It's dark for as long as I could remember, unlike how I remembered the insides of a Ley Line. It felt like I was dreaming. But that dream comes to an abrupt end when I faintly hear the splash of water on the edge of my hearing. When I turn around, I saw water streaming into the dark emptiness like a flood, soon swallowing my entire body.
It takes a second for me to realize I'm drowning, and it's not the way one would drown—falling into water—I feel myself instantly surrounded by water. Trying to move immediately remind me of the chains restricting me. Panic once again fills my nerves. The water is dark and I could hear nothing, I truly feel helpless. It feels like a nightmare.
On the edge of my vision I catch a glimmer of light, golden and familiar, and the next thing I know, I feel the chains around me broken, as if they're cut cleanly. My neck hurts as someone grabs me by my collar and drags me up. I push the hand away once I've regained my senses and I swim up on my own time.
I gasp for air once I reach the surface. The first thing that hits my senses is the cold air, then, the loud noise of a busy town. In front of me, Aaron's head pops out the water as well. His blond hair is now wet and matted—he's returned to his own form.
I keep gasping for air. It takes a moment until I could finally form words. "What just happened?"
Aaron doesn't respond immediately, he keeps turning around to scan the area. "We're in London!"
"What London?"
Aaron points to the distance. There indeed stands the London Eye, its bright lights splitting the dark of the night like a beacon. "As in London, London", he adds.
"What the- what?!"
Aaron groans in an exaggerate way and rolls his eyes. "Congratulations, you really have a knack of messing things up you know? If you listened to me and keep kicking we would've ended up in a nice warm room with kindling fire instead of in a middle of a river. You're such a troublemaker, you know that?"
I definitely recognize my fault. I can't help feeling guilty. "I'm sorry!"
Aaron groans again and turns away to scan the area again. He says, "Never mind your fuck ups, at least we're in London, some place bearable!"
Flabbergasted, I react, "We're miles away from Luna Nova! How is this not a… mess up?"
Aaron suddenly pulls my cheek hard and scolds, "If the portkey felt like it, it could've spat us out in the middle of the Atlantic, now can you start being grateful?"
He lets go of my cheek, I rub the unpleasant sting away. Aaron already swims away and says, "Let's get the hell out of here, the water's getting colder and colder".
Just as he said that, a boat's searchlight shines towards us, blinding us and stopping Aaron's progress. It's a small personal boat. Once it gets closer, a man exits its helm and calls to us, "What are you two boys doing in the middle of the river?!"
"What do you think we're doing, we're drowning!" Aaron says.
"Can you be polite, for one second of your life?" I tell Aaron.
We both climb on to the small boat. Our drenched clothes wet its clean decks. We find that there's no one else on it other than our timely saviour. The man offers us blankets for each of us and sits us down.
"How did you two end up here…" The man eyes our wet clothing—they answer his question. He says, more of a statement than a question, "You two are wizards?"
"Does that answer your question?" Aaron asks with an amused smirk.
He shakes his head and proceeds to retreat to the boat's cabin. From inside, he shouts, "Doesn't matter, even if you answer I doubt I'll understand—it'll make me even more confused!"
In no time, the man returns with warm cups of tea. He later returns to his wheels and prepares the boat to leave. He turns to us. "You two, where do you want me to drop you off?"
Aaron doesn't answer. He clearly has no idea where to go.I stand up and walk up to the man. "24th Ogre Street; the place with the narrow flats and only has one Tesco in 50 metres".
The man nods in recognition. "That place has no place to dock a boat, but I'll find the closest dock to it".
I sit back down next to Aaron and finally drink my tea.
"Where's that?" Aaron asks. He seems somewhat impressed that I know something that he doesn't.
"A place of an old friend, Michelle's old friend. Do mind, he's pretty old, somewhat around my butler's age".
—
We're both sitting on an aged cushion sofa, in front of us is a wooden low table with all sorts of stuff mixed atop of it. Papers, books, and jars and cans of assorted cookies, they're all scattered across the table making a hefty mess. Though, I suspect one or two of those tin cans contain sewing kits instead of actual cookies.
It's a classic—the old switcheroo between cookies and sewing kits. It appears that every elderly folks around the world does that same thing somehow. It's as if they're all connected in some sort of hive mind. As if reading my mind, Aaron opens one of those cookie cans and is immediately met with disappointment.
Marcus Wright is the owner of this place. He's what most people would have in mind when someone mentions the word 'old'. Whitened and balding hair, odd sense of fashion, funny way of talking, and neat little glasses, he has them all.
Mr Wright works for the ministry and his position there makes cooperation with the Guardians often inevitable, more specifically on matters regarding archaeological and arcane history. His history with the ministry and the Guardians had earned him trust and many good friends from both of them, one of them being Michelle.
Under table I spot a few curious archaeological papers as old as the artefacts they talk about. Mr Wright places two cups of warm tea in front on them, as he does I have an unpleasant feeling that his hands would spontaneously tremble and spill the drink on the seemingly valuable papers. "I didn't expect visitors, not this late", He says. Mr Wright looks to each of us. "Sugar?"
"None for me, no", I smile.
Aaron looks disappointedly to his cup of tea. "I thought I asked for coffee…"
Without looking, I bump Aaron's hand with my elbow. He spills a bit of tea because of it.
I say, "Anyway! We're so very glad that you allowed us to crash in your place Marc- Mr Wright. We can't thank you enough".
Mr Wright shakes his head and smiles. He takes a seat on a sofa opposite of us and says. "You don't need to thank me. Taking a wrong turn in a Ley Line is quite unfortunate and I'm happy to lend a few spare beds for the two of you".
I bring the cup of tea to my lips. "Y-yes… taking a wrong turn in the Ley Line"
"It's been ages since I saw you and your teacher. How's she been? I heard she landed a new job somewhere".
"Luna Nova. She teaches a couple of subjects there".
"Well that's lovely, a school for witches. I wonder what sorts of things they teach there". Mr Wright remarks.
Aaron smirks and quietly mumbles. "Probably magic".
Mr Wright's gaze escapes us, he leans himself on the sofa and scratches his chin. "I've been trying to get my grandson to one of those fancy schools but he never listens. He's brilliant and talented I'll give you that, but he's too arrogant for his own good sometimes. Said the school's too boring for him!"
"Sounds like a brat", Aaron mutters under his breath.
Another quick elbow to Aaron's side does the job of silencing him. Ignoring Aaron's glare at me, I ask Mr Wright. "So will he be staying with us? I-I mean will we be staying with him and you here?"
Mr Wright blinks out of his own thoughts. "Why yes. Do mind him, he's quite a handful at times and quite nosy towards visitors".
Mr Wright continues, "I don't know when he'll be back. Admittedly I should put more careful eye on him but I've been busy as of late, got lots of paperwork to do for the folks back in the ministry, they're quite excited lately and I can't blame them".
A knock on the door cuts our conversation. Mr Wright stands up and walks over a few stacks of books scattered across the floor. "Excuse me for a moment".
He avoids many obstacles until he's finally out of the room, leaving only me and Aaron. Without wasting any moment, Aaron leans close to me and whispers. "I don't like it here".
I hush him down. "Don't say that! Thing's could've been far worse! Listen, its dark out, we should just rest for a day or two here, and then we'll figure a way out of here and back to our homes! Have you thought of a way to do so?"
