Reflections of Night

Discovery

"Oh my god, Nyx, are you alright?" Lady Mater asked worriedly. "I think you blacked out for a minute!"
Nyx blinked dizzily at her brightly lit surroundings. She was still in the gallery, but apparently laying on the floor, like she'd fainted.
She coughed. "Yeah, I'm... I'm fine. I just... I don't know what happened."
"It was probably the air pressure from the storm. It can do funny things. Makes some people dizzy. Hold there, I'll get you a drink."

Nyx was sitting on Lady Mater's couch with a glass of water. Lady Mater was acting almost motherly, making sure she was alright.
Then she got a phonecall. "Damn it, Nyx, I have to disappear for a minute. A... business contact of mine has shown up and needs me to sort out a problem. I'll only be a few minutes." and with that she left the room.
Nyx swiftly whipped out her phone and took a photo of the painting of the Guardian and the Demon woman. She wanted to be able to inspect it later.
Suddenly, she heard raised voices, as if someone was shouting in the distance.
She crept out and peering over the top of the stairs saw something that made her hairs stand on end.
Lady Mater was yelling at one of the creatures.
No, not fighting against, or struggling against or anything. Yelling.
Like an angry boss yelling at an employee.
Then it hit her.
The obsession with the caves. The strange interest in Nyx.
The way she always seemed to know more than she was letting on.
She was in league with them.

Nyx held her breath, crouching down behind the banister. Listening in to the conversation, to scared to make a sound.
She heard the creature speaking. "Milady, we have been unable to recapture the manuscript. The Nephilim have protected it well."
Lady Mater spoke next, but when she did, it wasn't her voice. It was almost ghostly, wicked and full of malice.
"Well, that's not good enough, is it? Luckily for you, I have a better plan for getting the pieces together. Why spend the whole time hunting them when I can just have the one they are trying to find? Fate will serve me the map on a plate. And the key will follow along after. Now go, and do whatever you can to swell our ranks."
Suddenly, Lady Mater stumbled forwards, almost collapsing. The creature steadied her. "Milady, are you alright?"
Lady Mater chuckled lowly. "Perfectly fine. Evelyn Mater is just more of a fighter than we thought. But her feelings for the girl are invaluable."

Nyx sat in shock. She had no idea what she'd just witnessed, but she knew one thing. That wasn't Lady Mater, not anymore.