"The male is an easy target. True, he leaves the house only once or twice a week, by car, but always late at night, in a disturbed state of mind, after informing the whole house of his suicidal tendencies..."

"What about the girl? " I ask, without taking my eyes off my laptop screen.

"She is your type: young and stupid."

"For a dragon thousands of years old, I'm young and stupid too" I glance at him over the glowing cigarette butt.

"That's different,” he puts his hand in his pocket. "You are the reincarnation of half of Alden's soul, so you count as a dragon. The difference is that you have a reproductive organ and more kindness in you."

"You've had a lot to drink if you mistake an energy vampire for a dragon."

"Don't twist my words. You know what I mean. Until the druids sewed the seperation seals on you, your mind was completely merged with Alden's. You know his abilities, his secrets, his memories as your own. You've lived through the extinction of the dinosaurs, the wiping out of the Southern Continent, the founding of the Alliance..."

And to experience the pleasure of having my head ripped off again and again, he was delighted to see that its not enough to kill me.

"True, you weren't even five years old. I'm sorry. Truly. For what happened and for bringing it up."

I bury myself in the black letters of the white website, as I have done so many times in the last two weeks. I scroll back through Talia Morawa's posts, looking back over the years, to see if any information I've missed might give me a clue to get me started. However, the profile page still only consists of birthday greetings. Different from most of her peers. She doesn't go out, and has only a few friends - if any. No Twitter or Instagram, just a Facebook profile with barely fifty acquaintances, on which she never shared anything. Apart from her profile picture, three years ago.

"I think it's older than that" he elbows the table. " She's put on a few pounds since then"

I'm aware that what I'm seeing is a perfectly retouched ID photo and is obviously far from the reality, but I enlarge it anyway. Sadly shining eyes, a sweet smile, shiny brown hair. I can almost feel her pale, silky skin under my hands. The vibration of her fear in my hair. Her soul - I lift the cigarette to my lips, slowly, deeply inhaling the smoke - flows hotly between my teeth. The promise of pleasure shivers down my spine, my loin throbs.

"I thought smoking was an appetite suppressant for you, not a masturbatory aid" He plucks it from my fingers, then with a quick movement pushes it into the skull-shaped ashtray.

What was that? Jealousy?

"Oh please; you consume more women than cigarettes. You just need to stop for a while, because if you keep smoking, she won't even talk to you."

"For the time being, it is also doubtful whether I can get close to her. If there's any data, it's unavailable to outsiders. Not a single like, not a single comment. She is not a member of any group, and merely follows two pages that are useless to me."

One is her school. A vibrant energy field of hundreds of young people in a single building... Too much temptation and too many witnesses. The other is Realms of the Afterlife; the MMORPG that Jev spends three quarters of his time on.

"I'd tell you to play too, but this female is so introverted that she doesn't even dare accept a team invitation, let alone engage in conversation."

I don't expect any change in the outcome, but in my perplexity I look again at the pages she follows. I am stunned. She has added the local library.

I click on it immediately. Opening hours, summer prize draw, more books, then a job advert.

They're looking for a librarian...