Shatter (The Daevas #1)

2 • Unwelcome

[ An author's note: Okay, so this is chapter two and the brothers will be introduced. To the right (if you're using your laptop) or above (using your mobile), are the pictures of the Van Allen siblings, from eldest to youngest. Enjoy reading and the music, too, from one of my favourite duos EVER: Adventure Club. ]

2 • Unwelcome

I explored.

Down the corridor I turned left, then reached another hall through the right. I remembered the area where my room was (and prayed that I wouldn't get lost after), and started wandering through the place where I was now, full of doors in every corridor.

I stopped and saw that there were four coloured doors. I saw the lavender entrance to Georgie's bedroom. Two doors down was a navy blue one; across from that was a black one. Three doors down was a red entry and in the middle of the hall was a plain white one, like most of the doors' colours were. Maybe the others painted their doors so that they wouldn't get lost since, after all, all the other doors were white and identical; and since the plain one was in the middle, it didn't have to be painted because it was the only one at the center of it all. Now that I knew that the bedroom I was residing in was far from here, I felt thankful to Georgie for fixing up my place at the very end of the mansion.

I backed away before curiosity piqued me, then I descended the stairs to randomly turn around a corner, seeing a door with a window to peek at. I looked at the outside of the place and saw that there was full of snow everywhere, nothing new. That wasn't what I was trying to look at, though. My eyes darted back and forth as I stared very carefully behind the snow-covered trees.

He wasn't there.

Georgie was nowhere to be seen, but then, as I turned around, she appeared like in one of those horror movies where you spin around and you find yourself face-to-face with the killer. I gave a little shriek, nearly jumping out of my skin!

"It's okay, it's okay!" she soothed, waving her hands up and down frantically.

I gaped at her. "You scared me, Georgie."

"I know, I'm sorry." She gave a sheepish smile. "I placed your clothes on your bed. You'll want to come with me so I could show you. We can place it in your closet and then you can take a hot bath, then change your outfit? Yeah?"

I smiled and nodded. However, before I followed her, I looked at the scenery one last time. I felt a chill run down my spine as I touched the cold glass of the door -- as cold as Georgie's hand that touched me a while ago.

The sky was darkening with a blizzard starting anew. When I kept looking at the wild wind, it suddenly slowed down like a calm in the storm. I turned and saw Georgie with her eyes closed, concentrating on something. And then she blinked and looked behind me, to the door, and saw that the wind had completely calmed and stilled.

She smiled at that and looked at me, saying, "Come on, Venise! We better get you changed into something nice and presentable so my big brother will at least approve of you. He's twenty-two and very picky." As an afterthought, she added, "And superior." She scrunched her little nose at that.

Something about this girl and the snow made me feel very suspicious but I thought my mind was simply playing tricks on me (what's new?) so I let that slip.

"So, your brother doesn't like guests?" I asked cautiously, as we started walking again.

Georgie glanced at me. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Alistair isn't much into them. He just finished college and now he just stays here or go to meetings. He reads and does boring paperwork, mostly. He often sits by the fire in his study."