Hometorius : Coming Home

chapter 32 : Cipher

Fleur POV

"Hit as hard as you can," I ordered and sat down in a comfy armchair.

"Are you not going to help us?" Zarina looked at me angrily.

I smiled slightly and shook my head, then turned my eyes and again reached for a piece of paper with numbers written on it. I had no idea what they could mean. I didn't even think about it. I just wanted to have an excuse not to help.

I was still thinking about Leon. About how he looked at me when I kissed him goodbye. It was just peck on a cheek. I frowned. He looked at me as if he saw a ghost. Although later he smiled, but the smile was a bit crooked. As if someone put the puzzle pieces together incorrectly by force and the picture didn't match. As if someone's hand was shaking while drawing it. "Okay, Fleur, enough of those comparisons".

I leaned my head against the headrest and closed my eyes, thinking further. Then, embarrassed, he rubbed his cheek. And he blushed adorably. So cutely that I wanted to hug him. But la princesse Marylin couldn't wait five more seconds. I guarantee that as soon as we get out of here, as soon as I see her, she will regret interrupting me.

I smiled mockingly to myself and looked at my friends fighting the door. They were exhausted. I didn't have time to bother with figuring out who could be the one to slam that door shut and basically imprison us in this library.

"Fleur," Kate panted and fell at my feet. "Please, change with me. I don't have the strength to get up."

I looked at her with superiority and for a moment didn't take my eyes off her. Then, without a word, I got up and walked over to Zarina, who was wrestling with the door, while Kate climbed into my chair with difficulty. She breathed heavily for a moment, and when her breathing calmed down, she took a mysterious piece of paper in her hand. It's the moments like this when hearing her thoughts becomes useful.

"L4 T2 R15. What can it mean? And the latter string is longer. Much longer. And also titled? "The way you read." Hmm..." She scratched her chin and crossed her legs before reading the second line. "15-7-2-1, 342-19-10-7, 114-1-1-1, 76-26-6-6, 2-30-14-5, 200-10-5-3, 44-9-7-4, 1-32-20-1, 293-17-9-1, 123-4-7-6, 32-1-17-3. What does this mean?" She stared unblinkingly at the piece of paper for a moment until it suddenly dawned on her. Finally, someone came up with an idea that made sense.

"Kate, you're a genius!" I exclaimed suddenly, causing Sam to hide behind the curtain in fear. "Or at least we can try and see if it works."

She looked at me in surprise. Right, nobody knew that I could read minds. I mean, until now. Kate didn't say anything.

"What is going on?" Zarina asked and leaned against the armchair, peering over the redhead's shoulder.

"I think I've figured out the first line," Kate said, still looking at me suspiciously. "I saw this method in some action movie that I watched with Mary a long time ago."

"What exactly is it?" I cleverly corrected the question asked by Zarina.

"L 4," she read, "could, for example, mean the bookcase on which the book we are looking for is located.

"So, what does the "L" stand for?" Sam asked, fascinated. His pupils dilated with excitement to the limit.

"That, I don't know..." Kate admitted sadly, and took another quick glance at the record.

"Maybe... from which side we should count?" Zarina thought aloud and read the cipher several times with concentration. "Yes, that's it for sure."

"What does the rest mean then?" I asked boredly and walked over to the table with a plate of cookies on it. I grabbed the biggest and sat on the brown carpet. Somehow, I wasn't enjoying this whole detective thing. Boredom for preschoolers.