by Brea Viragh
“Sorry, but I’m doing it,” Astix said. “I’ve given this a lot of thought and it’s the only answer. Period.”
Aisanna flung up her hands and nearly knocked a platter of biscotti to the floor. She steadied it before continuing. “We’re talking about breaking into the Claddium. The Claddium!” she repeated in a fierce whisper. “Magic HQ. Your plan, it’s…it’s the stupidest thing we could ever do. Why would you ask us?”
“Look, I know it seems weird—”
Karsia immediately jumped in to defend her older sister. “Because we’re family and she needs backup. Honestly, Aisanna.”
“She needs a therapist. No, no.” Aisanna tapped her fingernails against the ceramic cup filled with espresso. “I refuse. Perhaps you are forgetting the fact that we. Have. No. Magic!” She brought her wrist up for their attention.
Astix caught a flash of the death rune, looking larger than it had days earlier. A reminder of why she’d come up with this crazy scheme in the first place.
“You might not have magic, but you have eyes and ears. You can give me a signal if you see anyone coming.”
“Our lives are draining away by the second and you want us to risk what little time we have left for a little B and E.” Aisanna knew things happened to people who attempted crazy things like breaking into the Claddium. They disappeared. Take Zee, for instance. “If we get caught,” she continued, “then we’re finished. Probably locked away until we rot. But hey, at least then we’ll be with our brother.” Aisanna’s eyes went to slits and she let her head drop on a sharp exhale. “No.”
Astix sighed, running a hand across her forehead, frustrated aggression building. It had taken her longer than she wanted to admit to formulate an idea that was little better than half-cocked. In her mind, this was the only way to understand what was happening to them. After weeks of floundering and chasing her own shadow.
“I can’t change my mind. I know what I need to do, and I thought I could count on you to help me out. I guess I was mistaken. Seeing as how you all abandoned me when I was fifteen.”
“You’re really going to play that card?” Aisanna countered.
“I’m going to play any card I can if it means you’ll help me. I can’t do this alone. I need eyes,” Astix explained. “Something big is happening—beyond my pay grade big—and I know I can do something to stop it. To help you. I just need answers.”
Aisanna pointed to her sister’s face. “You have two working eyes right there.”
Karsia finished her treat and let the plate clatter to the tabletop. “Jeez, how can you be so cruel? She’s risking everything to help us. Why wouldn’t we do the same when she asks?”
“Like I said, she needs to go home and forget about all the bullshit. Find something else to focus her energies on instead of this. We’ve been working to break the rune curse. We’ll find another way.”
“Before we all die?”
“Yes! Have faith.”
“Aisanna, you’re being stubborn. Astix wants help and all you can do is give her the number to the psych ward. Not cool. We might not have magic, but we can do it together.”
“Look,” Astix said and leaned closer, “the Claddium has information on the eclipse. I’m betting that with a little digging we can find something on the guy who cursed you. What power he’s working for and how to stop it.”
“You’re nuts.”
Despite the conviction, Astix sensed a weakness in Aisanna. She was coming around, her refusal wavering. It was only a matter of time before she broke. “I’ve never asked you for anything. When I was on my own, living on the streets, I never tried to contact you. Not once.” Her voice was driven. Full of fury built up over years.
Aisanna scowled. “Don’t you dare—”
“I never once called you for help. I made it by myself, without my family. You asked for my help. Now I’m asking for yours.”
“You did. You went there.”
“I could have ignored you when you reached out. The least you can do is return the favor.”
“Bravo.” Aisanna gave a slow clap. “I like it when you play my guilt like a harp. You are totally sold on this idea?”
“You bet.”
“There is absolutely no way I can talk you out of this?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly Aisanna lost her appetite and pushed the rest of the treats away. She would go, against her will, because Astix needed her. Because Karsia was staring at her with a plea written on her face. Because she was a damn sucker and usually caved in when outnumbered.
“We’re going to get in, get our information, and find Zee. It’s the only way,” Karsia agreed.
Aisanna sighed. “So what’s our next move?”
Astix gave them a place and time to meet. The two of them would show up because they had to. Because that’s what sisters did. The idea ignited a fierce swell of emotion inside of her.
“Know that this is not going to be easy.” Aisanna brought her jacket up, wrapping her scarf tight around her neck and head as they walked to the front door minutes later.
“I don’t expect it to be easy. In fact, I expect the opposite.” A chill rose on her skin, one that had nothing to do with the cold. “I know how these things work. I’ll do a little more research on building plans before tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, well, if we die…” Aisanna let the statement trail off. She and Karsia exited through a jingle of bells on glass. “This is going to be one of the toughest things we’ve ever done.”
“We handled Constance, didn’t we?” Karsia drew in a breath of air with the perkiness of the perpetually optimistic. “This won’t be a problem.”
Glad one of us is confident. “We don’t know anything about their security, the number of people in the building,” Aisanna began.
“Then we have a lot of work to do,” Karsia said.
The three of them walked down the street side by side. “We really don’t know what we’re walking into.”
