Winged Dagger

We'll Find You

Arthur and I were playing a friendly game of chess, and Theo and le Comte were having a conversation over a cup of tea in the room as well. Music flowed in through the open door, carrying along with it Mozart's gentle tunes. The queen in hand, I surveyed the board, when Napoleon burst into the room.

"Kiyomi and Albert are missing."

Arthur froze, and I placed the queen down, not even glancing at the board. "What?"

Le Comte looked up from his tea, eyes flashing, and Mozart walked in, perhaps having seen Napoleon run through the gates.

"Kiyomi was helping me teach the kids, and she and Albert went missing. I can't find them anywhere," he said, looking desperate.

Mozart grabbed Napoleon by the shirt almost as if he was going to punch him, and Theo appeared there, pulling Mozart back. "You can't just say you lost her!"

Napoleon winced, his eyes downcast. "We need to find them."

Le Comte stood up, and everything was still. "Napoleon, where did you last see them?"

Napoleon looked up, a hand at the sword on his waist. "At the water fountain in the centre of the city."

Le Comte's eyes flashed in an almost supernatural manner, and I shivered, feeling the temperature of the room drop. "I will not allow harm to befall any of the mansion's residents." He turned to Arthur, who stood up as well, almost as if he had already anticipated what le Comte wanted of him. "Arthur."

Arthur nodded. "Leave it to me." His gaze moved to meet mine. "I'm afraid we'll have to continue this match another time, Mina." He tilted his head as he put his hands in his pockets. "Would you head down to the police station and see if you can get some information? I'll meet you there."

I nodded, and together, Arthur and I dashed out of the room, heels clicking on the floor.

                                    *

"It's you," said the policeman with wide eyes as he leaned back. He looked frightened. It took me a second to realize that this was the policeman I had blackmailed during the Daniel incident.

"Me indeed. I came to request some information," I said, rather glad I didn't have to blackmail someone else.

"And what might that be?" He looked rather resigned to his fate.

"Have there been any strange occurrences in the city? Movements of a large number of people, bribery, people going missing..."

He raised both eyebrows. "There have been seven missing person complaints as of now, and also..." He nodded to a dome that rose above the rest of the city. "Many people have been going in and out of there, more than I've ever seen before. They always head down to the basement."

"You haven't investigated that?"

He shook his head. "Well, we were told by the higher-ups not to bother about it, that it was just people preparing for an event." He paused. "I hear that they've heard ghosts yelling from the basement sometimes at night."

I sighed. A hand fell on my shoulder. "How did it go?" asked Arthur.

"The dome's been roped off, Kiyomi and Albert aren't the first to go missing, the police have been lied to about what's happening in the dome."

The policeman blinked. "We weren't lied to..."

I considered him. "No. I suppose it's more accurate to say you were misinformed," I said, waving a hand dismissively.

Arthur nodded. "And I found out who's behind the kidnapping."

"How?"

He smiled. "You know, time of day, voice, shoe size. "He looked down the street. "Let's head back to the mansion."

                                    *

Le Comte was waiting for us, and Mozart was pacing the drawing room, wearing out the carpeted floor single-handedly.

"What have you found out?" he asked.

"John Helkings is behind the kidnapping," said Arthur, placing a photo on the table.

"I have reason to believe there's an auction happening at the dome," I said, pretty sure that was why the dome was roped off and 'ghosts' were being heard from there.

Le Comte nodded. "Getting into that auction won't be a problem," he said, not a hint of doubt in me.

"Getting everyone out will be," I said.

"What's happening to meine liebe?" asked Mozart, his voice breaking in a way that almost made me feel sorry for him.

"She'll be fine," I said, as Arthur nodded. "Kiyomi is much stronger than you give her credit for." I looked over to Arthur, who met my eyes. "What do you say we sneak into this auction?"

"I can get you invites," said le Comte, already at the door. "I'll be back in a while."

Sebastian followed le Comte out, and Mozart took a seat, head in his hands. I wondered if patting him on the shoulder would reassure him, but then I decided that he would probably hate it.

Arthur walked over to him. "Chap, she'll be fine. You trust us, don't you?"

"Please bring her home."

Le Comte returned with invites in hand, and a quick glance at it showed us that I was right—there was an auction happening in two days. Arthur and I spent the rest of the day forming a plan of action. He also tried to convince me to sit this one out, but I refused to hear it. He wasn't walking into danger without me.

For two days, no music resounded in the mansion's halls.

The night of the auction, Arthur and I headed out, both wearing some of our finest dresses with a black cloak over them, stars above our heads. A few knives poked my skin through the inner pockets of my cloak, but I ignored it. Arthur helped me into the carriage, before hopping into it as well.

"Let's get them back," he said. I nodded, fidgeting slightly as the carriage headed down the street. Arthur threw a hand over my shoulder, holding me close to him. "Don't worry. We're not leaving anyone behind."

The carriage deposited us in front of the dome, and the moment we showed the guard out invites, we were led down to the basement, where many people with extravagant clothing stood around. The room was well-lit, remnant of the ball Arthur and I had once attended together. Tables stood around the room, holding food that beckoned to me. If we didn't know what was happening here, we might have just assumed it to be a ballroom. Doors led away from the room, and only one of the doors was open, revealing a hallway. But a guard was stationed in front of the door.

Arthur nudged me slightly, glancing at the guard. "They must be through there. What do we do?"

"Leave that to me, dearest. Oh, and Arthur?" I said, deciding now was as good a time as any in case we were going to die.

"Yes, love?" he asked, matching my own use of endearments.

"If everything goes to hell today, I hope you know I love you."

Arthur blinked. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. He opened his mouth to say something, but I put a hand on his arm.

"Later. You're going to have to go through that hallway, the moment you get the signal."

"What's the signal?"

"You'll see."

A hand in my pocket, I looked around for a target.

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