Chapter 2

2009

"Dan, come on. We gotta go." Dan sighed and stood up off his bed, flicking his wrist to return his book to its place on the dresser. He walked downstairs and into the sitting room.

"So, where are we going again?" he asked. Dana rolled her eyes, exasperated.

"We're going to talk to your parent's realtor to see about your house, then we're going out for an early birthday dinner." She explained. She turned to the fire. "Viator*," she said. The flames turned blue and grew, forming a large door with no handle. She looked over her shoulder to smirk at him. "Coming?"

"Of course," He answered, rolling his eyes. She laughed and turned back, placing her hand flat on the fire-door. "Ire** Frank Bellfry's office." The door opened and they stepped through.

They felt the familiar sense of freefalling before their feet met solid ground, and they were in a small office, looking at a small man perched on a chair behind a large mahogany desk.

"Ah, Dana! How are you!" The little man, Frank, jumped from his chair and made his way around the desk to them. His voice was high-pitched, though it still had a deep tone to it. Very distinguishable.

"I'm fine, Frank, and how are you?" Dana answered, stooping to hug the short man. He looked to be about 4 feet 10 inches. Dan felt like a giant.

"Busy as ever! And who might this…." Frank trailed off as he stared at him. Dan looked at Dana nervously, but she was watching Frank. "Daniel Sixkiller?" He asked, his voice almost a whisper. He nodded. "I thought…everyone thought you were dead! Oh, what a relief! Where have you been, boy? Oh, it's good to see you again!" and the little man jumped forward and hugged him tightly around the middle.

"Again?" he questioned.

"Indeed. I was there when you were born, my boy." Dan just stared at him when he stepped back.

"Frank, we're here to talk about the Sixkiller estate. Do you know anything recent about it?" Dana said, interrupting his staring.

"Oh!" he squeaked. "Indeed I do! I was just looking over your file! The estate is still standing, though it hasn't been used in years." He made his way to his desk and pulled a file from the stack. He handed it to Dan, who opened it and just stared at the picture on the top.

Inside was a picture of his house – which was huge! Four stories, at least, with a large stone fountain, sculpted of two lions back to back, one with its mouth open and one with it closed, and they had water coming out of the claws of their raised paws. Draped over their shoulders were two snakes, both King Cobras, both poised, ready to attack. They both had water spouting out of their tails, which were lying over the shoulder of their respective lion. The water was pouring into a huge pool, and Dan could see a few fish, and even a water snake or two, in the water of the pool. He wondered how they got there.

Behind the stone fountain was the house. Beautiful in its entirety, it was a deep, calming forest green colour, with large stone pillars lining the covered pathway up to the front door, which was at least eight feet tall and painted an inky black. There were windows littered along the front of the house, and he assumed the views from them would be spectacular, because there was a full, beautiful garden that took up the whole front yard, apart from the stone walkway and the small patch of grass on either side of the walkway. He was shocked, to say the least. He couldn't believe this was his house.

"…..ove in if you would like, Dan," He heard the small man squeak. He shook his head and looked up to find both Frank and Dana staring at him.

"Huh?" Dana smiled at his eloquent response.

"I asked if you are interested in moving into your family home. All your family possessions are still there, and, if you'd like, there could be a team of housekeepers there today to make sure it is perfect for your arrival."

"What's wrong with it now?" he asked.

"Nothing serious, dear, just the overgrown gardens, and the moss in the fountain. There's also quite a bit of dust and cobwebs inside that would be taken care of. It would take but a few hours." Dan turned to look at Dana, who was watching him with a small smile on her face.

"Would….. If I say yes, would you come with me?" he asked quietly.

"I would if you want me to, Dan. It's all up to you. It is, after all, your house." She smiled at him and nodded slightly, encouraging him.

"How soon can we move in?"

~*O*~

"Hi, we have reservations for two, under Nightingale," Dana said as she and Dan walked into the small but fancy restaurant called Panorama Mamma. The young woman behind the podium looked at her little computer before smiling at them.

"If you'll follow Alex, she'll show you to your table, Miss Nightingale," she said, picking up two menus and handing them to a pretty girl about 25, with green eyes and long black blonde hair. She smiled at them and began leading them to their table, which was, luckily, in a practically deserted corner.

"Alright, if you need anything, your server's name is Michelle, and she'll be with you in a moment." He left with a small smile.

"Nice place," Dan commented. Dana smiled.

"It was your parents' favourite place to eat." She had a sad smile on her face.

