Chapter Four (part two)

A few moments later, Valo caught up to her, looking slightly sheepish. 

“Oh, so you’ve decided you want to keep looking, have you?”

“No- I- I just couldn’t remember how to get out.”

Blitsa fixed him with a mean stare. “You can’t even remember how to get out? It’s quite simple. You just go-” She hesitated for a second, realizing that she couldn’t remember either. “Actually, you can figure it out on your own,” she said, improvising.

He looked at her skeptically. “You just don’t want to admit that you’re lost, too.”

“I am not lost!” she said with false bravado. “I know exactly which way is north.”

“Yes, and that will help us get out… how?”

“Well, we came in on the west side of the house,” she improvised, acting as if it were obvious, “so if you go due west, you’ll get out eventually.”

“What do you mean, you? I’m not going off without you!”

“Really? You seemed perfectly happy to go off without me a minute ago.”

He hesitated. “Well, that was different.”

Blitsa decided not to press this any further, instead barging on. She busied herself studying their surroundings and tried to ignore a niggling feeling of concern. What if they couldn’t get out? But she pushed down the worries. What would Valo think if she gave away that she was afraid? It would ruin her entire persona!

She continued on in silence for a while longer, glancing back at Valo every so often to check that he was still there. He was, though his expression suggested that if he had any choice at all, he wouldn’t be. She shook her head disapprovingly.

Some time later, Blitsa realized she’d fallen into a half-asleep daze. Stopping abruptly, she pulled a stolen pocket watch from beneath her cloak. She checked the time quickly. Then, rubbing her eyes, she checked it again. 

“Yo, Valo?” she called, trying to hide her slight alarm.

He yawned and stumbled to a halt. “What’s up?”

“It’s getting awfully late. Or, I guess, early. In any case, it’s probably time for us to head back.”

“Oh, thank God!” he exclaimed. “So how do we get out?”

She hesitated for a second. “Like I said before, we can just head due west. That should get us back where we started.”

Valo shrugged and motioned her to start. She turned around a few times, then settled on a direction that she was pretty sure was west. No, she was absolutely sure that this way was west. Definitely.

Blitsa picked her way carefully through the rubble, trying to keep moving west. It was much harder this way than when they’d been walking before, since there was no clear pathway, and they couldn’t leave their path to find one, or they might end up backtracking. After just a few minutes, she found herself wishing she’d kept better track of their path coming in. Simply retracing their steps would have been much easier than trying to move in a straight line through this labyrinth of charred blocks!

The more they walked, the more uneasy she felt. This didn’t seem to be west, exactly, and the road they were nearing didn’t look like the one they’d come in on. Ah, well, she could always hope Valo didn’t notice.

“Um, Blitsa?” he said hesitantly. “Are you sure this is west?”

She groaned. “Pretty sure. Besides, it’s not like we can change our direction now. We’ll come out of the ruins eventually, even if it wasn’t the side we intended to come out on.” Blitsa looked back at him, only to see that his gaze was no longer on her. “What are you looking at?”

Valo raised his arm slowly. “There. Are those footprints?” 

She whipped her head around and quickly moved to the area he’d indicated. Sure enough, there was a line of light footprints in the ash. “I’m sure I would have seen them in another moment,” she muttered.

“What did you say?” he asked, coming closer and looking over her shoulder.

“Er-” She glanced down quickly, searching for something to say, then raised her eyebrows in shock. “These are footprints, yes. But they’re in the ash, and they’re only coming out. So that means…”

“...that someone left the house after the fire!” Valo finished excitedly. “Does that mean someone else set the fire? Besides Uncle Alex or Lior Adelman?”

“I don’t know. It’s a possibility.” But though her words were cautious, Blitsa was just as excited. They’d found evidence that, presumably, the police hadn’t even noticed. And it wasn’t even circumstantial: this evidence might very well prove that the arsonist was still alive!

Chapter 5, part 1: Valo

“Lucy, Valo! Come downstairs for breakfast!” Mother called. Valo heard Lucy’s answering “I’m coming!” and smiled, closing the book he was reading. Despite being a theoretical work, the book was a good one, and it held many ideas of what caused heirs to have powers. The general conclusion was that power ran in families, but then, why did some have it and others not?

