Chapter 30

Walking around the perimeter of Sucy's room, Diana let her fingers idly trail over everything. The walls, the scattered posters adorning aforementioned walls, the multiple pots of plants, the bookcases, her desk, her computer, and her various knickknacks collected over time.

Diana looked around to make sure there wouldn't be any indication to show that Sucy Manbavaran snapped and took her there to finally kill her.

And for the good part, there was none.

She can rest at ease.

Sucy had been observing her through the crack on her bedroom door. A fantasy played out inside her head as she would reach out for the Brit's delicate neck. She couldn't decide whether she wanted it to be quick and painless with a snap or slow and painful. Watching the agony as the life was sucked out of her eyes.

"Here," Sucy entered the room after she got out of her reverie, carrying two mugs. "I made some Taho, earlier. It's best enjoyed cold."

Diana stared at the contents when she took it. "What concoction did you just brew?"

"How dare you, it's just tapioca seeds, soft tofu, and brown melted sugar!" Sucy said, drinking from her own mug.

"Just tell me if you don't like it, I have another one that has strawberry jam in it, maybe you'll like it better."

Diana slurped some of its contents and the way she swallowed the cold soft tofu was truly an experience of a lifetime. "Oh no, thanks. This is quite good."

Sucy's lips slowly curved in a smirk when she placed her voodoo doll on top of her desk.

"What are you doing?" Loa hissed. "Flaunting me in front of her?"

She knew the Brit won't think it's uncharacteristic of her. And besides, it was clear as day that the girl doesn't believe in the paranormal. Sucy could be bold in front of her, throw all the telltale signs, help the detective sleuth her way into catching her, yet Diana Cavendish's close-mindedness will obscure the truth in plain view.

Sucy set a foot sideward to face the girl once more. A slow smirk wormed its way to her mouth as she imagined the cold lifeless body on her trash. "Let's start."

Sucy still hadn't the faintest idea why Diana wanted to spend time with her at all. That first day when she had come up to Sucy at the table, it was clear that the Brit still wasn't the fondest of her. While she'd been perfectly agreeable—eerily so, in fact—there had been a subtle kind of loathing in Diana's eyes, the type born from years of rival enmity. But even in the short amount of time that they had been spending together, that loathing had diminished, softened into something tamer. Sometimes, it even disappeared for a little while.

But that didn't mean that they liked each other. If anything, Sucy seemed to tolerate Diana and vice versa. Diana was determined to be civil but not go beyond that. They still sniped at one another when they looked up from their work for long enough to speak, but there was usually a careful kind of lightness to it, an understanding on both of their parts to not go too far, to respect the truce. And though she still didn't understand Diana's motives, Sucy was sure as hell she was about to rock the boat.

"How's the consulting with the Scotland Yard?" Sucy asked absentmindedly as if for the sake of conversation.

"The truth still eludes me," Diana said. Sucy waited for more explanation but the girl offered no more than that.

Sucy stared back at her work and gritted her teeth, opting to focus on it instead when the girl spoke.

"I heard Akko broke up with you."

Sucy scoffed. "What else did you hear?"

"Is it true you cheated on her?"

Sucy could hear Loa laughing at her from across the room. She swore under her breath. "I didn't cheat on her. I could never. She's the only one important to me."

Diana searched for her eyes and Sucy was forced to stare right back at them. "I prefer sins of omission than outright lies." She said as she held her gaze. "You're lying and I don't know why, but unfortunately a more pressing mystery demands my attention."

"What could be more pressing than your human nature to gossip?"

"I heard about your foster mother," Diana whispered, but the room felt like a bomb had been dropped. "My condolences about Dr. Adams. How are you coping with it?"

She couldn't say she didn't expect the question to be thrown her way. Sucy had been waiting for it. So she had practiced her line quite too well, even if it wasn't that far from the truth. "There's nothing really much to cope there is? She and I weren't as close as many would have thought."

"Is that the reason why you chose not to garner sympathies and presence from school and the social media?"