Aaron's eyes search the ceiling as he tries to remember something. "He keeps his savings between the thick green book under his bed. Enough for a trip back to Blytonbury while spending the rest on frivolous things".
"Goodness gracious!" I half-whisper half-cry. "We're not robbing an old man!"
"I didn't even say we're going to rob him! Why are you so antagonizing?"
"You were just kidnapping me".
The sound of quick footsteps cut our conversation short. We quickly distance ourselves and try to drink our tea as normal as we can. We see Mr Wright walking, or rushing, through the living room and into his room. He closes the door behind him and no sound can be heard for a moment. He then exits the room and walks through the living room again and out of the apartment, a wooden box cradled on his hands. He offered not a look or word to us.
Aaron and I exchange looks. We're not sure what to make of that. Before I could say anything, Aaron is already on his feet. He goes to the window and looks down, towards the building's front door. Despite myself, I follow what Aaron is doing.
"Who do you think that is?" Aaron asks, pointing.
I follow his direction and see Mr Wright talking with a man, one that I do not recognize. He's tall and perhaps in his early 30s with brown curly hair. He wears a trilby that completely hides his face from here.
"This isn't right. This isn't really our concern", I voice my opinion. I return to the couch and slump down.
Aaron's eyes are still glued to the two, yet he still converses with me.
"Really, this isn't the time to goof around. We need a plan. I need a plan", I say.
"Is there supposed to be one? We're not in a race against time, you know?" Aaron says.
I feel myself urgently wanting to correct him, him and his carefree attitude, but Aaron is quicker with his follow up. He turns to me, "Are you worried with the fact that you mysteriously teleported to London? Don't! Honestly I don't think anyone in the school, your hot personal teacher included, would care—they're witches! What happened to us is relatively normal in their book!"
I feel myself pausing as I stare blankly at the ceiling. He's not wrong. Am I overthinking things again?
Aaron places his hands on his hips and says, "Listen, I know you don't like me, and I you equally, but we're both at a loss here. Don't you think we could do with a little peace here? London is a pretty chill place all things considered and we should be chill, stop overthinking things".
I slump further down the couch and say nothing. Aaron doesn't say anything either, he turns and looks out the window again.
My eyes are planted on the ceiling. The ceiling fan creates fast shadows on it, almost hypnotizing. This adrenaline pumping day must've taken a toll on my energy as, before I knew it, I fall asleep.
—
The sound of wood scraping against each other forces me awake. I open my eyes but don't see much difference than closing them—the room's pitch black. I have no idea how long I've fallen asleep, only that I've been in the same position for a long time that my neck hurts. The sound doesn't come again, leaving my drowsy mind wondering if that was dream. Before I could drift into the land of slumber again, however, the sound comes again—it's a door being opened.
It takes time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I spot Aaron on the sofa across me, sleeping peacefully in a messy manner, a blanket rests over him. I stand up from the sofa. My legs and neck feels stiff. I walk to the direction of the noise, wondering who could possibly cause that.
I turn to the small corridor that leads to the flat's door. I round the corner and stop once I hear the sound of the lights being switched. Even more so, I freeze when I see someone I don't know on the doorway. A young boy, perhaps a year or two below my age stands in front of me, equally frozen in place. The boy has bright blue eyes and his hair was straight and dark. An oversized pair of goggles hangs precariously on his forehead. I lose my shock once I realize who he is.
"Ah, you must be Mr Wright's—"
The boy, however, shows much less composure than me. He was quick with his hand and has his wand trained towards me before I could even blink. Before I knew it, a bolt of crackling electricity shoots out from the boy's wand. It sends me tumbling down the floor, my body twitching from the shock.
"W-who are you? A burglar?!" the boy cries.
And guess what? I couldn't feel my limbs at all! Try as I might, I wouldn't even be able to answer his question.
"A-answer me!" the boy cries again, unaware of what a paralyzing spell does to a person.
I hear footsteps coming from the living room. Soon, I see Aaron popping his head into view.
"Can you keep it down?"
The boy trains his wand at Aaron but doesn't shoot. What manner of favouritism is this, universe?
Composed enough, this time the boy asks questions before shooting. "Who are you two, what are you doing in my flat?"
Soon, Mr Wright also arrives at the corridor as well. The boy immediately eases once he sees him. It doesn't last long though, it disappears completely once the realization sets in. "Oh my god I forgot you called me about these guests!" the boy cries.
Mr Wright sighs. Aaron glances at my paralyzed self. He laughs. I inwardly scream.
—
This is my second day in London, just half a day ago I was enjoying my free time at my new school, and now I found myself in this new morning in a new place, following the grandson of Michelle's old work friend into a densely packed shopping district filled with merchants showing off their wares that only wizards and witches would buy.
The boy goes by the name of Amadeus, or Amadeus Montgomery Watson if you have the time.I follow him into a tall and narrow building, sandwiched between two larger stores. It's a Chinese witchcraft store, judging from its painfully obvious Chinese architectures. Inside an Asian man stands behind a counter busying himself with a ledger, he doesn't bother to look up when he addresses us. "No, Amadeus. When I said I'll restock the Dawi lumbersteel next week, I really meant I'll restock the Dawi lumbersteel next week".
Amadeus tilts his head. "Why do you think I'm here for those?"
The Chinese man looks up from his ledger for a brief second. "We also ran out of Reverse Hyper Kinetic Particle Matrix Arranger, very sorry".
I move out of the way when one of the store clerk needs to carry a crate into the room. I can't help but notice how similar looking the clerk is to the man behind the counter.
"Pretty quiet today", Amadeus remarks.
The man looks up again. "Yeh boss, lots of people got hired for that big party downtown tonight, yours truly included".
I have to move out the way again when two new store clerks enter the building carrying crates. I had to double check on them each since I swear he looks the exact same as the previous workers and the man behind the counter.
I have to pause my confusion when I find Amadeus already on his way out the store, following him, I ask. "What's up with this party anyway? Been hearing about it over and over and over".
Amadeus blinks. "There's a pretty big party tonight. They said the Alistair expedition group managed to excavate some important magical artefacts not long ago, wanted to exhibit them tonight".
As we leave the vicinity of the store, I look around and make sure no one from the store is within earshot. Leaning towards Amadeus, I whisper. "This may sound… bizarre, but I swear all the workers in that shop looks exactly the same".
Amadeus seems unsurprised by my question. "That's because they're only one person. They're magical clones, Wang's".
I blink a few times at that revelation. "I've heard that kind of magic before, didn't expect to see one for the first time today!"
"Well, I didn't expect to meet another wizard today too", Amadeus looks to me, an amused smile on his lips.
"Are we really that scarce?"
Amadeus shrugs. "Even at school there's far less boys compared to girls, it's starting to get old".
"School? You enroll in a wizardry school too huh, which one?"
"My last one?" Amadeus asks, earning a raised brow from me at that remark. "Well, my last school was Candleton's school for witches and wizards, mostly witches. I just don't find that place fitting for me".
"I heard that you have some problems with school and stuff".
"I guess", Amadeus shrugs, walking ahead of me with his hand rested behind his head as he recalls his schooling experience. "They're just so annoying at times and they never let me do what I want to do. I sort of get those things about 'talent without direction' or 'talent without caution', but they've been telling me this and telling me that for so many times it's starting to grow old".