Pushing the thought aside, Valo bounded down the stairs and took his seat next to the head of the table. Grandfather sat across from him, drinking a mug of coffee and frowning at Lucy’s squirming.

“Someone should teach that child some manners,” he muttered severely. Lucy, hearing this, sat up straight and still.

“I have plenty of manners,” she huffed. At that moment, their mother set a plate of eggs and toast down in front of her.

“I hope I didn't just hear you talk back to your grandfather,” she scolded. Lucy hung her head.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Valo turned and saw his father, waving the morning’s newspaper like a murder weapon. 

“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it!” he raged. “They closed the investigation on the fire! And not only that — they think Alexander was responsible!”

Valo leaped up from his chair, nearly tipping it over in the process, and rushed to his father’s side. “What do you mean? That can’t possibly — oh, sorry.” He cast his eyes downward and did his best to look like an obedient son. “What I meant was, could you please explain?”

“Gladly.” Valo regained his seat, eyebrows raised attentively. His father took his own seat at the head of the table and began to cut up his eggs. “The police decided that, since Adelman had control of magnetism, he could only have set the fire with a normal torch, but their mageometers went off in the area of the fire. So Alexander must have used his heat power to burn the building down.” Della gasped, but his father seemed unconcerned. He took a bite of egg and swallowed. “It’s absurd, that’s what it is. It takes a lot more than heat to set a fire. And anyway, that much magic would quickly tire him. The police don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Everyone else was quick to agree that yes, the police were off their rockers, and of course he was right, and Adelman must have set the fire, but Valo barely heard them. He was lost in thought.

Blitsa. The ruins of the lab. The set of footprints. Memories from last night floated to the surface without warning. It was obvious that his uncle hadn’t set the fire, but despite what his family was saying, he wasn’t so certain that Adelman had. The footprints had to have been made by someone else.

Blitsa was probably gloating smugly to herself by now, accepting the authorities’ word as fact despite their evidence to the contrary, Valo imagined. She seemed the type to gloat, especially at being right.

But was she right? Everyone seemed to think she was, though his family adamantly believed the opposite. It puzzled him. More than puzzled — he was downright bewildered. The police were skilled, and more equipped than he could imagine with all sorts of state-of-the-art tools to do their job. But they still hadn’t found the prints. Did that mean he was better suited to the investigation?

He figured it did. So he would need to investigate. He’d go back to the ruins soon, tonight if possible. But he needed to prove them wrong, and posthumously clear his uncle’s name.

“I’ll do it,” Valo whispered to himself. Across the table, his mother looked up.

“Pardon me. Did you say something?”

He was certain his face must have turned bright red, but he shook his head. “Nothing,” he answered innocently. The lie stung his tongue with its wrongness, but he continued eating as though he was unbothered. You’ll have to get used to lying a lot more if you want to sneak out tonight, he scolded himself.

-- 

The wind creaked quietly through rustling tree branches as Valo darted between stacks of rubble, searching for the spot where they had found the footprints. A hood was pulled up over his face as a rudimentary disguise, though he figured it wouldn’t do much good. His family were the only ones who he needed to disguise himself from, and they would recognize him anyway, hood or no hood. He sighed with resignation.

And froze.

From where he stood, he could hear soft footsteps. They weren’t coming from the nearby boulevard, where rowdy groups of young men were laughing and singing and sharing bottles of wine. These footsteps were carefully placed, as if the person was practiced at sneaking.

And they were coming from deeper within the ruins. 

Apologies for posting so late in the week. Here's the second part of Chapter 5:

Taking a deep breath, Valo began to sort through his options. Fleeing the scene was seeming more attractive by the moment, but he could also continue to move stealthily closer to this unknown person in hopes of gauging his intentions. Of course, he wouldn’t reveal himself — at least, not until the other person had. That was the most senseless, ill-advised course of action he could imagine.

Making up his mind, Valo took a step.

And tripped on a steel cable, sending pebbles skittering away.

He scrambled to his feet as quietly as possible, silently and bitterly cursing his bad luck, but it was too late. The other person had heard him. He knew as soon as he heard the wary steps coming closer and the slightly accelerated breathing. He shrank back toward a charred support pillar, desperately wishing he was invisible.

“Who’s there?” asked a voice. It sounded almost familiar, but Valo couldn’t place it… 

Until Blitsa stepped around the pillar, holding a dimly lit lantern high and wearing her tattered black cloak.

