[ Glow ] ~ Anthony Lockwood x OC

XXXIX - The Relic Man

"God, this place is creepy." Daniel shuttered as they walked down the river. It had gotten dark in the time it took for them to drive there, the sun escaping behind the horizon and casting them all in night. Crickets chirped in the distance, waves rippled onto the shore and gravel crunched under foot.

"I hope they still work this patch. It's been a while." Lockwood gave Daniel's hand a soft squeeze of reassurance.

"Who? The Relic men? Don't you think they'll all be in hiding, with Fittes all over town?" Lucy questioned.

"Probably. This one's a bit different, though." Lockwood shrugged her words off.

"What? Not an evil, thieving bastard, then?"

"Calm down, Lucy. They're making their living, even if it's in an unconventional way." Daniel murmured, keeping her eye out behind them for anything lurking in the shadows.

Lucy scoffed, "Unconventional? They're literally criminals."

"Hey, we badly need her help, so just. . .try and be nice, yeah?" Lockwood stopped to turn to Lucy.

"When am I not nice?" She asked in disbelief.

"Right now." Daniel shrugged. "And when you're brushed off-"

Lockwood gave her a smirked scoff, shaking his head. "Cut it out, Dani." She grinned back, rolling her eyes.

"Wait-" Lucy called, stopping despite the fact her two friends kept on. "Her?"

Lockwood kept hold of Daniel's hand, guiding her along down the shore. She heard a scream from behind them, snapping her head around to see Lucy being chased by a woman's specter. "Run!" He shouted at Lucy, dropping Daniel's hand and running toward Lucy. Daniel scoffed, running behind him with her rapier drawn. No way was she letting him leave her behind.

"Code Maiden!" Lucy yelled, still running toward the pair. "Lockwood! Daniel!" Lucy tripped, falling to the ground. She flipped over to hold herself up on her elbows, chest heaving as the apparition got closer and closer. She struggled to draw her rapier, not getting it. But just in time, the spirit dissipated. It was gone.

Daniel and Lockwood got to Lucy's side, pulling her up to her feet. Daniel checked her over for any burning skin, to see she hadn't been touched. "Thank god-"

"What happened?" Lucy asked, steadying on her feet. Daniel put her rapier back into its sheath on her belt.

"I did." A woman's voice called from behind the three. Daniel turned around, tilting her head and scanning the woman over. She had dark skin, curly hair that she kept tucked under a woven hat, adorned in a dull colored jacket worn under a thicker green winter coat, fuzzy grey gloves and dark, dirty looking pants, the bottoms of which were hidden neatly under a tall pair of black rubber boots.

"Evening, Locky." She smiled, getting one in return from Lockwood. "Who's the latest slapper?"

"What-" Daniel frowned at the term, folding her arms under her chest.

"'Scuse me?" Lucy asked in bafflement.

"These are my. . .associates, Lucy Carlyle and Daniel Aiken." Lockwood nodded, not taking his eyes off of the mystery women. "Lucy, Dani, meet Florence Bonnard. AKA Flo Bones. The best relic hunter on the Thames."

The woman - Florence - nodded, sticking a beef jerky stick into her mouth with a smile. Without a word, she swayed one of her feet around the other and pivoted herself around. She started walking back down the gravel shore from whence she came.

Daniel tilted her head, confused by the interaction between her boss and the stranger. She wouldn't have even noticed that Lucy and Lockwood were following Florence had she not felt the lack of warmth from where Lucy had left.