By the time we finished our errands the sun had already set, Aaron was waiting impatiently when we returned. I first thought he's being unusually kind when he takes our heavy bags, but it turns out he does so just so he can grab the food we bought as quickly as possible. "Took you long enough", he says while munching his lamb kebab. "There's someone in the living room, by the way. Been talking to your old guy, I think he's trying to sell him something".
"Are you always this way to strangers?" I narrow my eyes at Aaron. He merely shrugs and continues his meal.
From inside the living room, we hear an unknown voice, barely audible. "Do think about it. My father would appreciate it if you could come tonight".
The door opens and out comes the mysterious guest. He nods to us but doesn't say a word, quickly making his way out of the flat. He looks familiar—he's the person Mr Wright was talking to just the other night. Amadeus and I enter the living room to find Mr Wright reading a letter, its expensive looking envelope left opened on the table. "Who's that?" Amadeus asks.
"Just an old friend". Mr Wright says without looking up. "Wanted me to come to his party tonight, I'm sure you know which".
Amadeus's eyes quickly lights up at the news. "Awesome! Finally we'd get eat something good".
"No, child, this is for one person only", Mr Wright says, waving the letter.
Amadeus quickly loses his smile.
Mr Wright seems to be in haste. He takes his coat and hat from the hanger and prepares to leave. "I'd love to stay here and argue about going there or not but unfortunately I have something I must do first before I'm too preoccupied by the party".
There's a long silence after Mr Wright leaves the building. Amadeus, unmoving and jaw hanging, is still somewhat shocked from not being able to join the party. I've no idea why the party's such a big deal nor really care enough to find out. I do sympathize with Amadeus, though.
It was Aaron who just entered the living room who first breaks the silence, he slides beside Amadeus and says, "You know… poor Mr Wright seems to have left the invitation here on the table. It would be unfortunate if someone were to… take it".
It was easy to silence him with a good slap on his back, he yelps as he nearly dropped his kebab onto the floor. "Take it easy", I say to Amadeus. "The food's probably not that good anyway".
"Don't take it easy", Aaron says after he recoveres. "I heard it's a damn fancy party, been the talk among the town's witches and wizards, and it's stupid to miss out on it. I want to go there myself. I mean, whole lot of rich people attending the event, you can bet there'll be mighty cuisine being served there! Not to mention they're exhibiting their recent archaeological finds there, I know I like the sound of that!"
Aaron swallows the last bit of his kebab and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. He crumples the trash in his hands and says, "So if my point hasn't come across yet, I'm going there and you should too, young man".
"If my point hasn't come across yet, there's only one invitation and it's not for any of us"." I say, hoping to stop Aaron plaguing the minds of the young boy.
Aaron groans. "Come on. Why are you so uptight? You're acting like being stranded in one of the most okay place on earth to be the end of the world. Why not just make some lemonade and make the best of our situation".
I say, "I thought we agreed we're going home tonight? I don't think I want to stay in this city any moment longer".
I turn to Amadeus. "No offense".
"None taken!" he replies.
"Why are you so urgent in getting back, anyway?" Aaron asks. "It's not like classes are going as usual—your school is on a break! You should be on a break!"
"But still, I feel like I shouldn't stay here too long. We shouldn't" I mumble as I play with my hair.
Amadeus had been silent, he seems to be deep in thought before he looks up and says, "I think Wang's helping the setup of the party, maybe we can get him help us".
"…That storekeeper person?" I ask.
Aaron smiles from ear to ear. He pats Amadeus's back and says, "Good man. You do that and I'll get myself ready".
"But how about getting home?"
"We can do it tomorrow, or any other day after this. The world's not going to end tonight, you know?"
The two quickly exit the room before I can say my concern to the idea. They're getting themselves ready for their little schemes, leaving me alone in the living room with nothing but the ever growing thought that this is all going to be a bad idea.
—
We arrive in front of a beautiful mansion with red masonry dominating its structure, a wide and well maintained garden stretches far. Multiple fancy motors are parked or stopping by the front entrance, where many neatly dressed individuals stand in wait to welcome the guests.
"This is a big party", Aaron says, clearly surprised. "Boy am I right to get you all here".
Having no idea where is where, the three of us wander without a clue for a while. Eventually, Amadeus found a way to the back of the mansion. It's the loading dock. Trucks are parked to load equipment for the event. Amadeus takes us to one particular old truck and knocks on its side. Coming out of the truck is Wang, the storekeeper from earlier, holding a large wooden crate with the word 'fragile' painted in black on it. Under the painted word someone seems to have written something with a black sharpie, it reads 'just like me'.
Wang arches his brows as he sees us. "What you all doing here, small boss man?"
Amadeus attempts to look as innocent as he can, which to his credit, he's doing a mighty good job. "We lost our invitations, can you let us in from the loading dock?"
It doesn't take long for Wang to notice his scheme, perhaps having faced it in the past. Wang shakes his head and clicks his tongue. "Nice try. But Wang, like all members of my proud family, is a man of integrity and loyalty".
Perhaps this too has happened in the past, as Amadeus knowingly pulls a 5 pounds note from his pocket and holds it in the air. "Perhaps this will change that".
Wang narrows his eyes at the bribe money. "We're also known to be immune to bribery".
"How about now?", Amadeus asks, adding another 5 pounds note to his hand.
Wang quickly snatches the money from the boy's hand. He says, "Dock 6 Section B. If anyone asks why you're there tell them you're from the Yang Ping fish market, they never want to deal with those kinds of folks".
Thinking we're finished, the three of us was about to pass the man only to find him blocking our path again. He magnificently blocks us by putting his foot on the wall in a painfully wide angle.
I don't know why I'm describing his pose…
"Say, you three haven't told me what you'll be doing inside" he says.
The three of us exchange nervous glances. It was clear that Amadeus didn't expect this level of competence from his old friend as he seems to be at a loss of ideas too. After a moment of hesitancy and nervous stares, Aaron takes the initiative and steps forward to answers for us. "That's classified, buddy".
"Oh yeah?" Wang quickly pulls out the 5 pounds note he just received. "Maybe this will change that".
Aaron hesitates, his eyes linger on the money but his hand stays by his side. "I don't know, buddy. It's still classified…"
Again, Wang pulls out another 5 pounds note that he received. "How about now?"
The hesitancy in Aaron is completely gone, he takes the money in a blink of an eye and leans closer to his new buddy, his usual cocky smile plastered on his face. "We don't have any invitation to begin with but we sure as hell won't have that stop us from having the best dinner in our lives. You get me?"
My hand is already on my face before Aaron even touched the money.
—
Earlier before on our way to the main hall where the party is being held, I sternly reminded Aaron and Amadeus with that we're uninvited guests and that we should reserve ourselves from the food and avoid mingling with what Aaron called 'spoon-fed nobles' and risk being exposed, but as soon as the three of us lay eyes on the grand buffet laid on the fabulous long tables, my, and by extension, our worries are dramatically swayed. It's as if a choir of angels had descended from above and began to sing in a beautiful silky voice as we take a bite of the rich people's cuisine. Coincidentally, not far from the buffet is the stage for the musicians.
It's easily missed, but I think I saw Aaron shedding a tear as he slowly chews the sautéed lobster tails. Aaron would say, "This is it. You thought getting into an accident with me was bad? This is part of my plan all along!"
I myself was chewing the most delightful lasagne when Aaron taps my shoulder, pulling me out of my heavenly experience. He points somewhere across the crowd of guests and questions. "Isn't she from your school?"