She hesitated at the sight of him. “Valo?” she asked, disbelief echoing in her tone. “What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same to you,” he retorted. Inside, however, he was sagging with relief. Blitsa wouldn’t harm him or report him to his family. She might fling insults and threats, but she was above actual violence. At least, he hoped so. He still didn’t know her that well.

Blitsa snorted. “I’m searching the scene of the crime, obviously. For evidence. You must remember the newspaper article this morning, right?”

Valo felt a twist in his stomach. “Of course. It’s why I’m here, too.”

“Figures.” She scuffed at the dirt with the toe of her shoe. “And, knowing you, you got lost trying to find the spot with the footprints. Right?”

Valo wanted to protest, but she was all too correct. “Yes,” he admitted. Then, somewhat generously, he added, “You can save the oil in that lantern. I’ll make some light.”

Blitsa shrugged. “Fine. I’m running low on oil, anyway. Follow me.” With that, she bounded deeper into the crumbling stacks of bricks, not bothering to wait for Valo to summon a beam of light to guide her.

Picking his way through the rubble, Valo trailed behind. Despite the police and the newspaper proving her right in her original theory, Blitsa had still decided to return to the ruins. Did she doubt the official conclusion as much as he did? She was a puzzle, certainly, and that made him wary. If he couldn’t discern her motives, how could he trust her?

“Found them!” It was Blitsa, calling softly behind her. Valo shook the thought out of his head. He had no choice but to trust her. As he reached the spot, Blitsa held out her hand to stop him.

“Careful,” she muttered. “If you disturb the dust, they’re gone forever, and there goes our evidence.”

“I’m aware of that,” Valo answered, taking a step back. Blitsa stared at the prints in concentration as if trying to figure out what to do.

“We could always follow them,” Valo suggested, and she turned a cold glare on him.

“I was about to say that. Let’s go.” She turned on her heel, kicking up dust, leaving Valo mumbling behind, “It was just an idea.”

They traced the footprints several yards before briefly losing the trail; when Valo aimed a beam of light at the ground, they found it again. The prints led directly to the front door of the laboratory — at least, where the door used to be. Intent as Valo was on the trail, he only looked up when it was too late to run.

Blitsa, it seemed, was too oblivious to notice. “The owner of these tracks must have left through the front door! Makes sense, really. But where did he come from?”

“Blitsa…” Valo began, voice cracking. She impatiently waved a hand at him.

“Was there a back door? Could the culprit have crept in that way? Maybe picked the lock?”

“Blitsa,” he repeated warningly. “We need to —”

“Be quiet, Valo! Let me finish. Is it possible someone could have —”

“Blitsa! Look up!” Valo exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. Finally, finally, she listened, and her mouth dropped into a soundless O at what they saw. 

A hooded figure blocked the path, wearing a black cloak. He seemed to study the pair for a moment before speaking.

“I was wondering if someone would come investigate,” he mused. Or rather, she, since the voice was higher pitched than a man’s. The woman seemed to ponder this a moment longer before speaking again.

“Why would you want to be here?” she asked simply. “This section of the city is dangerous. Crooks abound, and you never know when one of them could pop out of nowhere to prey on your innocence. Besides, you don’t really think you’ll find anything more, do you?”

Valo realized with a start that she was right. He couldn’t believe he’d rushed headlong into danger like this without giving it a second thought! It was more than unwise — it was foolish. And of course they wouldn’t find anything! The police had already looked and come to their conclusion, never mind that it was an unsatisfactory one. He glanced at Blitsa, expecting her to stand firm, but from the look on her face, she was in complete agreement. With a chill, Valo knew that if Blitsa was nervous, that gave him more than enough reason to be terrified and thoroughly unsettled.

Turning in unison, they ran.

Valo blindly sprinted away from the mysterious woman, not knowing where to go, but feeling a deep-seated urge to escape. He dodged crumbling doorways and precariously stacked beams, vaguely following Blitsa, who had quickly pulled ahead of him. Finally, they reached the deserted sidewalk. He bent over, trying to force some air into his lungs, which felt like they were being stabbed over and over.

Blitsa, somehow seeming unaffected by the mad dash, was gazing warily off deeper into the charred ruins.

