Chapter 12: Inside The Mansion

   Every step brought Rebecca nearer the locket.  She and Carrie stepped slowly towards the front door; as if it were a live bomb and walking too fast would activate it.

   They were half way there, so far, so good.  They obviously hadn’t been seen yet.  Maybe Rebecca was right, Carrie thought, and the security cameras had been disabled.

   “Carrie,” Rebecca said.  “If anything bad happens, don’t worry about me.  I’m the one who’s got you into this, so I’d be the one to blame.  If anything happens, just get out.”

   “I…” Carrie said.  Terrified as she was, she didn’t want to leave Rebecca.  But, she didn’t know what she’d do if something happened.

“Okay.”

   They reached the door.  It was made of mahogany, and painted bright red.  Rebecca walked up, and knocked five times.

   “Rebecca!  Are you mad?” Carrie screamed.

   Rebecca reached into her back, making sure the knives would be easy to retrieve.

   “It saves us having to look for him, and falling into a trap,” Rebecca explained.

   They waited for a few minutes, but nobody came to the door.  Rebecca tried knocking again.

   “This isn’t good,” she said.  “Though I should have suspected it.  They do have windows, so they might know we’re here!” 

  “We should go back…” Carrie mumbled.

   “Or go inside,” Rebecca added.  “But I think we should wait here.  He may want us to look inside.”

  

   “They seem to be staying put, master,” Dominic said, peeking out the window.”

   “Hm…” Edward sat and thought.  Why was everything going wrong now?  “I still need to properly test the chamber on a human.”

   Dominic gasped, and fell back into the wall.

   “You can’t!” he exclaimed.

   “Whose life do you value more, your own and your family’s, or two insignificant girls you’ve never met?” Edward asked, almost politely.

   “Élarch never asked me to kill-”

   “Well Élarch is dead!  If you don’t want to end up the same way I suggest you get used to obeying me without question.”

   “I… yes, sir.  Very good, sir.”

   Dominic admitted defeat, and listened to Edward’s further instructions.

 

   Rebecca knocked five knocks for the fourteenth time.

   “This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Carrie said.  “Maybe they’re out?”

   “I think they’re in,” she replied.  She somehow knew.  It was troublesome not having a reason; if she did, perhaps Carrie would keep quiet.

   “Although, I did think something would have happened by now,” she admitted.  “Maybe we should back off.  But then, that might be what they want us to do.”

   She tried knocking for a fifteenth time.  This time something happened.  The door opened slightly, being kept from fully opening by a chain lock.  On the other side of the door was a small, balding man with greying hair.

   “What is it you want so badly that you keep insistently knocking!” he cried.  His voice showed no sign of age, though there was a slight trace of fear in his voice that his anger failed to cover up.

   “When somebody knocks on a door, you’re meant to answer,” Rebecca replied confidently.  This man didn’t seem too dangerous.

   “That didn’t answer my question…” he mumbled, annoyed.  “I think you aught to be going.”

   “We came here for a reason,” Rebecca said, refusing to give up.  Carrie stood next to her, keeping quiet.

   The man sighed.

   “You had better come in,” he said.

   “Is Edward in?” Rebecca asked, ignoring him.

   “Yes… he’s in,” Dominic replied carefully.  “But he’s very busy with work, and wouldn’t want to be disturbed unless it’s vital.”

   “This is very vital.”

   “Well, as I said, you’d better come in.  He can’t afford to leave his office, unless for a business meeting or some other unavoidable event.”

   Rebecca thought for a second.  She could pull out her knives and threaten Dominic to get Edward, though that really would be the first step in turning herself into a criminal.  Another option, and perhaps the safest one, would be to simply leave, but that would accomplish nothing.  The last option would be to follow the man inside, but that could prove dangerous.

   “Alright then,” Rebecca decided, then had an idea.  “I’ll come inside and meet Edward.  But I can’t be long, I’m expected at home in a few hours.” 

   “Ah, yes, okay then.  I promise it won’t take up much time…” he stuttered.  “I’m Dominic by the way… please follow me…”

   He went inside.  Rebecca followed him, and dragged the reluctant Carrie with her.

