“And then she disappeared through the window, hopefully never to be seen again.”

  I finish the story about the mystery girl who ambushed me in my own room in the middle of the night.

  Silence falls between me and Father Seraphim.

  A teaspoon clinks against a cup. Is he preparing tea?

  “Nia, first of all, calm down.” He says. “Your strong emotions are your number one enemy. We have to deal with them soon.”

  How do you deal with strong emotions? Meditation?

  I slowly exhale air out of my mouth and nod to myself.

  “I need to calm down.” I repeat his words and sit down on my bed, opening and closing my right fist. It’s still sore from the pain inflicted by the girl.

  “Now, please focus, Nia, this is important. Can you remember anything unusual about her that would give us a hint about her identity? Start from the beginning.”

  Her dark silhouette floats into my mind.

  “Well, as I said, she’s very tall and slender, her long hair is falling over her shoulders. She’s very flexible and probably strong, since she managed to get to the third floor. She also mentioned spraying a virus in my bedroom. All in all, she seemed emotionally unstable but very determined. Oh, and the most important thing, she has a gift of reading people through hand-holding.”

  “Hm, emotionally unstable? Would you say she resembles you?”

  I’m caught off guard. Am I emotionally unstable? Since when?..

  “Me? No, no, no. She’s insane, I’m not.” I protest.

  “Okay, fair.” Father Seraphim says, amused. “Well, thanks to your meticulous description, we can easily assume she’s not human.”

  I already suspected it but I still shudder.

  She seems human, sounds human, but isn’t human. This messes with my head more than I expected.

  “What is she, then? If she’s not a Reptilian, human or a demon, what else is left?”

  “Well, considering her above average height, her power to extract information out of you with a mere touch and the technology she used to give you a virus, we can confidently say she’s an Atlantean… We have an excellent relationship with them, mind you. I don’t see why they would attack you.”

  I step on something. I bend down and pick up a beautiful, heavy black pendant dangling from a silver chain. It’s shaped like the sun, a circle surrounded by a lot of pointy rays.

  The girl probably dropped the pendant while she was heaving herself up the windowsill. If it’s important to her, that psycho is definitely coming back for it...

  “Atlanteans and Reptilians are mortal enemies. Actually it’s their fight, we’re just standing between them.”

  “Wait, what did you say? Reptilians are NOT our enemies?!”

  “Uhh, not directly. But we’re an obstacle for them. So they have to walk over us to get to the Atlanteans. I will explain this better later, I’m in a hurry, I want to catch Father Ilarion and inform him about the rogue Atlantean girl before he goes underground. After that it’s nearly impossible to contact him.”

  “So the girl is operating alone against me…” I say, turning the sun pendant over. It has a thin letter “K” engraved on it in silver.

  “Exactly, but don’t worry, Father Ilarion will know what to do. You know Ilarion, right? Manuchar told me you saw him yesterday, sleeping at the headquarters. He’s an Atlantean too.”

  I bring the pendant close to my eye, I can see my pupil in the polished black surface.

  “Yes, super tall with white hair and tattoos, I found him sleeping in one of your rooms, he’s gorgeous.” The words spill out before I can stop myself.

  Father Seprahim barks out a laugh.

  “I don’t blame you, Nia, Atlanteans are famously gorgeous. But please don’t flirt with Ilarion, he’s at least ten years older than you, and also, not human.”

  I feel my face heat up. This is embarrassing.

  “No, of course not! I’m just speaking from an objective point of view,” I stutter “He looked majestic, that’s all…”

  “He is indeed majestic and a true ally, a messenger between us and Atlanteans. I value his friendship very much. Atlanteans live deep underground, no human signal reaches down there. He needs to physically come to us if he wants to relay messages safely and he dutifully fulfills his job every single time.”

  This is bizarre new information.

  Atlanteans are living underground?! Didn’t Atlantis sink or whatever?

  I rub my eyes so hard I see the stars. My worldview is changing every single day, I don’t know how much more I can take without going insane.

  “He left this morning but maybe I can catch up with him on Torch Mountain. He was planning to visit a friend there.”

  I lift the sun pendant to my eyes again. If the girl doesn’t come back to retrieve it, I’ll gladly wear it.

  I feel guilty for hiding it from Father Seraphim, but I don’t want him to confiscate it.

