Mina screamed. Flapping her arms haplessly in the air, it was a long way down from the heights Giles had flown.
Her short life was flashing by like a cinema in fast forward, and all she could do was squeeze her eyes tight and embrace the darkness that would soon overtake her soul.
Mina waited for the splatter and the crunch of bones, but instead she landed with a plop.
"Don't worry, you're light, kid!" Raven squawked. "All those potato chips you eat in the office didn't go straight to your thighs after all."
Mina opened her eyes to see the caustic bird-like man grinning like an idiot. "Ignoring that questionable comment for second," she said, and she held her hands to her cheeks. "My lawdy! Have I died and gone to heaven?"
"Aww shucks," Raven said, setting her down on her feet. "Do you really think your mentor is heavenly?"
"No," Mina answered. "But heaven for me would definitely look a lot like Malibu Harleyland!"
"Ow, right in the sensitive spot," Raven said massaging his heart.
"But thank you," Mina said with a happy bow. "I really thought I was a goner."
Raven looked up on the sky as the sinister servant flew his way to the freedom. "To be truthful, you only fell two feet."
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"I did?" Mina asked. "Well I was always a great understudy in drama club!"
"I hate to change the subject because of a shiny object," Raven exclaimed, "But take a look at that shiny briny thing on the ground."
Mina turned her head down, and gazed that various items that had fallen from Giles's pockets. The Dirty Maids and Naughty Butlers magazine, a dirty handkerchief, a fake mustache from the Liar's For Hire prankster emporium and most intriguingly, a brooch in the shape of a black diamond skull.
"Wowie zowie..." Mina muttered as the ominous black diamond shone in her eyes. "That brooch is so gorgeous. I just wish it wasn't skull shaped. I've got a perky preppy image to maintain, otherwise I'd wear it!"
"Could I have it then?" Raven asked. "I'd like to pawn it off on D-Bay."
"No wait," Mina said, blocking his hand as he reached for it. "This could be the clue that we're looking for!"
"Really?" Raven asked putting a hand to his chin. "Why so?"
Mina's eyes twinkled like the edge of the cobalt jewel. She tapped her lucky butterfly necklace. "Because...I don't think that belongs to the butler. Glitz and glamour really isn't his style."
"Oh really?" Raven said, his auburn eyes lighting up too. "Who does it belong to? Who would wear such a gaudy gem?!"
Mina closed her eyes. She summoned her Extra Accessory Perception and hummed. "Ommmmmm...it has to be someone with a morbid fashion sense. Of gloomy glamour."
"Hmm," Raven said, tapping his goatee. "Like one of those gothy chicks."
"Gothy chicks..." Mina said tapping her necklace. Business Park was such a preppy place, which welcomed such a bubbly personality like herself. Goths were rarer than a blood moon. But deep in her head, an image flashed in her mind. It seemed crazy but it was the only person she could think of.
Winona...
Could the gem belong to her dear gothic friend?
And then a worse thought overtook her.
Was Beverly Hillside aka Winona Chandra Sumac the secret leader of the Aura?!