"Good evening, folks, my name is Michelle and I will be your serv…" Dan looked up at their waitress and froze in shock.

She was a pretty young girl about Dan's age with large brown doe eyes and long strawberry blonde hair.

"Daniel? Daniel Bleu?" she whispered.

"Shelly?" Dan asked, is voice shaking.

"You're alive!" She forgot where she was and promptly threw herself into Dan's open and waiting arms. She buried her face in his neck, letting out a sob. "I thought for s-sure they'd killed you!" she whimpered. Dana gave them both an odd look.

"No. I escaped, and found Dana," he murmured. She pulled out of his arms and stood up, looking to the woman sitting across from him.

"Hi, I'm sorry for that. I'm Michelle, Dan's… friend." She held out her hand, which Dana shook while giving Dan a questioning look.

"She was with me at the orphanage. She was the only one who ever helped me, was nice to me, and we became best friends, though we had to hide it," he explained. "I've missed you, Shelly," Dan said, turning back to their waitress. "Are you still with them?" She shook her head, a large smile on her face.

"Nobody is. They were arrested, for smuggling drugs. Then they were later charged for child abuse, and even.. even murder."

"Murder? Who?" Dan asked quietly.

"Mitchel." He was the youngest boy there when Dan was there. Younger than him by five years. "They also suspected they had killed you, too, but they couldn't prove it without your body, so it was never official." She shook her head, wiping away the tears on her face. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed, falling into Dan's arms again. He hugged her tightly.

"I'm better than okay." Dan said. He looked at Dana, raising an eyebrow. Dana rolled her eyes and nodded.

"What time do you get off work?" Dan asked. Michelle looked at her watch.

"Half an hour, why?" she asked.

"Why don't you join us when you're done, and we'll go back to my house and I'll tell you everything that's happened since I left." Michelle beamed.

"Okay." She shook herself and stood up, straitening her shirt before pulling out her notepad from her apron. "I'm sorry. May I take your order?" she asked with a smile.

~*O*~

Half an hour later, Dana and Daniel were just finishing with their food when Michelle walked up to their table, her apron gone and a purse over her shoulder.

"Let us pay and then we'll be off." Michelle nodded as their replacement waitress, a girl named Emily, picked up the check and Dana's credit card. A minute later she was back. Dana signed, and they all made their way out of the dinner.

"So, where are we going?" Michelle asked. Dan looked at his godmother for a second, receiving another nod. He turned to Michelle.

"Come here," he said, leading them into the alley behind Panorama Mamma. Michelle looked around, confused.

"Why are we back here?" she asked.

"Michelle," Dan said, his voice serious. She looked at him, noting the use of her full name. "You can't freak out, okay? At least, not until we're back at my house, okay? No matter what happens, no matter how shocked you are, just hold it in until we're behind closed doors. Understood?" She looked confused but nodded. "Good." He turned around, looked to make sure no one else was around, then pointed at the pile of cardboard and said "Lux." They caught on fire, and he immediately waved at it. "Viator. Ire Dana Nightingale's residence." The door opened at his touch.

Michelle watched, wide eyed, as the blue fire-door appeared, then opened at Dan's touch, completely shocked. She followed Dan numbly through the door.

When they finally were all in Dana's sitting room, Michelle finally broke.

"What the hell, Dan? Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you!" she almost yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Dan asked, confused.

"What am I… Oh, fuck it." She turned to the fireplace and pointed at it. "Expono!" she snarled. The fire sizzled out. Dana and Daniel stared at her.

"You're a witch?" he breathed.

"Duh! Why do you think all that weird stuff always happened around me?" she said.

"I thought it was me, though I didn't know I was a wizard until I met my godmother," he said, nodding towards Dana, who was standing in the corner and studying them.

"My god, Daniel, I can't…. Wait a minute." She froze, staring intently at him. She slowly moved forward and placed her palm over his heart and closed her eyes. He felt a gentle pressure flow over his body, and then it stopped. Michelle stumbled back, staring at him with wide eyes. "Oh, my god," she whispered. She shook her head. "Onerarium***!" And she was gone.

Dana and Dan stared at the place Michelle just vacated, completely confused.

"What just happened?" Dan asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Dana said. They jumped as a piece of paper appeared where Michelle was standing a moment before. It floated there, waiting for them to pick it up. Dan finally grabbed it and began reading the note.

Dan, I'm sorry. I'll explain everything when I see you next. Probably in a few days. I'll pop in when I'm ready to talk.