"Why?" she blinked before her eye narrowed into a slit. "Are you thinking it was possible that I had to do anything with my missing foster mother?"

"I am merely suggesting that her unfortunate accident was certainly in suspicious circumstances."

"Call it what you will then, I'm used to being the talk of ugly rumors anyway."

Diana nodded at her own pace.

"How are you by the way?" Sucy asked. "With what's been going on with that Hanbridge boy."

The Brit chuckled, and it that moment, Sucy saw the side effects of her ongoing torture. If not for Diana's makeup to cover up her exhaustion, anyone could see that she wasn't fine,

"It's hard to accept that I had failed him. Quite profoundly." She inhaled sharply, staring the ceiling to keep the tears from falling. "I silently and bitterly mused that I was almost positive I had cried more in the past handful of months than I had previously in my entire life."

"I understand," Sucy said, almost too quickly. "Saving one person could mean failing the other and vice versa. Perhaps heading straight to danger is your way of coping."

"It appears I am reckless when in distress," Diana chuckled. "Perhaps you are right. Detection is an exact science like the law that is treated with the same unemotional manner. And to achieve that cold state, I head straight to danger because it gives me an edge. A pedestal to climb on or a wall to lean on."

"Sounds to me like you should continue it," Sucy said, not because she was encouraging her, but because Diana Cavendish was a glass filled to the brim and was on the danger of over spilling. To have her out of the picture, Sucy should make her mentally and emotionally ill. Heading straight to more danger won't give her clarity. Sucy knew this. She had gone to loads of psychiatrists to know Diana was in need of one because of her trauma.

All Sucy got to do to remove her from the scene permanently is to make her go crazy.

"The Blytonbury Killer's targets are plain simple," Diana mused. "They thought their motive would be too easy to detect so they made their methods complex."

"Them?" Sucy's brow shot to her hairline.

"I prefer to use gender-neutral nowadays. It helps destroy the image of a prominent male murderer. I believe the Blytnburry Killer acts alone and is of the fairer sex. Believes herself to be—"

Sucy suddenly felt exhausted. Just listening to the Brit gave her immense pain. To act as she cared was far more exhausting than using her energy to use magic. So she tune her out as she would to Loa when the doll was being overbearing. No wonder Diana Cavendish had no one to turn to. Despite her outward beautiful appearance, she was a mess inside. Sucy's stinging eyes flicked back and forth between the mass of curls obstructing her view of Diana's face and the shoulders beneath and behind them, hunched forward and nearly quivering with stress.

Sucy came to a sudden stop as a thought streaked through her mind, but within moments, a large, beaming smile slowly spread across her face as she spoke a heartfelt reply. "I don't know why but I hate hearing you demean yourself."

Diana looked taken aback by what she asked, Sucy did too. She couldn't believe what came out of her mouth. She could feel Loa on her desk giving her the side eye.

"All the self-deprecating crap that you spout really makes me want to poison you, and the pessimism, too. But you're right that your situation isn't great right now and that, in spite of this," she gestured between them, "I've no right to say otherwise."

Diana cleared her throat, uneasily. "Well enough about me, we were talking about your foster mother. All I wanted to say was that I am sorry for your loss."

Sucy didn't force herself to feel bad this time around, merely playing around the realm of apathy. "Eh, don't be. You could be so nosy, did you know that?"

She chuckled at that. "It appears I only wanted to see if you would open up to me."

Sucy looked away and pocketed her hands, trying to stop the itch that overwhelmed her since she brought the Brit to her flat. "You can't handle what you'll see."

There was a sudden bright flicker from her eyes. "How come? Did you had anything to do with the fact that she died?" she asked, egging on.

With lethargic movements, she rotated her head towards her direction. "No," she said sluggishly, her eyes squinting. "How can I command the plane she was in to crash?"

"It is feasible, and not impossible. Yet, it does sound ludicrous, never mind what I said."

