Annabel spent the day there once again going through all sorts of tests with Jules. He was shocked to find in a few of the tests, her scores were higher than he anticipated. He was convinced one of those results was going to help him block her from the Unseen.
“What are our options right now?” Annabel asked. She glanced at the results but couldn't figure them out.
“I'm figuring out a way you can stop the Unseen from finding you. There's a tracking system they must be using. I doubt they could randomly know about you,” he explained to her as he double checked the information he had. He held a piece of metal to her which turned blue. He shook his head and grabbed another.
He was creating something to block the stronger traits she exhibited during the tests. He hoped that was the problem. He wanted her to return to her normal life. If he didn't find the solution soon, she may have to stay here longer. She could possibly have to stay here forever to be safe.
“You think I can return to work soon? I'm not the best waitress but still, it helps to have of money. Rent isn't free,” she joked with Jules. She hovered over him watching what he was making. She thought it was a watch but she couldn't be sure.
“I understand,” Jules said, continuing to concentrate on the final tweaks of the device he was creating. “This should hopefully keep your smell from being transmitted. It'll give you a sort of camouflage.” He pulled his finger back from the device as it emitted a spark.
“My smell? Are you making a perfume for me too?”
He looked up at her with his glasses hanging off the end of his nose. “No. One of the tests showed you're emitting some sort of chemical from your skin. I'm not sure if that's normal in humans but the Unseen is attracted to it. This device is going to block it.” He returned to modifying the device. He nodded and closed the small back of it. It was finished. He handed it to Annabel.
“This is a watch,” she said examining it. There was a dial face but wasn’t turning. “I stand corrected. This is a broken watch.”
“It's not supposed to keep time. There wasn't enough space. It'll neutralize your smell and make you pass near the Unseen without it being able to detect you. Hopefully.”
“Hopefully?”
Jules clasped the watch on Annabel's wrist. “It's one of a kind. I'll make a more refined one later but for now, this is going to work.”
Annabel looked at the watch. There was no harm in her wearing it. It matched most of her outfits. If it saved her from being attacked, she would wear without complaining. “What do I have to do now? Do I have to wear this for the rest of my life?”
“We need to test it first and see if it works.”
She tilted her head. “Test it?” She thought he had perfected it.
“We have to see if it works. We'll need to use you as bait for the Unseen.”
Her mouth dropped. She did not see that coming. “I've been attacked three times by this thing. I don't know if I could survive another one. This is the worst idea ever. Who came up with this?” She had a good idea who it was.
Jules shrugged. “It was Crispin's idea. You can go ask him about it.”
“I am. I can't believe he would think this is a good idea,” she said in belief leaving the room. She would find Crispin and ask him what he was thinking. She couldn't deal with the Unseen again. He needed to rethink a way to test out this device without putting her in harm's way.
She headed upstairs to the last place she saw him. She knocked on the door. She prepared herself for Crispin to be the same mood he was earlier with Sera. She could deal with that. Henry opened the door and asked, “I told you – Annabel. It's nice to see you. Can I help you with something?”
“Is Crispin in here?”
He scoffed. “No. He left earlier after he finished telling me how reckless I was. I think he's in his room. It's one door down.”
“Thanks,” she said heading to the room. She was shaking her head, practicing the speech she would give him. She was not leaving herself open for the Unseen to come and attack her. He had to think of another plan. He could get attacked by the Unseen. That was a better plan.
“Crispin, I need to talk to you,” Annabel said opening the door to his room. She looked at him and smiled. He was sitting in a chair when he dozed off to sleep. His feet were propped up on his desk. She felt guilty coming to argue with him.
She closed the door louder than she expected to. He sat up in his chair and asked, “What is it?” He looked around the room expecting to have to fight the Unseen. His eyes settled on Annabel and he realized it was only the two of them in there.
Annabel sat on his bed and swiveled his chair towards her. She made sure he was looking at her. “There are lots of things I want to talk to you about. First, did you tell Jules you were using me as bait to see if this blocker works against the Unseen?”
Crispin couldn’t believe she knew. “No one can keep their mouths shut around here.”
“It's true? How could you do this to me?”
“We have to see if it works. If we don't test it and you leave this house, then the Unseen may come after you again. We have to make sure you're safe. I can't spend all of my time protecting you. I have stuff to do. You've seen the other two – they don't do much.” He grinned.
“Will you be there when we test it?”
“Absolutely. I like seeing what new things Jules creates.”
“Is that the only reason why you're coming?” She smiled at him. She heard what Sera said earlier. She knew he liked her.
“There might be another one. Does it matter?”
“I guess it doesn't,” she smiled at him. He was never going to admit it. She would have to do it herself. She stood up from the bed and kissed him.
Crispin returned the kiss and brought her closer to him. He wanted to do this since he met her and since she started it, he couldn't pull away. A nagging voice in the back of his head started going off. He physically pushed himself away from her and collected himself. “I can't,” he said standing up from the chair, “We can't."
Annabel felt her cheeks turning red. She felt so embarrassed. She read him wrong. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I thought – I don't know.” She stood up and started for the door. She needed to leave. Fresh air would help her breathe better. She wanted nothing better than to leave and not worry about any of this again.
“It's complicated. We can't do that,” he explained. He didn't want to get into the whole process with her. There was too much going on as it was.
“I want to know one thing.”
“What?”
“Can we forget about this?”
He smiled. “I'm not going to hold it against you.”
“Thanks,” she smiled back. At least she knew how he felt now. Nothing was going to happen but that was okay. She had her answer. That was the most important thing for her to know now. It was the end of their short term relationship.