The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 3: The Pendant of Death

Chapter 3: Fearful Symmetry

Chapter 3

Echo walked across the street from the little shop that Meadow Lions' family owned and towards the longer, broader Promenade that was the bulk of the old Big Bear shops. A large amount of the place was under construction. The Muggle local government was trying to give the old place a facelift, starting with the decrepit and aged sidewalks. Most of the street was cordoned off, with construction caution tape held by orange cones blocking off parking places and most of the sidewalks. She avoided all the cones, walking right in the middle of the street, not caring if any cars honked at her. She passed a few cars who just gave her a dirty look, paying them no heed.

"Echo!" Talon yelled to her. "Wait!"

She kept going, but she heard footsteps behind her. A few pairs of feet were running up to catch her.

"Holy Clabbert, Echo!" Griffin said to her, "What the heck are you doing?"

"I can feel him here," Echo responded without stopping or looking at them.

"Okay, I'm all for a good fight," Mared said, "But let's just think this through and make a plan."

"We don't have time," Echo said dismissively. "We haven't been this close in months."

"Well," Talon said, "there was that time in Seattle a couple of weeks ago."

"That doesn't count," Echo said. "And those stupid vampires up there were a bunch of idiots. Stupid teenage dweebs with no actual grip on reality. Besides, if he went into the shop alone, that means that he might still be alone."

"You don't know that," Mared said. "We never asked if he was alone back there."

Echo did not falter. She kept her pace, walking up to the movie theater on the Promenade. She walked into an alley between it and another building. She walked nearly to the end of it and then paused.

"Whoa," Griffin halted. "Why are we stopping?"

"I can feel his presence, but it's all wrong. He should be right here. This is where I'm being led to, but where is he?"

"Where's the tavern he was supposed to be at?" Talon asked.

"I thought she said Pine Street," Mared answered. "There's Pine right there. But I don't see a pub."

Echo looked around and saw only an old white shed and a door in the side of the movie theater which read "Maintenance".

"I bet it's behind that door," Echo told the crew. She walked over and looked at the door. She raised her wand and said, "Alohamora!" The door swung open and revealed a hallway. Echo walked into it. It was long and made of wood, though the rest of the building was made of brick. Echo could hear music and the clinking of glass in the distance, down the long hallway.

"So what's the plan?" Griffin asked. "Go in there and bust some heads?"

"I'm going in alone," Echo said.

"Are you nuts?" Mared asked her with a surprised look.

"I mean it," Echo told them, "Stay out here and make sure he doesn't get away. We can't risk him running out. I'll go in there. I might be able to talk some sense into him."

"He's a criminal," Talon told her, "He's not coming out quietly."

"Let me go in," she pleaded. "I can do this."

Mared looked at Griffin and Talon. They all shook their heads. "Okay," Mared told Echo. "Against my better judgment, do it. You got seven minutes. Make it count."

Echo nodded. She turned and began to walk down the hallway. It was lined with old pictures and portraits, all staring at her as she walked in. Some of the pictures said some rather mean things to her as she walked, but she kept her stride. She entered the tavern and saw what she expected to see: flags of the two American Quidditch teams, the Fitchburg Finches and the Sweetwater All-Stars, along with various types of advertisements for all types of magic ales and brews. The Bugbear offered a special brew of ale of its own from the microbrewery on site.