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Mark shook his head. "Never heard of him."

Mark looked at her and was confused.


Alex also woke up at the sound of the dagger coming apart. "What are you doing Karin?"

"Huh? What?" Karin was startled from her concentration when her companions spoke, "Oh...yes I recognize this code, it's the more complicated type for important information. Whether or not I can decode it is a different matter since I've just finished learning what letters the symbols stand for." She narrowed her eyes at a tiny signature at the bottom of the coded message. A five-pointed star containing a smaller six-pointed one floating with delicate wings, where had she seen that design?

"Aura? May I use your notepad? I'll try to decode what this says." Karin asked pushing the signature to the back of her mind for future considering.

"Of course," Aura said, finishing her notes and handing pen and pad to Karin.

She looked through the names, listing anyone with the initials R.R. After combing through the names listed carefully with no success, she flipped the pages of the book idly and sighed. The book fell open at a page in the G section and she stared at the picture of a very beautiful girl only a few years older than her with a bit of ambivalent musing. "Rebecca Raida Grayn. R.G.--nope."

She read a few tidbits of the summary anyways: "Daughter of Elias's governess...has an older cousin that she's quite close to that was arrested for robbery--suspicious much?--but a spotless record--actually a very nice record in community service-- for herself..."

Not guilty, not guilty, get over it. You can't keep jumping to the conclusion that anyone even mildly associated with Elias is suspicious!

Yes I can! I already know he's guilty somehow and the least I can d--

What about all the friends e made overseas? What about them? They aren't in this book.

She doesn't like the cold though...and Elisa's poe--

Elisa said cooked snow, not the cold.

She's involved! I know it!

You're just jealous because you think Elias has a crush on her.

Am not!

Are too!

...I'm having another of these stupid, silly debates with myself...I'm seriously going insane.

With a frustrated huff, she slammed the book shut on Rebecca Raida Grayn's picture and pushed the book aside. After a moment of agitation--which was becoming increasingly difficult for her to conceal--she looked over at Mark and said in her usual tone, "I am assuming you're staying because you want to help. In that case, what information can you provide us with?"

"You were still part of the group that's keeping us here," Aura pointed out, ignoring all other topics.

"Any information you have would be of use. Frankly," Aura said, shifting into a more comfortable position as she was struck by an idea, "Frankly, if you really cared about Alex, you'd be trying to get her out of here. And while you're at it, her friends--the rest of us.

"But as it seems now, you're just using her as an excuse to stay here and spy on us. I wouldn't be surprised if you planned for the random attack on her."

Aura's expression had turned into that of stone, and her tone was equally neutral. She didn't really think what she had said, but she knew something was weird about Mark, and knew that he really did care about Alex.

Ignoring Alex's comment Aura continued to press Mark: "You have information but you're not willing to divulge? Exactly my point. You don't really care--about anyone-- do you?"

"So it's a secret," Aura noted, still appearing ambivalent. "Then why keep us around, if they have the ability to just pop over here and kill us all in a moment's notice?"

She was thinking something else though: That's why Alex got hit! They were warning him not to tell anything or she would die! Pretty effective way to shut someone up. I wouldn't tell anything if someone threatened Elisa...or Elias...NO. Stop thinking. Now.

"Is that all we are? Entertainment?"