A Study of Fiber and Demons

by Jasmine Gower

  Sylvestra smiled, but it was not at all her normal sardonicism. "You're disappointed that he abandoned us?"

  The realization that the weight of years' worth of grudging resentment had vanished was not as relieving as he might have expected it to be. After everything that had happened, Alim did trust them both now.

  Squeezing Sylvestra's hands, he said, "My flirtations with Jack were an obvious bust, as you saw, so I suppose I was rather eager to find another paramour who might not be so… murderous. Even with my past rivalry with Liam, I never expected him to try to kill me. But I'd rather he not walk out on me, either. So, yes, of course I'm disappointed." He shrugged dramatically, abruptly feeling too sincere and exposed. "When will I ever meet someone who's just nice?"

  Her smile shifted to something more heartfelt. "Well, I'm still here."

  He was too prideful to admit that that was what he was hoping she would say. "I have heard that you're expecting to have more free time soon. Perhaps enough to meet up for a nice dinner?"

  "Yes, I'm sure we'll have plenty to discuss in table conversation." She leaned forward to give him a soft kiss on the lips, having to spring up a bit on her toes to reach. "But we've still got the unpleasantness back at the university to deal with. You'd best get dressed so we can return in a timely manner and see how much worse Liam has made this for us."

  Alim didn't believe that Liam left them with malicious intent, but he, too, was ready to finish his business at Pinnacle and have it behind him.

  *~*~*

  On the tram ride back to Pinnacle, Alim and Sylvestra tried to distract each other with harmless flirting, but once they arrived back at the station, the pleasant diversion was gone and all Alim could think of was getting back to his office, and Sylvestra seemed intent on hers. Parting ways, Alim went directly to his cramped, disorganized office. In light of recent events, he didn't resent it as he had the last time he had been in it. He was almost glad to see it again.

  When he opened the door, however, he wasn't given a moment to take in the sight of it one last time before the force of another human body slammed into him.

  "You ass!"

  Alim teetered from the momentum of Farrah's hug, and he hugged her back almost just to keep from toppling over. "Excuse you, but I almost died."

  "They told me you did! But then Liam came back this morning and told Unteng that you were fine, so I suppose you changed your mind about dying. Which is just like you, honestly." Alim tried to disengage Farrah from the embrace, but she tightened the hug. "Ah, no way. Thirty full seconds for this one." Alim sighed and stood still, allowing Farrah to finish her hug. Once she released him, Professor Unteng, who had been sitting in the lone chair opposite of Alim's desk, stood and approached.

  "It's good to see you well, Instructor Azura. Is Researcher Geruz with you?"

  "Yes, but she went to her own office." Fury at the recent events bubbled up in Alim, and while he might have normally been disinclined to stir up controversy with his superiors, he now had nothing stopping him from seeking justice against Jack. "Professor, there is something you must know. While w—"

  Unteng lifted a hand. "I'm well aware. Liam called a meeting with the Directors' Board and confessed this morning, not two hours ago."

  "Confessed?"

  Farrah braced Alim's arm as though fearing how he might react to her words. "It turns out Liam plagiarized his research on the demonweave silk sacs from Sylvestra. He told the board he did not possess the expertise necessary to continue on the project and announced an immediate leave of absence, no doubt expecting the board to revoke his position in the university."

  Alim shook his head. "No, I meant—did he say anything about Jack?"

  Unteng frowned. "He mentioned only that you and Mistress Geruz survived, and that he had stolen her scholarly work a number of years back. Why?"

  "He didn't—" Alim bit his tongue. Instead of exposing Jack, Liam had opted to come clean about what he had done to Sylvestra, but Alim knew Liam wasn't going to overlook what Jack had done. "I'm sorry, but I must go find Jack."

  Farrah grabbed him by the belt when he turned toward the door. "Excuse me? You can't almost die and then go flitting off immediately."

  "The board wishes to speak to you," Unteng added, but Alim ignored him and shook off Farrah.

  "I'm sorry, Farrah, but there's a great drama afoot, and I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I find myself caught right in the middle of it."

