WIND ROSE (Ruby Rose Fanfic)

TWENTY-NINE (ISELEN POV)

"Do you think the house is full of traps to stop intruders from breaking in?" Terra asks hiding behind a bush.

"Probably... and I bet there're guards watching the garden too," I whisper looking at the massive building. Everything seems quiet and there's no light behind the windows but I'm suspicious: Marsh is not stupid and wouldn't leave his den open to let in any magical creature who drops by. "Do not pull back your hood."

"But it's hot," Ru pouts and I can't help rolling my eyes.

"Of course it's hot, this is LA, but you can't remove your black hoodie because your hair shines like silver, and your skin too... not to talk about the white wings on your back. Your human form is not... discreet. Where's Mirabelle?"

"She'll be here soon, calm down, it takes more than 23 seconds for those witches to drive across the city. Watch out!" Terra lowers her head and I copy her movements, pushing Ru to force her to do the same when I see a guy walking out the garage door and lighting a cigarette. This confirms that there're people inside the house, they can be guards or staff, humans or demons, it doesn't matter... The point is that we have to dodge them to reach the basement where there's the hell gate without them noticing. The man is smoking calmly, staring at the city lights, the starry sky and his watch, finally, before frowning, dropping the butt on the ground and crushing it with the shoe heel.

"Hurry up, dumbass, we're going to be late. It's time to go to the airport," someone shouts from the garage and they guy runs in. One minute later, a big black car speeds up down the road while we squat down carefully.

"This confirms our suspicions," I whisper nodding. "Marsh had a private jet waiting, I don't think Michaela can fly all the way to the city carrying Ruby so they must've met somewhere outside our forest and came back together."

"We still have time, at least an hour and a half, if there's not heavy traffic," Terra fidgets awkwardly, looking around. "Where's Mirabelle?"

"Here," the witch answers gesturing at us behind another bush. "I'm sorry, I had to call my friends to deal with that Baba Yagá before coming here to help you. We were following her, as arranged, and we realized that she was watching a schoolyard and buying candy, she probably intended to bribe the kids before kidnapping them. What a bitch... luckily, she won't be able to hurt them anymore."

"What did you do?" I ask smiling. "Did you turn her into a toad?"

"Well, no, it was something even better..." Mirabelle smirks mischievously. "We called the witch hunters, although it was an anonymous tip, of course, we couldn't tell them we were witches too. Luckily, they believed my friend Anna when she called them on the phone pretending to be an old lady who was born in Lithuania and swore that she'd seen a Baba Yagá near a school in California. They've caught her half an hour ago while we were watching them from a coffee shop."

"What will happen with her now?" Terra asks with curiosity before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, the point is that children are safe and you're here finally. We need you to watch the garden and the house main door, it'd be great if you could neutralize the guards that are monitoring the perimeter while we sneak into the garage. The charms you gave us a few days ago, do they still work?"

"All right, we'll deal with demons outside and you'll recue the key kicking the butts of those who are inside. A simple plan... I'm serious, it's no a criticism," the witch smiles kindly while I stare at her suspiciously. "Simple plans are easier to carry out and they don't usually fail. And don't worry about the charms, the spells still work and nobody will notice your magical energy when you sneak inside."

"Okay," Terra takes my hand, squeezing it nervously. "Let's go..."

"How's Jacques doing?" Ru smiles while the witch stares at her puzzled by the abrupt change of subject.