Institute of Whispers

10

The Witch and the Fallen Angel continued to descend the spiral staircase that was well beneath the Institute.
The sound of the bustling city had faded away as they made their way down, down, down.
Occasionally there was a candle that only lit a few stairs at a time so Zade let his wings glow slightly, surrounding them both in a white light. Kelly had brought an enclosed clipboard and as the two continued downward, Zade noticed her knuckles slowly turned white and her face still as stone.

Zade's wings brushed the brick walls, pushing the dust out of its place and realised the staircase was getting narrower, "Uh...How long left?"

"Don't worry, I know where I'm going," Kelly hushed.

"That's very reassuring. I'm more worried about myself fitting in," Zade attempted to look passed Kelly in front of him but his light only revealed more stairs.

Suddenly, Kelly stopped. Zade almost toppled over her but glad he didn't. Kelly spun around, her eyes dark, "You cannot reveal this room to anyone,"

"I wouldn't want to make anyone else go through what we just did, don't worry," Zade remarked.

"Zadian."

"Yes, Ma'am." He saluted. But a smile appeared when she turned around again.

Zade couldn't see what Kelly faced except for stairs. Dusty, old stone stairs. He watched Kelly press a stone on her right and he heard something unlock. Kelly stepped further down and there was a wooden door that welcomed them in.

The door closed behind them and the room flickered to life. His own wings burnt their own light out. One by one candles magically lit up, Zade found them everywhere and in between. Some even floated towards the ceiling. Kelly had walked over to a desk that was up against a wall, it was covered in books, old and new.

Next to Zade stood a podium, he stood behind it to look further, "Kelly...Is this...?"He looked up, Kelly from The Office was gone. The woman who stood there was the Witch as he first met her.

Kelly's hair was undone, she had put on a black cape that covered her body. She was reading a ripped page in front of her as she fiddled with her wand.

When she looked up, she realised what he meant, her mouth opened but nothing came out.

"Why do you have a map of the human realm?"

"It-," Kelly took a breath, "It has nothing to do with her, I promise,"

"No, instead it has everything to do with her parents," Zade growled.

"Sooner or later she's going to find out. Whether it's through her test or someone else tells her,"

"No one knows," Zade looked down again, examining the small items scattered on top of the map. Upon closer inspection, the items were mini versions of heirlooms from different realms, a golden crown for the human realm, a bronzed wolf for the shifter realm, a broom for the witch's realm and lastly, a tree for the Fae realm. The Infinity realm's figurine, a miniature size of the sky-high building, was off to the side for no apparent reason to Zade.

"How do you know?" Kelly stepped closer, still holding her wand and piece of paper.

"I made sure of it," He said simply. "You of all people would know if someone did, considering your position in the Institute,"

She smirked, "Even the people within those walls keep secrets from me," She stepped into place next to Zade on the podium and looked upon the map, "I've only keeping eye on the human realm until she claims her fae heritage-"

"What makes you think that?"

"She has no attachments or connections," Kelly waved her hand, dismissing the question, "And besides, after what happened, she wouldn't want to go back." She returned the desk and picked up another piece of paper, skimmed it then slipped them into her clipboard case.

"What happened?" 

"Her Watchers are dead," Zade froze as she continued, "From what my sources have told me, it seems like she's in the Fae Realm." She stepped towards the bare wall behind her, the only wall that wasn't covered in posters, cobwebs or whatelse infested this room.
Zade followed suit, he had a feeling they were not going to waste any more time down here, "So where to next?"

"To the Fae Queen." the Witch flicked her wand and created an invisible sign, then instantly the wall opened to a small garden that Zade noticed smelt familiar. Kelly smiled back at him and stepped through.