  Farrah crossed her arms, ever loyal to her role as the put-upon little sister. "You are certainly right about that." He knew she would chide him for it later, but he had no time to spare on a reunion with her. Spinning out the door, he went charging down the immaculate halls of the hallowed university, running as fast as his still-sore legs would take him to stop Liam—or perhaps help him—in whatever he was doing.

  *~*~*

  By the time Alim arrived at Jack's office, he was wheezing from exertion. The dramatics of his dash were ruined by the fact that he didn't know where Jack's office was, and he'd had to stop three students along the way for directions. Regardless, he did locate it nearly an hour later. Alim paused outside the door to catch his breath before throwing it open, but the office was empty.

  "Well, fine. I can wait." Stepping in, Alim took a look around. Twice as big as his own office, Jack's had surprisingly small windows, but the dark paneling around the room gave it a cozy, sophisticated atmosphere. Tidy bookshelves lined the wall behind Jack's desk, mocking Alim and the shabby state of his own office. For an added touch of elegance, there was even a door on the far wall leading into a connecting chamber. As though the office weren't already big enough.

  Wait.

  Alim glanced behind him, though no one had followed. Maybe Jack was further in. Liam, too, might be snooping back there.

  Creeping forward, Alim opened the far door.

  The connecting chamber was entirely windowless, and had dull, gray walls lined by more shelves and several stacked boxes. In the center of the room and against the far wall were two cheap tables set up with a number of scientific utensils—microscopes, scalpels, cotton wipes, and samples of shimmering teal genetic material.

  Alim's throat tightened. The far table had a lock of demonweave fiber from the retrieved cadaver laid out on it, and the nearer table was set up with knives and tweezers as though ready to begin examining the sample. But why was it in Jack's office and not a lab?

  He approached the far table, peering down at the sample. At a closer look, many of the fibers were frayed like split-end hairs. Someone, it seemed, had already dissected them. Laid out next to the fiber was something else Alim hadn't noticed at first, as dull as it was—a small sample of pale beige flesh bearing the texture of a liver.

  A piece of the sac? Had Jack stolen samples off the cadaver before handing it off to the university?

  "Alim?"

  He turned—not because he didn't recognize Jack's voice, but to hide that it had caused him to jump a bit. Standing in the doorway, Jack stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. He was so handsome, and a small part of Alim hoped that there was relief in his gaze, but even if there was it was probably only for Jack's realization that he was not technically a murderer after all.

  "I had heard that Liam had returned, but—"

  "Spare me the touching reunion speech. What is all of this?"

  Jack hesitated, wringing his hands together as his eyes darted between the tables. "I knew the university would take the cadaver out of my hands entirely when I returned without Liam or Sylvestra. I had to keep some for myself, for my own examination, you see. My notes would not be complete without a fuller understanding of the science of the demonweave."

  Alim frowned. "You're not a Biomagicist. What did you hope to find?"

  Jack bristled, and Alim allowed himself a flicker of pride at breaking his façade of harmless curiosity. "I know enough for my ends. The university is not the only one that can make use of this find, after all." Ah. He was selling to clothi
ers, then. No wonder he wanted to be rid of collaborators to share in his find. "And good thing, too. The lab techs weren't optimistic when the cadaver was brought to them. You were right about the damage to the sac, it seems."

  Alim took a step toward Jack, and Jack's eyes widened as he glanced around for some kind of defense. Alim did not physically escalate further, but his voice hiked in volume and pitch when he spoke. "I don't want to talk about that. You tried to murder me and the others."

  Jack's expression softened and his shoulders slumped—just a bit, but not enough to fall out of his defensive stance. "For what it's worth, I did like you, truly."

  "It's not worth a damn lot." He considered bragging about his intimate exploits with Liam and Sylvestra but thought better of it.

