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“Thanks, man,” he said, and walked out the door.
He collapsed into his car seat with a sigh. Rill scrambled out and hopped up onto his shoulder, and they drove home.
Chapter Ten
Once home, he emptied his pockets of the items they’d stolen. Two crystals, and a smooth stone of varied color.
He had no idea why Rill wanted them. Rill tapped one of the crystals with his beak and hopped around squawking. Oliver could feel his focus and agitation about the crystal, so he picked it up. Rill sent him images of Oliver hiding the stone. He looked around the apartment. He didn’t have anywhere that would be a good hiding place.
Rill grew more and more agitated, even flying around the room. So, Oliver put the stone in his cereal box and put the box back in the cabinet.
Rill seemed satisfied. He gathered the other stones, but Rill wasn’t agitated about them. He tossed them in a bowl of decorative rocks he kept on his coffee table. They stood out a bit, so he pushed them to the bottom and put the other rocks over them. Hidden.
Rill settled down, content, and Oliver prayed no one would remember him or review any video while they were in the Guild headquarters. He’d be turned into a toad; he was sure of it.
So, the knock at his door, which he now detested hearing, made him jump and tremble. He went to answer it after indicating that Rill should hide.
He opened it to his uncle.
“Well, Ollie, there’s been a hubbub at the Guild.” he shook his head. “Someone waltzed into a secure area and stole some items of great importance. What’s the world coming to? They must have been great wizards to do that.”
Oliver blushed to his hairline. He stretched out his collar, which was choking him.
Geoffrey noticed. Oliver could see the realization hit the bright older man. “You? How?”
“Me and Rill. Umm, we got lucky? I just walked in. Then Rill set off the fire alarm.”
“What were you thinking, taking him there?” Geoffrey asked, less angry then surprised.
“He took me!” Oliver protested. “He insisted we go.”
Geoffrey looked confused.
“There was this key, see…”
“Key?”
“Yeah.” Oliver dug in his pocket and found the brass key. He handed it to his uncle.
Geoffrey examined it carefully but didn’t act as though the magic had stung him like it had Oliver.
“Did it give you a shock?” he asked his uncle.
Geoffrey frowned. “No, what does it go too?”
“A cabinet in a secret lab in the Guild building.” Oliver sat down heavily on the couch, he suddenly felt exhausted. “Look, Rill insisted we go in and get in that cabinet. We did. He took three stones from there, and we left.”
His uncle gave him a sharp look. “Stones?” he said cautiously.
Oliver nodded and dug one out of the bowl on the coffee table. He tossed it to his uncle, who caught it and stared at it.
Geoffrey’s hands started to shake.
Oliver grew worried and leaned forward. “What is it?”
“The answer. This will solve everything, but it will be deadly dangerous if we don’t do this right.”
Oliver felt like his heart skipped a beat. Rill had told him it was proof. Proof of what? What was going on at the Guild, and why would it be dangerous? The Guild was supposed to protect and govern the wizards. Were they corrupt? He shivered and goosebumps rose on his arms.
