The Time Hopper

Another Failed Plan

I wasn't making the progress I wanted to be. It had been two weeks, and despite all my whining and begging, Obsivian still wouldn't let me speak to my parents, much less Kat. I'd been looking around for keys or any way out of the mansion with very limited freedom, as Felix was always on my ass or one of his subordinates were, and so I'd had very little success. The lessons were going... well, they were still happening. I'd started trying to get out of the training as much as possible, even faking injuries that got me nowhere because I always forgot about the lie within an hour. Obsivian was having slightly better luck at teaching me random things that I apparently should have learned in a school, but only because he made me drink this vile tea before we started that somehow helped me focus. 

I didn't much like the feeling because it was so strange, but it was admittedly nice to actually be able to focus. If possible, I wanted to find some of the tea before I left here, just in case I needed to sharpen my mind later. But for now, I needed to get myself down into the dungeon, or find a key or a way out. And I knew that I was running out of time. Even if Obsivian's patience would hold and Kat and my parents would be fine, Riley was still out there with the others. He had already extended me a hell of a lot of trust by not ditching the others and trying to save me, but I didn't expect that would have even held till now. The only saving grace was that he wouldn't know where I even was, and that hopefully he would have gotten the others to the sanctuary before coming after me. 

I didn't want him to come here, though. I wanted him to stay safe and sound in the sanctuary and let me figure this all out, but even if my siblings agreed to that, I knew that Riley wouldn't. Obsivian already had three people I loved here within these walls, I didn't want a fourth to be held over my head. 

I was thinking all this while laying in bed at night, in semi darkness as the streetlights outside that the window didn't let me see shone through the curtains. I was exhausted, my body aching and my mind spinning, but I was keeping myself awake. I was fairly sure that Felix had already gone to bed, but I'd thought that a few nights ago and snuck out, only to find that he could seek me out within minutes. It looked like he had just rolled out of bed, which meant that there was some sort of magical, silent alarm placed on my door. If I knew any magic outside of how to use my book, I would have tried to dismantle it, but I didn't have the foggiest how to even begin going about it. 

But there was always a slight breeze in the room, that had taken me a little too long to notice. The windows were shut, and the doors fit the frame so well there was no way it came from there. One night, I had spent an hour searching every inch of ceiling, floor and wall to try and track down the source of the air flow. I had found a vent, very close to the floor and hidden under the bed. Using a coin, I was able to twist out screws and pop it open, though it was so late I decided to leave it to another day. Besides, I had wanted some time to note where the other vents around the mansion were, so I had an idea of which way to go. And, of course, I had figured out where the knives were in the kitchen, just in case. 

I was watching a clock in the corner, waiting for half an hour to pass without hearing anyone move around. Originally, I had been planning to just have a nap, but I was so tired that I was sleeping the clock round if Felix would let me. No, I had to keep myself awake. Finally, I'd had enough, the ticking of the clock and slow movements of the hands driving me to fall back asleep. 

Rolling out of bed, I scrambled beneath it to where I had left the vent open. It was small, barely big enough to push my shoulders in and have room enough to manoeuvre around the bend, but I had never been afraid of small spaces. Gritting my teeth as I felt cobwebs slither over my skin, I crawled in, wriggling around the bend and beginning to move through the web of vents. I knew what way to move, but I had to go so slowly. Every move made a noise, and unless I was careful I'd wake everyone in the manor up before long. Besides, it wasn't quite as simple to find my way around as I thought, and the turnings never seemed to be convenient.