"I… I dreamt about it that night before I got kidnapped. I was so excited and wanted to tell you about it. But you left and…" her words slowed down after that. Zeres saw that her face contorted a little and he knew it was due to her remembering the suffering that she endured during her torture.
His expression grew darker. Then he rose, bracing his hands against the table.
"So this must be the reason why that vampire tortured you to the extreme like that. Because he knew you had already known something about it and he wanted you to spit it out…" he said, his voice filled with disbelief.
Iryz did not understand what was with him again right now. Why was he standing there throwing a fit? Should he not be rejoicing with this information?!
"Why?" his voice cracked a little as he dipped his head down, seemingly unable to look at her face. "Why didn't you just say it out, Iryz? If you've just revealed the information, he wouldn't have tortured you to the extreme. Why did you choose to be tortured like that instead of just telling –"
"Because I don't want to!" Iryz yelled out in frustration. She could no longer take it. Why? How could he ask her that? How could she like this man so much when he was such a frustrating little… little moron! "Because I don't want anyone else to find it but you, Zeres! You… you've been looking for it like crazy! You don't even sleep or eat because of it! How could I let a bad stranger have it when you were the one who had been so desperately looking for it?!" she released all her pent up frustration and confusion and it blew up. She was not sure why she was feeling such a mixture of jumbled and chaotic emotions too.
He looked incredibly shocked as he stared back at her. At the way she had just blew up with his one question. Iryz's emotion was so all over the place right now. No one could make Iryz this emotional other than this man!
She threw him a pained glare and stood up abruptly, but just as she spun around to storm out of the kitchen, she was yanked back and got buried in someone's embrace, Zeres' embrace. W-what? Why was he…
"You little screwball." He uttered as his grip on her tightened.
Iryz was still shocked at his action but she somehow managed to retort. "You're the screwball between us. I don't understand why you look mad at what I've done. I only did the right thing."
"But it cost you this, Iryz." His voice sounded incredibly sad again that Iryz's heart just melted and had no choice but to calm down. "You don't… you don't owe me anything… you shouldn't have suffered like that just because... just because… of me. Gods… what should I do with you? I don't know what to do with you. I never want you to get hurt like this. You do not deserve to get hurt like this… No. You should not even have gotten hurt at all." His words come out, tumbling one over another as Iryz heard him saying it. His tone apologetic and regretful.
She understood the pain in his voice. The regrets and there were also other emotions she could not possibly tell. This man just kept making her angry and then melting her into a puddle the very next second.
"I did that out of my own free will, Zeres. You didn't ask me to do so. So there is nothing for you to be sorry for." She finally replied, not knowing how else she could console the man.
"I know. But please… don't do that ever again." his voice turned into whispers. "Please, Iryz. No, something like that must never happen again. Never again…" as he spoke, he shook his head.
And Iryz's grip on him tightened. Her heart ached. Because she knew that what he mentioned would eventually come true. Never again would that happen. Because once they found the book, he would forever be gone from her life. And she would return to her mundane life. That peaceful, ordinary life of hers before this beautiful creature appeared and shook up her entire world.
She wondered how she would cope with all this once everything was over. She had imagined it would be hard because even now, she had no intention of wanting this hug to end. Unfortunately, as all good things, it all would come to an end.
…
Later that morning, the duo was finally back at Iryz's house.
Iryz found out then that her entire house was heavily guarded. Men in black were all over the library.
"I've made sure no one could come and ransack your place while we're not here." Zeres explained the situation to her.
It was understandable, because it was clear now that they were not the only ones who were looking for the book.
Iryz took a deep breath and they both headed to that particular spot she had seen in her dream. The old painting was hanging on the wall. Iryz had never paid attention to these paintings because they were just torn pages of some books. She had check on them before and there had not seem to be anything important in them. One painting that was hanging lower where one did not need to take it down to read was the one she had seen in her dream.
She had dusted this painting many times before but for some reason she had never took it off the wall. She wondered why. She had seen others touch and took it off the wall though, and nothing seemed to have happened. So how come it suddenly became different for her now?
Taking another breath, Iryz reached out and finally touched it. When she began to lift it off the wall, a reddish haze suddenly enveloped her.