It was a pitch-black night, with no moon. But that's when children of Hecate worked their best magic.
The trick was to mess with the cameras so that they didn't have a noticeable disruption in the tape - unfortunately the tinge of purple that tainted Nasim's magic was the very definition of noticeable. However, the new moon made it easier for Nasim to change his magic and alter it so that it would carry no color.
Will watched admiringly as Nasim made a complicated series of motions from where they stood under the shelter of the trees.
"That should do it," Nasim said.
"I didn't see anything," Will commented, but it was questioning.
"Good," Nasim said. "Now they'll be looking at a four second time loop. Ready?"
"Yep, let's go," Will said, carefully sneaking out from under the shelter of the shadows. Nasim and Andy ghosted after him, taking care to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible.
They slipped up to the front steps of the school and ducked under the shelter of the alcove below the seal.
Will nodded pointedly towards a small white box just inside the door. A red light winked at them repeatedly and the numbers on the keypad were lit by a steady green light. Nasim saw it and, without needing to speak, disabled the alarm with a Jedi-like wave of his fingers.
Will tapped the lock on the door and raised one eyebrow. Nasim frowned at it and carefully pulled his sword just an inch or two from its sheath and cut his finger on it.
"What are you doing?" Andy hissed.
"Locks are harder than electronics," Nasim whispered. He held his finger over the lock and allowed a few drops of blood to fall into the keyhole. There was a sizzling sound, then a distinct click as the tumblers gave way.
"We're in," Nasim said softly. Will nodded and pushed the door open; he held his breath for a moment, practically waiting for an alarm to go off, but nothing happened.
Will motioned for them to stop, and he got down on his hands and knees and began to crawl inside. Andy looked at Nasim and he gestured for her to go first.
The floor was cold on their hands and knees. Nasim was glad Will had suggested that they crawl because there was a front desk located off to the side. A bright, flickering light came over the top of the desk, casting a woman-shaped shadow on the ceiling. If they'd tried to walk in, they would have been spotted for sure.
There was a short flight of stairs leading into the rest of the school. They crawled past several camel-hide upholstered chairs and plastic, waxy fake plants. Nasim was slightly unnerved that the overall interior of Hippolyte's School for Girls was a heck of a lot like a normal school.
A hallway ran both directions at the top of the stair. A small, neat little sign that looked like it was made of fake wood had one arrow pointing to the left reading "Rooms 100-110" and another pointed to the right with the "Rooms 111-120".
Andy frowned and pushed her way forward, peering off to the left and to the right. She nodded emphatically to the right and began to crawl that way. Will grabbed her ankle and she looked around; he pointed up to a small back dome - another camera.
They both looked at Nasim who mouthed: "Taken care of." Andy nodded and forged ahead. They passed door after door of classroom, still on their hands and knees just in case one of the classrooms wasn't empty.
Andy had been right; a staircase was at the end of the wing. Another fake wooden sign told them that "Rooms 200-220" were overhead.
"Dorm?" Will mouthed, frowning. Andy shrugged and pushed herself onto the balls of her feet, resorting to creeping up the stairs. Nasim could tell that she was nervous that she couldn't draw her weapon.
When she got to the top of the staircase, the two boys right behind her, Andy held up a hand for them to stop.
There were footsteps coming down the hallway toward them. They got closer and closer, and Andy began to shift. Her silent wiggling rather reminded Nasim of the way a house cat squirms around when preparing to pounce on a bird.
The footsteps came closer and closer until they were right on them. Someone came around the corner and Andy shot to her feet, one hand clamped around the person's arm and the other covered her mouth.
Oenone's eyes were wide and she looked surprised, but not frightened. Andy immediately let her go, almost like she'd received a shock. The water nymph at once crouched down to be at the same level as the boys and pulled Andy down with her. The naiad was holding a long, bronze dagger but it didn't really fit in her hand, making it look like she'd taken it from someone else.
"How did you - ?" Andy began, her voice unnaturally high-pitched.
"I'm not completely helpless, despite what Robin might think," Oenone replied in a hushed whisper. "Where is he?"
"We have to get out," Will said instead, already creeping back down the staircase.
Despite her calm veneer, Nasim could see that Oenone was slightly shaken and the blade clenched in her hand kept hitting the floor with a quiet clunk. She eventually stashed the bronze dagger behind one of the fake plants in the front office as they crept out.
No one stopped them and no alarms went off. Nasim even was able to reset the burglar alarms and cameras, but to re-lock the door he had to make another cut on his finger.
"Black magic," Oenone hissed, her dark blue eyes flashing.
"Let's go," Will said, wisely grabbing Oenone's elbow and pulling her after him into the trees.
By the time Andy and Nasim caught up with them, Oenone had pulled her arm out of Will's grasp. "Where's Robin?" she demanded. "Who are you? You weren't with him earlier."
"I'm Will, I'm a son of Apollo and - " Will looked at Andy and Nasim, " - I wasn't actually there when it happened."
"Let's get farther away before we talk about it," Andy said.
Oenone frowned, and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes flashed again and her hair began to collect dew as though caught in mist. There was a sound like the echo of thunder.
"Where's Robin?" she asked again, her voice surprisingly calm. "If you don't tell be where he is right now... "
Nasim would have laughed - it was a classic example of angry girlfriend - except that Will sighed and looked at him helplessly.
"He's... he was taken into the ground," Nasim said.
"You mean - he's dead?" the naiad asked, her voice breaking.
"No," Andy said at once. "But he's... gone."
"No." A tear trickled down her cheek. "No. Not again." Then she turned and began to cry into the arms of the person nearest to her, who happened to be Will. The older boy looked confused and helpless, he awkwardly patted Oenone on the back.
They went back to the hollow tree where they'd left Star-shooter, the quiver, and the Palladium.