  Regardless, Jack's expression darkened. "At least give credit where it's due—the board didn't care if any of us died. They barely blinked when I returned and told them of your demise—supposed demise—and I'm sure you can guess as to why. Did you know Doctor Svoren has a nephew earning his master's certificate next term? And Mistress Velaire's wife has been looking for a career change the past year. How convenient for them, and every other board member with some vested interest in putting new bodies in university positions, if two high ranking researchers from different departments were to tragically pass away at once, promoting some lower-ranking lab jockey to fill their place and opening up an entry-level position for a fresh young face. Your position and mine are just as coveted—unimportant enough that no one will notice the nepotism."

  Alim hadn't known any of that, but it was hardly surprising. Politics as usual, Jack called it when he had dumped them into that underground lake. He wasn't wrong in that regard.

  "Well, the board is getting what it wants. Sylvestra's quitting, Liam confessed to plagiarism, and my head is still waiting on the chopping block. And you're a felon, though I suppose they don't know that part yet, do they?"

  Jack tensed again, his tone returning to something softer and pleading. "Alim, you don't have to—"

  Alim took another step forward, clenching his fists. "Like hell I don't have to! You tried to kill me, and you'll answer for it."

  "Are you threatening me?"

  "Were you threatening me?"

  Jack's eyes shifted again, searching until they landed upon the nearest table, the one laid out with all the examination tools. Alim looked, too, spying a clean, delicate scalpel sitting in plain sight. It was almost exactly equidistant between them. Alim glanced back up, making brief eye contact with Jack before they both rushed to grab it.

  Alim was first to get a grip on the handle, but Jack shoved the heel of his palm into Alim's face as he tried to push Alim aside and wrestle the instrument away. Another hand grabbed at his own, trying to pry his fingers off the scalpel, and a third hand clasped over that.

  "Stop. Release it."

  It wasn't until Alim heard Liam's distinctive growl that he realized Jack didn't have three hands.

  Alim's sight cleared of Jack's palm when Liam jerked Jack away, able to hold him dangling above the floor with his arms pinned to his sides beneath a restraining bear-hug. With Jack out of reach, Alim dropped the scalpel back onto the table.

  To Jack's credit, he didn't try to fight his way out of Liam's grasp. Liam was content to ignore his captive, looking over his shoulder to meet Alim's gaze. "I was looking for you."

  Alim's was surprised to feel his heart skip at the sentiment. "Liam, I am to understand you haven't disclosed to the board what Professor Welling did on our excursion together?"

  "I'll leave that to you—I already delivered some shocking news to them today, and I thought to give them some time to recover from the impact. But our immediate concern is taking care of Jack. Would you mind?"

  "Oh." Alim glanced at the scalpel and made a reach for it. Jack choked on a whimpering gasp.

  "Alim." He jerked his hand back, meeting Liam's scowl. "I meant go alert the authorities."

  "Oh!"

  "My god, Alim."

  Alim stepped around Liam, giving himself enough breadth in case Jack kicked out at him. "Sorry! I was caught up in the moment." Liam rolled eyes and Jack sneered, but Alim didn't linger long enough to get more reaction than that. Propelled by adrenaline, he hurried out of Jack's office to find the nearest authority.

  *~*~*

  Three hours later, the Directors' Board managed to gather themselves and Alim in a generic conference room in the archival tower to speak on his circumstances. After Alim explained what Jack had done, they expressed brief regret regarding Jack's betrayal, briefer thanks for exposing the murderous level of his corruption, and lengthy disappointment at the outcome of the demonweave project. The lab technicians had already determined that teal demon's body was too damaged for the extent of research they were hoping for, and Jack's attempted murder had disrupted Alim, Sylvestra, and Liam's ability to proceed on the project, which the board somehow spoke of as though it were Alim's fault. When they pressed him on the events following Jack dropping them into the subterranean lake, Alim gave only vague hints of crawling through caves. He said nothing of Liam's panic attack, Scout, the demon city, the dragon-moth, and certainly not the demonweave mantle the Authority had gifted to Sylvestra. He didn't even mention that the submarine pod Jack had trapped them in still functioned.

