The Scientist's Cultist

x - minotaur.

- - - - - - SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 - - - - -

Westminster, London 2:00 p.m.

"WHAT ARE WE looking for again?" Rowan asked, staring open-mouthed at shelf upon shelf of archives. Some books were even on display, but every single artifact was trapped behind glass to conserve history. Since the London Library was open to tourists more than ever before, it made sense to put some safety measures in place. It also, however, made it extremely difficult to snoop around to find whatever note June and Theo had allegedly sent.

So did the security guards standing on either end of the hall.

"No idea," replied Landon. "They would have made it resemble a real piece of history, right? Didn't Jack the Ripper write letters to the cops admitting to his crimes but never his identity?"

Rowan hummed. "Allegedly, yes, though it may have been many different people. There was no way of confirming anything because the killer never revealed themselves, not to mention that the timing doesn't add up. Those letters wouldn't have been written by September 1888 since he only committed one murder so far."

"Are you two talking about Jack the Ripper?" An older woman interjected from behind them. "Some people believed Jack was a female, you know."

"Really?" Landon asked.

"Yes, myself included. You see, killing women—prostitutes—suggests the work of a man. Wouldn't it be brilliant if that was the detail that has thrown everyone off for all these years? Goodness, she would be laughing in her grave if she knew the legacy she left behind." The woman let out a light laugh and continued her slow walk past the shelves.

Landon tried not to look as unsettled as he felt. Something about what the woman had said reminded him of Elizabeth Bathory: a merciless killer capable of something so evil no one had suspected her of doing it. Hell, they'd had history on their side and still gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Rowan, on the other hand, looked weirded out by the interaction. As soon as she passed, he raised a finger to his ear and spun it in a circle as if to say, 'She was totally cray-cray.' Landon forced himself to focus on the task at hand: figuring out where the hell Theo and June had hidden that note.

"Is it possible they didn't understand Ivan's message?" Landon asked as he scoured the bookshelves for anything that even remotely looked out of place. But of course, it had been almost two centuries since they'd written it.

"Yes, very likely," Rowan responded. "But let's just operate under the assumption that they did."

"What did the message say again?"

"Archives, message in a bottle, something like that."

Landon paused in front of one of the displays, repeating the words in his head. Archives. Message in a bottle. Archives. Message in a bottle. Would they have taken that literally?"

"Row," Landon said. His partner's head lifted instantly from several feet away.

"Yeah?"

"Let's look for an actual message in a bottle," he said.

Rowan's eyes lit up. "You're a genius. I'd kiss you right now if I didn't think we'd be smacked with a baton."

Landon laughed. "They're British, not Cavemen. Just don't badmouth the queen and we'll be fine."

Even though they weren't there to sightsee, it was difficult for Landon to simply skim past the rich history within this room. There were maps, official documents, globes, old-fashioned navigation tools, and books that had been through so much it was a surprise they were still in one piece. Just as he was thinking Theo and June's message must not have been interesting enough for the library to keep, Rowan hissed Landon's name. Somehow, he'd gotten nearly to the end of the exhibit while Landon had only progressed several feet.