“I think—” She hesitated, scanning the street to her left. “I think we need to abandon this investigation. At least temporarily. I mean, do you actually think we’ll find anything?”

“No,” Valo agreed, panting heavily. He began to brush dust off his hands. “And this is really quite risky behavior. I think we should go home, not speak a word of this to our families, and forget we ever met or snuck out at night to meet at a crime scene.”

Blitsa stared at him, then heaved a reluctant sigh. “I never thought I’d agree with you about anything, let alone this. But you’re completely right.” She strode over to Valo and offered her hand. “It’s been nice knowing you. Well, sort of.”

Valo shook her hand. “Same.”

They parted ways without a second glance. But as Valo left for home, he couldn’t help but feel that there had been something just a little off about the encounter with the strange woman. 

Chapter 6: Blitsa (part one)

Over the next few days, Blitsa grudgingly knitted a sock and a half, darned a hole in her dress, and started embroidering a pillow. In other words, she accomplished absolutely nothing of interest. She did sneak out a few times, but all she discovered was that whiskey still tasted disgusting; there was a rumor that a high-up Water heir was going to propose to a Fire scion, despite push-back from both Houses; and a delusional drunk man in the bar swore he’d seen a Deception heir. The one benefit of all this inactivity, though, was that she had plenty of time to think about the strange woman in the ruins.

She knew, of course, that the woman was right. That area of the city was dangerous, and there were plenty of crooks around. But she’d never let that stop her before. So why had she been so terrified? Each time she asked herself this question, she came up with a different answer. First it was the startling appearance of the woman, when she was sure no one had been there just a moment ago. Then it was the surprisingly caring tone in her voice, like she truly wanted Blitsa and Valo to be safe. Sometimes she thought it was just because she had been so tired that night. But none of these explanations seemed quite right.

If Valo had been around, she would have asked him. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen him since that night at the ruins. Their respective Houses had come to a wary truce, but they were still keeping their distance. Even the Light and Lightning scientists who’d previously been working together had moved on to individual pursuits. 

It seemed likely that she’d never encounter Valo again. That was, until her father made a surprising announcement one night at dinner.

“Word in the Council is that Water is organizing an elemental ball,” he said, a hint of distrust in his voice.

“Ooh, exciting!” said Blitsa’s mother. 

“That sounds like a fun idea,” chimed in her older brother.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” asked their father, his voice rising. “But I hear they’re inviting all the Houses… even Light!”

Blitsa looked up quickly. “What’s wrong with inviting Light?”

“Only that they’re responsible for destroying our laboratory and killing five people, including Cousin Lior!” He was practically yelling at this point.

“Yes, of course,” said Blitsa’s mother politely, “but that was only one of them. Couldn’t we give the rest of the House another chance?”

He huffed. “That’s what those Light idiots seem to think. But if Ness turned on us, what’s to say the rest of the House won’t do the same?”

Blitsa looked back down at the table, trying to formulate a response that was both respectful and convincing.

“In any case,” her father continued, “we might not have a choice. Some of the other Houses are threatening to kick us off the council if we don’t reconcile with Light.”

“Kick us off the council?” exclaimed Fifth. “They couldn’t do that, could they?”

Their father shook his head gravely. “You’d be surprised at the absurd things they can do if they’re all in agreement. It seems the Founders left allowances for if a House died out, like Deception, or if another one sprung up. Not that either of those would ever happen,” he muttered resentfully.

