In the Stars

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Act Natural

After leaving Leighton at Borough Market, she took the tube back home. Her friend was blissfully oblivious to how messed up Charlotte's life had become.

"Hello?"

She wasn't used to her housemate yet. She felt like there was a trespasser in her sanctuary. Even the bathroom was no longer sacred, with Owen's toothbrush staring her down from the edge of the sink.

He had taken over her guest room with ease. As she understood it, he was accustomed to a transitory life. This was apparent in his lack of baggage. Just one large duffel bag held all his worldly goods.

He wasn't there. The house was completely silent. Finally, Matisse scampered down the stairs, his sleepy eyes happy to see her.

"Where did your buddy go?" she asked her cat as she bent down to give him a scratch.

Matisse and Owen had become fast friends. The man's constant attention won the kitten over right away. She had watched Owen stroke the feline as he sat in the living room, his large lithe hands nimble as they moved over his fur.

It was an awkward first night. Charlotte spent it in her room, staring into space. Then she got up early to meet Leighton.

The rest of the meeting at Fox Hollow had given her more insight into their operations. Apparently, Melanie had been assigned to look into Orion when it first became an entity. She managed to get a job as secretary to the VP of Finance at their original office in Fitzrovia. For six months she played the dutiful clerk, typing all their correspondence and filing their important papers.

In that time, she learned what properties the foundation bought up. This included a warehouse in Battersea. James thought they should start looking for the machine there.

Laurent had been sent back eighteen months. He was tasked with figuring out who Orion's newest member was, by eavesdropping on conversations in Orion's favored gentleman's club. Apparently there was a new guy on the scene- one held close to Orion's breast.

Laurent never found out the identity of the newest Orion member, unfortunately, but he did find out this person's purpose was to find imbued artifacts. Now that Charlotte had been found, they would have to refocus their energy. James hoped they would unmask this minion in the present.

Before leaving Fox Hollow, Charlotte had handed James her pendant, wrapped in a handkerchief.

"So you can study it, find out its composition."

He looked at her with concern, and then nodded. "I'll make sure nothing happens to it."

She nodded back, unsure if she even wanted to see it again.

Now she was back to the solitude of an empty house. It felt like forever since she was alone. Taking a deep breath, she moved to walk upstairs to her bedroom.

Charlotte lay across her bed, staring at the chandelier looming over her head like a guillotine. That year's most popular haunting tale of love and loss lay in its hardback cover on her bedside table. She couldn't make herself pick it up and get lost in its florid language.

Was Owen with Melanie at that very moment? Were they reconnecting? She hated that she felt her heart break the tiniest bit at the thought.