Through the crowd of fancy clothed guest, I saw a girl with beautiful flowing blonde hair, she wears an excellent dark blue dress that matches well with her bright blue eyes. A sight that would make the common men's eyes glued. This isn't the case for me however, as instead I feel my lasagna nearly choking my aspirations.
Amadeus scurries up to me with a glass of wine. "I tried to find normal water but apparently this is what these people use to clear their throats".
I politely decline the offer and drown my throat with apple juice and try to regain my composure. It's bewildering, but not too unbelievable. Diana is high class, coming from a line of famed witches, or so I heard and reminded countless of times by Hannah and Barbara. The only thing unbelievable here is the terrible coincidence I found myself in.
"At least it's just one", I cough. "At least it's just Diana and no one else".
Just as I say those words, two girls suddenly walk up beside Diana. The first has straight black hair and wears a purple dress, while the second girl wears a warm orange dress that compliments her long auburn hair, it reaches down to her back and is tied neatly together by a yellow bow.
"P-Parker!" I nearly choke on my drink.
Aaron laughs at my misfortune, while Amadeus offers the glass wine to me again.
But who's the second girl? I don't believe I've seen her before. Maybe she's one of Diana's many friends I've yet to meet?
I push the thought away and return to the more pressing problem at hand: being spotted here would be super catastrophic, there's a chance that they'll realize we don't belong here and got us kicked out, ending our feast galore prematurely. Not to mention how awkward it'll be trying to explain how I got here—I can't exactly tell them what really happened!
We quickly turn our backs towards them and huddle together to discuss our possible options. "You sure they'll recognize you?" Aaron asks as he chews some caviar. "You're pretty forgettable honestly".
"This is not the time for that, Aaron!" I snap, feeling my patience dwindling by the minute. "And stop eating the caviars without anything else, they're decorative caviars!"
"Maybe you should act like you're your twin brother?" Amadeus suggests, glass of wine still on his hands.
As we bicker on without producing any worthwhile conclusions on what to do, one of the girls, the one that I didn't recognize among the three, approaches the buffet right beside us and starts browsing the food. She looks familiar! She must be someone from school, but I couldn't place my finger on who she is. In any case, if she's from school, she might know me thus posing the same threat!
Without warning, Aaron quickly ruffles my hair to a mess and pulls a thick pair of glasses seemingly out of thin air. He shoves them to my face, pushes me closer to the girl, and gives me a confident thumbs up. Behind Aaron, a guest stumbles around blindly with his hands searching in front of him.
"What are you—"
"Really? The caviar's already gone", the girl behind me says, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Turning around, I see her looking at the empty caviars with narrowed eyes. "It was there just seconds ago", she says.
I look behind me for Aaron and Amadeus but find them nowhere to be found, those bastards.
Swallowing hard, I turn to the buffet table. "M-maybe someone ate them", I stammer. "Without anything else, I mean. Scooped the decorative caviars and ate them".
The girl's attention turns to me, obviously wasn't expecting me to actually respond to her monologue. She eyes me curiously and asks, "Why would anyone eat the decorative caviars?"
I run a hand to the back of my head, searching for a good answer to save me. "W-well, weren't you searching for the caviars yourself?"
The girl says nothing and just looks at me, her silence urges me to think that I've made the wrong comment and have offended her somehow. Even looking at her now, I couldn't make up the details of her face—it's blurred by these pair of glasses—so I can't tell what face she's making.
Regardless, I could tell the girl's narrowed her eyes. "Have I met you before?"
"There's absolutely no way", I respond almost immediately, too abnormally quickly. My mind quickly races to find a follow-up, fearing she'll keep scrutinizing my looks if I delay too long. Swallowing hard, I say before I think, "I-I would've remembered if I met someone like you".
Silence.
My mind went blank before and after I said that. I said that. The girl and I share stares, the latter much more shocked by what's said than the former. Among the two of us, it wasn't the girl that goes beet red out of embarrassment.
"I'm gonna go… over there…" I point somewhere randomly and scurry out of the conversation, never looking back.
—
Aaron hums as he takes another kebab from the kebab stand. He leans on the wall and takes a bite, the warm sauce coupled with the chewy lamb meat meets his taste buds, he closes his eyes as he takes all the flavours in and thanks god that he's alive to enjoy it. So invested he was with his lamb kebab that he failed to notice me sitting slumped on a chair beside him.
"What happened to you?" he asks.
"Don't", I answer, he shrugs and takes it all too literally and continues his meal.
"I'm going to hit the pasta corner if you're cool with that", he says, completely indifferent to my suffering. I don't need to answer before he already permits himself into the pasta corner.
As I slump further on the chair, lost in contemplation of what I did, I notice someone approaching me from the corner of my vision. I was too late to recognize him in time: it's the man that earlier visited Mr Wright. From his knowing look, I'm sure that he'd already recognized me.
"So you're here", the man arches his brows. "I didn't remember giving you an invitation".
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I tense and stand up, but before I can explain myself, the man waves his hand casually. "Ah, forget about it".
He proceeds to bow lightly and introduces himself. "I suppose I should've done this earlier, I'm Rudolph, Rudolph Alistair, at your service".
Realizing this is supposed to be the moment to return the introduction, I try my best to introduce myself as politely as he did his. Bowing lightly, I say. "Jericho… Franklin, Jr., a-at yours".
I'm surprised to find Rudolph's expression ease to a smile. "I'm not going to throw you out for being here. It's a crime to deny someone from knowledge they so crave. That's why you're here, no? You're here to see the artefacts".
That's right, I remember everyone saying what this event is truly for. While our only motives to be here was the food, the party is for an exhibition of arcane artefacts this family managed to excavate.
Aside from being honestly curious of what those arcane artefacts are, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to have a better reason to be here than to just eat.
"Yes", I answer with a plain face.
Rudolph nods, almost solemnly. "I have to say I'm glad to hear that. Despite the overwhelming amount of guests you see around us, only a few of them really cares for the right magical artefacts, most of them only have their eyes on the ones that shine the most".
"The right ones?"
A smile forms on Rudolph's lips. "That's what my family focuses on their excavations. There're so many magical artefacts throughout history: Excalibur, Pashupatastra, Gram, Taming Sari, Sword of Attila, they're only a few of many artefacts our predecessors had used to turn the tides of the world. Some even believe that they could still hold the power to change the world today. Unfortunately, all of them are lost today. It's a shame that, today, not many are interested in them or finding them. Hell, not many are interested in magic anymore, so I guess that's the reason why".
"You believe they exist? You believe they're still around somewhere?" I ask, knowing well to hide my scepticism. Even among the witching society, a society that deals with magic daily, the idea of ancient magical artefacts are sometimes questioned—they're too convenient, borderline childish to believe in, and are most often times works of fiction.
This man mentioned that some even believe ancient magical relics could change today's world. They sound like a bunch of desperate individuals.
A smile finds its way to Rudolph—if only he could hear my scepticism.
"We won't be having this party if we didn't", he says.
It seems that there's many more the Alistair wanted to say, but I notice his attention shifting elsewhere when his name is called by a guest. They beckon to him and Rudolph made sure to bid me farewell with another polite bow before making his way back to the heart of the party.
"Enjoy the rest of the evening", Rudolph says with his back turned to me. "And don't shy yourself away from the food. They're expensive and I don't want them wasted!"