"How's your visit to the alleged killer?" Amanda asked as the British girl headed towards her, exhausting hot air. She was sitting at the cafe beside Sucy's flat building and sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee without a single worry in the world. "You texted me to hang around the vicinity if you ever need back up."

Diana stormed, she sat next to Amanda at the entrance of the café, completely out of Sucy's field of vision. She attempted to feel completely relaxed under the shade of the table's umbrella. With the aromatic smell of coffee rich in the air, the sound of birds chirping happily, the perfect weather, and the chocolate chip muffin on her plate, but Diana is undoubtedly not in a good mood.

"She seems like a normal girl among the subculture of goths in this country. She was being so uncharacteristically kind!" She kicked some dirt off the pavement. "I do believe; however, it was all staged. She had this grand gesture of showing me her Haitian inspired voodoo doll plush that I am certain was too much."

"But, scary dolls like that seem typical of Sucy, to be honest," Amanda said as she pushed Diana's own latte near her.

Diana noted the fact that Amanda bought her ice cold coffee and not tea anymore. Amanda really cared about her. Tea reminded her of blood for uncanny reasons.

Hiding the new dopey grin that would surface on her lips, she said. "No, she is not the kind of girl who would have a fixated liking for objects that denotes childish and cutesy. All indications point to the fact that she is selling me a stunt."

"Oh?" Amanda uncrossed her arms behind her head and crouched closer. "What are those points?"

"I believe it takes a fracture of the soul to murder other people." Diana inched closer, whispering. "And Sucy Manbavaran is becoming a hollowed human shell the more she kills."

"Oh like Voldemort did," Amanda said.

Diana scoffed, her tone rising. "Would your references to pop culture impede please?"

"Then how else do you think I could understand what the fuck you're saying then? You said it yourself; all individuals have different learning mechanisms. I learn through memes and pop culture, ya nasty!" Amanda yelled back but proceeded a softer tone when she asked. "Did your sleuthing skills actually found any evidence in her flat room of something suspicious?"

"I have searched every nook and cranny," Diana said, her blue eyes like a hurricane. "Questioned every suspicious people and observed every weird and normal behavior, yet for the life of me, I can't seem to determine how the killings happen. All I got were was that she's an intelligent psychopath!"

"I bet she's enjoying your frustrations right now," Amanda said, chuckling. "I know I do."

"I would very much like to see you be a productive partner instead of placing all the work on me." Diana grabbed her drink and took one long sip until the brain freeze settled in.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked.

Diana hit her head twice by the base of her palm, wincing. "I'm punishing my brain."

"What did your brain do to deserve such punishment?"

"It is what it did not do," Diana uttered, her free hand was massaging her temples. "We know that Sucy Manbavaran is an abhorrent human being who would rather protect her relationship with Akko than admitting all her murder sprees. And she's almost certainly behind the death of all the boys—"

"—who loved you before?"

"Again, Amanda, I was given the impression you have no penchant for the Young Adult genre."

"It was based on a book? I didn't know that. That's why it's so cheesy! What about you though? You mad at it?"

"On pure insistence from Barbara."

Amanda clapped in amusement before she voiced her opinion. "Diana, you have such a literal mind. Perhaps the reason why we always reach dead ends is that you aren't interested in having an open mind."

Diana now took a measured sip of her latte without averting her gaze. "I am an open-minded individual."

"You know what I mean."

"What?"

"Supernatural stuff."

"Ah bollocks!" Diana said. "I would have an inclination to believe the paranormal than the supernatural ones."

"Come on, listen to me. It might sound crazy now, but hear me out. It's a fact that there's a reason why the Blytonbury Killer couldn't be detected. It's a fact that we can't find it because we are looking in the wrong direction. It's also a fact that we haven't gone the supernatural or paranormal route. It's uncharted territory. It would be worth the exploration, no?"

"Do you have any proof that might lull in into your crazy idea?"

Amanda considered it for a moment before she spat out the most ludicrous sentence Diana ever heard. "Jesus revived from the dead."