On that note, her family fell into silence. Blitsa spent the rest of the dinner ruminating on the surprising turn of events. If this ball did end up happening, would she dare to approach Valo? Would she regret it if she didn’t? Why did she keep thinking about him so much, anyway?

~~~

A few days later, Blitsa’s father stormed into the sitting room, clenching a letter in his fist. She could guess by his expression what was going on even before he said it.

“We’ve officially been invited to the ‘Elemental Reconciliation Ball,’” he announced, scorn and anger clear in his voice. “And they’re effectively forcing us to go. It’s going to be next Saturday, July 16.”

“Next Saturday?” her mother exclaimed, a suitably vain expression on her face. “But that gives us almost no time to get dresses made!” She seized Blitsa’s arm and swept her out of the room to the seamstress.

She spent the next hour being prodded with pins and pretending to care about what her dress looked like. Honestly, she just wanted it as simple as possible, but as the style was long, bustled dresses, she supposed she’d be stuck with a train so long she’d have to hold it up as she walked.

“I’m thinking white lace with nice blue trimming and a few roses on the skirt,” suggested the seamstress excitedly.

“That sounds… lovely…” It took some effort for Blitsa to avoid screaming in exasperation. Why couldn’t she wear trousers like her brothers? They would actually be able to move in their fancy outfits! She, on the other hand, would be so constricted she could barely walk. She narrowly concealed a groan. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the seamstress pulled out the last of her pins and began helping Blitsa back into her normal dress. “I’ll start work on your gown today. Of course, we have very little time, but you should have your dress ready just in time for the ball.”

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to it,” said Blitsa politely, though she was absolutely not. Luckily, just a moment later, she was finally free to leave the stifling room and return to the only-slightly-more-pleasant activity of darning a hole in one of her day dresses. Normally, she could ask the seamstresses to do it for her, but they were far too busy right now to help with something she really ought to do herself.

Fortunately, the darning didn’t take too much longer, and she was able to move on to some nice, mindless knitting. This was, of course, also miserable, but it was made bearable by the fact that she could let her mind wander to the ball. She hoped desperately Valo would be there, to at least give her the option of talking to him. 

When at last the day of the ball arrived, her family squished themselves into a carriage, sitting in silence until they reached the front of the long line of carriages outside the hotel. Although she usually hated being helped out of a carriage, she had to accept her older brother’s help today, what with her huge, unwieldy dress. “Thank you, Fifth,” she said politely. He nodded and followed their parents toward the large entry to the ball, where a bored-looking herald stood ready to announce them.

“Councilman Blits Adelman IV and wife!” On cue, her parents strode through the doors.

“Blits Adelman V, Blitsa Adelman, and Barak Adelman!” The three of them walked in together, not quite as poised as their parents. An intimidating mass of eyes stared at them, and they all split off into the crowd as soon as they could.

Blitsa wove through clusters of chatting heirs and scions, trying to avoid getting caught up in too much small talk on her way to Valo, who she had to expect would be at the party. If he wasn’t, she didn’t know what she would do. As soon as she caught sight of him, she made eye contact and tilted her head toward the refreshment room. Let’s meet there, she tried to tell him. He nodded and began making his way toward the room. Blitsa beat him easily, so she busied herself sampling as many kinds of cheese as she could. She’d just determined that the aged gouda was the best when Valo appeared behind her.

“Hello,” he said politely. “I’m Valo Ness. You are?”

“Blitsa Adelman. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled graciously and nodded ever so slightly. Valo had shown pleasing intelligence and capability in remembering that Blitsa’s mother was, in all likelihood, watching them. 

“Which cheeses do you prefer?” he inquired, his eyes darting around at all the people within earshot.

She nodded. “I’m enjoying the gouda today, but I’m also a fan of a nice herbed chevre. Which ones do you prefer?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I generally like cheddar, but I’m always open to new flavors.”

Chapter Six: Blitsa (part two)

As they continued their conversation (moving on from cheeses to how uncomfortable Blitsa’s dress was), she unobtrusively led him away from the table and into a nice, secluded corner of the room, where they could still be seen perfectly well, but where no one was liable to overhear them. 

“So,” she said, discarding the proper tone she’d been using in the middle of the crowd, “is it just me, or was there something weird about that woman in the ruins?”

