Moon Angel

Chapter 40: The House Beside the Lake

I couldn't waste any time. I had a long flight ahead of me, heading back towards the place I never thought I'd ever visit again.

***

I landed the next day a few hours before nightfall. I had been flying all day and was exhausted. I had seen the house when I had flown over and landed a safe distance away from it. I couldn't risk getting caught. I stashed my bags under a bush when I landed.

I climbed a tree and sat down in its branches, waiting for the sun to set. I needed all the strength I could gather if I was going to win. I had more control over my powers this time, but once I was inside the house I wasn't sure what control I would have.

As the sun went down and the air cooled around me, a sense of déjà vu washed over me and it was as if I was transported back to Mr Carter's house, sitting in my favourite tree in the forest, staring up at the stars. But this time, the stars were in a different position, and I was older.

I remembered the last time I had been sitting in that tree. It was just before we left for Omega, five years earlier. So much had happened since. I wished I could go back to that day and warn my twelve-year-old self what was coming, to tell her not to go, but I couldn't. There was no going back, no forgetting. It seemed ironic that I'd spent the last seven years trying to remember my past, and now I only wanted to forget it...

But there was no point dwelling in the past any longer.

By the time, I had dragged myself out of my memories, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon line and the Moon had appeared in its place. I sat underneath its light for a while, building up the courage I needed, soaking in all the energy I could get.

I took a deep breath. It was time to go.

As much as I hated to admit it, going inside the house scared me. If the house was moon-proofed, as I expected it would be, I wouldn't have access to my abilities. If it hadn't been for the wind last time, I would have been captured, or worse, killed. I just had to hope that this time I would be strong enough without it.

I touched the gun that sat in my belt as a last resort. I didn't want to kill again, but if I didn't have another option I would.

I moved up into a crouched position on the tree branch and prepared myself for a second, before pushing myself into the air.

I landed in the forest around the house. I could just make out the house through the trees. I recognised this view from the images I had seen in the dreamscape. If I was right, the device that I had seen should be around here somewhere. I walked further away from the house, and there I found it, nestled in the grass behind a clump of bushes. I picked it up. It was lighter and smaller than I expected. A black smooth sphere. I didn't know how to activate it but I was sure it was what Cyra had contacted me through. She must have dropped it at the same time the transmission had cut off.

The device pulsed slightly under my fingertips, releasing a small burst of energy every few seconds. I recognised it as the signal I had picked up on back in the dreamscape. It must have been a locator beacon of some kind that Cyra had activated when she had escaped in case she was recaptured. And she had been.

She must have known that if I got the message, I would follow the signal here.

I pocketed the device in my jacket and moved towards the house. I crouched behind a bush on the edge of the tree line. There were no lights on in the house, but that was to be expected. Elvirans were nocturnal after all.

Crouching in the shadows reminded me of missions I'd gone on, but it wouldn't be sleeping humans I'd find through those doors. I didn't like walking in blind.

The wind moved around me as if it was as uncertain as I was.

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. I opened my eyes as I breathed out. I could do this.

All the windows were boarded up so the front door was my only option. I walked up to the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked. I opened the door and slipped inside the house.

The wind had been moving in circles around me, protecting me, but as soon as the door shut, an emptiness opened up inside me. I couldn't place what was wrong for a second. But then I realised what it was. The Moon's presence and energy had been cut off from me, and the wind had stopped swirling. At Omega, I had been cut off from it but hadn't known any different. Now that I had spent weeks constantly in contact with the moon and its energy, I felt hollow. It felt wrong. This house had been moon-proofed. There was no denying it. I felt slightly sick inside but I kept moving. I had to find Cyra, before they found me.

I walked slowly down the hallway, guard up. But I didn't find anything in the rooms around me.

I checked all of the rooms on the floor, still not finding anything.

I was confused. I was sure that they were in here. Where had they taken Cyra?

The front door opened and I darted out of the hallway, seeking refuge in the nearest room. The footsteps got louder as they walked in my direction. I looked around the room frantically. Where could I hide?

I spotted a wardrobe on my left and climbed inside it, closing the door. It was a tight fit inside the wardrobe, but I managed to squeeze in. There was a small hole in the wood, just big enough to poke my finger through. It was just the right size to view the room through. I held my breath as I heard the person enter the room I was in.

They came into view and I saw it was a man. He had his back to me as he crossed the room. I tried to calm my racing heart. It sounded so loud in my ears, but he didn't seem to hear it, as he faced an empty wall. He reached his hand out and pressed something on top of the mantelpiece that was beside him.

At first, nothing happened. But then the wall moved, sliding sideways. My eyes widened. I hadn't expected that to happen. No wonder I hadn't been able to find anything in the rooms.

The man slipped through the gap and the door slid shut behind him, as if the wall had never opened in the first place.

I unfolded myself from the wardrobe, careful to make sure there was no one else around. I walked to the wall where the man had stood and reached my hand out, like I had seen him do. I felt a slight bump in the mantelpiece and pressed my fingers against it. I heard a quiet mechanical sound through the wall, and then the wall moved. I took a step back in surprise.

Behind the hidden door, a flight of stairs led down under the house. It appeared that their base was not in the house at all, but under. It made sense.

I didn't know what I would find down there, but I had to go. I couldn't stop now.