 

   “Is it much further?” Paul panted.

   “No, we’re nearly there!” Billy said.  He turned to Anonni.  “What’s your plan?”

   “It’s impossible to formulate a plan when we don’t know the situation,” Anonni said.  “We don’t know about Rebecca, or how friendly these people will be.”

   After another five minutes, they arrived onto the street.  It was midday, so the street was deserted.  It was mostly made up of council houses, with two shops at the end.  The only noise was a group of birds chirping on someone’s roof.

   “He definitely said they’d meet here?” Anonni asked.

   “Yes,” Billy confirmed.

   “Well, we just have to wait.”

   They found a bench at the outside of a nearby park, where they could monitor anyone in the street.

   “Why was there no time given…?” Anonni wondered irritably.

   “There’s someone,” Billy observed.  The three of them immediately got up for a better look.  Walking down the street was a man dressed purely in black.  He made Billy think of a bored and tired businessman.  “He’s on his own, he could be meeting someone.”

   “Let’s watch and observe a bit longer before making any rash movement,” Anonni advised.

   “Easy for you to say, it’s not your sister that could be dead!” Billy exclaimed.

   “Not this time, no,” Anonni answered.  “But-”

   “Well I’m getting closer,” Paul announced, and walked out of the park.

   “Me too!” Billy cried, and followed him.

   Anonni sighed, but stayed put.  Walking towards someone with a sword held in their belt wouldn’t be the best way to greet them.  Billy and Paul casually walked down the street and passed the man, who had then stood with his back to a garden wall, looking around.  He was definitely waiting for someone.

   They reached the end of the street, and sat on another conveniently placed bench, and watched the man.  He didn’t seem to notice.

   “Hurry up!” Billy cried out as quietly as he could after a few minutes.  Paul sat and stared at his feet.  Anonni too wished to not have to wait for much longer.  And they didn’t.

   A small, smiling blonde haired man half walked, half skipped past Paul and Billy towards the man standing by the wall.  Paul and Billy stared at him, surprised.  The other man looked at him, and nodded.  They moved up towards each other, and began talking quietly.  The blonde man made an exaggerated gesture every now and again.

   Anonni stood up and casually walked past them, towards Billy and Paul.  Neither of them noticed him, fortunately.

   “We can’t hear what they’re saying,” Anonni sighed.  “But the first man we saw is more than likely the man you had the vision of, so we’ll follow him when they leave.  He could even be wearing the locket now.”

   After another few minutes, the men both walked down the street together, away from them.

   “And now, we discreetly follow,” Anonni said.  They got up, and walked down the street.

 

   To say the house had an aura of wealth about it would be a severe understatement.  They were led through many rooms, each with fancy red carpets and walls, and golden ornaments on shelves decorating them.  Many rooms seemed to serve no purpose other than to store pointless yet expensive artefacts.  There were few corridors in the building, so they passed through a lot of rooms.  They eventually reached a locked door, and Dominic pulled out a key.

   “He’s in here,” Dominic said, and opened the door.  Carrie moved to walk into the doorway, but Rebecca stopped her.

   “Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

   “I’ve escorted you here, I don’t see how I’m needed anymore,” he said.  “But if you insist, I’ll go in first.”

   Dominic walked through the door and looked for a light.  He pressed it, and revealed stairs going downstairs.

   “A basement…” Rebecca said.  “You first.”

   “I’m afraid not,” Dominic said.  He leapt behind them, and shoved them both through the door.  He slammed it shut, and locked it instantly.

   “NO!” Rebecca screamed.

   “LET US OUT!” Carrie cried.

   Rebecca pulled out her knives and began stabbing at the door.  One of them got through, but the door was extremely tough.

   “That won’t get you far,” a voice from the bottom of the stairs said.  They both immediately looked down, but the staircase was suddenly thrown into darkness.  There was no doubt however, that they were facing Edward.

   “Looking for the locket?” He called up.  “Come this way, it’s down here…”

Reviews

[Riding the Rainbow]

Really good chapter as always, my friend