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Sure, there are a few things that could fuck up our plan. Rare as it is, we could run into monsters with wings. I’m useless in the air, so Elio would be on his own then. We could encounter someone stronger and faster than either of us.What would we do then?
I shudder.
Dwelling on the worst case scenarios doesn’t do us a bit of good and only distracts me from the task at hand. As my gaze falls to the small form swaying in front of me, I’m reminded that I need to be on high alert. No distractions. No doubts. I’ll do what it takes to protect her, and it’ll be enough.
It has to.
Despite having been here once before, I’m quickly lost. The winding streets make little sense–there isn’t much rhyme or reason to them–and I’m relieved Elio came along with us on this venture. I doubt I could find Ignatius alone.
“Not much farther,” I hear Elio’s voice dance back over his shoulder and I nod, even though no one can see it. I can tell he’s on edge too–much tenser than he was the first time we were here.
The sooner we get this over with, the better for all of us.
A left, a right, and then another left reveals a familiar, wide building made of pale stone. It sticks out harshly from those around it, and a large symbol of protection covers the majority of the front door.
We made it.And without seeing a single monster along the way. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but a wave of relief washes over me at the familiar sight. That is, until I study the building a bit more.
The place is a wreck.
The pots housing Ignatius’ various plants are smashed, the blossoms flattened on the ground like they’ve been trampled on. Deep gouges are dug into the walls of the house, like claws of steel tried to tear the place apart bit by bit.
Elio stops short as his gaze falls on the mayhem, and he throws a cautious arm out to halt us. A tiny gasp escapes Devyn’s lips that I might have missed if I wasn’t so tuned in to her body, and my heart shoots into my throat.
Something happened here.Something big.
This isn’t good.
“Az,” Elio’s sharp voice snaps me out of my thoughts and he looks back over his shoulder to meet my gaze. “Scout the perimeter and make sure it’s safe.”
The instinct to argue bubbles up my throat, but I nod and step around them. Arguing will do nothing but slow us down, and if whoever did this to Ignatius’ house is still lingering around, we don’t have time to waste.
I do a lightning-quick sweep around the house, noting more damage to the gorgeous facade, and silently check the surrounding streets for anything unusual. Anything that might indicate more destruction, or give us more of an idea about what happened here. I find nothing.
Not a single other building nearby is destroyed the way this one is, which turns my stomach sour. This was obviously intentional. They targeted Ignatius for a reason.
I swallow hard over the lump forming in my throat, growing more uneasy by the second. Whoever did this could be biding their time to return at any moment. Or worse, they could have already achieved what they set out to accomplish.
Hopefully the inside of the house is untouched.
Hopefully Ignatius made it out alive.
When I return, I give Elio a nod of approval, and his shoulders dip a little with relief. He steps past me to approach the house, and I move closer to Devyn out of instinct. Giving her too much space in the open like this makes me anxious. If she’s within arm’s reach, I feel like I can better protect her should anything happen.
Or maybe her closeness just brings me a kind of peace that nothing else can.
We watch in silence as Elio knocks on the door, but a sinking feeling in my gut tells me no one is going to answer. I try to fight back the realization, but it clings to my bones, creeps through my limbs, and settles like ice in the pit of my stomach.
He knocks again and waits.
Then again.
“Ignatius,” he calls daringly into the seam of the door. “Are you in there?”
Nothing.
Devyn looks up at me and I meet her gaze reluctantly. I don’t know what I can say to comfort her or assure her things are going to be okay when I don’t believe it myself. Of all the things I had prepared myself for, the potential of finding Ignatius’ house destroyed was not one of them. Hopefully, the warlock managed to flee before anything happened to him, but we can’t know for sure. Not unless we get inside.
Without warning, Elio steps back and launches himself toward the door, slamming his shoulder into the sealed entryway. I flinch, knowing it must have hurt like a bitch, and he curses under his breath.
