Dr. Antony seemed not to have slept all night.
His desk was piled with books, and they all appeared to be "antique books." One look at the covers was enough to tell they had been around for years.
There were also quite a few cigarette butts in the ashtray. Doctors always reminded others not to smoke, but evidently, they needed it sometimes too.
When he noticed Mills arrive, he merely glanced up without moving from his position. Once Mills came closer, he placed a yellowed poster before him.
"What's this?"
"A circus poster," Antony said wearily. "Written in French."
"What does it say?"
Mills picked up the poster. It depicted a beautiful woman, except her upper body was human while her lower half was a snake. It looked bizarre.
Antony took a drag from his cigarette and narrowed his eyes. "Have you heard of a species called Blood Beastfolk?"
"What?"
"This species is born with a curse. They are like normal people in childhood, but later transform into animals. The woman on that poster is called Nagini. She can turn into a snake."
"Like a witch?"
"No. This curse means that she will eventually become completely identical to a snake. She will no longer remember that she was once human. There was a sensational case in the last century. A woman claimed she attended a magic school, and one of the school's houses was named after a Wampus cat." Antony tossed over another illustrated book. "This is a picture of that animal."
Mills did not touch the book.
But that did not stop him from looking at the open pages. The animal known as a Wampus cat had eyes exactly like Angela Warren's.
"According to the illustrations, this animal excels at hypnosis and Legilimency. Thunderbirds can summon lightning, while Horned