Valo nodded emphatically. “Yes! I was worried I was just being, you know, a coward, but if you thought there was something weird too…”

“Great, then you can help figure out what was wrong. I can’t exactly put my finger on it.” 

“It almost felt,” he said slowly, “like she was more convincing than she should have been.”

“Like she was…” Blitsa’s eyes went wide. “I just remembered- I heard rumors the other day that Deception House is coming back.”

“Deception? But I thought they were wiped out hundreds of years ago.”

She shook her head. “From what I’ve heard, they were never wiped out completely. They just went into hiding. I don’t know if those rumors were true, of course, but it’s a possibility...”

Valo was silent for a moment. “That seems rather unlikely, but for the sake of conversation, let’s say that the woman was from Deception. It still doesn’t explain why she was there.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? She wanted to keep people from finding the footprints.”

“Yes, I know she would, hypothetically, have wanted to keep people from finding the footprints. But why her? Deception couldn’t have set the fire, could they?”

“Um…”

“Admit it, I’m right.”

“You may be right, but I’m sure there’s still a reasonable explanation. Someone wanted to keep us from finding the footprints. We just have to-”

Suddenly, a head popped up from behind Valo. “Hi!” she said energetically.

Blitsa raised her eyebrows at Valo, who sighed. “Lucy, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you!” Lucy said. “I was bored. There’s no one else here my age.”

He laughed. “Well, that’s not true at all. There’s Phoebe Solberg — she’s just a little older than you — and Barak Adelman, Blitsa’s little brother,” he motioned at her, “and I think Councilman Douglas has several kids your age as well.”

Lucy groaned. “I guess that’s true, but I’m still bored. All the boys are ignoring me, and all Phoebe wants to talk about is dresses. Dresses! Like, who cares about what color your dress is and who’s wearing an old one and which silk flowers are constructed most carefully?”

Blitsa had to laugh at that. “Certainly not me!”

“Thank you!” Lucy said indignantly. “Anyway, I wanted to come see what you were up to. I heard something about footsteps? What footsteps?”

“I think you may be forgetting something,” Valo said, smiling. “You haven’t even been introduced.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “What’s the point? I know you, and you know me, and it’s obvious that this is Blitsa Adelman.”

Blitsa glanced at Valo, then jumped in, trying to hide her smile. “That may be true, but I still don’t know who you are. Besides, we’re expected to do lots of things that seem pointless. We can’t waste our energy fighting all of them.”

Lucy groaned. “Okay, okay. I’m Lucy Ness, Valo’s sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Blitsa asked, not unkindly. “Anyway, Valo, I think we can tell her.”

“About the footprints?” He looked skeptical.

“Yeah, and the rest of it too. If she’s anything like you, she’ll probably figure it out on her own.” Valo looked at her, surprised, and she hastily added, “Besides, it’s not like we’re getting anywhere on our own. Another mind might help.”

He held her gaze for a moment longer, then nodded. Together, they gave a brief explanation to Lucy about what was going on: the footprints in the ruins, the strange woman, and their vague theories about Deception.

“...but what we can’t figure out,” finished Blitsa, “is why a Deception heir could have had anything to do with the fire.”

Lucy pursed her lips, clearly trying to look mature. “Maybe you should think about it from the other side. The fire was magical, right? So who could have set it?”

“Not someone from Water, obviously,” Valo said, looking at his sister approvingly.

“A Light or Lightning heir could have done it,” Blitsa chimed in, “but they wouldn’t have any strong motives, as far as we know.”

“Not Wind or Nature or Life,” Lucy added.

“Someone from Fire could have set the fire,” Blitsa said, slapping her forehead. “Ugh, I’m so stupid! Of course it was Fire; they’re benefiting from everyone distrusting electricity!”

“You’re right!” Valo exclaimed. “How could we have missed that?”

Blitsa hesitated. “It makes sense, but that still doesn’t explain what the Deception woman was doing there.”

“You could always sneak into the Fire Councilman’s house and see if there’s anything there,” Lucy suggested, clearly hoping she’d be invited along on such a trip.

Valo frowned. “If we were to do something like that-”

“-which we certainly might not-” Blitsa added.

“-you would be far too young to come along.”

“Oh, come on!” Lucy whined.

Valo crossed his arms. “That’s final.”

“Pleeeease?” Lucy looked like she was trying her very hardest to look like a sweet little puppy dog, and Valo seemed to be falling for it. Blitsa sighed.

“Lucy,” she said, looking her directly in the eyes, “you have to learn to take no for an answer. It’s a valuable life skill.” 

Lucy flopped her head back to look at the ceiling. “Well, I’m sick and tired of valuable life skills.”

