Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

Chapter 26: Into the Lion's Den

Willow could feel her heart hammering in her chest as the taxi drove up to the lodge. Moira/Memphis had given her money to cover the taxi and room rental for a couple days. They wanted to create the illusion that she could be staying for a few days over the break before she had to leave.

The makeup job Nina and Blake did was eerily amazing. When Willow had looked in the mirror she looked a few years older. They had even dyed her hair a deep, dark black-brown colour and put in extensions so they could style her hair in a messy bun. Willow could definitely see why so many of the performers loved working with those two. They worked magic with their makeup.

As the taxi pulled up to the large, wooden building that was the lodge, Willow pulled out some cash and handed it to the driver, telling them to keep the change. The driver looked pleasantly surprised, considering the 'change' was almost a fifty dollar tip. If they were curious about the large tip, they didn't voice any concerns. They simply bid her a fun and restful vacation before driving off to get their next customer.

Inside the lodge workers were busy tending to a swath of visitors. All of them looked fairly formal and serious. Some were simply standing around in silence, waiting for the bellhops, while others idly chatted in hush tones. As she stepped into the lodge, the dull murmur of voices quieted for a moment. She felt like all eyes were on her. She bit back the rising fear and simply walked towards the desk with her suitcase. The murmur of voices returned a bit, but it was clear some people were still watching her closely.

The woman at the front desk was happy to get her checked in, saying they only had a handful of rooms left on the top floor of the building. Everything else had been rented out for the next day or so.

That was odd. It didn't look like there were enough Hunters present to fill the entire lodge at the moment. Perhaps the other floors were covered in order to create a barrier between the Hunters and any other patrons staying in the hotel? Shaking off the thought, Willow gave her false name to the woman and requested a room. She complained how the last place she went too was fully booked.

"I'm sorry, but we've had a policy update recently. Mind if I check your bag?" the woman at the desk inquired.

Willow looked confused but nodded still. She kept her voice cheerful, "Yeah, sure. Look away." She lifted her suitcase up onto the desk.

She assisted the woman in moving items so she could examine the bag. After a thorough check, the woman nodded in satisfaction. Once Willow handed over some money, plus a sizeable deposit in case something happened to the room while she was staying in it, the woman handed over a room key and directed Willow to the elevator.

"Down the hall, take the elevator to the fourth floor, then head to your left. Your room will be on the left hand side of the hall. The kitchen and dining room will be busy tonight, but room service is available." the woman explained with a pleasant, professional tone as if she wasn't completely exhausted from a day of dealing with stuffy business types and rather shady individuals renting out most of the lodge.

***

The lodge was a huge, spacious building. As she made her way towards her room, she noted places of importance and people wandering the halls. The security office was located around the corner from the main lobby, halfway towards the elevators. On the first floor, people in long, dark coats seemed to wander around at steady intervals.

The fourth floor was quiet. Occasionally Willow would hear a television or people talking, but most of the rooms were completely silent. She made her way to her room, swiping her key into the slot above the handle and entering the room. The room itself was huge with two double beds. The carpet was plush and the curtains heavy in order to block out sunlight to ensure guests could rest at any time of the day if they wanted.

She set her suitcase down beside one of the beds and wandered over to window, pulling back the curtains to reveal a small patio space. She pulled the window open and left the curtains open a crack. Then she sat on one of the beds, flipped on the television, and waited.

It took about an hour, but eventually she heard footsteps on the patio. There was a faint breeze as the curtain was pulled back and then shut again. Willow looked over and greeted Moira. A moment later, Savio emerged from the shadows of the curtains and stepped into the room.

"How'd you get up here?" Willow asked. She had been told to leave the window open, but she didn't know how exactly Moira was going to get inside.

"Flew." Moira said simply, a giddy smile on her face.

"It was kind of cool." Savio admitted.

"Wait, what?" Willow blinked.

Moira opened her arms slightly, lifting off the ground about and inch before gently setting herself back down. She grinned, her voice excited, "I could never do that before. Menti has a lot of knowledge in that noggin of his. I have an idea of how to levitate now... Not really fly, but it's something. I'm definitely going to try practicing this more when I get home."

Willow smiled. Moira seemed genuinely happy. "Think you can do it on your own?" she asked.

Moira nodded confidently, "Fairly sure I can with time. Menti seems to think so too." She folded her hands together, "Okay. Anything we should know before we get this party going?"

Willow filled them in easily. The first floor was chock a block with people Willow guessed were the Hunters. It looked like two were guarding the main level hallway. The security office was a few paces down the hall from the elevator. The dining room area was not available to the public that night, so the Hunters were probably gathering there.

Moira grinned. "Excellent." She pointed at Savio, "You. I'm going to need you and Willow to get into the security office and shut down the cameras."

"Uhm. I don't know anything about security camera systems." Savio pointed out.

Moira wagged her finger, "I'll tell you how to do it." Her expression softened a bit and became more serious, "Here's what I'll be doing. When I tap into Menti's power, it's going to create a surge in the building, shutting down the power for maybe a minute. When that happens, I'll take out the guards on the first floor. If the security guard comes out, which I am hoping they will do, I'll knock them out and read their mind. I should be able to then tell you how to shut down the system. If not..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny dart with a cap on the end of it, "I need you to prick the guard with this. It'll knock 'em out for short while. Then you let Willow and I in, I do my thing, and tell you how to shut down the system."

Savio took the dart carefully, sliding it into his pocket. He nodded simply. He could manage with this task.

Moira pulled out a set of three earpieces. Each of them had an earpiece and, thankfully since all of them had jaw length or longer hair, the devices could be easily hidden. They would use them to stay in communication the entire time. She also had gloves for everyone. To avoid leaving any prints.

Once everyone had their earpieces in and activated, Moira looked at the pair, "Ready?"

"I think so." Willow said, visibly nervous.

Moira set a hand on Willow's shoulder. She offered a small smile. It was hard to tell if it was just Moira speaking, or Memphis as well. "Trust us. Everything will be okay. If I tell you guys to run, just run. Stay in the shadows. I'll grab your bag before I leave to make it look like no one was ever in here."

"What if someone sees us running off?" Willow asked.

Moira smirked, clearly Memphis had it covered. "We already informed some contacts to be ready for some... trouble in the area." Moira said, a cunning look in her eye.

Willow took a deep breath. She was ready.