Diana scoffed. "Religion is unrelated!"

"What? Are you saying you don't believe in God?"

Diana's throat was suddenly clogged by air. She wasn't about to talk about her religious beliefs. "All I'm saying is that reincarnation isn't real because what people are experiencing is called Déjà vu."

"That seems very complex and complicated, I don't want to hear the rest of that philosophy theory of yours."

It irked Diana that Amanda was right. But then, so was the collective consciousness that believed in religion.

"Come on, what do you have to lose?"

"Alright, even if we go with your delusional theory. How do we go about it?"

"Simple, we go to the Professor of the Occult."

"Pardon?"

"Professor Lukić. People call her the Professor of the Occult due to her theories on superstitions and curses."

"And you want us to ask for her help?"

"She's not called the Professor of the Occult for nothing though!"

Professor Lukić on weekends could be found on her own home, but on a certain month that is when Blytonbury hosted fairs, she could be found on her own stall in a star-studded royal blue and violet tent. She was quite famous for sure as she got some extra wage by pretending all of magic's hocus-pocus and telling people what they want to hear and make it as vague as possible.

Diana and Amanda had to go through the back door so as not to bother her lining customers outside, waiting for a reading. A wall of curtain greeted them with a silhouette of Professor Lukić and a customer sitting across each other with a crystal ball in between them.

"Who's there?" Professor Lukić's shrill voice emanated from the wall of a curtain. She stood from her seat and pushed the curtain sideways to face the intruders. "It's not your time yet, don't barge in here when it's not your turn."

The pair both took a step back at the intensity of Professor Lukić's aura. She was an old woman with long gray hair, a large pointed nose, and big bulging eyes. She stood crookedly and it seemed her eyes turned hollow and her hair moved on its own accord when she yelled at them.

"Our deep apologies, Professor," Diana muttered, recalling that the old woman had a penchant for scaring her students and she derived pleasure from it. "But we would like to discuss some things with you and it seemed we cannot afford to waste any time to line outside."

Slowly but surely, recognition flickers in Professor Lukić's eyes. "Wait, aren't you my students?" she asks, confusion evident on her face. "Are finally more of the Luna Nova students appreciating my talent? But I'm afraid you still have to line outside. This is no easy business."

"So you do admit it is all business?"

"That's not what I said, young one."

"Diana?" The customer appeared behind the curtains where Professor Lukić had been. Diana had no idea she was the kind of girl who believed in readings of fortunes. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, annoyed.

Diana flinched slightly, taken back by the unexpected surprise. "A-Akko?"

There is just something so mesmerizing about Akko and her eyes are blazing hotly in a way that absolutely melted Diana's heart.

Akko's stunning appearance doesn't exactly help her though. "I… uh…" Diana was petrified, frozen on the spot, stiff as a statue. She can't move a single muscle, not even to get away from her stare. Akko's glare was too damn unnerving.

"Goddamn, Akko!" Amanda sneered. "I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff!"

"I was not…" Akko said, apprehensively, "really."

Sensing her uneasiness, Diana knitted her brows together at the possible explanation.

Akko cleared her throat. With her eyebrow raised, she asked, "Not that I don't like seeing you, guys, but why the hell were you trying to break into my important reading?" Her tone was softer, less hostile.

"Uh…" Diana quickly turned her head to face Amanda who merely shrugged at her.

It hit her hard all at once, due to her disbelief in these practices, she had become pretty much, a bitch, and a little disrespectful. Or more importantly, she had made a fool of herself in front of her crush in the absolutely worst way possible and will probably never ever redeem herself.

Horrified by her own imbecile actions, Diana began stammering, "I… I am in d-deep regret of what I did…"

"That's okay," Akko said. "Professor Lukić could do it again if you pay for the interrupted reading."

"Yes of course," Professor Lukić said with a proud smile. "If Miss Cavendish pays."