  “Nia, we need to initiate you in the order as soon as possible, so that you’re officially under our protection. Let’s do it today. I’ll send Manuchar over, he’ll keep guard while you sleep and then he’ll take you to the Wooden Library to get inducted.”

  I relay to him my exact address and finish the call.

  It’s still dark outside, I need to sleep some more.

  I get in bed and put the pendant around my neck. It rests heavy on my chest. I close my eyes and try to get more comfortable.

  Suddenly, the pendant gives a strong tug.

  “Uhh, what the hell?” I try to lift it out of my shirt but it’s not coming. The metallic sun is glued to me, stuck to something under my skin… my breastbone.

  Growing frantic, I pull again and again, my breastbone is tugged repeatedly. It feels uncomfortable and wrong. My hands start to shake. The stupid pendant refuses to come off.

  I wipe the sweat forming on my forehead and try again. It doesn’t even budge. Even if I rip my skin off, it won’t come off, it’s stuck to my bone like a magnet.

  “I need to call the hospital… But how the hell am I supposed to explain this shit to a doctor?” I whisper to myself.

  The pendant grows warmer. I let out a blood-hurdling scream, falling to the floor. I writhe around for a while, thinking that I’m being burned.

  Did the knife-girl drop it on purpose for me to pick up? Is it a listening device? Maybe, since I can’t take it off, she will be listening in on every conversation I’ll have with the Order members?

  “What do you want from me?!”

  I check for any burns on my chest. Thankfully, for now, I seem unharmed.

  How do I explain to anyone why a pendant is stuck to my chest? How do I go to the pool from now on? What do I tell my mom? Or even my future husband? It sounds ridiculous, but if it never comes off, I will have to explain to people where it came from…

  I realize I’m still on the floor. I shudder from the cold and try to get up.

  The pendant buzzes loudly and starts heating up again. It’s… pleasant. The warmth flows from the metallic sun to my whole body. Reaching even my perpetually ice-cold feet.

  “Oh my god, you’re a… you’re a heater!” I yell out loud.

  My upstairs neighbor knocks on my ceiling in annoyance.

  I lower my voice.

  “You’re a heater, aren’t you?”

  Come to think of it, the girl wasn’t wearing a coat, her silhouette looked too slender for that. She must be freezing her ass off now that she lost this treasure.

  I don’t understand why she is not coming back for it, unless she has more. Who knows, maybe, in her world, heating pendants are as common and cheap as chewing gum?

  I shrug.

  Just in case, I tiptoe down the stairs and grab the biggest kitchen knife we own. I return to my room and crouch in the corner.

  If she returns, this time I will be ready.

  Where do I stab her though? I don’t know how to use a knife to kill someone...

  What am I doing?.. Have I lost my mind?

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Horrified, I look at the knife. Am I really planning to stab someone?! But she threatened me, she ambushed me in my own room. I have the right to defend myself!

  No, I haven’t lost my mind.

  The world has.

  I must be really exhausted, because I somehow fall asleep in that position, leaning on the cold walls, hugging the sharp knife close to my chest…

  I keep uncomfortably drifting in and out of consciousness. Neither here, nor there.

  The first rays of sunlight come as a relief.

  It’s finally morning.

  I wake up sprawled on the floor, my sore muscles screaming at me, the tip of the knife alarmingly close to my face.

  But I’m not cold at all. The pendant is still working and still in its place, stuck to my chest. The girl hasn’t come back to retrieve it. Either it isn’t important to her, or it really is a planted listening device.

  “I guess I’m keeping you.” I tell the pendant.

  As I say it, the pendant grows even warmer, sending heat waves through my stiff body.

  I get up, stretching my sore muscles. My virus is gone. My energy is back. I jump up and down, and start doing neck exercises.

  “Pendant, you will be a big improvement in my life!” I say happily.

  “Are you alright, Nia?” My mom asks from behind my door. “You’ve been talking to yourself a lot.”

  “Oh, hey mom! I’m great! The virus is completely gone!”

  “Amazing news! Can you run down the market if you’re truly okay? We’re out of bread… the fresh air will be good for you!”

  ____

  I exit our apartment building, whistling a happy tune. Yesterday's attack is completely forgotten.

  It’s hard to stay scared when it’s sunny outside.

  I didn’t even zip up my coat, the pendant is doing its job spectacularly. Keeping my body temperature at a comfortable degree. Not too hot, not too cold.