I'm sorry I can't explain further. I'm just in shock.

Until then,

Michelle

Dan sighed, handing the note to Dana before walking to the kitchen. He grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled his own note down.

Shelly, I understand. I'll see you when you're ready. But I felt the need to tell you that Dana and I are moving tonight. When you wish to talk to me, you may find me at the Sixkiller Estate. The fire will be open.

See you soon, hopefully,

Dan

He folded the note and placed it in his palm. "Michelle Boatbell." He said. He blew on the paper and it disappeared.

"What did you send her?" Dan looked up to see Dana leaning against the door frame, watching him.

"Just telling her to come to Sixkiller Estate instead of here when she wants to talk to me." He started to walk out of the room. "Come, it's time to pack up and get out of here."

~*O*~

Four hours later, they were finally in the sitting room of their new home, watching as their things magically put themselves away. It was amazing how quickly one could get things moved when using magic.

"This place is amazing!" Dana exclaimed, looking around. The ceilings were high, white with little red designs drawn over the walls and ceiling. There was a huge fireplace against the north wall, large enough to take up the whole wall, with the black tile laid into the floor for about two feet. The floor was done in a dark red carpet with white couches and chairs placed strategically around the room. There was a low coffee table placed in front of one of the comfy-looking leather couches, and the windows on the south wall had black cloth curtains over then, blocking the light.

"It's a little dark in here, and cold," Dan commented, looking around at the four lamps in each corner of the room. He turned and pointed his finger at the dark fireplace. "Lux!" He smirked in satisfaction.

"It's so awesome being able to do magic, huh?" Dana asked.

"Totally." He smiled at her before slowly walking out of the sitting room and into the hallway. They began exploring his house, and the more they explored, the farther their jaws dropped. The house was huge! It had 16 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, 3 libraries, 2 kitchens, a bowling alley, full music room, 2 movie theater rooms, 3 Imax rooms, 3 sitting rooms, 8 dining rooms, indoor pool, a night club room, and a dance studio. On top of that, there were four tennis courts, three basketball courts, a full golf course, a volleyball court, and a lake in the backyard.

Once they were settled in, they met in one of the kitchens – the smaller one. Dan was surprised to find three other people in there, dressed in black uniforms with dark green accents.

"Um, hello. Who are you?" he asked. The three people turned to look at him and immediately bowed.

"Hello, sir," the middle one spoke. "My name is Amaron, and this is my wife Talia. The young man over there is our son, Gideon. We are the Sixkiller asisticants. You must be Daniel Sixkiller. We apologize for not having a meal ready, we have been cleaning the estate."

"Not to worry, Amaron. It's lovely to meet you, and you two as well, Talia and Gideon. Take your time with dinner, we just ate not too long ago."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir." The three asisticants turned around and started bustling around the kitchen again.

"I can't believe this is really my house," Dan said to Dana. She smiled at him.

"I can. You have to understand, the Sixkillers are like royalty, they always have been. You're part of one of the richest families in history. It only makes sense to have a house like this. Although, I don't know why you would need a full golf course. I don't know anyone in your family that played golf. Not even your ancestors did, I don't think." She laughed and shook her head.

"Well, then maybe I'll have to take up golfing, just so it gets used," Dan joked.

"I might just have to golf with you," she answered, but froze when a letter popped up in front of Dan. He grabbed it with a raised eyebrow.

Dan –

I'm at your house… completely lost. Come find me, please. I'll stay put for now. I'm ready to talk.

See you when you find me.

-Michelle

Dan laughed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll be right back, I have to go find Michelle." He left the kitchen and walked out into the hallway. He listened for a second before he placed both hands on the wall in front of him. He closed his eyes and let out a burst of power through his hands into the wall. He followed it with his mind, flowing through the walls and ceilings, and finally, he saw her outside the music room on the second floor. He immediately used the mist to get to her.

"Shelly." He said. She spun around and stared at him for a second before speaking.

"I love you."

Oooo, even I didn't see that coming… Ha, guess I don't know my story as well as I thought I did. Oh well! Anyways, I put the translations of some of the spells here, just in case you need them. Cause I'm just so nice. Because I'm so nice to you, you should be nice to me and review this, cause I always love a good review. *wink*. Anyways, thanks for reading, guys! 3

*Viator – fire travel spell. Latin translation: traveler.

**Ire – go to…

***Onerarium – transport. Kind of like apparation in Harry Potter, but silent and with mist.