Captive of the Shadows (The Fairy Code Book #1) by Kaitlyn Weiss

CHAPTER ONE

My lab was on the tenth floor. Five years ago, the Institute of Molecular and Applied Genetics had moved from an old, pre-war building to modern facilities. Now we were surrounded by light and glass. Our labs new were state of the art in terms of our equipment. Pretty fancy stuff.

I don't know what was behind such dramatic changes. Rumor had it that our institute had been given a lot of money for research and development. But from whom, and why...?

I wondered, but didn't really care. What mattered to me was that we no longer had to worry about securing new equipment and such.

In fact, we had just about everything we needed. And this morning, like usual, instruments quietly hummed, including the genetic analyzer, which was shiny and new, and people were bustling around the microscopes and test tubes. It was just another workday. Ivory-colored blinds shuttered the windows, preventing the sun from blinding us and interfering with our work.

The fateful intercom call came after lunch. I had just returned to the lab and donned my lab coat when the senior technician shouted that Osipov wanted to see me.

My hands grew instantly cold. What did the director of the Institute want from me? I didn't have any transgressions on my record – I'd always carried out the experiments accurately and in a timely fashion, without any incidents.

"Aurora, maybe the old man's lonely," smirked Rostik, the junior laboratory technician.

"Ha ha! That's rich coming from you."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Alice sneered. Unlike Rostik, she sounded downright mean. But that's our Alice for you – kind of like cut glass. She didn't like her position – she'd wanted mine. She didn't like her salary – everyone else earned more.

But it didn't matter. Our lab was the best – young, fun. No one was older than 35. So maybe we were a little irreverent, but we were always conscientious about our work, and really, a little kidding around was okay.

"Don't cry when you think of me," I muttered, taking off my lab coat. I ran my hand over the collar of my blouse, fixed my hair, which was tied back, and for some reason sprayed a little perfume on my wrist. I took a deep breath, and headed for the elevator, still thinking about what could be the matter.

Osipov wouldn't summon me for nothing. In fact, he was a rather rare sight at the Institute. And even when he did show up, all he did was reprimand us, or drone on and on about how grateful we should be for the privilege of working there. I don't know what he expected us to do – maybe fall on our knees and kiss his feet or something.

Our beloved leader was located on the top floor – the twelfth. The reception room was huge, with polished floors, glass walls and a secretary at a long semicircular table. Everything was expensive, stylish, and slightly over the top. Why, for example, did the sofas have to be covered in gold leather embossed with DNA symbols? Or, why the low table made of thick green glass with multicolored splotches suspended within? And these plants in dark, ornate tubs ... It felt cold, more like a cemetery than a reception area.

They were already waiting for me. The secretary glanced up from her computer, waved her hand toward the massive door, and plunged into her work again.

"Hello, Sir," I said, standing at the door. I was doing my best to sound calm and businesslike.

"Come in, Aurora."

Hmm...Was that a quiver in his voice?

I stepped inside, sensed the door close softly and silently behind me, and all of a sudden felt a stab of fear, like I had walked into a trap. I knew that was silly, of course. I was simply standing before the director, who, for whatever reason, was acting like he'd been caught smoking by the teacher.