Chapter Eighteen: Home Invasion

“Hazel and I will get inside through that window,” Finn said as he pointed at the same open window of the Mayor’s house that had been open earlier. By the time we had gotten here, the sun had already set and the mayor had turned off the lights. Finn had a good feeling he wasn't awake and it would be safe to enact their plan. “Everyone else will stay out here and keep watch. If you hear one of us yell 'hawksbane', that will be the codeword for you all to come in after us.”

“Hawksbane?” La'Quet said. “Interesting codeword.”

“Got a problem with it?” He asked.

La'Quet shrugged. “Just interesting is all.”

He felt the familiar surge of annoyance. “It's just a unique word so no one will get confused.” It wasn't that Finn didn't like La'Quet, he liked him enough to jump onto a magical bird after him. But it was just the way he asked questions and his unfamiliar nature to everything. He had never had a fondness for children, and in those moments, La'Quet felt like a newborn baby. Which, he guessed, he sort of was. However, Hazel would tell someone that he just found everyone annoying. Which, he couldn't deny, that was sort of true he supposed. “Does anybody have any concerns or a better plan that they'd like to speak up about?”

No one said anything.

“Alright, Hazel, you ready?”

“I believe so,” She looked nervous. This wasn't new, she was always nervous before a job.

Especially nowadays.

But even so, if she said she was ready, he wasn’t going to question it. He knew his sister didn’t lie about her capabilities. “Let's do it then,” he went to the window and hopped inside quieter than a cat.

As soon as his feet touched the floor he heard a sound that seemed to boom through the darkness of this quiet home. He knew the sound well, breathing. It was coming from the leather chair in the corner of the room that he could see through his half-elvish eyes. The man sitting in the chair was Mayor Gwent. The man’s eyes were closed and to the untrained ears, one might’ve thought he was asleep but Finn knew better. His breathing was calm but it wasn’t rhythmic enough and in Gwent's hand was a whiskey glass which would’ve probably slipped through his hand if he were asleep. And then, as if to confirm Finn’s suspicion, the mayor took a sip from the glass.

Hazel came in behind him and he saw her lips begin to open. Just in time, he put a hand to her mouth and put the other's index finger to his lips in a shushing manner. He pointed to the mayor. Her eyes went wide and she nodded. They had gotten lucky this town didn't have lamp lights, if it did it would've shone in through the open window and revealed them.

Good thing for them, the stairs were on the opposite side of the room, which was where that distinct smell was coming from. Together, the two of them began to stealthily travel to the stairs, avoiding every old-looking board that might've creaked under them. The mayor didn't even suspect a thing as they made it upstairs.

The chemical smell here was potent and with each inhale Finn had to struggle to not wince. As they walked down the second-story hall, the smell only got stronger. They followed it, passing two other doors, and went to the door at the end.

Finn reached for the doorknob and found it not locked. He slowly opened the door without a creak. This room was the mayor's master bedroom. At least, that was what the dimensions told Finn, but if it were any smaller or the mayor any richer he would've thought this was a daughter's room. Only one side of the king-sized bed was disturbed, the other side was filled with sewn toy rabbits, and on one side of the bed was a bedside table with another sewn toy rabbit and an unlit candle. Along with this, the walls were made out of wood logs like the rest of the house but every other one was painted a deep magenta, the closet double door on the opposite wall of the bed was painted the same color and so was the ladder attached to the wall next to the bed that led to the attic with a ceiling tile that covered the entrance. The ceiling tile was a beautifully done, if a bit amateurish, painting of rabbits, hopping along a small stream in a grassy field.

He felt Hazel tap his shoulder and he realized he had stopped in awe of the room. This was a grown man who lived by himself, so why in Gahen was this room decorated like this? He'd talk about the strangeness of the room later, right now he had to help his sister figure out what this man was hiding from everyone.

The smell here was ripe and he felt like he was beginning to get a headache from it. They went to the bed first and lightly touched the rabbit on the bedside, wafting it to check for a smell. There was none.

Hazel signaled over to the closet. They went to it and opened both doors. The chemical smell wafted over them and Finn felt like his nose hairs were about to burn away. He forced himself not to groan and Hazel let out a very small “Eee,” before stopping herself.

