Investigating

The elusive smile on Rhodes's face dropped. He cleared his throat and looked at the logo on the board again. "Can someone see the first and third masks' blue eyes? Words are inscribed around the irises. They read like a code. I don't know what it meant."

The female member looked at Acacia. "You can see the blue eyes, right? Did Lumen put a hidden code on the eyes? What do those words mean?"

"I don't know. She said no one else would probably see what she wrote." Acacia pursed her lips and crossed her arms under the bust. The spark of anger in her eyes grew deeper. "It's not that surprising. You're not the first one to see those words. The director's son also recited them. However, without Lumen, no one here knows what her message says."

"A mystery, then." Rhodes only hummed and walked back to his accidental patient. "Should I list the things I can see on that logo, or is it enough for me to say that I can see the first and third masks' blue eyes? I can still top it off with those masks' bitter grin and the ghastly look of the second mask."

Acacia turned away. "It's all right. You already said enough. We'd have to welcome you to the Gentle Club formally now."

Rhodes's brows lifted and dropped after a second. He said, "It's all right. You don't have to welcome me. I only came here to meet Madam Iveren. I'm not interested in joining your club."

Most members gasped. The female member circled the group to stand next to him. "But Dr Huxley! You're so powerful! Can't you reconsider? The club won't force you to act with us? That is just an enrichment activity. Most of us cannot function in a normal workplace. The things we see and hear… They won't leave us alone…"

"…I have a hotel to run. Don't worry about me hearing and seeing things." Rhodes itched to step away. However, that girl was like a patient who could only lean on her doctor. Even if Rhodes had no memory of his past patients, it felt familiar.

"Don't force the unwilling, Janica." Acacia reached out to collect her friend from Rhodes's side. "We'll break in Mr Kurt alone, then."

Rhodes, however, couldn't help but scoff with a smile. He didn't have to doubt his eyes if they said Acacia hated him to the core. He didn't know why he had to receive the burden, but he refused to take it. It was best to leave this place after meeting Griselda.

The door to the rehearsal room opened again, and Griselda walked in with haste. She had her eyes close, and her pace almost made her run. In a stern, commanding voice, she said, "Acacia, a dream space activated near the blood wall again. See if the girl had another victim. Call the hospital using my office phone if you find anyone."

Acacia dropped her haughty act and sped to Griselda's side. She waited for the madam to sit on her desk at the side. "Director, what's wrong? Are they blaming us for the accidents?"

"No. Something triggered the wards just now." Griselda sat down and looked at the woman blocking her view of the rehearsal room. "A powerful entity breached into the isolated dream space. Someone must have tried to steal the girl's victim. It's happened before."

"We were just there. Could someone venture into the Gloom again?" Acacia walked off and collected her companions—the same four people that fetched Rhodes and Kurt. "Let's go."

Kurt almost rolled around because of his partial paralysis. He turned to Griselda's faraway desk. "Excuse me, what time did that happen? I heard you say, blood wall. Is it the same girl with a knife?"

Griselda opened her eyes and stared at the stranger in their midst. She frowned at the way he lay on the floor. "Yes, why? Have you heard about her? She's particularly active during the morning. Wait a minute, are you Mr Davis? Lumen said you might come."

Kurt gasped and turned to Rhodes for a second. He lightly pounded on the floor. "That bitch stabbed me! Right here… wait, I can't reach it… ah, forget it. Dr Rhodes, tell them! She almost killed the two of us!"

"…you're investigating entities?" Rhodes asked, getting to his feet. "I thought this place was a shelter at most. Are you training them to deal with spirits?"

"Dr Huxley…" Griselda's lips twitched, deciding whether to stay straight or curl into a smile. "I didn't think you'd look for me this early. Anyway, as for your question, I can only ask them to help me with the possible victims. They are not as powerful as Lumen. Only one of them had the capacity to vanquish vile entities. Does it bother you?"

"Not really." Rhodes lied. He glanced down at Kurt on the floor. "Kurt here got stabbed at his lower back, grazing the spine. The knife didn't materialize enough to cause a laceration, but his body felt the pain. If you're sending them back to that girl with a knife, remind them not to fight her if they couldn't."

Kurt nodded vigorously. "Right! We barely escaped because Dr Rhodes summoned—"

Rhodes quickly ducked to grab the man's mouth. He glared at the frightened man before getting to his feet again. Wiping his hand against his pants, Rhodes looked at Griselda again. "Your members saw the entity that came to our rescue. I doubt he will respond to them."

Griselda glanced down at the doctor's makeshift sling. A slight smile curled her lips. "Did she stab you in the arm? It must have hurt."

"…yeah." Rhodes figured Griselda caught him lying. Still, he didn't want to tell people about his friend and his astral form yet.

"Okay. I'll ask someone else to monitor the streets for now." Griselda gestured at Rhodes, hiding her laugh. "Dr Huxley, a word with you, please. Let's talk somewhere more private. I have a feeling that you came to me for business."

Rhodes frowned at the older lady before glancing in Acacia's direction. "Take care of Mr Kurt for me. I'll bring him to the hospital later if I can."

The director and her guest walked out of the rehearsal room. Everyone else looked at one another, and Janica patted her cheek. "…could they be… hiding something? Mr Kurt, what really happened?"

Kurt shook his head. "I can't tell you… He will kill me…"

…

Rhodes arrived at the real office of the club's director. Griselda gestured for him to sit down before the desk while she took her chair. The doctor looked around once before leaning against the seat. "Should we pretend that I didn't slip?"

"Not at all… but you didn't come to see me for that, did you?" Griselda smiled. "Are you asking about the club… or the hotel?"

"None of them." Rhodes took out the birthday invitation from his jacket's inside pocket. "It's about your father's birthday. I want to ask about a few clarifications. Are you holding it at Ring Garden?"