The next day Aya arrived. I was tired and slumped on the sofa when she arrived, the girls drawing at the coffee table in front of me. Aurora hadn't made another appearance, so I assumed Tristan had done something to keep her out of the way. I looked up when Aya came over, eyes half open.

"You look rough Elena."

"Thank you. I feel it."

"Hopefully you're up for a little work?"

"Oh is this that… thing Tristan wants me to get?"

"Yes."

"I'll go but I need someone to watch the girls."

As if on cue, Tristan emerged. He didn't speak, just took a seat on the sofa and gestured for me to go with Aya. I nodded and followed her out.

We headed down to the car in silence. There were a few members of the Strix dotted around, none that I knew personally.

"So what are we after?" I asked, once we were in the car.

"That's private," cut in one of the others before Aya could respond. She gave him a look and he fell silent.

"If I'm supposed to retrieve something, I kind of need to know what it looks like," I pointed out.

"Yes, you will." The objector opened his mouth to say something but Aya gave him another scathing look. "You're looking for a case. Leather, reddish brown with a fleur de lis symbol imprinted on it. It's about this big." She gestured with her hands.

"What's inside?"

"You don't need to know that," Aya said. "Trust me, it's better not to know. Just find it, don't open it. Tristan has explicitly stated that."

"Right. Who does this thing belong to? Can I know that? Before I walk in and get body slammed by a witch?"

"You can know that. It's a human, but there are a few spells on the building which is why we can't go in. Go round the back. We'll make sure that he's sufficiently distracted while you sneak in and get the item. Simple, easy. I'm sure you can handle it."

We drove a little way out of town and the driver pulled over a short distance from a large stately home surrounded by trees. I peered through the window, curious.

"Are you sure there's no… extra security? Human security?"

"Well we've not been able to get in to find that out," said Aya coolly. "But I have confidence in you. I'm sure you can handle anything that you run into."

I bit my lip, continuing to peer through the window. Aya looked at me expectantly. I blinked, realising she was waiting for me to go. I got out of the car and headed through the trees round to the back of the building. The trees thinned out as I drew nearer the house and I caught a glimpse of a swimming pool, white stone columns and a trellis with climbing ivy. I crept nearer and crouched in the undergrowth. There was a man by the pool, watering some plants in terracotta pots. A large dog was sprawled on the stone beside him. I grimaced. Great. Just what I needed, a fucking guard dog.

The dog growled and got to its feet, barking. The man turned, looked down at the animal and followed its gaze towards the trees where I was hidden. I bit my lip and pressed myself down into the dirt, hoping he wouldn't see me.

From some kind of hidden speaker system came the sound of a doorbell. The man hesitated, still looking in my direction, before turning away and heading inside the house. I waited a few moments, assuming that the doorbell must be the start of the others efforts to distract him. When he didn't reappear, I slipped out of my hiding place and moved quickly towards the house. The dog was still outside and when he saw me, he barked and snarled, baring his fangs. I noticed something I hadn't before, a metal pole and a chain, keeping the dog tethered in place. He could only move a short distance, but unfortunately that distance included the area I needed to cross to get to the door. The dog kept barking and I knew I had to move quickly before the man heard and came back. I looked around and my eyes landed on the trellis. The floor above had a balcony… and the trellis looked reasonably strong…

I moved swiftly over to trellis and started to climb. The dog pulled at his chain, straining to get at me. I ignored him and moved as quickly as I could, using the trellis as a ladder. My foot slipped off one of the slats and I had to hold on tight to prevent myself from falling. I gritted my teeth and continued upwards. My hand reached the balcony and I pulled myself up, wriggling through the gaps in the stone rails until I was sprawled out. Safe.

Below, the dog had lapsed into silence with only the occasional growl. Out of sight, out of mind I guessed. I looked around, trying to work out what my next move should be. There was a glass door, open, allowing the curtains to stream out onto the balcony. Well, that was convenient.

I headed into the room. It was a large bedroom, elegant and modern. I kept moving, searching quickly, trying to locate the box while also not leaving any sign of my presence. The bedroom turned up nothing so I continued onto the hall. I could hear Aya's voice downstairs and the man's so I guessed, for the moment at least, the distraction was going well and without bloodshed.

I moved from room to room, trying to find anything that resembled the description Aya had given me. The stairs descended right behind the front door, where the man was stood so I knew I couldn't look around there. I was running out of rooms and beginning to feel a little desperate.

My eyes fell on a bookcase, multiple old leather bound books filling the shelves. One had no writing on the spine, just a symbol. A fleur de lis. Well… worth a try.

