Levento House

I looked around the empty street, old ruined stone buildings lining the avenue, creating a mysterious and dramatic vision of old memories and forgotten stories. I loved old buildings. But more than the love for the historical had driven me and my friends, Émeric and Theo, to come here. Calling themselves treasure hunters, Émeric and Theo acted as my guides, my bodyguards, and after the incident a few months ago, also my teachers. I rubbed the fresh scar on my shoulder and pressed my lips together at the unpleasant memories. But we were determined to see this through.

There were stories, legends really, about a mysterious family who had lived in the area long ago. They had been rich and lived in a large estate, or a castle, or a manor. A big house of some kind. The stories were vague about that part. According to them, the family had consisted of many mysterious figures. Some tales spoke of witches and magicians, others of vampires and werewolves, yet others of unnatural beings like ghosts, ghouls, demons and similar beings. There were only three things all stories agreed upon. The family had been powerful, they owned many magical artefacts, and they had all disappeared around the 1850s without a trace.

Being certain, after many years of searching that the stories were at least partially true, we wanted to find the artefacts. It had seemed hopeless and we'd nearly given up. But just a few months ago we made a breakthrough. We found a key. Such a small thing. But it meant so much. The old elaborate iron key had a small brass plaque with the name Levento on it. I had it secured in a closable pocket in my jacket.

'Daydreaming?' Émeric asked and flashed a bright smile in my direction.

I laughed and hurried to catch up. I hadn't even noticed how my thoughts had made me stop. 'Sorry, just thinking.'

'As always. Just tell us if you're having any... uncanny thoughts,' Theo said in a sombre tone, his sharp brown eyes watching me.

I nodded. He wasn't sure if I was still trustworthy. It was reasonable after what had happened. But I was determined to stick with them and not be a problem.

We continued our exploring for a good while when the ground suddenly trembled under our feet and a steady wind picked up.

'What's happening?' I asked, steadying myself with a hand against a sturdy stonewall.

Theo and Émeric stood with legs splayed for balance and hands grabbing their weapons, hidden under long trench coats, ready for battle.

'I don't know. You see anything?'

'No, nothing.' I scanned the silent street, the empty windows and doorways to the houses. Nothing out of the ordinary. Apart from the sudden wind. The shaking had already stopped. 'Just a tremor. I guess?'

'Maybe,' Theo muttered but relaxed.

We continued down the street. A stonewall blocked the way, but it had fallen into a pile of rubble on the right, so we climbed over it, and came to a stop. I couldn't believe my eyes.

'Holy shit,' Émeric gasped. Theo simply stared, open-mouthed like a fish on land.

I probably looked just as dumb. What was going on? Behind the wall, the ground led a short stretch ahead, then simply ended. Far below us, land and water fell away as the city... flew. I had to take a second look, and a third. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

'Are we really-'

'How's the city flying?' Émeric cried out, his voice unusually high-pitched.

'Something tells me we're in the right place,' Theo said in a taught voice to my side. 'But where are we going?'

'I don't know.' My skin prickled. 'Maybe we should get off when... if it lands?'

Émeric turned to look at me. 'You want to leave? We just found this place.'

'I mean...,' I stuttered, uncertain, 'at least until we know where it's going?'

'I think she's right,' Theo agreed. 'We have no way of knowing where it will take us. Or how long it will be airborne.'

It felt good to have Theo's agreement. He was, unlike Émeric, more careful and analysing.

'Fine. Yeah, I guess.' Émeric brushed back his wide-brimmed hat, letting his auburn hair fly in the wind. 'But we have to be prepared to follow it quickly and see where it goes.'

'Can't we just track it?' I said.

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They agreed. Then we simply stood there, watching the land slide past beneath us. One thing was clear. The city didn't fly very fast. Probably why the buildings still stood after hundreds of years, despite it moving around. Eventually, the city slowed down and sank to the ground, easing down with just a small tremor before being still again. We stuck a tracker into the ground and got off. But only to prepare for the unforeseen issues of the city potentially flying off to some place far from civilization or into dangerous areas.

About a month later we were back and ready. And by then, we also knew the city spent more time flying than on the ground. It settled briefly, sometimes for a few days, sometimes for hours. This time, it settled on a small mountainous island close to the coast. We rented a speed boat and drove out to it.

Again, we stepped in between the old ruined buildings, on narrow cobbled roads. After some time walking, I noticed something behind us. A ghostly white shape, slinking into cover whenever I stopped or glanced back. We were followed.

As we stopped by some interesting ruins, I nonchalantly picked at a windowsill and glanced back. A large white cat, as big as a German Shepard, sat on a large rock jutting out of a small cliff, not far behind us. The long, thick, pearly fur stood out starkly against the dark shadows of approaching night.

Stupidly, I decided to try and befriend it. I clicked my tongue and moved slowly, sideways, towards it. It watched with large yellow eyes, unmoving. As I got closer, it hissed, and I jumped back in surprise. Émeric snickered, and I blushed as I realized he'd seen my futile try.

