Chapter 1 || Quoth the Raven “Nevermind” (2)

“So, what does it feel like to be in a celebrity’s house?”

“Cold. The space is too wide and the floors are all tile.”

“Mm. Have you found the bedroom?”

“Nope, still on the third floor. Moving down now. Will update when we get there.”

“Got it.”

Lexi Lilly’s house was not built with comfort in mind. It had been designed by some famous architect and was worth a fortune, but the end result was grey and lifeless. Between the lackluster design, Lexi Lilly’s ‘minimalist’ decor and the copious amounts of dust, the house was quite unappealing, even with its size.

“Who thought light-up stairwells were a good idea?” mumbled Rowan as he walked. “Why is there not one comfy chair? And why… Ooh, here’s some colour…”

The first floor was much the same. “Okay we’re on the first floor now and… what on earth is that hideous centerpiece?”

“Focus please.”

Cap chuckled at the disapproval in Alyssa’s voice. “Look I’d love to, but sometimes something is so ugly it’s distracting.”

Rowan sidled up next to Cap. “Damn, why would anyone put up with this atrocity?” he asked.

“Probably the need to show off,” Cap replied. “I’d know.”

“Hmm. L.L. didn’t really seem like the type but I guess a celebrity’s gotta celebrity. Is it just me or does this house not give the happy vibes?”

“Oh you’re a Feng Shui expert all of a sudden?”

“Ladies,” called Elowen from their right, “I think I found the bedroom.”

“Huh,” said Cap, “I thought it was a bathroom, considering the glass door.”

“I’m sorry, in what world do bathrooms… what…” 

“Well in what world do bedrooms have glass doors?”

“A better world than what you have in mind, you pervert-”

They were interrupted by Rowan’s laugh. “First and foremost, the bathroom door is also glass,” he said. “Also, guess what? I found it. Bottom right drawer.”

Elowen let out a breath of relief. “That’s good. I wonder what it is that she’d pay so much for us to retrieve.”

“If I had to hazard a guess, it’s something she doesn’t want on that documentary by Skybiscuit,” said Cap. “Doesn’t matter. We’re done and dusted.”

“Done and dusty, more like. If I’d known it’d be this easy I wouldda just stayed back at the Afterdark,” said Rowan.

“Uhm guys, a car’s just pulled up into the driveway.”

Elowen elbowed Rowan. “Good going, you jinxed it.”

“A dude’s getting out. He’s heading for the front door.”

Moments later they heard the sound of the front door opening- whoever it was knew the password. The newcomer fumbled for a while, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and turned on the built in flashlight. The crew, peeking through the bedroom door, watched as he began to move cautiously around the room.

“Who is this clown?” whispered Rowan.

“No clue, but he’s kinda blocking our exit route,” Cap whispered back.

“You mean, he’s honking around our exit route in gigantic red shoes.”

Elowen gave a quiet groan. “Oh please, I really do not want to have to port out today. I am so damn tired. I have exams on Friday.”

They fell completely silent as the man approached. He was heading towards the bedroom door, the torchlight sweeping the tiles barely meters away from them.

“Get ready to split,” Cap mouthed to the others. 

Suddenly the man whipped around wildly and shouted “Who’s there?” Immediately, ear-piercing wailing rent the air, coming from all directions at once.

“And look, he got near the vault and set off the alarm,” said Cap with a roll of his eyes. “I knew it was going too well.”

“Uhm, guys?”

Cap shrugged. “You all know the drill. Split.”

They split. If the police had arrived just a minute earlier, they might have seen three shadows in the bedroom disappear into thin air, but alas they had not, and so they did not.

—

With the wave of her hand, Elowen made a neat fold in the fabric of space and stepped through, emerging on the other side in a brief burst of energy as it snapped back into its original state.

As her feet touched solid ground, her knees nearly gave way. She took a deep breath of the familiar Britechester air. The secluded corner of the park no one ever visited at night was still soggy. Behind the bushes was a hoodie she had stashed weeks in advance. With trembling fingers, she found it and pulled it on.

The world swam in front of Elowen’s eyes as she stumbled up the stairs. She had teleported too far, not taking into account how far Del Sol Valley was from their usual locations. Then again, she hadn’t thought she would have to use it tonight… If she had she would have set up another waypoint closer to the target. 

Although it was well past midnight, youths still roamed the streets of Britechester. Drunk people, sober people, students, part-time workers; you could find them all here. 

There were plenty of other people she could have run into, but it was just her luck she ran straight into the one person on these streets that had bad mojo with her.

“Oh….”

“You again.”

—

Hi all, I’ve decided to update on weekends from now on so I can pull last-clutch all nighters without having to wake up for work the next morning. Thank you all for your patience, hope this answered some questions… xD

<Previous 1-1 || Next 1-3>