Part 3
It wasn't like she didn't have better things to do with her time. These people seemed to just think she was available whenever they needed an extra bit of backup that would probably turn out to be useless anyway.
But even she was intrigued enough, this time, to be told she was going to be paid. The house was in the snobby part of town, like the clichéd part of any small town that she seemed to drift across these days, there was always a giant shopping mall, there was always a high street and some shops, convenient stores on every other street corner, a 'bad' part of the town where everything was run down and the people were supposed to be dangerous, there was the suburban, middle/upper-middle class parts, and of course the snobby section where everyone had fabulous cars and houses with gates.
It would be nice to visit a town with a difference, though she couldn't quite see that happening. But that wasn't really the point. The place she was supposed to go was pretty easy to find, though she didn't really get what she was actually doing there.
The message had been clear enough, come here, hang around in case we need you, walk away with a large amount of money in your pocket. Simple enough.
She'd just have to wait and see. (Again with the cliché, but there wasn't much else to do.)
* * *
Generally something this easy wasn't the type of thing that Cash tended to go for in his work. He liked the challenge, the target who put up a fight rather than the wimpy ones who just stood there whilst they were attacked.
He had only agreed to comply with whoever the hell Claire Mandrake was when she told him it was Deva Harman who would be paying him. The only lost witch found who hadn't gone over to Circle Daybreak, there was one other he'd heard about, but that guy was supposed to have been killed in a car accident.
That idea alone was fascinating to him, considering all the other lost witches that were popping up like flies had spun off to the other side.
He wondered who the target was, he wasn't even supposed to kill anyone, just guard them. He didn't know what the hell an Arcobaleno dragon was either. Dragons were supposed to be ancient shapeshifters buried thousands of years ago - another supposedly uncommon thing that was featuring a lot lately, he noticed.
Checking his watch as he cruised into the small town, Cash noted it was only ten p.m. A little too early to start making himself known, perhaps, Claire hadn't given him any sort of check in point, or told him to come meet Deva. Just be at the house at midnight.
That was a little weird. Something to do with whatever ritual sacrifice they were performing, he guessed, wishing there was someway he could get in and see it. But hey, he reasoned, his instincts taking him to the house anyway, he was an assassin sneaking around was something he was good at.
He parked in a discreet side street and approached the house, as if he was a walker out for an evening stroll. The house was huge, stone white, four storeys, and a huge iron gate in front, a walk around the perimeter showed security cameras on every corner. The security station was at the front of the house, just before the iron gates, opening now as a figure came out.
A tall figure with chestnut hair loose and shimmering in the street lights, dressed entirely in black, but she didn't have the senses of a vampire, which made him wonder. He caught a glimpse of green cat eyes and a preoccupied expression. He darted inside before the gates could close, and at the same time, a small black cat darted through as well.
"Hey, hold it a minute," a security guard was coming out, hands on hips, a sauntering sway in his walk like a tough cop in a bad TV movie. "Who might you be then?"
Cash sighed with impatience. "Bored," he answered, with a fast movement like a striking snake he reached out and grabbed the guards gun, pointing it at his head and firing. The shot was almost irritatingly loud, but with any luck, anyone passing would dismiss it as a car backfiring.
He moved the body inside the security hut, looking at the cameras monitoring the house. Inside was a lone girl, watching a giant TV screen, munching what looked liked a bowl of popcorn. There were a few figures climbing over a back fence, he guessed must be the start of the Circle Midnight witches arriving to set up for whatever their plan was.
His cell-phone was ringing. "What?" he asked.
"It's Claire," the girl's voice said. "Are you in the mansion yet?"
"Yeah, security guard's taken care of. Your people are starting to arrive."
"Good, do us a favour and open the gates, we'll be going for the girl soon. We can't afford a fuck up."
"Whatever." He hung up and found the button that opened the gates, leaving the body where it was and slipping away into the shadows to explore the rest of the grounds.
* * *
Saffron's head shot up as she heard a loud noise that sounded oddly chilling, part of her was telling her to go investigate, but the other half was telling her to stay where she was.
Considering she was alone in a giant mansion, she was more inclined to remain in the safety of Jessika's living room with her pop corn and the Cinema size TV screen.
She heard a soft mewing at the windows, looking up to see a small black cat tapping the glass with its paws. She smiled and let it in. The cat hopped through the open window, hiss3ed and her and darted off.
Saffron frowned a little, Jessika had never mentioned she had a cat before. It probably belonged to her mean older sister. She shrugged and headed back to the TV, debating on whether or not she wanted to order a pizza.
An uncomfortable feeling was plaguing her, telling her something was wrong. She got the odd little push like this every now and then, without really knowing how to explain it. "Is anyone there?" she called out, her voice echoing in the huge room.
Cautiously, she moved to the entrance foyer, but could see or sense no one inside the house but herself. ^You're just nervous cause the house is so big, that's all^ she told herself. She opened the glass front doors and looked around outside, the light was on in the security hut, if anything was wrong, the guard would tell her.