They both went stone still, listening as hard as they could to tell if the mayor had noticed them. As they stood there, Finn's eyes looked over the contents of the closet. A third of it was taken up by suits and nice dress shirts while the rest was filled with dresses, skirts, and even bras.

They gave each other a glance. The mayor hadn't noticed, they were safe. They both cracked a small smile. Both of them obviously wondered the same question.

Is this man into drag?

They both went back to work, looking thoroughly through the closet while still making sure not to disturb the clothes too much. He didn't find anything that could permeate such a smell yet it was in full force right here.

Hazel tapped him and he looked toward her. She was standing at the wall of the closet and pointing at it. He looked closer and saw a very small shimmer. He squinted and then he realized what it was, a rune.

He hadn't ever learned anything about magic but he knew she had a little bit. He pointed at it and then to her. She seemed to understand what he meant and gave him a slight nod before she began to study it closer.

Just then, there was the sound of a knock on a door downstairs. The two of them listened intently. The conversation was barely audible through the floor but Finn was still able to vaguely understand it.

“Hello,” It was a male's voice, one that was gravelly. It couldn’t have been the mayor.

Hazel waved to the closet's exit.

He nodded.

The voices began to become more audible as he began to creep out of the room.

“How is the research?” the mayor asked.

“I'm making progress,” said the gravelly voice. It had to be the necromancer, there was no one else it could've been. “But it is slow as always.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Do you want a drink?”

“Always have to ask, don't you?”

“I'll take yours then.”

“Go ahead.”

The voices stopped and as Finn neared the stairs, he listened closely to make sure they weren't heading up. There was a loud clang of glass but nothing more. He made it to the stairs entrance and peeked around it. The room now had a single candle that burned on the bar counter which illuminated the scene. He had been correct, the necromancer stood in the living room, his arms crossed as the mayor poured a glass of whiskey. He filled the glass to the very top and set the bottle aside before he shot down half of the glass in one gulp.

Seems the mayor is an alcoholic.

The mayor kept his grip on the glass and spoke, “Last time, you said you had an epiphany. Did anything ever come of it?”

The necromancer nodded, “Yes, but it will take some time to fully understand the concept I have begun to grasp.”

“How long?”

“I give it four seasons, at most.”

The mayor nodded, “And you think then you will finally have solved it?”

“There are many ifs in my field, you will have to be more specific, my friend.”

The mayor's voice took on a sudden harshness as he uttered, “Death, of course.”

The necromancer let out a hollow, cold laugh that made Finn's stomach grow queasy. “Yes,” He stated simply.

The mayor took another sip of his drink but was silent.

“Are you ready, my friend?” The necromancer asked.

“Yes, you know the way.”

The necromancer took the lead as the two of them began to head toward the stairs. Swiftly, Finn left the stairs and made his way back to the master bedroom, stepping on the exact same boards he had stepped on earlier as he knew they were safe. He made it to the door and closed it silently behind him. He could hear each step the pair took. They were going slow but it was still too fast. They had to be quick.

He made his way to his sister who was already patting the clothing and making sure it looked just like they had found it as fast as she could. He came in next to her and began doing the same. They both knew these two guys were coming up here to the closet, if they saw anything out of place they’d know something was up.

The steps were halfway up the hall.

They had finished with the closet and shut it without a sound. His eyes caught the rabbit on the bedside and saw it’s head was slightly tilted from them when they had touched it. He pointed to his sister and then the ladder. Hazel went toward the ladder as he went to the rabbit. He no longer had to strain his ears to hear the footsteps as they creaked on the wooden floor outside the room. He made it to the rabbit and turned its head back to its original placement and then headed toward the ladder, which Hazel had already gotten to the top of and moved the tile out of the way.

The footsteps were so close now, just a few more and they’d be inside. Finn deftly bounded to the ladder, yet didn’t make a single sound. He took the ladder two steps at a time and was at the top when the footsteps had made it to the door. As the doorknob began to be tilted, he pulled himself inside. The door was midway through opening when he placed the tile back perfectly. He nearly sighed with relief but knew it would be a mistake.

That was a close one.

He leaned in very closely to Hazel's ear and whispered, “Did you decode it?”

She shook her head.

