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He gestures to Blaze, who steps forward and releases a small stream of fire from his mouth. It melts the lock in seconds, allowing Aksel to push the door open.
“Wow,” I can’t help but say aloud.
Blaze just looks back at me, lifting the corners of his lips slightly. What would it take to get a full smile from him?
We walk into the silent house to see it covered in a fine layer of dust. Our shoes leave prints as we walk, making it clear no one else has been here in a long time.
“It doesn’t even look like the team sent here looked around. They must have determined he wasn’t here without even coming inside,” Griffyn observes.
“Lazy,” Aksel spits.
Aksel makes his way down the hallway to a sitting room. The furniture is all older but clearly expensive. Rich, dark wood with red accents. The bookshelves and table tops have all been cleared off, though. Only the furniture remains.
The rest of the place is in a similar state. It’s been stripped of anything important, but it clearly happened in a rush. Things were left behind and strewn on the floor without care. Shelves were knocked over and left lying on their sides.
“He left in a rush,” I point out, in case it isn’t obvious to everyone.
“Clearly,” Aksel says.
“I wonder what tipped him off?” Griffyn asks.
“No idea,” I answer.
We search through every inch of the house, but there’s nothing of substance left. No clues as to what Ryan may be up to or where he would have gone. It’s a complete bust.
Felix and I are searching through the kitchen full of rotting food that makes my nose burn and an array of bugs when Blaze calls us.
“Come here.”
His voice doesn’t sound any more urgent than usual, but we still quickly make our way to the living room where he is.
Blaze is standing next to a bookcase that’s still upright on the wall. This one is only half empty, a lot of the books left untouched.
“What is it?” I ask.
Blaze glances over at us before going back to feeling the seam between the case and the wall.
“I think this might open,” He says.
Griffyn comes into the room with Aksel, obviously having heard him. “That’s awesome! A secret room?”
Felix starts pulling all the books off the case.
“What are you doing?” Aksel drawls.
“Obviously, I’m hoping to find the right book to open it! Like in the movies.”
I can’t help smiling at his antics. He seems so confident, but when the last book comes off and doesn’t open, he deflates.
“That would be a poor system considering it’s what everyone expects.” Aksel sounds incredibly condescending.
“I think it was a great idea,” I say, smiling at Felix.
His face lights up at my praise.
“Any other bright ideas?” Griffyn drawls.
But Blaze doesn’t wait to hear the answer. He wraps his arms around the case before ripping it off the wall. I hear the metal groan before snapping.
