Fates Intertwined

23. | Snow Globe

Aurora stared confused. "Uh, who are you?" She asked, brows scrunched. The man huffed a laugh, his lips pulling into a smile. With another snap, they were in an office. The man walked to the desk, slung his jacket over his chair, and grabbed the already filled glass of scotch from his desk.

He took a drink, then met their eye. "So what is it you lot seek? Your friend over there seemed to know quite a bit about this club."

"You're the Unaffected." Lina whispered.

Amusement clouded his features. "Such a frivolous name. Truly, I am quite astonished as to how that name came to be."

"But you're him." Nara stated as Aurora moved toward the bookshelf. She began to fidget with the snow globe, but Zyran noticed, grabbing her by her wrist and dragging her back to his side.

He watched, amused. Lina rolled her eyes. "She's under the spell."

"Ah." He nodded in understanding, walking around his desk. "Apologies. It can be quite aggravating at times." He waved a hand to her and she held her eyes close for a long moment. But then she opened them and looked around confused.

"What..." She whispered. Then her gaze went to where her hand was still in Zyran's. Clearing her throat, she removed her hand from his. Heat burned up the back of her neck and her cheeks turned a rosy pink. "What is this?" She held the snow globe up.

"It's called a snow globe." The Unaffected answered.

"What's inside it? A city of some sort?" She asked, studying the mini structure inside it.

"It's my favorite city of the states. New Orleans." He smiled.

Finally, she looked up, but she dropped the globe from her face. "Andreas?"

The four of them snapped their heads to her. Who was Andreas?

"Please. That name died out many, many years ago. My real name is Hypnos." He smiled, leaning back against the desk.

Lina's brows furrowed. "Like the god?"

"Exactly that." He nodded. Their eyes widened.

"I feel like I should be getting on my knees and worshiping you." Nara blurted.

"Nara." Lina, Eric, and Zyran called in agitated voices.

Nara held her hands up. "I'm just saying! It feels like a rule or something."

"Please, do not." Hypnos told.

"Okey..." She bounced on her heels.

Aurora stepped forward. "We need your help."

"I assumed as much." He replied. He bounced his shoulders. "Do tell."

"We need to get to Seanna." His face slowly fell.

He stood up. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Please. You're the only one who knows her the best. We need your help." Aurora begged.

"And tell her what exactly?" He met her gaze, eyes hard. "Seanna and I already have a rocky relationship and sending you to her would only make it worse."

"Just tell her that it's a friend. That I'm a friend who needs help. Please." She begged.

"A friend who she believes abandoned her." He replied as he walked around his desk.

"But I didn't." She stated. She seemed to realize something. "Why didn't you tell her? You were there."

"Because I didn't want her to do something stupid like go after you herself." He snapped. "Van Helsing was as strong as he was back then as he is now, and I knew if she found out, she'd try to play hero and save you."

"But you could've." She found herself whispering.

His resolve cracked. "Aurie..."

"I don't hate you for not going after me. But she deserved to know the truth." She whispered. "You could've told her."

"Even if I did, Van Helsing won't stop until he has you. It's a miracle he hasn't now, what with all his military access. Van Helsing has wanted you since the day you were born, Aurie."

Aurora's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

He sighed. "When you were born, some of your ancestral magic reincarnated with you. It's why your hair is white." She looked down at her hair. He sighed, walking around the desk to face her. "I'm telling you this because you were like a sister to Seanna, and a sister to me. Van Helsing won't stop until he has you, even if it takes him a century."

Aurora's brows furrowed. "How? He's mortal."

"No," He shook his head. "He's not. He was cursed by your mother to have immortality for as long as he may live."

"My mother?" Her face scrunched. "You know my mother?"

"No, but if I did, you'd be the first one to know who she is." He assured. She nodded, pushing down the disappointment she felt deep inside her.

She took a deep breath before meeting his eye. "We need to get to Seanna. She can help us. The only way we all can be safe is if she does a locator spell for us. Please, Andreas, you have to take us to her. Or-Or bring her to us."

He sighed. He was silent for a moment, contemplating something, before he asked, "Are you sure this will take you to safety and leave her out of this mess?"

"We're trying to find Evelyn." Lina announced. The two turned to her. "She's strong enough to protect us, as long as we find her before Van Helsing does."

He narrowed his eyes at her for a long moment before nodding. "Okay." He whispered.

Aurora turned back to him. "If we find her, we can also alert her of Van Helsing. He's been after her since she was eighteen; she deserves to know before she's ambushed."

"You are more important to Van Helsing than she is. He won't go after her until he has you and you're under his finger." He sighed. "So, the best thing for you to do is find her before he finds you."

"So you'll help us?" Hypnos saw the hope form in her eyes.

"Promise me that this won't get her in danger. That she won't get hurt because of this." He pleaded.

"I would never do something that would put anyone in harm's way on purpose." She replied. Lina let out a snort, that she ignored. "I promise to keep Seanna's name out of this the best I can."

"Good." He said.

"Oh, and, uh, here's your snow globe back." She held it out to him, palm up.

He took it from her, a small smile on his face. But then he was grabbing her hand and closing it around the snow globe. "Keep it. She'd want you to have it."

Zyran flexed his shoulders, crossing his arms as he glared at the two's interaction. Nara slid up beside him. "You don't have anything to worry about, you know. She's all yours."

"What are you talking about?" He grumbled.

"You're jealous of him. But he's in love with Seanna." She smiled.

He turned to her, brows furrowed. "How do you know?"

"The way he was talking about her, for one. Plus, he gets this little sparkle in his eye when he talks about her. The man's in love." She sighed, almost dreamily. He heaved a breath, turning back to Aurora.

"Thank you." She said to Hypnos, inclining her head.

"Don't thank me until you're safe." He smiled. "Oh, and, if you see Angel again, tell her I said hi."

She stared at him for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Okay."

"Good." He smiled. Then the floor opened up and the five of them fell through, screaming as they did. Hypnos watched as the portals closed, sipping on his scotch with a smirk. "Works every time."