The Heart of The Sea

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Aiden could be charming, with that easy smile he gave the curator as he took the gemstone and asked questions at all the right places.

Kara nudged Aru's shoulder. "You're staring."

"I am not staring. I'm merely appreciating how nicely he's charming the curator."

"By staring at his face?"

"I will not be answering this question, thank you very much."

Kara bumped Aru's shoulder, a smirk sitting smugly on her face. "He's attractive, though." She said, a sing-song note to her voice.

Aru covered up her ears. "I can't hear you, what were you saying?"

He was attractive, though.

"Good news, we have the gem to ourselves for fifteen minutes. Bad news, we don't have it just to ourselves. That guy," he said, pointing towards a meek boy in the corner of the room, "is going to be here with us."

"Just our luck."

"As long as we're discrete, we should be fine."

"Should?"

"I'm not really sure myself."

"Yay."

The jewel sparkled in the glass case, and Aru thought that she'd feel a tug when she came near it.

She didn't.

The Heart of The Sea was an iridescent jewel that was brought to Normal when Malini Acharya and Krithika Shah ran away from Paranormal to lead a different life. The jewel was placed in between two halves of a butterfly ring.

This gemstone in the glass case was far too big to fit in the two halves.

The Shattered One in her hand–how did it get there?–did not buzz with any power in being near the Heart.

Aru let out a breath. "It's fake."

Kara shook her head, as though she couldn't accept the truth of what was before them. Her voice was shaky, trembling, and her semi-corporeal form began to waver.

She opened her mouth, but there were no words coming out of them.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Traitors' children." The boy in the corner said, and all of a sudden, he didn't look meek anymore.

"I'm not– you've misunderstood–" Kara began.

"I misunderstand nothing." He smiled, and Aru noticed that his canines were sharper than most.

A vampire.

"Now, if you children will move aside, I will be–"

"No." Aiden said.

The vampire looked at Aiden, raising his eyebrows. "You have zero training in the arts, and you expect me to take you seriously? Move aside."

Her throat didn't burn, even if she was in a position of extreme danger.

Kara's form was turning misty–and like dust–before it hardened and turned non-corporeal again.

There was magic here, yes, but not from the Heart.

This magic was cruel, reckless even. And it didn't allow her to protect herself.

Aru was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Aiden–why was he being so reckless?--stood in-front of the encased jewel, waiting for his wrists to start burning.

The vampire chuckled. "Your protective magic won't work here." He said, his tone mocking. "We knew you'd be coming here, trying to so desperately fix what your mothers ruined."

He clicked his tongue. "What a shame you will never be able to..."

Aru wanted to hear what he was going to say. She also wanted to get the hell out of the Hall.

She looked at Aiden.

Tried to catch his eye.

The bastard was busy looking at the vampire.

She sighed, and planted a smile on her face while walking towards Aiden. Then, once she was beside him, she raised her foot, and stomped on his.

He didn't seem happy about that. He cried out in pain, and whirled to look at Aru. "What was that for–"

She cut him off by patting his shoulder and subtly shifting her eyes towards the door.

His eyes widened.

The vampire frowned. "What is going on here? I don't like being left out, you know." He said, his voice whiny like a child's.

"Three." Aru breathed out.

Two.

One.

They ran towards the door, Kara's form floating fast beside them.

Why was it that the door seemed further away the closer they went towards it?

"It's no use." The vampire began. "My magic has surrounded this Hall–"

Aru didn't think. She yanked her boot off and threw it in his face,

"Ow!"

Her hand went to Aiden's and clasped it, probably crushing his fingers.

Then they ran.

***

Mini was looking at them with a frown after Aru finished telling the whole story.

From the beginning.

They'd run till Le Diamant, hoping to find both Mini and Rudy still there.

They were still there, of course, bickering like their tomorrows depended on it.

Aru's hair was disheveled, and the bottom of Aiden's bellbottoms were streaked in mud and dirt.

Ah, the beauty of Provence.

"Wait, if the diamond wasn't in the Hall, then where could it be?" Rudy asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Aiden shook his head. "The Hall was most likely our last hope."

"Now that the other world knows about your search for the gem, there will probably be decoys sprouting up everywhere." Mini pursed her lips. "I'll need to research this, try and find out more. And maybe, the two of you need to do some research too. Well, three."

Rudy's eyes seemed to light up. "You're planning on including me?"

The girl snorted. "As if. I was talking about the ghost."

"Oh."

"But don't worry, rich prince. We'll need your connections."

That seemed to soothe him.

"Meet me in Nalanda's library tomorrow." Mini said, her words having a tone of finality. "Once you get the guest passes, I'll show you the reserved sections which should, hopefully, have information on this. After all, there's always something to be found, right?"

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sorry guys this chapter's very tiny