As expected, the three of them were in the hallway at around midnight, once most of the maids had gone to bed. Viktor looked disappointed in the three of them, including himself. Quinn couldn't care less for guilt. She wanted to see what was in the study.
Ronan was the first to grab the door handle. He shook it violently before giving up. "Locked," he stated. "Does anyone have a key?"
Viktor shook his head. He then reached over and tried, himself. Ronan scoffed as he too failed.
"Can't you just blast us into the room like you did with the monster?" Ronan suggested, turning his gaze to Quinn who blinked in surprise.
That had been the first time any of the three of them had mentioned the event. They weren't even sure if Quinn herself remembered.
"The deer man?" She asked with a tilted head. "Sure. Okay."
She looked at the door with a gaze full of determination and concentration. She however, did not blast the door away. It stayed completely still as usual. But the three of them had moved somehow and they were suddenly in the office.
It happened suddenly. Quinn didn't know how. She blinked and the three of them were inside. Viktor gasped in fright and Ronan fell to the floor.
"How the—?" Viktor questioned, breathlessly as Ronan scrambled across the floor, attempting to find his footing.
"I got us here, didn't I?" Quinn pointed out.
This was so strange. She'd never been able to do this before. She'd have moments when she was high and delusional but never to this extent. She gazed at her hands in awe, wondering what caused this new talent.
"While we're in here," Ronan grumbled, finally standing, but still gripping on the back of a chair. "We can find some info on why she can do that."
The office was crowded and busy, exactly how Quinn had always pictured it. She'd seen glimpses of the room when she was young and would try to sneak in, but either her father or one of the maids would always catch her first.
The shelves were stacked full of books, and papers scattered across the table seated at the edge of the room.
"Alright," Viktor ordered. "Let's get looking."
"Remind me what it looks like again?" Ronan asked, looking under a few heavy boxes with ease. He'd always had a strange amount of strength.
"It's brown," Viktor spoke. "Leather, I think."
"Can't Quinn just magic it up?" Ronan grunted. "She can do everything else."
Viktor paused. "Can you?"
"I… don't know?" Quinn admitted. "It's a new… talent."
"That's one word for it," Ronan spoke. "Maybe you should've stayed in rehab."
She glared at him. Suddenly a pile of books came flying onto his head, knocking him to the floor once more.
"What the hell?!" He shrieked, rubbing his head from where he sat by the pile of dropped books. "What did you do?"
"Calm down, Ronan," Viktor assured. "You're just being clumsy."
"These books weren't even here to begin with!" He argued, opening one before flicking through it. "They have no words in them!" He then pointed an accusing finger at Quinn. "You did this!"
Quinn looked at the shelf Ronan had just been at, up the ladder and sure enough, all the books were in their right places. These had come out of nowhere.
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a fuckwit—!" Quinn sneered with bared teeth, her eyes wide.
"Enough!" Viktor commanded. "Jesus, just stop! Quinn, you stay there. Ronan, you there." He pointed at them for them to stay in their respective corners of the room. "I'll find the book."
Quinn glared before gazing down at her feet. She wondered if this new skill of hers could bring the book to her. There was a pile of dropped books near her. She wondered if she thought hard enough, that when she'd lift the pile, the journal would be under there.
With a delicate hand she lifted the books, and sure enough, nestled between them was the journal. "Yes!" She cheered.
"What?" Ronan grumbled.
"I found it!"
Viktor looked surprised and a little unsure but upon further inspection he realised she was correct. It was in the same condition as it always was. It was small with yellowing pages and a brown leather cover.
What Quinn hadn't noticed before was the letters on the cover engraved in what looked like gold.
G.O.T.S
"What does that mean?" Quinn asked Viktor, expecting the eldest sibling to know.
"I don't know," he admitted.
To tell the truth, this was probably the closest they'd been to the journal. Ernest was always rather secretive about it, and never let them handle it themselves when they were children.
Viktor held the book with a curious gaze. "Huh…" he spoke.
"What?" Quinn and Ronan asked at the same time.
"I'm just… surprised," he admitted. "I'd always assumed his stories were written like… stories."
"What do you mean?" Ronan asked.
He lowered the book for the two to see. He flicked to a random page. There was an illustration of a tall shark-like man. She remembered this one from the stories. It lived in a kingdom where the seafolk ruled the world.
Only the book was written as information. Graphics on the diet, hostility, strength, habitat; all as if he'd actually seen this creature.
"What about Arkanon?" Quinn asked after a pause.
Viktor nodded, flicking a few pages before stopping again. The illustration was accurate. Horns sprouting from his head, six legs, a pointed snout, dark scales and a long tail.
It was like Ernest had seen this creature before.
"Arkanon," Viktor read out the page. "The humanoid lizard-deer man. His diet is primarily the hearts of human souls. I couldn't find a weakness for him so I've kept him in a secure location for the time being. He's resentful and shows no human emotion. I've found no way to kill him yet."
"Shit," Ronan murmured.
"So Dad knew about Arkanon?" Quinn asked.
"I think so," Viktor responded with a small nod. "I think he knew about all these creatures."
"All?"
"The ones from his stories," he said. "This wasn't a story book. It was his documents. His information on them. He told them to us like fiction but they were real the whole time."
"Then how have we only just seen him?" Quinn asked.
Viktor shook his head. "I don't know." He closed the book and looked at the desk. "Coordinates," he pointed out. "Maybe the ones Dad said he kept Arkanon in?" He looked at Ronan. "Get me a map. From my room."
Ronan nodded and sped off. He returned quickly with a pile of different maps and papers. "I didn't know which one you wanted so I just got all of them."
Viktor huffed, pulling out a large one from the bottom of the pile. He stared at it in concentration as Quinn and Ronan watched him curiously, before Viktor finally landed on a mark.
"The old lab," he said. "The one an hour from here."
"Don't know it," Ronan admitted as Quinn shook her head.
"Got shut down for getting into some dodgy stuff," Viktor said. He noticed his siblings' expectant looks. "I'm not disclosing it to civilians." Ronan rolled his eyes.
"Okay. It looks like we're going to the old lab."