I'm amused by him. Lately all I hear among witches and wizards is the depressing decline of magic, so that man, despite slightly too naively optimistic in my opinion, is a welcome sight. I didn't expect to meet someone so enthusiastic about the restoration of the golden age of magic tonight.
With that over, I would love to continue with the food, but realize that Aaron and Amadeus have been out of my sight for a bit too long. Begrudgingly, I leave the buffet and search the room for the two troublemakers, all while avoiding crossing paths with Diana and her friends. I found Aaron at the corner of the room leaning on a buffet table, drinking and observing the crowd of guests in silence. He notices my approach and gestures to the punch sitting on the table. "The red one's taste pretty good, don't know what they are though".
"You drink them before knowing what they are? What if they contain alcohol or something?"
Aaron gives me an amused look. He gives me a half-smile and asks, "Why would I worry if it does?"
It's evident that his question was a rhetorical one as he's immediate to refill his cup once it's emptied. "Anyway, did anything interesting?"
I arch a brow. "You mean after you left me? Nothing, I didn't meet anyone interesting. Where is Amadeus?"
"He got bored with everything and went wandering around, I don't know". Aaron nonchalantly answers.
"And you didn't look after him?"
"What am I, his brother?"
Aaron gulps down the rest of the cup's content and places it on the table. "Anyhow, apparently the artefacts were displayed early in the party and we seem to have missed it entirely. They're all probably backstage being ready to be packed and secured in some cold and dark place, or they're already shipped somewhere that we don't know!".
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "And you still want to see them?"
Aaron smiles. "You know me so well".
—
It doesn't take long for Aaron to locate the artefact exhibition room. Apparently about an hour ago the guests were taken here to see the artefacts on display, but now that they're busy feasting on the main hall, the exhibition room is quite empty save for a handful of securities near the entrance that Aaron easily slipped through.
I can't say the same about myself though, I nearly messed the whole thing up if it wasn't for Aaron's timely help. I'd thank him, but I fear he has a recorder tucked somewhere in his pockets ready to record my words.
The reason for our stealthy entrance is because if a normal person were to visit this room, he'll have to present his invitation to the security person in front of the door so that they can keep track of who's in and out. But since we're far from normal, we're left with no choice but to sneak through. At this point, I don't know why I'm allowing myself to follow Aaron's daring misadventures. What I keep telling myself is that he'll go do these crazy stuff with or without me anyway and that if left alone without my supervision, there's a higher chance he'll cause more trouble.
Like a kid in a candy store, Aaron skips around the room and presses his face to the glass displays that contain the artefacts. He never lingers long in one display, always switching to the next one with endless rush of excitement. One display catches the blond's attention. He stops by it and spends some time studying the artefact within. "These things are valuable beyond belief and these people know it. They wire these things nicely, especially this one, probably knowing that people would kill to have these things".
"Have you ever?" I worriedly ask.
"Of course not, silly" Aaron gives me an incredulous look. "I may be a two timing bastard who loves magical items to an unhealthy extend but I have my moral integrity".
He continues with a mischievous smirk, "Speaking of morality, I bet you have a mighty one considering you're living under the same roof with hundreds of pretty witch girls".
The topic came so quick it caught me off guard. I find my cheeks growing a blush red. "Yeah, I guess so".
Aaron doesn't let his mischievous smirk die. "You have no idea how many boys would kill to be in your shoes".
"It's not like they won't let anymore in".
Aaron shakes his head. "No, no, I'm already engaged somewhere else".
During our conversation, I notice an odd spot inside one of the displays. One of the pedestals seems to lack any artefact to display. Before I can point that out to Aaron however, the sound of shouting from outside the room cuts our conversation to a halt. The shout was loud yet indiscernible. We duck behind the cover of a large wooden table just in case someone walks in on us. There's few more shouting and loud footsteps, but we're relieved to find that they soon die down and the room goes quiet once again. We decided that whatever's going on out there, it doesn't concern us so we both exit the table and continue.
"Speaking of your school, there's a Cavendish enrolled in it". Aaron remarks.
"Diana? Yeah, I heard she's quiet the big deal. I don't fully know why though".
Aaron shrugs. "Rich, smart, hot, talented, well-mannered, proud noble lineage that dates back thousands of years with a history of influential people from her family, you know the usual stuffs. Oh, and did I mention she's hot? They have that kind of witch in their ranks, but then there's you".
I chuckle. "Hey, I have my fair share of amazing feats".
The lights suddenly flicker, interrupting our conversation. We first try to ignore it, but as the flickering grows in frequency and duration, it soon became clear that whatever is causing it won't stop anytime soon. There's shouting again from outside the room, forcing us to find a place to hide again. We both push ourselves behind one of the tall wooden pillars and peek at the door.
"What's going on?" I ask. "Do you think they know someone's here?"
Aaron says nothing and keeps his eyes on the door, trying to listen to the shouting outside.
The lights suddenly go out completely and the room goes dark save for the faint moonlight seeping through the windows above. I yelp out of surprise and quickly cover my mouth.
There's no more sound coming from outside the room and we both grow confident enough to exit the cover of the pillar. Aaron runs up to the door and tries to open it but to his dismay finds it locked from the other side.
"The blackout must've messed with the electric locks", I say.
"That's ominous as hell".
I look around for other ways to exit the room while Aaron tries to work on his magic, only to find no magic flowing into his coins.
"There must be some problem with the flow of magic or something in this room is dampening your magic. Security reasons I presume", I say.
Aaron narrows his eyes at me. "That's a long way to say: we're fucked".
In the end we settled with a small window hanged high on the wall as our exit. Considering my athletic skills compared to his, Aaron had decided its best for me to stay put. He climbs up the wall with no apparent difficulty and looks down towards me once he reaches the window.
"Don't leave me hanging here, Aaron".
He replies with nothing but a smirk before he squeezes through the window and vanish out of sight. Now there's just me, alone and locked in this dark room I'm supposedly not allowed to enter. I'd be terrified with the idea of Aaron actually leaving me here but knowing him and his shenanigans I shake it off and wait patiently.
Sure enough, the door finally clicks open. Aaron holds it open with a disappointed look. "I thought that was going to scare you".
Intertwined between his fingers is an expensive cigar. I know he didn't have it before he left my sight so I give him a look. He picks up on this and says. "They distribute it to the guests".
I say nothing and keep my eyes on him.
"Fine, fine, it wasn't!" Aaron gives up, lifting his hands in defence. "I'm going to leave it sheesh!"
On our way back to the main hall, we find a small crowd has gathered in the middle of the hallway. Among them I spot Rudolph alongside a handful of guests, confused and worried for the right reason. Rudolph is currently trying to coordinate the guests and answer as much answers as he possibly can, he urges us to postpone our own when we approach him. I look to Aaron who only shrugs in reply, equally bewildered as I am at the situation.
Alongside these guests are men who from their gears and clothing suggest they are the family's private security force. I'm somewhat impressed when I notice that instead of firearms, these men have wands tucked in their belts.
Rudolph finally turns his attention from the guests and waves his men off before addressing the two of us. He bites his lip and wears a worried frown. "I heard there's some problem going on with the Ley Line, must be connected with the outage. I'll take you two to the courtyard, the rest of the guests will be there".
"We shouldn't though", I interrupt Rudolph. "We have a friend still somewhere in the building".
