After a few hours of them catching up on some sleep the train finally arrived at a station in Rome. The two of them quickly exited the train and onto the platform when Eli saw a familiar face.

 

“Hyuna!” he called out.

 

A girl turned to him and a smile quickly spread across her face as she ran over and hugged him, “Eli, it's been too long. Have you been well brother?”

 

He nodded, “well enough. How come you're here?”

 

“I was the one that suggested calling you two in. It's nothing I have ever seen before.”

 

“Or you just needed an excuse to see your brother,” he raised an eyebrow.

 

She nodded, “yeah that too. Especially since you never seem to pick up a phone and call me.”

 

“I don't mean to cut in on this reunion,” Dongwoo started, “but the sooner we get this job started the sooner we can solve it.”

 

Hyuna nodded, “of course. I will take you to the site. This way.”

 

She walked a few steps ahead of them and the other two hung further back.

 

“This is strange,” Eli said to Dongwoo, “her and I never talk anymore and she decides she wants to work with me on this?”

 

Dongwoo shrugged, “maybe she missed you.”

 

The three of them stepped into a building and down a hallway. Hyuna stopped in one of the rooms.

 

“This is it.”

 

Eli looked around, “it looks like an ordinary room to me.”

 

“Exactly. Why would they have something so valuable in an ordinary room?”

 

“So, we might not be dealing with something human after all,” Eli nodded, “only a monster can get around in here. The human traps they can avoid easily.”

 

“It might've been able to levitate or fly,” Dongwoo cut in as he picked up a feather from the floor, “it explains why there aren't any footprints and this.”

 

Hyuna blinked, “I checked this room a hundred times and I didn't see that. Where was it?”

 

“Behind the door.”

 

Eli came over and took the feather looking at it closely, “it isn't a bird feather. Hyuna, did anyone find feathers like these at the other sites?”

 

“I'm not sure. I will have to look into that. Although if I missed it there's a good chance that the others did too.”

 

“Which means it could still be there somewhere. Look into it.”

 

Hyuna nodded and left the room.

 

“What are you thinking?” Dongwoo looked at Eli.

 

“It was left in an obvious place and no one saw it. It wasn't dropped it was placed. I think it's a message or something.”

 

“A monster leaving a signature? That's a new one.”

 

“It seems a lot has changed since we left. We'll have to do some digging about this.”

 

“Oh yay. Research,” Dongwoo rolled his eyes, “just because I move fast doesn't mean I can read fast.”

 

“That's the fun part about research. Our abilities can't make it go any faster.”

 

“We should get a book worm to travel with us and leave all the research to them, but then again you might get annoyed with them yammering on about random things and so you'd probably shove a gag in their mouth.”

 

Eli nodded, “yeah that sounds like something I would do. Although if their research is actually related to what we're working on then it would be more tolerable and it would save us doing all the searching.”

 

Hyuna came running back in a few minutes later, “I was able to contact everyone who investigated the other sites and they didn't find a black feather. They did however find some scales and strange hairs, but no feathers.”

 

“Then we're dealing with more than one. Something big is happening and we got left out,” Dongwoo said looking at the feather.

 

“Well I love crashing a good party,” Eli put in.

 

“Except before you two do any party crashing we don't even know where the artifacts went or who is even involved yet so maybe it might be a good idea to get some leads? Just a suggestion.”

 

Eli nodded, “yeah that's why I haven't done it yet. Where is the closest library?”

 

“I can show it to you,” Hyuna nodded.

 

“No. Show Dongwoo.”

 

“Me?!” Dongwoo glared at Eli, “why me? Why do I always have to do all the work? You never help!”

 

“I help. With other things.”

 

Dongwoo rolled his eyes, “which way Hyuna?”

 

Hyuna lead him to the entrance and pointed down the path, “go straight down this way and it's the last building on the right. It's hard to miss.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

He started heading down the path in the direction she had told him to go. He noticed how quiet the town seemed to be which was an usual target for monsters. They came there for a specific reason, the artifact could've been just a decoy.

 

I'm sure Eli and I can find something. I will hit the books and maybe he will find something around the site that we missed.