Connected Blood

9 - Cryptic Note

As I was still on the phone with Kyan, something unexpected happened. The phone was suddenly ripped from my hand. I turned just in time to see Draco, my driver, snatching it away from me. Before I could even react, he hung up the call and handed the phone back to me without a word. I froze, staring at him. What was that? Why was he interfering?

I was furious. My eyes narrowed as I shot him with glare. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Why did you hang up? We weren't finished talking yet," I snapped, my voice sharp with anger.

He didn’t say a word, just opened the van door, as if nothing had happened.

“Hey! Answer me! What’s your problem?” I was seething now, stepping forward, but before I could make another move, the staff from the studio began to trickle out. I couldn’t let my anger get the best of me in front of them, so I forced myself to take a deep breath.

A woman from the crew caught sight of me and waved. “Hi, Miss Sync!”

I smiled back, though I could feel the tension in my chest from what had just happened.

Draco had already slid into the driver's seat of the van and started the engine. Max appeared from the building just in time, her arms full of papers. She didn’t seem to notice the tension between me and Draco as she climbed into the van and settled beside me.

“We’re good to go?” she asked casually, flipping through the files in her hands.

I didn’t reply immediately. My mind was still spinning with questions about Draco. Why did he hang up the phone? Why was he suddenly acting so strange?

“Everything okay?” Max asked again, this time glancing at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah… Just a little confused,” I said, trying to mask my unease. I couldn’t shake the thought of Draco’s strange behavior, but I didn’t want to make a scene. Not here, not now.

Max looked up from her papers, noticing my distraction. “So, what did Kyan say?”

I took a breath, still trying to process what had just happened. “He wants to meet at the café. The one we’ve gone to before.”

Max nodded as if that made perfect sense. She wasn’t concerned about the phone incident, at least not as much as I was. Her attention was on the file in front of her.

“Cafe 143, Draco,” Max said, her voice firm and matter-of-fact.

I couldn’t help but glance at him through the mirror. His eyes were fixed on the road, his expression unreadable. I wanted to ask him why he had taken it upon himself to end my call with Kyan, but something told me it wouldn’t get me anywhere.

Finally, we arrived at the café. As soon as the van stopped, I spotted Kyan immediately. He was sitting in his usual spot, munching on fries from McDonald’s. I rolled my eyes, not surprised in the slightest.

“We'll wait here, okay?” Max said, getting out of the van and holding the door open for me.

I nodded, grateful for a moment to compose myself. I grabbed my mask and glasses from my bag before stepping out. It was better to keep a low profile, especially with the press always lurking. The last thing I needed was rumors about me and Kyan making the rounds.

I made my way to Kyan’s table and dropped into the chair across from him.

“Now, talk,” I said, my voice firm.

Kyan almost choked on his fries, looking startled. “Can you not scare me like that? I was eating, you know.”

“Stop being dramatic,” I said with a smirk, rolling my eyes. “Choking won’t kill you. Now, spill it. I didn’t come all the way here to waste my time.”

Kyan sighed, reaching for his drink. “Fine, fine. Remember the coffin I showed you before?”

I nodded, still uncertain about everything related to that coffin. “Yeah. What about it?”

Kyan leaned forward, a look of intense concentration in his eyes. “I found something new. Something I missed the first time. There’s a message inside the coffin.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A message?”

He pulled out a photo from his bag and slid it across the table. The photo showed an engraving on the coffin. I stared at the text, reading it aloud in a low voice.

“Beyond me, beyond my abilities. Lots of humans are stealthy, perilous mortals. He’s one of them. Over the past years, this is the only thing he wants that led me to this. Death is now waving. It’s either me or him.”

I frowned, my mind racing to understand what it meant. It felt like a warning, but to whom? And why?

Kyan looked at me, his expression serious. “It’s a warning, Sync. Someone’s being called out here. And I think it’s connected to what happened to that guy in the coffin.”

I leaned back in my chair, my skepticism evident. “Or maybe it’s just an old message. Something he wrote and never got the chance to act on. Maybe he’s just a pile of bones by now.”

Kyan shook his head, his eyes dark with determination. “No. This is recent. If it had been there all along, it would’ve shown up in the original investigation records. The photo I showed you was taken recently.”

I glanced down at the documents Kyan had spread out on the table. “Did you talk to the previous team that handled the case?”

He nodded, pulling out a folder. “Yeah, I did. They told me there was no message when they first examined the coffin. They ran tests, but nothing made sense. They didn’t want to waste any more time on it.”

I stared at him. “So, they just gave up?”

Kyan shrugged. “Pretty much. They said it wasn’t worth it, but they also mentioned that if it was solved, it could be worth millions.”

“Money again?" I said, rolling my eyes. “Is that what this is really about?”

Kyan’s eyes lit up with excitement. “It’s not just about the money, Sync. It’s about the mystery. This is something science can’t explain. Who wouldn’t be fascinated by it? Even you, Miss Skeptic, are curious.”

I huffed, still skeptical. “Curious? More like frustrated. A man living for centuries? That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s why it’s worth solving,” Kyan said, leaning in. “How is it possible? What’s the reason behind it? Think about it, Sync. If this can happen, what else is out there?”

I didn’t respond immediately. There was something compelling about the way he spoke, even though everything he was saying seemed impossible. I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “You’re probably the only one crazy enough to chase this down.”

Kyan grinned. “Crazy? Maybe. But I’m onto something, and I’m not stopping until I get answers.”

Before I could say anything else, Kyan’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and frowned. “I’ve got to go. My lab assistant’s calling.”

“Keep me posted,” I said, standing up.

I made my way back to the van, but before I could get inside, my phone rang. It was an unknown number.