stalker? Maybe you want me to
distract someone else so you can go after him.”
He
rolled his eyes. “Just make sure you cross your t’s and bat your eyelashes. If
you mess this up, then you still owe me,” he said, slipping away from her car.
“Do
me a favor – don’t ever say that again.”
Eliza
bent to unlock the door and he tilted his head, admiring the view for a moment
before slapping her right on the ass. She jumped and he laughed before taking
off towards the buses.
“Where’re
you going?”
“…On
a field trip.”
***
Rome
climbed off the bus, his eyes wandering up the steps of City Hall. He’d been
here more times than he could count. The last thing he wanted to see was the
inside of another courtroom. “Why are we here?”
“The
Witches Collective,” Aria whispered. “It’s hidden inside, along with the
history museum.”
“How
many secrets does this town have?”
“I
guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out.”
The
teachers split them all off into six groups before entering the building. Rome
drifted along, looking at everything with curious new eyes. The only thing that
was really different about this place was the fact that he wasn’t in a set of
handcuffs. The layout and the decor alluded to nothing out of the ordinary. In
fact, it seemed more bland than usual.
Rome
was the last one to step through the metal detector, and he sighed as he set
off the alarm. He took his ring off, taking a step back and trying again. The guard looked perturbed, maybe because somehow
the horrid sound seemed even louder than before. That’s when he
remembered the pocket knife hidden in the side of his boot.
“Damn it,” he muttered. He slapped it into the guard’s
palm, watching as he
tossed it into a box of similar looking contraband.
He
wasn’t getting that back.
At
least I have my ring ,
he thought, grabbing it off the belt.
“If
I asked to hold your hand, would you still say yes?” he asked.
Ariahna
looked down to see that Rome was holding out his palm, and she hesitated for
only a moment before gently slipping her fingers between his. His skin was a
little rough, and she wondered why she hadn’t picked up on that before. She
couldn’t help but think he was too young to have hands like that.
Rome,
on the other hand, was more intrigued by the set of stairs leading them down
into the sublevels of the building. He
paused, brushing his fingers over a
small symbol etched into the stone. He noticed the same strange marking was placed on the pillar on
the other side of the staircase.
“What
are these?” he asked.
“They’re wards. They’re put in place to dissuade anyone
who doesn’t have magic from wandering into places they shouldn’t. They’re also
on the first floor
at Vardel.”
Rome
closed his eyes, trying to recall what was so familiar about them. “Are there
different kinds of wards?” he asked.
“There
are sigils?” she said. “I suppose they’re similar. They can be used for
anything, really. Why?”
“I
remember something like this carved into the porch at my old house. It was a
seven pointed star. I used to stare at it sometimes; at least until my dad
scratched it out.”
“It’s
called an otherkin, or faerie star. It’s used for protection, but more
specifically it’s used in controlling or dismissing spirits.”
Rome
hummed in thought, lagging down the stairs after their group. “I can’t believe
all of this has been right in front of my face.”
“That’s
sort of the point,” she giggled.
He
stepped into what looked like a lobby. There were several black circles
outlined on the tile to the left, and hallways and stairwells branched out from
the room like a maze.
“Dr.
German,” a woman called, “Lab C is ready for you.”
Rome
narrowed his eyes, watching curiously as the man stepped into one of the
circles. He smoothed out his lab coat, adjusting his glasses apprehensively.
What happened next made Rome stop dead in his
distract someone else so you can go after him.”
He
rolled his eyes. “Just make sure you cross your t’s and bat your eyelashes. If
you mess this up, then you still owe me,” he said, slipping away from her car.
“Do
me a favor – don’t ever say that again.”
Eliza
bent to unlock the door and he tilted his head, admiring the view for a moment
before slapping her right on the ass. She jumped and he laughed before taking
off towards the buses.
“Where’re
you going?”
“…On
a field trip.”
***
Rome
climbed off the bus, his eyes wandering up the steps of City Hall. He’d been
here more times than he could count. The last thing he wanted to see was the
inside of another courtroom. “Why are we here?”
“The
Witches Collective,” Aria whispered. “It’s hidden inside, along with the
history museum.”
“How
many secrets does this town have?”
“I
guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out.”
The
teachers split them all off into six groups before entering the building. Rome
drifted along, looking at everything with curious new eyes. The only thing that
was really different about this place was the fact that he wasn’t in a set of
handcuffs. The layout and the decor alluded to nothing out of the ordinary. In
fact, it seemed more bland than usual.
Rome
was the last one to step through the metal detector, and he sighed as he set
off the alarm. He took his ring off, taking a step back and trying again. The guard looked perturbed, maybe because somehow
the horrid sound seemed even louder than before. That’s when he
remembered the pocket knife hidden in the side of his boot.
“Damn it,” he muttered. He slapped it into the guard’s
palm, watching as he
tossed it into a box of similar looking contraband.
He
wasn’t getting that back.
At
least I have my ring ,
he thought, grabbing it off the belt.
“If
I asked to hold your hand, would you still say yes?” he asked.
Ariahna
looked down to see that Rome was holding out his palm, and she hesitated for
only a moment before gently slipping her fingers between his. His skin was a
little rough, and she wondered why she hadn’t picked up on that before. She
couldn’t help but think he was too young to have hands like that.
Rome,
on the other hand, was more intrigued by the set of stairs leading them down
into the sublevels of the building. He
paused, brushing his fingers over a
small symbol etched into the stone. He noticed the same strange marking was placed on the pillar on
the other side of the staircase.
“What
are these?” he asked.
“They’re wards. They’re put in place to dissuade anyone
who doesn’t have magic from wandering into places they shouldn’t. They’re also
on the first floor
at Vardel.”
Rome
closed his eyes, trying to recall what was so familiar about them. “Are there
different kinds of wards?” he asked.
“There
are sigils?” she said. “I suppose they’re similar. They can be used for
anything, really. Why?”
“I
remember something like this carved into the porch at my old house. It was a
seven pointed star. I used to stare at it sometimes; at least until my dad
scratched it out.”
“It’s
called an otherkin, or faerie star. It’s used for protection, but more
specifically it’s used in controlling or dismissing spirits.”
Rome
hummed in thought, lagging down the stairs after their group. “I can’t believe
all of this has been right in front of my face.”
“That’s
sort of the point,” she giggled.
He
stepped into what looked like a lobby. There were several black circles
outlined on the tile to the left, and hallways and stairwells branched out from
the room like a maze.
“Dr.
German,” a woman called, “Lab C is ready for you.”
Rome
narrowed his eyes, watching curiously as the man stepped into one of the
circles. He smoothed out his lab coat, adjusting his glasses apprehensively.
What happened next made Rome stop dead in his
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