse?” As she spoke, Sylvia’s eyes lit up with hope.
I shook my head sadly. “We can’t. Although most poisons or curses made by ordinary witches and wizards can be undone, dark witches are different. They are a taboo race. The poisons they make and the curses they cast have unprecedented power. Only the witch who actually cast the spell can remove it.”
That was why we had been searching for Noreen all these years. My curse could only be removed by her.
But years had passed and we still hadn’t found a single trace of her. I had mentally prepared myself for the worst, in case Noreen might’ve died.
If she was in fact dead, my curse would never be removed.
“But then that means Blair won’t…” Sylvia’s eyes went as wide as saucers and her hands flew to cover her mouth.
I hurriedly comforted her. “Don’t worry. At least now we know that Noreen’s behind this. There’s nothing we can do but wait and see for the time being.”
“But…” Sylvia glanced at Blair worriedly. “I’m worried that Blair doesn’t have much time…”
Sylvia’s POV
Rufus’ expression darkened. After a moment of silence, he murmured, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Moreover, according to what Rufus had been telling me, dark witches were unpredictable and the clues they left behind might not be part of their tricks.
“The spies we sent out found traces of Noreen in the border area. I’ve sent more men to join the search. There’s really nothing we can do but wait. I’m hoping our efforts will be met with good news.” Rufus let out a long sigh. “As for the black market, I’ll ask witches who have been known to cooperate with the royal family if they can help.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s all we can do.” I lowered my head, feeling a little powerless.
Just then, some doctors came in to conduct another round of exams on Blair, hoping that there’d be a medical miracle.
Rufus and I stood aside and watched as the doctors drew Blair’s blood. Looking at Blair’s lifeless face, both Rufus and I couldn’t help but feel bad. After all, he was fine just a few days ago.
“Rufus, don’t you think it’s strange?” Staring at the wound on Blair’s face, I had a gut feeling that something was off.
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