  His answers to their questions were short, vague, incomplete—unscholarly and obvious that he was hiding something. He didn't care. They didn't say anything about Liam's confession, they didn't mention or ask about Sylvestra. This was all another hassle to them, anyway.

  When their efforts to extract information about the failed excursion were exhausted, they tried more desperate probes for even a hint of valuable information. "And what of your personal research into demonweave?" Professor Ashton asked. "Professor Azura has claimed no significant findings as of yet. Have you had more luck than your sister?"

  The fourteen faces of the Directors' Board stared him down from behind their table. Most were painted with boredom, frustration, and resentment. Alim had had the audacity to be caught in his corruption, linger around after his downfall in hopes of rebuilding his career, spend a load of university money on "personal" projects, and then not only expose an attempted murder by another faculty member but come back with no findings. Embarrassment after embarrassment, and they were giving him one more chance to prove himself worth their time.

  With his hands behind his back in mock formality, head held high, he said, "I fear not. I've found no indication that telepathy is possible through physical contact with demonweave. And, I am sorry to say, even the clothiers are not interested in the orange stuff. A complete bust."

  It was pleasing to see dissatisfaction and even disgust cloud Researcher Li and Professor Harrim's faces. The strange hint of relief in Doctor Svoren's expression was somewhat more concerning, until Alim remembered what Jack had said about his nephew. Doctor Havrez, sitting center in the table, leaned forward and laced her fingers. Lips pursed, eye contact unblinking.

  "I see. We are sorry to hear that, Instructor Azura. Given the stagnation of your projects and the undoubted emotional duress you must have suffered from Professor Welling's action, perhaps it would be best at this time to remove you from any demonweave projects until further notice." The other thirteen members of the board nodded in eager agreement.

  "However, your duties as a faculty instructor have also been under review. While we appreciate the work you've done for Pinnacle over the years, Instructor Azura, your recent job performance has been lacking." Cold crept into his chest, locking him in his haughty posture even when he wanted to curl in on himself. He had known this was coming. Why did it shock him?

  Why did it hurt?

  "Giving your past unethical behaviors as a faculty member, you must understand that we require rigorous and unfaltering professional behavior from you. We have been forgiving, but given that you struggle even to grade your students' papers in a timely manner, we feel at this point it is best both
for the university and yourself that you step aside from your academic duties for the time being."

  Oh, blazes. The papers. He had never finished grading them.

  What an innocuous excuse he had provided for them to throw him out on his ass. It wasn't about anyone's corruption or murderous plots, nothing that could reflect on the university as a whole, nothing that could invite external investigation. He was simply inept at his job, wouldn't even grade papers, and there was no more to it than that.

  Doctor Havrez's face was void of emotion. "I am sorry, Master Azura. Please have your office emptied of personal belongings by the end of the week. You are excused."

  *~*~*

  It took only an hour to gather his things, shoving everything he wished to keep into a single box. It was mostly his smutty literature kept in his desk and the single tea mug that was still half-full. He dumped the lukewarm contents onto the floor before stashing the mug, hoping it molded and discolored the hardwood. Carrying his sparse belongings, he made his way to Liam's office.

  Liam had been dealing with the authorities while Alim was in his meeting with the board, but as Alim found him alone in the office, it seemed he had given them all the information regarding Jack that they had needed. Now he stood by his window that looked out over the rugged mountains under a darkening indigo sky. Around him, his own belongings were packed up in boxes. Unlike Alim, he had stored away books, folders, codices—presumably all his research. Well, research he had once claimed as his own.

  "Well, I'm officially canned," Alim said as he stepped into the room, but Liam didn't look away from the window.

  "I'm sorry, Alim."

  "Oh, don't be dramatic." Alim dropped his lone box next to one of Liam's. As dismissive of the entire ordeal as he wanted to be, he did find himself frazzled over it. He had been a Pinnacle academic his entire career. What was he supposed to do now?

  He had an inkling of an answer and hoped that Liam was thinking the same thing—and that Sylvestra would permit it. It frightened him to think that his two unexpected partners might wish to go their separate ways at this point, leaving him adrift, so he tried to focus on other thoughts.