DISCLAIMER:

I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.


Chapter Eight: House of Others

Giana's POV:

After about an hour of silence, riding in the darkness of the back of whatever van Rufus had thrown me into, he'd stopped unexpectedly. I listened carefully as he slammed the driver's side door, coming around to the back to let me out.

Cringing, I shielded my eyes from the brightness that ensued when he opened the back of the van. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground, and the sun seemed to be out, so the glare was especially bothering my eyes.

"Get out," he grumbled.

I hesitantly got out of the van, steadying myself when my feet hit the hard ground with a thud. My ankle started to hurt.

"Where are we?" I asked. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"You, Miss De Luca, are the Chosen Other. This means you have something to do with the Cup of Ankh, and you're also conveniently involved with those other brats at Anubis House… including that one boy who gave me the wrong elixir."

I gasped, trying to struggle out of his hold. "Fabian did the right thing! And I know nothing about where the Cup is - I haven't even been here a month!"

"You're lying," he snarled, leading me into a dark warehouse. "You know the information I need, and you're going to divulge it to me, whether you want to or not."

"They know I'm gone," I stated. "The police will be looking for me in no time. You'll be found out!"

"Oh, I've heard that before," he muttered, shaking his head. "That's almost exactly what Patricia Williamson said to me when I kidnapped her earlier in the year."

I was actually starting to get scared.

"You kidnapped Patricia?" I squeaked. "But…"

"No one ever told you, did they?" he started. "How I was so close to gaining immortality? How that stupid Rutter boy stopped me from being the most powerful man on earth with one simple switch? How that Lewis boy would be dead if I had succeeded?"

By this point, he had shoved me up against a wall. "You, Miss De Luca, are going to tell me everything you know, so I can seek my revenge on those rats you call your friends," he continued, taking out a knife, "or you will face the consequences."

"I don't know anything!" I shouted. "Let me go!"

My coat and blazer were torn off, the left sleeve of my grey sweater and white collared shirt rolled up afterwards. He pressed the blade to the skin of my forearm, but not enough to draw blood. Yet.

I swallowed hard.

"Are you going to tell me, or not?"

"No!" I protested. "I already told you - I don't know anything! Why won't you believe- AH!"

He had dug the blade in deep enough for my arm to bleed, removing the knife once he was satisfied. There was a small gash across my arm.

"It's your choice," he said sinisterly, shoving me even closer up to the wall. "You either admit that you know where the Cup of Ankh is and that your so-called friends are alive and well, or you can die, out here, in the middle of nowhere. Where no one can find you."

That's when I started screaming.


Nina's POV:

"Ouch," I muttered, rubbing my arm. I gritted my teeth and sucked in some air, turning to my friends. "That was weird."

"What?" Amber asked. We were sitting in our room, waiting for Victor to finish talking to the teachers in his office. "Are you alright?"

"My arm…" I trailed off, rolling up the sleeve of my cardigan. "It felt like someone was stabbing it with a knife."

"Odd," Jerome noted, shaking his head. "I wonder why."

Fabian was quietly sitting off to the side, staring off into space.

"Are you alright, mate?" Alfie asked.

"I'm an idiot," he answered, repeating himself for the hundredth time. "I-"

"You shouldn't have started an argument with Giana and had her run off, possibly landing in imminent doom," Patricia finished. "We know."

"You don't understand," he muttered. "I love her."

"You're right, we don't understand," I agreed. "I know you love her, but we have to find her!"

"Miss Martin!" Victor called. "My office!"

"Ugh," I groaned, getting up. The stabbing pain in my arm had subsided. "Hopefully I'll be back."

"Good luck," they said in unison.


"You're telling me what?" I asked, dumfounded.

"Miss Martin, I am telling you that Miss De Luca is the Chosen Other," he explained. "If you believe that Rufus Zeno has kidnapped her while she ran off, then we are all in trouble." He was resting his head in his hands.

"Okay, but what do you mean she's the Chosen Other? Does that give her any powers?"

"She also has the ability to use the locket, but if she's accessing the attic panel or anything else that is required to use the locket to open, she may also be able to enter those places without having to use it."

"That explains why she fell into the panel empty-handed that night," I muttered. It all made sense now! "I had a stabbing feeling in my arm earlier," I told him. "Do you think that could have something to do with Giana being the Chosen Other? Can I feel what she feels, physically?"

"Maybe, Miss Martin," he answered. "But we do have to find her. She could be in grave danger."

"Alright, what should we do?" I prodded.

"Nothing," he put simply. "Mr. Sweet, Mrs. Andrews and I will handle it. Now run along, Miss Martin."

Bewildered, I went back to my room, relaying everything Victor had said to Sibuna.

"This is insane," Fabian stated. "What are we doing, just sitting around here? We have to find her!"

"You heard what Victor said!" Amber shouted. "And I'm not really in the mood to die any time soon, thanks!"

"Amber!" I exclaimed.

"Come on guys, grab your coats," Patricia interrupted. "We're going on a dangerous mission that may leave us scarred for life, or dead."

As fast as possible, we snuck downstairs and took our winter gear, leaving the house right after. Oddly enough, neither Trudy, Mick, nor Mara had appeared to notice our absence.

"I hope we find her," Fabian said quietly. "We have to."

"I hope she's alive," I muttered, agreeing.

Just then, Giana's phone started ringing. The talking caller ID on her phone said 'Call from: Nico'.

"Uh, guys?" I started. "We have a problem. Gigi's brother's calling."