"I'm sure he'll be fine. You two need to join the other guests outside".
"You don't understand, sir. This friend of ours is easily confused and might hurt himself". Aaron says, surprising me with this rare support of my point.
Whether it's his own consideration or merely the fact that there's too much problem at hand to spend the time arguing, Rudolph nods and agrees with us. "Very well, look for him and only do that. Do not wander around".
The previously beautiful and awe-inspiring hallways have become dark and haunting. We hasten our search, not intending to linger in a growingly grim place. On our way searching for the boy, I come across a window overlooking the now dark main hall where the banquet took place earlier. It's empty save for a handful of uniformed men walking in confident steps towards the exit of the hall.
"Seriously. If I find anyone, anything, that's responsible for this blackout, I'll murder him".
"Even if its mother earth?" I ask.
"I'll find a way", he says, passion burning in his eyes. Aaron seems disgruntled that his feasting had been interrupted, to say the least.
I say, "Anyway, I've been thinking about it. I think we should split up, might find him better if we do".
Aaron whistles "Famous last words~".
"The quicker we find him the quicker we'll get out of this mess", I point out.
"Look, I know you're dumb and all, but does splitting up sound like a bright idea to you?"
I pause and stare at him for a while, trying to decipher what he's trying to imply here.
I yell at him, "Are you scared? Good baby Beatrix, we're just splitting up!"
—
It was only after I checked a few rooms that I come across the artefact display room Aaron and I visited mere minutes ago. Oddly enough, unlike before there's no presence of security guards nearby and the door's unlocked just like Aaron left them in our escape. Inside is pitch black.
"Amadeus, you here?"
I search the room briefly and as I expected find nothing to note inside. I turn around and start to leave, but I stop when I hear heavy footsteps coming from outside coming from the hallway.
The door to the room swings open and the sound of heavy footsteps fill the entire room.
The footsteps are strong and sure, that must be the security. I make up my mind and walk to their direction, intending to find help in finding Amadeus.
I open my mouth, but before I could say a word, the sound of glass breaking makes me flinch and shut my mouth. The sound is followed by more rushed footsteps and talking, quiet and professional-sounding.
Something made me stop my advance and hide from view. I hide myself behind one of the many pillars supporting the room.
There're many glasses in this room, windows, lamps, and display cases, but only the last are reachable from down here.
Before I even know what's going on, I already start feeling nervous. Beads of sweat trickle down my neck. Instinctively my body already knows something not's right before my mind can even comprehend it. My imagination had always been strong, but this isn't the time I wish its reality.
Curiosity got the better of me. I peek out my cover quietly and see not a group of mansion security, but rather a group of neatly dressed men with elegant masks covering their faces.
My suspicion was true; that sound was the glass displays being broken. These masked men continue to break the many glass displays one by one, their movements are quick and precise, it tells me that they know exactly what they're doing. I didn't understand what was going on until I notice empty duffel bags they carry. I felt my heart skip a beat when I did.
Holding back a gasp, I retreat behind the pillar and slump my back onto it. My breathing had become erratic and I could feel a peculiar nervous cold in my chest. I force my mouth shut with my hands in fear of breathing too loud.
Suddenly, I'm caught in a dangerous and confusing situation. What started out as a simple search through the mansion had made me cornered, hiding from these strange men while they pillage the mansion's displayed artefacts.
I force my mind to be rational, to try and think my situation through—I know I'm in danger and it's no time to panic and be indecisive—but I couldn't. Any attempt to settle my mind falls apart alongside the breaking of the glasses that never seems to cease. I couldn't think of anything, I couldn't do anything, I just stay silent, my hands never leaving my mouth as I try my best to muffle my breathing. My chest beats like a drum. I'm sweating profusely, frozen as I stare silently at the walls in front of me, afraid to make any movements as if any slight ones would give away my situation.
These are real treasure hunters. They're the real thing.
I don't even try to think of doing anything to stop them, the only thought occupying my mind is that of how to stay hidden or escape this hellish situation. The idea of stopping these people, real criminals, is laughable. I couldn't hope to make any difference in this situation even if I try to, both because how abysmal my magic is compared to real wizards and how dangerous intervening will be. What good, really, will trying to stop them do for me? I'll just put myself in unnecessary danger that offers zero gain for me.
I look to the doors—the only exit for the room—it's heavily guarded by the treasure hunters. I'll go nowhere anytime soon.
I just have to stay silent and pray they go away. I'm not a star of an action movie or the main protagonist of an epic novel. I'm a regular person that knows intervening in a dangerous situation won't bring me anything but danger.
I silently gasp, surprised, when one of the treasure hunters finally breaks the tense silence with words.
"One's missing", one of them, a man of great stature says. His companion next to him, a tall and lithe built man, turns to him.
"It's not, keep searching".
The larger man scoffs and brings his drink to his lips, a colourful can of soda—it greatly contrasts his menacing appearance. He finishes it and throws it across the room without a care, it bounces off a wall near me and clattering on the floor. Even the slight sound of it makes me flinch—the tense atmosphere really makes me jumpy.
"Don't be so uncivilized. You might trigger an alarm", I hear the lithe man says. The large man only grunts as a reply.
It was only brief, perhaps lasting only a second, but I noticed the lithe man's worried glance towards one of the displays when he scolded his teammate. It tells me that one is positively protected by an alarm system.
The treasure hunters continue raiding the artefacts in good time, but some of them stops as they set their eyes on the tall glass display, the same one that Aaron drooled over earlier and the one I just recently know to be alarm-rigged. They seem hesitant to make a move for it.
This tall display appears to be quite a challenge for the treasure hunters, judging from the wave of relief that washes over them when they finally retrieve the artefact within. The large and stoic man himself bears a silent sigh while the lithe man maintains his gaze on the glass display, cautious yet still relieved that the retrieval didn't trigger any alarm.
As this unfolds, my gaze is locked on quite the unimpressive soda can. It stopped not far from where I'm hiding.
Before I even know why, I feel a surge of hope surging through me just by staring at the discarded can as it brings me a singular thought, an idea, that's so simple yet terrifyingly effective.
Suddenly I feel like being a hypocrite. I'm aware of how scared wordless I am just earlier, and I'm aware how much I told myself how dangerous this situation is and that I shouldn't intervene in any way, but what's in front of me can change everything.
My heart doesn't stop beating like a drum, it only goes faster. My hands finally leave my mouth, I grit my teeth unconsciously. I make a move, scared but determined.
The treasure hunters continue their careful extraction on the other artefacts, unaware of me as I escape my hiding spot. Taking advantage of their tunnelled visions, I crawl ever slowly towards the discarded can, keeping myself low and hidden in the dark.
The cold marble floor feels unpleasantly cold against the palms of my hands, damp and cold from all the nervous sweats. I don't dare to even look away from the can and towards the treasure hunters. Often times I would pause, freeze in my place when I hear noises coming from the treasure hunters, and would very nervously continue my crawl once I'm sure they haven't spotted me yet. My heart never ceases beating like a drum. It only grows worse, pounding against my chest without pause and threatening to burst out of it at any moment. The distance between my hiding spot and the can was abysmal, but the slow crawl towards there felt like it lasted for cruel long years.
As I get closer, I grow impatient, wishing nothing but end this heart pumping experience. My crawl grows quick, too quick, and I'm punished when I place my hand too hastily on the floor. The smooth marble floor, coupled with my sweaty hands and shaky limbs, made me lose my balance and fall to the floor. My mind immediately goes blank as my whole body meets the floor, and I feel my heart skip more than a beat once I realize that made a sound.