I moved over to it and pulled the book from the shelf. Nothing happened. I reached into the shelf and felt around the wood behind where the book had been. I felt something smooth within the rough wood. A button. I pressed lightly and there was a click. One side of the bookcase swung forward. I glanced around, fearful that it would set off an alarm or something. The voices from below sounded aggressive now, not shouting but the anger was apparent. I slipped through the gap that had appeared and into the room behind. Lights flickered on as I entered, making me jump, and the door swung shut behind me. The room wasn't particularly small but it was filled with furniture which made it seem smaller than it was. There were shelves and cabinets cluttered with peculiar objects. I felt incredibly uneasy being in the room, and it wasn't just the breaking and entering. Everything about this place felt… off.

There was no sign of the case on the shelves so I went to the cabinets and began pulling out drawers at random. Still no luck. I cursed to myself. If it wasn't in here, where could it be?

I swept the room with my gaze and spotted a large wooden trunk tucked away at one side of the room. Had to be…

I took a step towards it and froze. Footsteps in the hall. I scrambled for somewhere to hide, settling on the only place big enough to hold me. I quickly hid myself away, crouching down in the darkened space. I could hear my breathing. It seemed incredibly loud in the confined space and the pounding of my heart filled my head. They'd find me… they'd find me…

The footsteps grew louder. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. Please… please… please…

The footsteps stopped. I waited, hardly daring to breathe, listening for the click of door. Silence. After a moment, the footsteps resumed, this time retreating.

I waited for a few minutes before wriggling out of my hiding place. I went quickly to the trunk and opened it. Under an assortment of papers, I found the case. Reddish leather, a fleur de lis imprint. I pulled it free. It was heavy, surprisingly so. I went to tuck it under my arm, but paused. I eyed the silver clasp. A quick look wouldn't hurt, would it?

I set it down on a table, my hands moved to the clasps.

Do not open it

I frowned, my fingers skimming over the edge of the metal.

Tristan said do not open it.

I felt a peculiar pain at the back of my head and I grimaced. No. I wouldn't look. I tucked it back under my arm and went over to the door. I had no idea if anyone was on the other side and I had no way of finding out. I would just have risk it.

I pushed the door open and peered out into the hallway. It was empty. I slipped out and shut the bookcase behind me. The door to the bedroom I'd come through was closed and I could hear a voice behind it. Fuck…

I went to the stairs and tiptoed down, testing each stair before I stepped on it to make sure it didn't creak and give me away. I made it to the ground floor without incident and looked around, trying to work out the best exit. The back door was still open but that would lead me passed the dog… I looked over at the front door. Would it be unlocked?

I took a step towards it and heard a growl behind me. I turned to see the dog standing in the hallway, now free of its chain. It eyed me and growled, spreading its weight as it tensed to attack. I stared at it, frozen with fear and unsure how to proceed. After everything I'd been through and a dog was stopping me? No.

I took a step forward. The dog snarled.

"Be quiet." I told it, my voice quiet but firm. I didn't think it would work but, I could command wolves why couldn't I do the same to a dog.

The dog whimpered a little and appeared confused, taking a small step back. I took a step towards him, keeping my eyes locked on him. He growled and tossed his head. I knelt down slowly so I was eyeball to eyeball.

"Sit."

The dog sat.

"Good boy. Now, stay."

I got back to my feet and strode down the hall and out the back door. I paused under the balcony, listening for any sign that the man might be able to see me when I made a run for it. I couldn't hear anything.

Three… two… one…

I dashed for the treeline, clutching the case to my chest. I ran through the trees, eager to put as much distance between myself and the house as possible. I didn't stop until I saw the car. Aya saw me coming and opened my door for me and I practically threw myself inside of it, gasping for breath.

"Well, that took slightly longer than expected," Aya said.

"A thank you would be nice…" I muttered. "Here's your stupid case."

She took it from me and examined the outside but didn't open it. She looked over at me.

"You didn't open it did you?"

"No. But I did almost get eaten by a dog, so thank you for that." I sat back in my seat and closed my eyes. The car started and drove away from the house. I kept my eyes closed, rubbing my temples occasionally. The pain I'd felt still lingered there faintly.

It didn't take long to get home and Aya escorted me inside. There was no sign of the girls but I could hear Blair's laughter from the bedroom. Tristan got to his feet when we entered. He smiled brightly when he saw the case.

"Aya, I trust everything went to plan?"

"It did."

"Excellent. Put it in the safe will you?"

Aya nodded and left the room. Tristan came over to me, running his eyes over me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Good. Now, I have a surprise for you. A… present."

"Present?"

"Yes. Come with me." He took my hand. "I know that I promised I'd get you home and I will, but there's one thing I had to deal with first." He paused outside one of the rooms that we didn't use. He produced a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, but didn't open it. He looked at me and nodded for me to open it instead. I paused, uncertain about what I might find inside.

My hand reached for the knob and twisted. The door swung open. It was dark inside. Tristan reached passed me and flicked on the light. An audible gasp slipped from my lips.