He heard them close the door before they opened what must’ve been the closet doors. After a moment, the necromancer spoke in a strange tongue, “Se-mona-laxa.”

There was a sound of something large and stoney moving for several seconds before it stopped. “After you,” The necromancer said.

Finn leaned in close to Hazel once again, “I have to check it out.”

She looked at him with wide, glaring eyes and shook her head furiously.

He paid her no mind. He knew it was a stupid idea, but hearing all of this, it seemed whatever was going on was crucial information to have. Plus, he was just really curious.

He picked the ceiling tile up by the seams and moved it over about a foot before he poked his head through the hole just enough for him to see the commotion in the room. He felt his mind take several moments to comprehend everything. The wall of the closet had moved underground with only a foot still poking out. Inside the hidden compartment was a small room made out of what seemed to be polished steel, inside of which the necromancer stood with a hand out that illuminated a dark gray.

Where his hand was was the mayor, who stood there and had his arms wrapped lovingly around a woman. Only the woman wasn't breathing, she wasn't even alive. Her skin was a sickly, bright white, her eyes seemed almost stitched into her skull, and there were tears in her skin that leaked chemicals and stuffing like that of the toy rabbits inside the bedroom.

Even though she wasn't alive, her glass eyes seemed to register the mayor standing before her. Her dead arm slowly raised up and cupped the man's cheek.

“Hey there,” The mayor said to the woman. “Are you okay in there, Arnetta, my love?”

She answered by softly rubbing the side of his face with a thumb.

“That's good,” His voice choked with emotion. “You only have to endure this for a year or so longer, love. We're going to get you out of this body, you are going to be whole once more. I promise, my love.”

She continued to rub his face.

He smiled a bright, wide smile. It was the first real smile Finn had seen this man make. His teeth were so white and his eyes crinkled at the edges. He seemed like a genuinely good guy.

If it wasn't for the dead woman in his arms.

“I will get you out of this shell. I promise you, you will breathe again. I love you so, so much.”

Her lips seemed to almost force a curl at the edges, and her chemically laden, plastic looking cheeks seemed to stretch and pull at the edges.

And then her body went limp as the light in the necromancer's hand went out. The mayor set her down gently on the ground and wiped what Finn knew were tears away with the bottom of his shirt.

The show was over, now he had to get back into the attic. He pulled his head up and picked up the ceiling tile once more. He went to set it down but just as he was getting it aligned perfectly, the edge slipped out of his hand and it fell into place. At least it was where he had meant it to go, but it let out a loud thud as it did.

“What was that?” The necromancer asked sharply.

Hazel glared at him as the two of them stood there in complete, still, silence. They waited for the two men to come up here and find them. Finn realized he had a dagger in his hand and he gripped it hard. He hadn’t meant to draw the weapon but it made him feel better. Hazel was definitely going to have a word about this stunt later.

“It's okay, it's probably just a squirrel. They get up there all the time.”

“I'll go check, we can't have anyone listening in on us.”

Hazel put her hand on the bow attached to her side.

“Seriously? It's just a squirrel, you're too paranoid, come on. Get out of my house. Please.”

There was an angry sigh before the necromancer spoke, “Fine.”

The two men's footsteps began to clunk on the floor and soon they were back downstairs and the front door was opened and closed. Only then did the siblings breathe.

“Was that worth it?” Hazel huffed.

He nodded. “Very, the mayor seems to be keeping his dead wife in a secret room and having the necromancer reanimate it.”

Her skin turned pale from the words, “Well, I will let you off this time, but don't you dare do something like that again.”

“Fine, fine. Now, want to go give our little mayor a chat?”

“Very,” she said with a nod.

Finn once again picked up the ceiling tile and slid it over. The two of them went down. Silently, they made their way to the stairs and to the living room. The mayor stood at the bar counter and was sipping another whiskey. How many he planned on having that night, Finn didn't know.

Hazel pulled her bow from her belt and aimed an arrow at him.

Finn took out another dagger from his belt and flung one toward the mayor as he casually walked through the living room. The dagger soured through the air and landed in the polished wood right beside the mayor’s arm on the counter. The mayor jumped back, drink still in hand. “Wha-”

“Hold it right there,” Finn commanded, “Or the next one goes in between your eyes.”