Terror filled my being. I couldn't move a muscle as I'm frozen in place, scared beyond words. I'm prone on the floor, unable to think of anything but be terrified of what I've done and what will come for me now. I bite my lips so hard it threatens to bleed to force any sound from escaping my mouth.
My mind reels, thinking this is the end, that they've heard me. But they didn't. The treasure hunters are still focused on their action, while the others are quietly speaking with one another, unaware of me at all.
I would've sighed loudly, but I hold it back. Not wasting this miracle, I push myself up and continue my crawl until I reach the can. Grabbing the can tightly with unsteady hands, I didn't even have time to thank God as I immediately find a place to hide and prepare my next move.
The treasure hunters had been focused on their work, yet that immediately changes when they see the discarded can gliding across the floor towards them. For a moment, the world seems to pause; no sound in the world emitted, and no movement made aside from the solitary gliding can. All the treasure hunters were at first just silent, staring at the object blankly in confusion with no reaction. That confusion and silence is soon upturned into full blown terror when they see where the can's going.
The lithe man races to it, yelling, "Stop it!"
But it was too late. The can reaches one of the emptied glass displays and a noise, a mechanical click, resounds across the room. It was low but it manages to silence everyone in the room. Instantly, the room grows loud with blaring alarm, red lights shine down on the treasure hunters and heavy metal cages begin to shut the many entrances of the room. The lockdown is in effect.
The treasure hunters are panicked and beyond confused that they've completely forgotten the bizarre intervention of the soda can. Their superior tries to organize them to no avail, they scramble all over the place trying to collect as much valuables as they can while searching for an exit that isn't shut tight. In an attempt to break through, one of them tries their magic on the wall only to find it bouncing helplessly off of the reinforced barriers.
Meanwhile I race to hide behind another pillar. With the blaring alarm, I let myself breath loudly once I arrive there, back slumped on the pillar and one hand pressed to my chest. I can't believe I just did all that.
It wasn't long until the lithe man decided to act, he pulls out a strange glowing stone from his pocket and holds it tightly. This doesn't go unnoticed by the man's large comrade whose worry begins to cloud his voice. "You can't use it here! It could destabilize—"
The lithe man interrupts him, "Better than being dead!"
The lithe man throws the stone onto the floor and it immediately erupts in a bright green light. When I open my eyes I'm no longer met with a dark room, but one lit by a sickly green light in the middle of it—a Ley Line.
The lithe man shouts order and the treasure hunters begin to organize and send the ones who carry the artefacts home first, followed by the rest. Despite the panic they're in, the treasure hunters surprisingly follow the lithe man's orders well and are making good time in escaping the room.
That is, until the door to the room suddenly bursts open, revealing a group of the mansion's security forces with their wands readied.
—
The entire room is like a literal battlefield. The treasure hunters are making their way to the portal with great difficulty as unnumbered amount of magical attacks fly overhead, lighting the dark room with endless colours as each streak by. The lithe man was about to enter it only to be struck by a stray lightning bolt. He falls hard on the ground, scattering his wand across the floor alongside a few mysteriously glowing stone, similar to the one he used to conjure the portal. One of the stones begin to glow uncontrollably, he immediately scrambles towards it and grabs the stone. Lifting it up, he shouts. "Vitriol, I summon thee!"
The ground immediately shakes and a burst of magic erupts from the stone. The fighting ceases as a bright green light fills the room and when it settles, a new figure appears in our midst, hidden behind a veil of dust cloud.
The dust cloud settles and the figure comes into view, he brandishes an axe, thick and heavy. His figure was gigantic, towering the average men. His apparel is as well bizarre, a full set of aged mail viking armour, giving the impression that this being is not of our time. Most curiously was how the figure seems to be ethereal, transparent almost, it seems that this thing is some sort of a summoned creature, an ancient viking apparition.
The whole world seemed to have paused at the strange sight, until the cries of the lithe man cuts through the momentary confusion. "Do what you're made for, cleave them!"
The apparition quickly obeys, swinging its axe wide to attack the security forces. One of them tries to fire a bolt of lightning at the apparition, only to find it glancing off its thick armour with no apparent effect. The apparition continues its rampage through the room. Ignoring friend or foe, it strikes left and right, sending splinters of wood and shards of glass flying as it cleaves the woodwork of the room with ease.
I know it won't be a good idea to stay in this room any longer. I start to try to escape the chaos, but find it nearly impossible to crawl a few feet before retreating to escape another bolt of magic.
I nearly reached for my wand when I feel someone yanking me by my hand, sending my heart leaping until I realize that it's Rudolph.
"You're not supposed to be here!" he shouts, his voice nearly indiscernible from all the fighting.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" was what I say—I've no idea why. In that moment I felt guilt overpowering my instincts.
Rudolph tries his best to get me out of the battlefield and into safety. Bolts of lighting and balls of fire whistle above us as we keep low and attempt our escape. The room's exit is only a few steps away, but unfortunately the green apparition suddenly catches notice of our escape. Its attention immediately shifts to us. Closing the distance with inhuman speed, it raises its axe and swings it in a wide arc.
I could only watch as the axe comes, unable to react, but Rudolph suddenly pushes me away. I fall, tumbling on the floor, missing the axe by only a hair's breadth, while Rudolph lifts his hand and suddenly a barrier appears to manifest in his hand.
It's easy to miss, but I realize that he wears a ring that glows with the spell, presumably it's a spell catalyst.
But the axe cuts through and breaks his defence. The ring shatters, breaking into uneven pieces upon impact that lands onto the floor, broken and shattered. From the weight of the attack, Rudolph is thrown to the floor.
The green apparition swings his axe upwards, it would've stroke Rudolph right in his stomach if he didn't pull out his wand in time to block the attack. The attack was too powerful however, throwing Rudolph's wand out of his hand and sending it clattering to the floor, leaving Rudolph wide open for the next attack.
I remain on the ground, indecisive on whether to run or assist Rudolph. Rudolph notices this and immediately cries, "What are you doing? Get the hell out of here, run!"
The green apparition violently grabs Rudolph by his neck and slams him into the floor with ease. Rudolph tries to kick and squirm but the apparition doesn't flinch, its burning green eyes locked into Rudolph whose gaze shifts to his wand on the floor.
I notice this and on pure instinct rush towards Rudolph's wand, ducking low from a stray bolt before tackling into the floor. At this moment, I'm grateful that I'm sensible enough to push the wand to Rudolph's reach instead of taking it for myself.
Rudolph grabs his wand and immediately aims at the green apparition's face. I lay low on the floor still, watching it unfold, fearing a stray bolt would catch me if I try to raise my head.
But a memory of how magic seems to fly off its armour begins to plague me with hesitation. Even if Rudolph have time to manifest his magic, I doubt I'll be powerful enough to harm it.
Before I knew it, I point away from the apparition and shout, "Aim it at him, Rudolph!"
Rudolph immediately sees where I'm pointing: the lithe man—the summoner.
Rudolph pulls his aim away from the apparition and turns it across the room, towards the lithe man standing near the portal with his wand raised, deflecting and returning the many attacks that's flying towards him.
Rudolph knew what he was doing. Instead of conjuring anything strong in this short amount of time, he uses a simple spell.