'Shaddap,' I muttered, and returned to my inspection of the ruins. The cat followed.

A noise from the building to my right had both me and the cat look up then. I stood perfectly still, trying to hear anything more. Trying to figure out what I had heard. But only silence greeted me. I glanced at the cat. It still stared at the top of the building, as if it saw something. Or heard. It cocked its head, its gaze following... something. A movement, a noise? I looked back to the house. Nothing. Maybe I should investigate? Another glance to the cat confirmed that it still focused fully on the ruin, eyes wide and tail bushy. Scared. Maybe I shouldn't? I looked down the street. Émeric and Theo had continued forward and I couldn't see them. I shook the tenseness from my muscles. It was nothing. And if it was, I could handle myself. I had powers now. I wasn't just... me, anymore. Decision made, I flexed my shoulders and readied for a jump. I thought I could do it. The building in front of me was only three stories tall, and the roof, as well as part of the top wall, had long since caved in. I jumped, and flew upwards. So light. Surprised by the ease my body shot upwards, I failed to land properly. I stumbled and rolled, hit a pile of rocks and old wooden beams. But the tumble couldn't erase my smile. Holy moly, I could jump that high? I climbed back to my feet and looked around. The place was empty save for the rubble. Nothing. My smile faded. Maybe the noise had come from behind the building?

I walked to the other side and looked down. Shadows and walls and roofs hindered my line of sight. Uneasiness crept back into me, and I decided to go back down to my friends. Preferably before they wondered where I'd gone off to. Still, curiosity leading the way, I wanted to go down on the far side of the ruin. To be certain I didn't miss anything, I told myself.

I walked through empty rooms and yawning doorways, down broken stairs, and past fallen walls without any incidents, and moved through the alley on the other side. The buildings here were connected above me, creating several tunnels. There were also intersections and paths leading further down. Below the ground? I'd have to tell Émeric and Theo to come investigate them with me. No way I'd go there alone.

One of the arches, with stairs leading down, was barred by an iron gate. Curious, I stopped to investigate. The iron bars were in fine condition, unlike everything else. Strange. A large lock hung around the bars, keeping the gate shut. I stared at it. Could it really be? I took the lock in my hand, raised it and peered at it in the gloom. A brass plaque on the lock's face gleamed with engraved letters and a picture of a key. I almost couldn't breathe, I got so excited. I fumbled for the key in my pocket. I had to make sure. I held it by the lock, hands quivering. They both had the same name on them. Levento. The pictured key looked the same as the one I held in my hand. I had found it. It was right here.

'Émeric! Theo!' I called. 'I found it! I found the Levento house!'

So excited I could barely contain it, I wanted to take a picture to preserve the memory of the discovery. I pulled out my cell phone and fumbled with it in one hand, and the key in the other. I had to show my best friend we had found it too. She wasn't an adventurer like us but was just as interested. I couldn't balance the phone in one hand and keep the key by the lock to get a good photo. Annoyed, I called for Theo and Émeric to hurry up.

'Come on. Can you take a photo for me?'

Émeric and Theo ran towards me, smiling broadly.

'Yeah, we're coming,' Theo said. 'Just wait a minute.'

As they were about to cross the street to enter the alley where I stood, some tourists walked towards us, all bright shirts and flowery shorts, cameras around their necks. We all froze, standing like statues, stiffly smiling at them, poorly hiding our excitement as the small group passed. But they didn't pay us any heed. I breathed a sigh of relief. People had been looking for the Levento house for ages without finding it. But we just had, and we had the key! We couldn't let this discovery run through our fingers, or become common knowledge because of some tourists.

As soon as they had vanished down the street, my friends continued towards me. But they had barely reached the mouth of the alley when they both stopped and looked down the street, in the same direction the tourists had come from. I looked as well, but I didn't see anything. Between the pillars and broken windows, the street lay empty. Theo and Émeric reached for their weapons, taking ready stances. My heart beat loudly in my ears. What was happening? I still saw nothing. But trusting them and their uncanny instincts, I stepped back into a shadow and watched.

A small girl flickered into view seconds before she ran into my friends. Skipping forward, pale-faced with long black corkscrew locks and a gothic dress, she broke into a charge. A flurry of movements followed. Émeric slashed with his sabre, and Theo's gun thundered between the hard stone walls, the flashes of the muzzle blinding in the evening gloom. Then silence settled. The girl, or whatever she had been, lay dead on the ground. Both Émeric and Theo's clothes were covered in green stains.

I blinked. It had all happened so fast. They look back at me, both panting from the sudden exertion and dripping with goo. Émeric wiped his sabre off with a cloth. A small part of me was shaken by their effectiveness. How fast they could deal with something unnatural like that. But they're my friends.

I still clutch the cell phone in my hand. Remembering what I had intended to do earlier, I can't help myself. I smirk and say, 'I can't take photos of you looking like that! What'll people say?'

Theo smiled, his dark eyes alive with energy as always after an encounter. 'They'll say some real shit went down.'

I snort. 'Let's go!'