The City of Two Halves

✽Chapter 4✽

Ashton had promised Cerena he would be back tomorrow night, they need a chance to figure out the puzzles, they were both intelligent people but not in the problem-solving department. The whole walk home he was plagued with a funny feeling, ever since that man bumped into him and did not excuse himself, at around 3 pm the same day that feeling had overwhelmed him.

He walked back down to the alley, into the large bin and back into the underworld, carefully he looked for a man in a black overcoat, it was cool in the underworld and for some unknown reasons, many people were wearing black overcoats. The path back to Cerena's house was familiar but it was laced with a sort of tension Ashton wasn't used to, the tension only got worse when he saw her door standing ajar.

He raced up the final stairs and pushed the door open, closing and locking it behind him. "Cerena?" he called, Ashton looked around the room, it was a bomb site, books and draws had been pulled from their place, there was a dent in the wall and a knife missing from the hallway arrangement.

Ashton continued to call her name frantically searching each room, finally, he returned to the living room and sat down on the couch, he thought for a while. Then he remembered the amulet, swiftly getting up and walking into the office he makes his way to the shelf, its gone. He sits on Cerena's desk chair, leans back and thinks again, he entertains the possibility that Cerena was out when whoever did this was here and then he decides he'll wait for her. After waiting about 30 minutes he decided to pass the time by cleaning.

He had cleaned up as much as he could without a tool kit by 6 pm, he had ordered some pizza rather than use any of Cerena's food, it would have been too salty for him anyway. After he'd eaten, fatigue washed over him, he hadn't slept for 2 days and he just spent the last 3 hours cleaning up, he dozed off and awoke to someone opening the door.

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When Grace saw Cerena, she started to panic, there was crusted blood on her nose and waist and fresh bruises were blooming on her arms and around her eyes. Both Grace and Dorian ran towards her and she stood up, Dorian put his arm around her to support her and Grace asked quickly "What happened?" Cerena's eyes were already losing focus but she managed to say "Jeffery Crawdad," before slipping out of consciousness.

Grace didn't know who Jeffery Crawdad was but Dorian looked as though he did, he stood holding tightly onto Cerena as he was before but now his eyes were widened and he looked scared but only for a second. He said quickly "We need to get her into some water, will you run the bath?" Grace nodded and unlocked the door leaving it open for Dorian as she ran for the bathroom.

The bath is already halfway full when Dorian lowers Cerena into it, she doesn't stir but Dorian excuses himself and asks Grace if she could "please keep an eye on her," so Grace does. Maybe 20 minutes later Cerena awakes and Grace does the best she can to help her, fetching her salt and seaweed from the kitchen and tissues to clean her nose. Grace is careful dabbing below Cerena's nose when she asks "What happened?" Cerena sighs and says,

"You remember that amulet I asked you guys to get?" Grace nods,

"Well, You stole it from a man whom I was on thin ice with, very thin," she emphasises,

"Jeffery Crawdad?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"No, but I think Dorian does," she adds quickly, "You said his name before you passed out,"

"Ah, Dorian certainly knows Crawdad,"

"May I ask how?"

She doesn't speak for a while but eventually says, "Crawdad is the man responsible for handing his parents into the Bureau."

Grace didn't answer, every magical being know getting "handed" into the Bureau means death. She promptly finished cleaning Cerena's face, Grace told Cerena to knock on her door if she need anything and left towards her room. She stopped in front of Dorian's room, looking at the door, she decided he needed space and continued to her room.

Quickly she got ready for bed and lay quietly looking at the star map on her roof, she didn't know that had happened to Dorian; truthfully, she never would have guessed, she had never seen him scared before even on their most dangerous of commissions. She wanted to know more but knew she shouldn't ask, she wanted to comfort Dorian or talk to Cerena about it some more, as if her mind had been read there was a knock at the door, Grace sits up, "Hello?" she called.

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