He fires a simple force spell that quickly connects with the lithe man. He was an easy target due to all the other spells that's coming his way that was distracting him. His spell doesn't do any serious harm but that's not what he was aiming for; the spell is enough to push him back far enough until he stumble and fall into the portal, vanishing from the room entirely.
The ancient apparition doesn't even need to release his grip on Rudolph. Surprisingly, it merely vanishes into thin air once its magical link is cut off from its summoner, as if it had never existed in this room in the first place.
His neck freed, Rudolph feels around it, coughing and writhing all the while.
The lithe man was the last of the treasure hunters to traverse the portal and was our last threat. The room begins to return to its dark state as the light of the portal dims, and similarly everything goes quite once the intruders had all escaped and the fight has ceased.
All becomes suddenly quiet. I'm then made aware of how loud and erratic my breathing is. I feel my legs weak, and I slump to the floor, wordless.
Rudolph's violent coughing pulls my attention towards him, breaking my daze. The first thing I do is preparing healing magic for him if needed, but I keep fumbling—my hands are trembling like crazy. But Rudolph quickly urges me to stop.
"I'm fine", he growls quietly through laboured breathes. "Fine enough to wait for the paramedics".
The few still standing securities have sent one of them to fetch help while the rest searches through the room to provide help where needed. One of them approaches Rudolph only for him to wave the guard away.
I was about to say something, anything, to justify my intrusion or why I'm even here in the first place, but I'm stopped when Rudolph grabs me by my hand and pulls me closer. I can tell the anger in his eyes. His voice is calm, but I detect his anger in it nonetheless.
"No one can know", he firmly says, his gaze locked on me.
I gulp. Endless questions begin to run through my head, questions that I crave answers this very moment. But looking at Rudolph's eyes, I have a strong feeling that I know too much than he would've liked me to know, despite myself not really understanding what I've known.
Rudolph scans the now quieter room. The destruction is incredible, one could easily fail to recognize this room any longer, and to think that the bulk of the damage is caused by that strange apparition alone.
"What a disaster. These weren't all that we excavated, but they're still many and valuable".
Rudolph slowly releases his grip on my hand. He leans himself on a broken piece of furniture and tries to breathe deeply only to cough again.
Rudolph holds his hand up and urges me to listen closely. "If I don't have a request for you, I would've erased your memory right here right now, but right now I need you to do something for me".
I blink in surprise. His words brings me more questions than answers, out of them all there's only one that's burning inside me.
"W-wait, you don't want to erase my memory?"
Rudolph silently nods, not trace of hesitation in him. He continues, an almost desperate look on his eyes,
"Marcus Wright. He's in his possession an artefact, similar to ones that were here tonight. I gave it to him for his help in the past. I want you to tell him what you saw tonight".
"But I thought—"
"Just tell him. I'm worried that he'll be unaware of the importance of the artefact he holds".
Rudolph looks around the devastated room again. "God knows I didn't. I didn't expect them to be that valuable that people would try to steal it like this!"
I nod slowly, somewhat still unsure. "Only Marcus, right?"
"Yes, only him". Rudolph then slumps down and groans deeply. "Oh Nines, just what will I tell the press?"
He looks back to me, his stern look returns. "This is a sensitive situation for my family. If news of what happens here breaks out, I can't imagine the disaster my father's company will go through".
I'm now starting to understand what he's going for.
"Ah, that kind of thing", I nod repeatedly. I make a zip-tying gesture on my lips. "I won't tell anyone. Not even high-paying journalists".
"Be serious", Rudolph scowls. "Be a good lad and get out of here, now".
—
Many guests had gathered into a crowd, observing the many men brought inside the ambulance in stunned silence and silent whispers.
I stand among the crowd, gazing at Rudolph resting on a gurney as he's tended by a team of paramedics. He was about to be taken into the ambulance when his gaze meet mine among the crowd and suddenly urges the paramedics to halt. He beckons to me to come and I tense immediately, fearing another session of scary if not ambiguous scolding from him.
"I never said thank you. You did… good ", Rudolph says in difficulty, as if each word takes a year of his life away.
With that finished, Rudolph nods to the paramedics and they begin to bring the gurney forward again.
I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I expected more, terrible scolding from the young Alistair I just met and barely knew, but I received this instead. While I still have zero idea what just happened tonight, those simple words really do wonders in setting me at east. I feel my chest easing just with those.
The last look Rudolph gave me was one of a tired smile before the door to the ambulance closes.
I huff out air. While confused with that last part, after seeing Rudolph and knowing he's fine and hearing his close to comforting words earlier, I feel better, if not just a little.
What happened was still surreal and unbelievable, but at least now I'm out of it.
I try to take a deep breath, both in attempt to level myself and as a start for my following long lines of thought on what happened tonight, but that attempt is cut short when I hear a familiar voice calling from behind me.
"Jericho, is that you?"
I visibly flinch at Diana's recognizable voice. I turn and find her walking towards me. This whole mess had made me completely forgotten about her being here, and seeing that she's already spotted me, there's nothing else to do than to just take it in stride. There's only one problem in that plan: I'm bad at improvisations.
"I-I can explain!" I say after an awkward pause on my part.
Diana's eyes go wide as soon as she sees my dishevelled self. It's at this point do I realize how much of a mess I look.
"What are you doing here?" She asks, quietly eyeing me up and down. I didn't need to answer her question right away as Diana seems to quickly shift her attention to my concerning looks. "What happened to you?"
I scratch my head, wondering just how to answer her questions. "I-It got pretty chaotic once everyone went panicking, me included".
Diana continues asking me questions, and despite the exhaustion I'm feeling I still can't blame her. It must be bizarre to find me in London, and in this time, place, and state nonetheless.
Her questions I reply mostly with silent and awkward gestures rather than words—I simply can't improvise good answers. Thankfully she soon realizes how tired I must be and urges me to go before apologizing. "You must be tired, I shouldn't bother you, forgive me. I need to head back too, Hannah and Barbara are beyond scared from when we were being evacuated".
Diana was about to leave when she suddenly stops and turn around. "Did you know why they evacuated the guests?"
"No! Just go away", I say shooing her, louder than I meant to be.
I see her off and almost breathe a sigh of relieve until I find somebody else walking up to me. Its Amadeus, his indifferent and clueless expression means that he's probably unaware nor affected by what really happened too.
"There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" He says. To my surprise, he still carries that same glass of wine, untouched. Behind him is Aaron, out of breathe.
I release a breath I didn't know I was holding all this time. All this crazy things happened and I didn't realize I was supposed to be worried about this little man.
"Can say the same thing about you. Where were you two this whole time?"
"I was bored and thought of joining you guys shortly after you left, but the lights went out when I was on my way and I was alone and the main hall was far and I forget where it is, so I start wandering around looking for a way out or somebody to help me with directions and got lost after that".
"You've no idea how long I searched for this guy", Aaron says between sharp draws of breath, pointing down to Amadeus's head.
I huff out air, amused at how none of them seems to know what happened tonight—no one knows. I stare towards the mansion, dark and abandoned, and my mind begins to clutter as I try to wrap my mind around all that's happened tonight.
It feels unbelievable that I'm the only one that knows what happened.
My silence might've come as odd for the two, as Amadeus soon asks. "You okay?"
I turn to him and say, "Y-yes, I am. Please take me to Mr Wright".