  There’s some tall, handsome dude leaning on the wall. I do a double take and nearly choke on my own spit.

  “Manu?!”

  “...Char.” He grunts and turns around. He looks worn out, his eyes heavy with fatigue.

  He has changed from his usual church boy robes into civilian clothes - faded jeans, black sports shoes and a grey puffer jacket.

  What the hell is he doing here?.. Oh yeah, I asked Father Seraphim for protection and he sent me Manuchar… I chuckle to myself. I was the one who saved his ass when the demon attacked last time.

  I greatly doubt his paranormal gifts, but, maybe, when it comes to physical strength, he can wrestle a knife out of that girl’s hand.

  Well, at least he has a higher chance than I ever did.

  I look up and realize he is standing directly under my bedroom window, three-story down. This warms my heart… If the girl had returned, he would have spotted her and stopped her from entering.

  “Manuchar… Did Father Seraphim send you? How long have you been here guarding my window?”

  “Argh, don’t ask! I’ve been here since 7 a.m. and no one attacked! It was all in vain.” He half-jokes, dramatically shaking his head.

  “They saw you standing guard and got scared.” I assure him.

  “Yeah, whatever.” He acts grumpy but I detect pride underneath.

  “Go home and sleep, I’m perfectly fine.”

  “I wish! We have your vows to attend to!”

  “Excuse me? My VOWS?”

  “Yellow duckling vows!” Manuchar flails his arms like a bird “Beso is waiting for us at the Wooden Library! Salome will also join if she can! We’re busy!”

  “But I’m so hungry.” I complain, touching my starving stomach. “I was going to the market to buy groceries.”

  He smiles and motions for me to follow.

  “Come, I’ll grab us amazing pesto sandwiches on the way.”

  _____

  Manuchar keeps his promise and buys two sandwiches and cappuccinos from a newly opened coffee shop. We find a free table outside and wolf them down.

  “So, um, are you okay?” He asks. “Who the hell was that girl?!”

  “I don’t know. I heard her voice in the water through Channeling yesterday… and tonight she just barged in on me and put a knife to my throat.”

  Manuchar’s eyes get wide.

  “I mean, not literally, but she was holding it menacingly…”

  I tell him about the creepy hand-holding and information-sucking. But I don’t mention the temperature regulating pendant the girl dropped. As I said, I’m scared it will get confiscated by Father Seraphim.

  I already feel very attached to the pendant… maybe TOO attached, because it’s literally stuck to my chest.

  Ha ha ha…

  “Wow, that’s a lot. It must have been scary.”

  I wave my hand, acting nonchalant.

  “Could have been worse. She was acting menacing but I don’t think she’s a killer. She’s just too emotional.”

  “Unpredictable people are not to be trusted either, because you don’t know what they’ll do under pressure.”

  “Thanks for the words of encouragement.”

  “Sorry…”

  I turn my head, gazing at the two-century-old building of the Wooden Library, an extremely popular sightseeing spot for the booklovers all over the world.

  During the bloody persecutions of 1937, a famous Georgian poet, Delirion, ran inside the library, seeking shelter from the soviet police. They were rounding up intellectuals and shooting them left and right for being a threat to the system.

  As you know, during tyranny, the erudite and open-minded members of society are always first to go…

  Did his feet automatically bring him to his beloved library? Did he rush inside, naively hoping that the pursuers would not desecrate the place with murder?

  Well, he was wrong.

  Delirion was shot in the back of his head at the entrance. His dried blood is still splashed on the white stone pillar, as a reminder of what we had to live through and as a grave warning for the probable future.

  A cute urban legend even says that his ghost still haunts the library, singing sorrowful melodies and whispering good rhymes to aspiring poets.

  Are ghosts real? Well, at this point anything is possible…

  Someone drops down on the chair next to me with a heavy thud, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  Manuchar and I jump from fright and gape at the newcomer.

  It’s the knife-girl. I recognise her tall, slender silhouette.

  I jump up, trying to run away, but the girl grabs my hand and slams me back down on the chair. My ass nearly shatters on the hard surface.

  Damn, she’s strong.

  “What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you?” Manuchar tries to sound intimidating.

  The girl doesn’t even spare him a glance.

  “Motherfucker, where’s my pendant?!” She leans over, breathing hard.

