Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 45

The song of the day is "Duality" by Set It Off. Props to LostBrother for recommending the band. I'd been having a hard time finding a song suitable for... Well, you'll see. :3 No spoilers from me today. 

*Donella's POV*

I had spent longer than intended helping Martha with the Ianitas, almost forgetting my errand with Matt entirely. Sparklez returning from "rebooting" his portal system to pick up the girls was my cue to take my leave. I wasn't sure how long the others would be gone rescuing the apprentices, but there were things I needed to discuss with Matt alone. The minute I ran into the Fyre wizards in this realm, I'd known the youngest of the three had stumbled upon dangerous magic, and he certainly didn't know the precautions he should be taking. Tom had confirmed as much when they told me their story of the scroll Matt had been given. There had been more important things to tend to at the time, but now that things had settled down, I intended to address the situation.

I soared across the purple and fire gold sky well on my way to Wiztopia. Akatena flew happily with me, skimming inches above my speckled and banded wings or looping around and under me. She was elated to be away from all the 5 year olds that wanted to "snuggle her to death".

We reached the empty wizard town as the first stars started winking in the darker reaches of the eastern sky and the last blush of rose began to fade in the west. I glided in circles above the dark windows and still streets, looking for signs of life. Finally, I spotted a light on in one of the buildings near the tavern. I landed on the stone walkway and folded my wings behind me as I approached. I mentally rehearsed a few options on how to properly broach the subject of Matt's studies as Akatena landed behind me. As I drew closer, I found a sign hung next to the door labeling the wooden and stone brick structure as "Matt's Homely Home". It didn't quite make sense to me why he had a separate house when they all had rooms in their tower. I guess this is where he goes when he's sick of his brothers?

I raised a fist to knock on the door and was surprised when the door swung loosely inward at my touch, hinges releasing a tired squeak as the door stilled halfway through its arch. Suspicion and caution overrode my thoughts as I silently eyed the portion of Matt's home visible from the doorway. Matt was the most paranoid of the Fyre brothers; he would never leave his door unlocked, let alone unlatched. Akatena sent me a mental picture of me speaking a spell and vanishing. I nodded in agreement without turning to look at her and almost inaudibly whispered the spell to turn us both invisible. I wouldn't be able to maintain the magic more than ten minutes after having used it for so long hiding Tena from the Ianitas earlier. Hopefully it was nothing, and Matt had just forgotten. My intuition was telling me differently, though.

Like we had done on countless missions before, I silently stepped into the building as Tena took a post at the closest intersection outside to watch for any activity. The plush red carpet made silence easy, though I would have rather not had my footfalls so clearly marked. The entry hall was empty, as were the dark side rooms I passed: a powder room, a closet, and a compact kitchen. I cautiously rounded the corner into Matt's main downstairs room, sweeping my eyes over the living space. A lamp in the far corner was lit; that must have been what I saw from outside. The rest of the room looked unremarkable, filled with the usual sofas, chairs, and shelves of knickknacks.

I almost turned to head up to the second floor before I spotted an odd scuff on a section of carpet next to the lamp. The scuff ran perpendicular to the wall, almost as if something had run into the wall there, though it looked intact. I stalked closer. This is an outside wall; there's no space for a secret door and room behind it... I inspected the corner in greater detail. The only thing I could find out of place—aside from the scuff itself—was the lamp. It had a pull cord as well as pin mechanism. Why would a lamp have two ways to turn it on? I tested the pull cord cautiously, turning the light off and back on. Next was the pin. I pushed it until it clicked through to the other side of the socket, and the light stayed on. I felt more than heard a panel retract in the floor beside me. Looking back to the scuffed carpet, I grinned as I realized Matt had used the same trick I had, hiding a room under his house. A ladder led down a long vertical shaft melted from the surrounding stone. Now what secrets are you hiding, iFirez?