Astix felt her own discomfort rising. “Yeah, I know. Give me a few hours to do some research and by the time we meet tomorrow, I’ll have more info.”
So she hoped.
The man from the club tugged at the corners of her consciousness. She saw his eyes in the darkness, heard once again the voice asking her to play. She remembered the crows. Their message. Their warning.
The haunting dreams came back to her in startling clarity. She knew this scouting mission was crazy. They’d be breaking into the one place she’d spent her life running from.
The Claddium office had information. And she’d be starting in Leo’s office. Surely he knew something more than he let on. With all that magic under one roof, it was impossible not to find what she was looking for.
There was a time in the distant past where she could have snapped her fingers and had her sisters behind her one hundred percent. They would go on adventure walks along the property line. Climbing trees, making their own paths. Lakeshore parties where they dared each other to jump in the freezing cold water. There was no rock they did not climb, no worm or snake or snail they left unobserved.
Those were memories she treasured.
Astix missed their rallying spirit, had not been sure she’d be able to depend on it. Luckily there were some things that, no matter how deep they were buried under the mire of time, could be dusted off like brand new.
**
At eleven o’clock the following evening, the three sisters met in front of a coffee shop several blocks from the building they’d cased. It sounded like the start of a bad joke.
Aisanna rolled down the passenger window and gestured for Astix to get in. “Before we change our minds.”
Astix piled into the backseat of Karsia’s Volkswagen. “Okay, let’s go.” She fought the urge to bite her nails.
“I still say this is crazy.” Aisanna kept her eyes trained on the road. She scanned the sidewalks, anticipating trouble.
“You can say
it all you want.” Karsia grinned, the gesture hiding her uncertainty. “You aren’t changing the outcome.”
“You don’t know the outcome yet.”
Astix listened to them with a mixture of grief and humor.
It seemed all too soon they reached the utilitarian façade of the Great Lakes Claddium. The city block slept, with only a person or two dotting the sidewalk. Magic wards on the front stoop kept ordinary people from lingering.
The shops had closed for the evening, their bars drawn down and locked in the cement. There would be no eyes to witness their crime and hurry to a phone to call the police.
“We’re here,” Astix observed unnecessarily.
“Yeah, I can see that.”
She ignored Aisanna’s raw, prickly tone, her energy focused ahead instead of on a potential argument. Karsia took a sharp right turn and parked the car on an adjacent side street where a row of dumpsters blocked the majority of the pavement from view.
The better to hide our presence, my dear.
Karsia cut the engine, her hands on the wheel. “So, are we ready?” Her voice echoed in the silence and hung over them like the toll of a bell. They sat together as seconds ticked by into minutes, no one prepared to move.
“I’m not sure we can ever be ready,” said Aisanna finally.
Astix opened the door and closed it behind her quietly before she lost her courage. “Let’s get a move on.”
How was it possible for the night to seem so empty? There were no traffic sounds, no laughter or chirps of voices or barking dogs. The crickets refused to sing their twilight melodies and the wind stilled as the air held its breath. Waiting on the outcome.
She refused to take it as a sign. At least there were no owls. “Come on, ladies.”
Aisanna took her time exiting the vehicle, dragging her feet. “We’re coming.”
If only they’d had more time to prepare, more time to get to know their goal. The two women followed Astix toward the rear of the building. They skirted along the edges of the sidewalk, ignoring the puddles and cracked lines caused by roots.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Aisanna put in, ever the voice of doom and gloom.
Karsia nudged her in the side to shut her up, though she shared the sentiment. She sent a harried smile toward Astix. “We’re behind you. Tell us what to do.”
Astix felt the weight of responsibility on her as the soft fuzz on the back of her neck rose to attention. She was glad for the large collar of her coat to hide the reaction. She didn’t want to admit to them—couldn’t admit—that she also had a bad feeling.
Why?
Pushing everything aside, she told her mind to be a clear lake. Hardly a ripple.
The cold attacked her legs as January marched steadily toward an end and she resisted the urge to stomp her feet, get some feeling back in her ankles. “Let’s head toward the back door,” she said. “The janitors keep it unlocked.”
“How do you know?”
“Word on the street.” Leading her sisters away from the car, Astix marched forward with her hands in her pockets and her shoulders set grimly.
Leo had complained about the lax security of the night staff during one of his late night grumblings. They came and went as they pleased, left as many garbage cans filled as emptied, and refused to lock the back door in case they needed easy access. “Why can’t they use their keys like everyone else?” he’d griped. “You would think they didn’t care about the job, about themselves. No pride.”
Astix found the door with ease and kept her palm over the handle. Power flared for a second before she pushed her own crystal-fueled magic forward to silence the alarm. “I’ve been doing research,” she told them in a hushed whisper, “about the history of the building. There’s a tunnel leading directly to the furnace room, where they used to bring the coal inside. No one uses it anymore but I know they leave it unlocked and we can manage from there. Should be a way up.”
She’d found the answers easily amidst the dusty tomes on her living room floor. Too easily, she now thought, twisting the knob.