Diana reached for her wallet when Amanda stopped her and handed the Professor a bunch of her spare change. It pleased the old woman so much that it seemed she was given rare items for potion making.

"Let me do a reading for you free of charge Miss Cavendish."

"Oh?" Amanda asked. "I paid for the interruption but she gets the free reading?"

The Professor of occult proceeded with her warning. "I don't need to read your palms to know that you are in grave danger with what you are doing right now. Sororal love, no matter how strong, is no protection against serial killers."

"I had the same assumption that I am presently in danger which is pretty much obvious to those who have eyes. How would I know you are not spouting intricate nonsense? You read and heard about what I do in my spare time. Who is to say you do not speak of what is inevitable and mostly what I need to hear?"

The old woman chuckled before speaking softly. "Did you feel it? The ill wind that blew through Blytnbury last night like fission of electricity. As though the curtain between worlds had been torn asunder. The dead may claim your hearts and minds but not your souls. If you are not able to get out of that predicament, it will be the end for you. Unless you follow the path where your heart beats." She gave a subtle nod towards Akko.

Diana's cheeks flared at the implication, but her annoyance overcame the previous emotion. "Oh, suddenly you are a Professor of eschatology and psychology?"

"Hmmph, more like erotology." Professor Lukić hissed, taking pleasure in the fact that she successfully rattled the Brit once more. "Diana, believe what I say for your own sake. The heart line never lies. You know that your greatest passion is very close at hand. Pursue it."

"And believe what I say, Professor. I have no intention of pursuing my greatest passion. Unless it's answering questions that plague my every waking which is a particular favorite nowadays."

Professor Lukić clutched her chest, panting, and pale all of a sudden. "Oh, my heart."

"Are you alright, Professor?" Akko asked, holding the old woman by the shoulders to help her stand still.

"Oh, it's nothing." The old woman waved a hand of dismissal, but still, she clutched her chest with her other hand. "Go back in, Miss Kagari, we'll proceed once this is done."

"Are you ill?" Diana asked.

"I've given my heart to my work, literally. It's taken its toll. I have no energy to spare for skeptics. You do know quite well what I'm talking about, do you, Diana?"

"Yes, well, I can be a difficult girl to sway when it comes to spiritualists and stuff. Especially since you are searching for astounding ways as an excuse to psychoanalyze me."

"Psych analyzation founded its roots on divination and astrology." Professor Lukić took one more glimpse at the Japanese girl. "You seem to have a way with one particular kindred spirit, Miss Cavendish. Do tell me, do you discredit everything you don't see?"

"No, not everything. I believe in air, radio waves, electricity and magnetism or the energy that flares between two people." Diana folded her hands behind her, exuding politeness. "I, myself, can never get enough debates about the paranormal but I am afraid our time here is limited. Amanda and I came here to ask for your educated opinion."

"Go ahead."

"What do you think of the possibility that the Blytonbury Killer might be related to rituals or the occult?"

Professor Lukić screeched. But it was just her quirky way of laughing, as the very stereotype of a witch. "In ritual or occult crimes, the killer basically acts for supernatural reasons. But murders of Blytonbury Killer's type are extremely rare. And especially those committed by children. But madness has no borders. It could be a psychopath—born crazy, or a sociopath—raised crazy. Your killer does is not mentally ill. She does not belong to a cult. Your killer seems to act alone but she's possessed by a demon."

"I see," Diana said with a raised brow. "This conversation substantiated to be heading nowhere. It was an utter waste of time after all."

"Oh hey, guys!" Lotte walked through the back door, with no recollection of the mood around her. "I didn't know there was a small coven in here."

Only Professor Lukić snorted loudly. "I love that one. Miss Jansson, would you see these two extra guests out?"

"Of course, Professor." Lotte nodded her head in respect before addressing Diana and her companion. "Come on guys, I know have a lot of unanswered questions from Professor Lukić. I'm happy to answer all of them to the best of my ability!"

A/N: Next chapter will be uploaded tomorrow!