  She’s beautiful. She has a slim face, heart-shaped lips, her pupils are completely dark, her long, silky black hair is cascading down her shoulders, her skin is paper white, as if she’s never seen the light of day, her nose and cheeks are dotted with tiny, pale freckles.

  “Uh… what? Can you repeat that?” I ask her.

  She shakes me so hard by my shoulder, I nearly throw the pesto sandwich back up.

  “Leave her alone!” Manuchar grabs her arm and tries to pry her off of me. She still doesn't look at him.

  We’re starting to attract some attention from the passersby.

  “If you don’t want to make a scene in the middle of the day, I suggest you take your hands off me and talk like an adult… Were you raised by monkeys?!” I hiss at her.

  This somehow works. Her grip loosens. She folds her hands in her lap and clears her throat. She’s wearing bell-bottom jeans, black boots and a red sweater. She shivers slightly.

  Is she cold? Is that why she wants the pendant back?

  “We have a lot to talk about.” I tell her.

  “We have nothing to talk about!” She cuts me off. “I just need my pendant back! I can’t lose it…” She suddenly narrows her eyes. She spots the chain around my neck. I’m doomed.

  “Listen…” I lean back, farther away from her grip. “I can’t take it off, okay?! It’s literally stuck to me!”

  Manuchar is trying to keep up with the conversation.

  “What pendant? Is this the girl who attacked you last night?”

  “You’re lying! It’s MINE! It was attached to ME! It would never fall off!” The girl is angry and frustrated, she’s breathing hard, struggling to form sentences, it feels like she’s not used to expressing her emotions verbally, or maybe this isn’t her native language.

  “If it was attached to you how the hell did it fall off and land in my bedroom?!” I ask her.

  She purses her lips.

  I notice Manuchar is discreetly messaging someone under the table.

  “I don’t know how… I’ve had this pendant since I was a kid, okay? It never left me. Look!” She pushes the sweater’s neckline down and shows me a pendant-shaped faded mark on her skin. “All my life until today! I don’t care how it fell off, I want it back! It’s important to me! It has the first letter of my name on it!”

  “K…” I remember the engraving. “What’s your full name?”

  “None of your business. It starts with K. Give me my pendant! Now!”

  “Well excuse me, your highness, okay?! I can’t rip out my breastbone for you! It’s stuck and it’s not coming off!”

  “You highness?” She whispers my words. Her eyes dart between me and Manuchar. She’s calculating how much we know.

  Then she suddenly grabs the chain around my neck and tries to rip it off. I scream out. Manuchar grabs her hand again.

  “Get away from her you psycho!”

  The girl slaps him hard across the face.

  Silence.

  We’re all stunned, including the girl, whose grip slowly loosens on the pendant.

  A taxi driver whistles and shouts something incomprehensible at us from the car.

  For a split second it seems like Manuchar is going to cry but he quickly blinks away the oncoming tears.

  The girl’s eyes scan Manuchar’s long, diagonal scar running down his face. Wait, am I imagining? Is she a little bit ashamed of what she’s done?

  She exhales loudly and kicks back her chair, standing up to her full height. She’s a head taller than me, probably the same height as Manuchar.

  “I still need that pendant, you’re not off the hook, girl! I’ll be back.” She points her index finger at me and turns sharp on her heels, walking away from us.

  “YOU TARZAN!” I shout at her retreating form.

  “I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO THE HECK THAT IS!” She shouts back and disappears around the corner.

  Wait, who doesn’t know Tarzan?

  “That complete lunatic… What the hell was that?!” Manuchar laughs nervously, touching his hurt cheek.

  “No idea… All we know is that her name starts with K.” I shrug and take a sip of my now-cold cappuccino.

  “And she badly needs the pendant you stole from her.”

  “I haven’t stolen it! She dropped it and I picked it up, okay? She nearly killed me!” I protest.

  Damn, I’ve been assaulted by this girl twice in a single day. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  Suddenly a young man in his early twenties runs up to us, panting hard.

  “Am I late? Where’s the enemy? What’s going on?!” He clutches his side and grabs the table for support.

  “Great timing, Beso. She’s already gone…” Manuchar motions in the direction the girl disappeared.

  His left cheek is slowly turning red from the vicious slap.

  “Nia, meet Beso Gurieli, he’s the one who will initiate you into the Order.”