"Ugh, do people actually dress like this?" I asked.
"Come on, Pines. We should start investigating." Gideon's voice called from the other side of the door. I swept my hair out of my face and stepped out. Gideon was wearing a black tuxedo and was adjusting his amulet when I walked into the hallway. He looked at me. He'd picked a simple but fancy black dress for me. He blushed.
"You look..."
"Uncomfortable?" I suggested.
"Beautiful," Gideon answered. I blushed.
"It's a lot of fabric. Let's go." Gideon nodded and led me to a large library with a huge fireplace.
"This is the room father said had the most activity." He explained. "Although it's highly unlikely we'll find much-" Gideon was cut off by the doors slamming behind us. The wind caused the fire to go out, leaving the room almost pitch black. The doors locked with a loud click.
"Was that your dad?" I asked, reaching out and grabbing Gideon's arm.
"No, the room can only be locked from the inside." He said. His amulet started to glow. "Can you see well?" He asked, turning to me. I nodded.
"Thanks." Making sure I was still holding his arm, he started to walk further into the room. Suddenly, something went flying past my face. Gideon took a defensive stance. "What was that?" I asked.
"I don't know." He answered. "Stay close." He stepped further, and something else went flying past. We both stood absolutely still as more and more objects went flying past. Then the realization suddenly hit me.
"Are these... books?" Confirming my suspicions, the fireplace lit with a roaring fire as another book flew off the shelf and straight into it. The fire was growing huge, the flames leaping out of the fireplace and sending sparks onto the rug.
"Mabel, go try the door!" Gideon yelled, focusing his attention on the fire. I ran to the door and pulled on the handles.
"No good!" Gideon gritted his teeth.
"Whatever this thing is plans to burn the house down with us locked inside!" I looked around the room.
"Maybe. But it won't get away with it." I ran to a display case full of antique swords and broke the glass with my shoulder.
"What the hell Pines?" Gideon asked. I grabbed a sword and ran to the door, hitting the handles with the blade. "You've got the right idea," Gideon said, looking up. "But I've got a better one." I turned around to see Gideon rush to the fireplace. Trying his best to avoid the flames, he twisted a knob.
"What did that do?" I asked.
"It closed a panel that lets the smoke escape. If the smoke fills the room-"
"Then the smoke alarms will go off!" I realized.
"Which will trigger the sprinkler system and cause the security system to unlock all the doors!" Gideon finished. I high fived him.
"Yeah! Go Northwest-Pines!" Gideon grinned. Suddenly, a loud beeping sound drew our attention to the ceiling. The sprinkler system activated, spraying water down into the room and putting out the fire. "You did it!" I yelled, hugging Gideon.
"No. We did it." Gideon smiled. "Let's go." We ran out into the hall, but the sprinklers and fire alarms weren't going off.
"What's going-"
"Wouldn't want to spoil the fun now would we?" A deep voice called. Gideon looked around to find the source. "I wouldn't bother looking for something you can't see." It taunted.
"Why are you here?" Gideon demanded.
"You really don't know? Pity. Northwest told me you'd be more perceptive than this."
"You've spoken to my father?" Gideon asked.
"Of course I've spoken to Northwest. Who else did you think summoned me?" Gideon slammed his fist into his palm.
"I should've known my father would play dirty!" The voice began to laugh.
"Northwest tells me this is to test your abilities. Especially as far as the girl is concerned. So I'll give you an ultimatum. Fight me on the roof of Northwest Manor in one hour or she dies." As soon as it said that, I felt a cold hand reach around my neck and lift me up.
"Mabel!" Gideon yelled, his eyes wide with fear. I felt a cold air tug at my mouth and enter my lungs. It made a horrible hissing sounds as the cold filled me.
"Kiss of death." The voice taunted. The cold hand dropped me and the voice disappeared from the hall with a hollow laugh.
"Mabel!" Gideon called, rushing to the floor beside me. "Are you okay? What happened?" I shook my head.
"I don't know. But I'm cold now. Freezing." Gideon helped me to my feet.
"Let's get you down to the party. Perhaps some food will help you feel better." I nodded and we made our way to the large main hall. It was full of rich people socializing. Several people stopped us to say how dashing Gideon looked, or how much he'd grown since they last saw him, or even that he looked adorable next to his 'date'. Not that I was his date or anything.
When we finally reached the hors-d'oeuvre table, Preston side-eyed us from across the room. Gideon glared and helped me load a plate before leading me back down the hallway we'd come from.
"There's another staircase." We went upstairs and ate on his bedroom floor.
"So are you going to fight it?" I asked. Gideon nodded.
"I have to." He looked at me. "To save your life." He added.
"In more ways than one," I commented. We were quiet for the majority of our meal. "Gideon?" I asked once we'd finished.
"Yes?"
"Your hour's almost up." He looked at me quizzically.
"How can you tell?" I shifted.
"It's getting colder. Much colder." He nodded.
"Then I guess it's time, isn't it?" He stood up and held out his hand. "Shall we?" I took it and followed him down the hall to the staircase. We went up the third floor, then down the hall to a small staircase that led up to the attic.
"How do you know where everything is?" I asked.
"I was an adventurous child," Gideon said with a slight smirk. He turned to me. "I'm going up alone. Stay here." I followed him.
(A/N) 1000 words becaus eI owe you and I love you.
YOU ARE READING
Northwest-Pines Mystery Hunters
Fanfic"Why did you insist on your name being first?" "It's an eyecatcher, shut up Pines." When Mabel Pines was sent to Oregon to stay with her genius Uncle, she expected more than simply watching over his fake museum. That is, until she gets an offer to f...