“How do you know?” Aisanna asked.
Astix turned the doorknob until it clicked. At first her imagination found it stiff, somehow locked for the first time in years. She gave a firm tug and the door slowly moved open on rusted hinges. The shrill squeak of metal on metal echoed through the night like an alarm.
Before Aisanna could shush her, she was inside. Or maybe before her adrenaline kicked in and she gave in to the ever-present need to run. A dark interior hallway stretched before them, a mineshaft of a tunnel with grime and mildew staining the walls. A sneeze rose and threatened to burst forth at the musty smell. Astix placed a finger under her nose, face scrunched.
A single light heralded the end of the tunnel. It blinked erratically from meters ahead. Dust lined the floor where those lax janitors refused to sweep, although hundreds of footsteps cleaned the center of the floor to a polish.
The door swung shut behind them and closed with the finality of a tomb. Like it or not, there was no going back.
Astix would have loved to speak, to break the terrible silence. The banter might lighten the mood and dispel the tension. Words dried in her throat and fell away. She hardly dared to breathe for fear of making a sound. She crept ahead, keeping to the balls of her feet, her sisters close behind her.
They reached the end and stood in the harsh light of the single fluorescent bulb. Aisanna gestured with her head, asking without speech which way they should go. Astix though back to the plans, relying on her memory and a gut feeling. They turned left.
Her imagination conjured images of Freddy Krueger and his infamous boiler room of nightmares. A large coal furnace took up the majority of the space, cold and unused. The building had been converted to gas and electric heat many years before, which meant the coal burners fell into disuse, antiquated and obsolete.
If she was correct, that small metal staircase would lead them up to the lobby.
Astix removed a quartz crystal from her pocket and willed it to light. A white glow emanated from its depths and helped them navigate the steps.
“Don’t touch anything,” she cautioned in a whisper. “We can’t leave any marks.”
The women nodded, too frightened for speech. They kept their gazes on the treads, slowly maneuvering in single file the steep flight of stairs spiraling upward.
Astix fought to keep her balance without touching the handrail. They couldn’t afford to leave any evidence at all behind. With so many magic users in one building, the smallest shred could tip someone off. Her protection gemstones only worked to a certain point.
The door at the top of the stairs opened up to a small janitorial closet lined with cleaning supplies and mop buckets. Grime and mold hung heavy in the air, overlaid with the scent of bleach. Astix quietly moved some brooms aside to make way.
Using the cloth of her sleeve to open the closet door, she peeked out into the hallway. It took a moment to get her bearings. The main lobby was several yards to the right, with computers and phones asleep for the next few hours. In the bright light of day, witches from all four elements would fill the halls and corridors. Some would clock in, trudge to their desks, and go about the everyday business of keeping the rest of them in line. The rest would have grievances, complaints, and protests only the Claddium could handle.
Somewhere in the depths of the building lurked everything Astix feared. The symbol of her isolation and persecution. The Vault. Somewhere close was her brother, held against his will. She found it disheartening, needing information from the Claddium, needing the secrets she knew were hidden in the stone walls.
They traversed the halls, taking care of each surveillance spell as they came upon them. The offices—secured about as well as a cookie jar—were located in the west wing of the building. Only a handful of spells dotted the landings of each floor, positioned for the most damage. The agate in her pocket took care of the spell above the door with ease.
It surprised her when they met no opposition, no late-night workers with their noses permanently to the grindstone. No custodians finishing their tasks. Hadn’t Leo said he liked to put in extra hours on the weekends? It made Astix wonder what exactly he was doing on a Sunday.
“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” Karsia risked the question.
Astix nodded and continued down the hall. The décor changed the farther they moved into the labyrinthine inner offices. The bold displays and tastefully decorated public areas gave way to stark black-and-white tiled flooring and pale walls reminiscent of a sanatorium.
She would hate working here.
How did Leo stand it, she wondered, coming here every day?
They continued walking until they found the right floor. Astix distinctly remembered Leo saying he loved the view from third. She prided herself for paying attention, happy her memory was up to par.
Number 64.
She sent a silent prayer upward. Leo could never find out what she was about to do. Yes, relationships could be built with a secret in the foundation. She would see to it.
Please, gods and goddesses above, keep me hidden and let me find what I need quickly and quietly.
Jerking her head, Astix used hand signals so they would know to keep a lookout. Aisanna and Karsia nodded their assent before she tried the doorknob.
Leave it to Leo to keep his office unlocked. It played right into her plan but maybe, in the near future, she’d have a talk with him about taking proper precautions. Anybody could waltz in and access his files. Case in point…the Cavaldi sisters.
Leaning against the door, she took a moment to breath. They were in. Step one accomplished with little fanfare. Now the real work began.
The interior of Leo’s office smelled like him, she noted immediately, a light, masculine undertone with a hint of musk. As she took it in, she felt an answering response in her loins. She missed him.
Streetlamps bathed the room with slatted, dust-filled rays of light. A large desk sat directly in front of the rows of windows, with two chairs neatly facing it from the opposite side.
