In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

After a nightmare-filled sleep, I stir awake to a dark room with heavy breathing. Well, once I open my eyes, the room isn't so dark anymore-it's tinted green. I shake Sasha awake, accidentally touching some of the drool on her pillow. Ew.

"Get up," I whine quietly when she tries to whack me away. "There are limits to our friendship and touching more of your drool is crossing it." I stab her cheek with my finger to make my point. She licks my finger to make her point.

"Aw, gross."

She sits up. Her eyelids are obviously as heavy as my own.

"Good morning to you too."

"It's not morning until the sun comes up."

We slip into the hallway at 2:58 AM, each wearing the darkest clothes we could dig out. I had tripped over my pant leg about five times before getting it on. Jesse and Eric are already standing silently in the hallway. Jesse, for some reason, is wearing aviator shades. Perhaps he thought Cecily wouldn't show up if he covered up his eyes.

"Hey Jesse," I whisper. "Where did you get those, the old and stupid store?"

"Ha-ha, you're so funny," he says, grimacing. "You should really be wearing a pair of these too."

"I'm good. I'd rather bust my eardrums than look like a 50s rock star wannabe."

"I think I look more like a wealthy, successful rock star than a wannabe."

"Guys," Sasha interrupts. "The laser beams are still there."

"Just wait," I say. "Give it a few moments."

At 3 AM on the dot, the beams start to quiver and shake, almost as if it doesn't want to move. Then they all fly skywards, creating a walkway for us to move through.

"Awesome," Eric mutters.

A door cracks open somewhere down the hallway. I turn back, and see Emily glancing through, checking. When she sees it has been successful, her glowing streaks dim slightly. She smiles, satisfied. I give her a thumbs up and she nods, shutting the door.

"How are we going to get back?" Sasha asks.

"Don't worry, she'll keep them up until sunrise when it turns off. No one will even notice."

We walk carefully through the House; every creak sounds a hundred times louder at night. I jump at strangely-shaped shadows cast on walls, the dim moonlight barely lighting our way. I almost judo-flip Jesse when he taps my elbow because I am moving too fast and loud. Gulping, I try calm my heart as I swear I see something dash from one corner to the other.

In the North Wing, we stop outside Aunt Nelly's office first.

"We'll come find you guys after we search around," Jesse says. "We'll probably be done first. Keep quiet, okay?"

We stare at him as if to say 'duh', while he eyes us for a few seconds. Once they ease open the door and sneak into the office, I hear him mutter, "I still think we shouldn't be doing this."

"Come on, Ariel," Sasha whispers. "I'll bet you we find more than they do."

We take extra caution passing the infirmary since there are people recovering from stimulation injuries in there. Passing the snores, I slowly try the door to the office beside the infirmary. It doesn't open.

I kneel down to check the lock. "At least it's mechanically locked, not magically."

"What do we do?" Sasha asks.