She closed the door, made sure it was locked and went back into the lounge, trying to settle down. ^There's nothing out there^ she thought. ^Nothing.^
* * *
It wasn't like she didn't have better things to do with her time. These people seemed to just think she was available whenever they needed an extra bit of backup that would probably turn out to be useless anyway.
But even she was intrigued enough, this time, to be told she was going to be paid. The house was in the snobby part of town, like the clichéd part of any small town that she seemed to drift across these days, there was always a giant shopping mall, there was always a high street and some shops, convenient stores on every other street corner, a 'bad' part of the town where everything was run down and the people were supposed to be dangerous, there was the suburban, middle/upper-middle class parts, and of course the snobby section where everyone had fabulous cars and houses with gates.
It would be nice to visit a town with a difference, though she couldn't quite see that happening. But that wasn't really the point. The place she was supposed to go was pretty easy to find, though she didn't really get what she was actually doing there.
The message had been clear enough, come here, hang around in case we need you, walk away with a large amount of money in your pocket. Simple enough.
She'd just have to wait and see. (Again with the cliché, but there wasn't much else to do.)
* * *
Generally something this easy wasn't the type of thing that Cash tended to go for in his work. He liked the challenge, the target who put up a fight rather than the wimpy ones who just stood there whilst they were attacked.
He had only agreed to comply with whoever the hell Claire Mandrake was when she told him it was Deva Harman who would be paying him. The only lost witch found who hadn't gone over to Circle Daybreak, there was one other he'd heard about, but that guy was supposed to have been killed in a car accident.
That idea alone was fascinating to him, considering all the other lost witches that were popping up like flies had spun off to the other side.
He wondered who the target was, he wasn't even supposed to kill anyone, just guard them. He didn't know what the hell an Arcobaleno dragon was either. Dragons were supposed to be ancient shapeshifters buried thousands of years ago - another supposedly uncommon thing that was featuring a lot lately, he noticed.
Checking his watch as he cruised into the small town, Cash noted it was only ten p.m. A little too early to start making himself known, perhaps, Claire hadn't given him any sort of check in point, or told him to come meet Deva. Just be at the house at midnight.
That was a little weird. Something to do with whatever ritual sacrifice they were performing, he guessed, wishing there was someway he could get in and see it. But hey, he reasoned, his instincts taking him to the house anyway, he was an assassin sneaking around was something he was good at.
He parked in a discreet side street and approached the house, as if he was a walker out for an evening stroll. The house was huge, stone white, four storeys, and a huge iron gate in front, a walk around the perimeter showed security cameras on every corner. The security station was at the front of the house, just before the iron gates, opening now as a figure came out.
A tall figure with chestnut hair loose and shimmering in the street lights, dressed entirely in black, but she didn't have the senses of a vampire, which made him wonder. He caught a glimpse of green cat eyes and a preoccupied expression. He darted inside before the gates could close, and at the same time, a small black cat darted through as well.
"Hey, hold it a minute," a security guard was coming out, hands on hips, a sauntering sway in his walk like a tough cop in a bad TV movie. "Who might you be then?"
Cash sighed with impatience. "Bored," he answered, with a fast movement like a striking snake he reached out and grabbed the guards gun, pointing it at his head and firing. The shot was almost irritatingly loud, but with any luck, anyone passing would dismiss it as a car backfiring.
He moved the body inside the security hut, looking at the cameras monitoring the house. Inside was a lone girl, watching a giant TV screen, munching what looked liked a bowl of popcorn. There were a few figures climbing over a back fence, he guessed must be the start of the Circle Midnight witches arriving to set up for whatever their plan was.
His cell-phone was ringing. "What?" he asked.
"It's Claire," the girl's voice said. "Are you in the mansion yet?"
"Yeah, security guard's taken care of. Your people are starting to arrive."
"Good, do us a favour and open the gates, we'll be going for the girl soon. We can't afford a fuck up."
"Whatever." He hung up and found the button that opened the gates, leaving the body where it was and slipping away into the shadows to explore the rest of the grounds.
* * *
Saffron's head shot up as she heard a loud noise that sounded oddly chilling, part of her was telling her to go investigate, but the other half was telling her to stay where she was.
Considering she was alone in a giant mansion, she was more inclined to remain in the safety of Jessika's living room with her pop corn and the Cinema size TV screen.
She heard a soft mewing at the windows, looking up to see a small black cat tapping the glass with its paws. She smiled and let it in. The cat hopped through the open window, hiss3ed and her and darted off.
Saffron frowned a little, Jessika had never mentioned she had a cat before. It probably belonged to her mean older sister. She shrugged and headed back to the TV, debating on whether or not she wanted to order a pizza.
An uncomfortable feeling was plaguing her, telling her something was wrong. She got the odd little push like this every now and then, without really knowing how to explain it. "Is anyone there?" she called out, her voice echoing in the huge room.
Cautiously, she moved to the entrance foyer, but could see or sense no one inside the house but herself. ^You're just nervous cause the house is so big, that's all^ she told herself. She opened the glass front doors and looked around outside, the light was on in the security hut, if anything was wrong, the guard would tell her.
She closed the door, made sure it was locked and went back into the lounge, trying to settle down. ^There's nothing out there^ she thought. ^Nothing.^
* * *