Page 38 of Disabling Relics for Dummies
“Cheer up, sparky. No one has turned into a rodent since I started working here,” I said, smacking him on the back.
“I trustyou.I don’t trust the Cult of the Aether Sisters.”
“This is a relatively common puzzle when it comes to these things,” Killian said.
“Well, let’s get it done then.”
The puzzle box was on a stand with all sides available to hit with magic. I’d seen Key break out Old Norse and all this knowledge, but I’d never actually seen him do magic since he got here. Key must have donesomethingto get Valentine to be his little bitch.
Key had this twisted sense of humor I just adored. We held our breath as we called the elements towards our rune. Key didn’t look worried at all and aimed his fire with finger guns. It was fucked up, and I loved it.
The gears on the box started moving, and this wasdefinitelynot made by the cult. It was too advanced. The top of the box sprung, and no stinky black smoke came out to curse us. Score one for the home team.
The sides of the puzzle box collapsed to reveal a slightly smaller box and the new puzzle. Unfortunately, there weren’t any runes etched into the box this time.
Fuck me sideways. This box had an ancient fingerprint scanner.
Chapter30
Ravyn
What the actual fuck was I looking at? There was a glowing blue thumbprint on the side of the box. Since I got hired, we’d received several puzzle boxes at the museum, and my parents used to get me one for our birthday. But I’dneverseen one like this before.
“What the shit?” Killian said. “This technology wasn’t around then. So we’re fucked because we don’t even know whose thumbprint it wants.”
“I was going to stay and watch, but I guess this is it?” Gabriel said. “Sorry, guys. I know you wanted to get inside this box.”
I gave Gabriel a big hug. I knew my sister’s boyfriends well enough to know they were going to be ecstatic at the possibility of little Ripleys running around the library. I was too. I needed to get some yarn so I could start knitting. I didn’t even know for sure, but I trusted my twin’s gut.
“Get back home to my sister.”
“You said she was okay?”
“She’ll be just fine. How have things been for you since Kaine’s press conference?”
Gabriel smirked.
“Kaine let it slip that I knew how to kill a revenant with magic. The same people who wouldn’t piss on me if I were on fire have called me with job offers. The Academy of the Profane didn’t give me a scholarship or allow me into their school and let me work to pay for my tuition, but they called and offered me a teaching job.”
I squealed and hugged him again.
“If you take it, that means our family is dominating the Profane triquetra. It’s an enormous honor to be invited to teach there. It’s much bigger than getting a scholarship. They don’t post teaching jobs, even if someone is retiring and they have an opening. Unlike some of the spots they give to the students, they don’t care about your ancestors or money. They are after your skill set. Minerva Krauss doesn’t have some famous family line or come from money, but they begged her to teach there for years before she finally gave in.”
“That’s the only offer I’m seriously considering,” Gabriel said.
“I’m so proud,” Killian said, punching him in the arm.
“Thanks. Now, Isuspectsomething is going on with my girlfriend, so I need to go.”
We watched Gabriel go. I knew that wasn’t a conversation I needed to be a part of, but I’dloveto be a fly on the wall when that group found out my sister’s news. Reyson lost his shit over random shit we took for granted in this century. I brought him a box of Twinkies for shits and giggles, and you would have thought they were pure gold based on his reaction. His face when he found out he might be a daddy? Yeah, I wanted to watch that.
I needed a pick me up because we were fucked as far as opening this puzzle box went. Minerva was a genius figuring out how to pick a blood lock without dying, but that just involved overwhelming the lock with blood and not pricking your finger on it. Tricking a fingerprint scanner, even one this old? I doubted she had figured that out. But I had an idea. My sister had a whole harem with skills.
“Ifanyoneknows how to get around a fingerprint scanner, it’s going to be Balthazar,” I said, grabbing my phone.
“He’s good, but can he hack a puzzle box? This thing doesn’t exactly have an internet connection,” Killian said.
“You don’t need to bother your sister’s boyfriend,” Key said. “I know how to open it.”