Blitsa bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing and maintain a stern facade. “You wouldn’t want me to keep prodding if, say, you’d told me that I couldn’t have a piece of your cake, would you?”

“Nooooo…” Lucy said slowly, her brow furrowing slightly.

“So, if I respect your boundaries, then you need to respect mine. And don’t pester your brother about it, okay?”

I love this!

Chapter 7, part 1:

The instant they retreated up the stairs from dinner, Lucy turned to Valo. “Is she coming tonight? Are you two going somewhere? Can I come?”

Valo chuckled. “Yes, yes, and no. Blitsa will probably show up around eleven, which is far too late for you to be out of bed. But I’ll tell you all about it.” Lucy pouted, obviously not satisfied.

“It’s far too late for you to be out of bed, too,” she pointed out. “You’re only six years older than me, and Mother and Father don’t know you’re sneaking out at night, do they?” She said the last with an expertly arched eyebrow that seemed to indicate that she was older than ten.

“They don’t, but I’m older than you. And thus more responsible.” With that, he pulled past her and crested the stairs, Lucy following sullenly behind.

“I’m responsible!” she complained. “You just want to be alone with your girlfriend.”

Valo pivoted, pinning her with a stare. “Blitsa isn’t my girlfriend. I barely even know her! We’re acquaintances out of mutual necessity.” Lucy did her best skeptical expression.

“That’s exactly what you’d say if she were your girlfriend,” she muttered. Valo chose to icily ignore her.

-- 

Tap, tap, tap. A silvery, resonant sound drifted into the room from the closed window. Valo jerked awake, rose cautiously, and nudged the curtains aside. A handful of pebbles slapped the other side of the window. Glancing down, he saw Blitsa. She was wearing her signature black cloak, and had another handful of gravel ready to throw, when she noticed that he was at the window and began waving frantically, trying to get his attention. Valo turned the latch and opened the shutters, wincing at the rust-filled creaking they made.

“Come down,” Blitsa called quietly, a smirk on her face. “What’s taking you so long?” He shrugged, closed the window, and slipped down the stairs to the servant’s door.

“It’s not like I made you wait for hours,” he retorted when he arrived in the front garden. 

“How do you know I wasn’t here for hours?”

“Were you?”

“No, but I could have been.” Blitsa pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. “How’s Lucy?”

Valo felt a grin breaking through. “She’s fine. Kept asking me if she could come with us, though, and she was sulky when I said no. She thinks you’re my girlfriend.” He held his breath on the last statement.

Blitsa snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’re too annoying for that. We’re just acquaintances.”

“That’s what I told her, too.” Valo set off, his shoes squishing the soft, damp grass. “Come on. We don’t have all night.” Blitsa hurried after him, frowning.

“That’s supposed to be my line,” she huffed.

In short order, Blitsa hailed a coach and told the driver to drop them at the corner of 4th and Alpine, nearly two blocks away from the Drake mansion. “It’s easier to sneak in that way,” she told Valo in an undertone as they boarded the coach. Though the driver was likely curious as to why two teenagers were out alone late at night, he refrained from commenting, and they were deposited on the suburban corner twenty minutes later without incident.

“He probably thinks we’re hooligans of some sort,” Blitsa muttered, long after the coach cab driver had gone his own way. She began to stride down the road, and Valo had to jog to catch up.

“Well, to be fair, we are. We’re breaking into a politician’s house,” he noted. Blitsa turned her fierce gaze on him.

“You know that isn’t what I mean. We have a good reason!” she growled. “Need I remind you that this politician killed Lior and your uncle?” Valo held up his hands in surrender.

“All right! I didn’t know you’d get so angry,” he replied, trying to placate her. She humphed and pulled ahead of him, refusing to be placated.

The Drake manor was stately but shrouded in gloom. The looming stone walls were bare of any traces of ivy, but a proliferation of shrubbery made it nearly impossible to see more than twenty feet into the property. The only odd feature was the occasional scorch mark visible against a wooden panel on the roof or one of the windows. Valo shivered, and Blitsa stared at him out of the corner of her eye.

“You’re not afraid of some spooky house, are you?” she taunted.

“Of course I am,” he answered. “Who wouldn’t be?” Blitsa rolled her eyes.

“You’re a coward,” she informed him, before pulling up her hood and ghosting forward into the overgrown yard.

Valo managed to get in one last retort. “Perhaps, but my cowardice has kept me alive so far.” He thought he saw her roll her eyes again. There was nothing he could do but follow.

Moving quickly and quietly, the pair climbed over brambles and uneven patches of plants to reach the side of the house, hidden from view. A tall tree — Valo guessed it was a pine tree of some sort — towered over them. Its branches reached past the third story of the house.

Blitsa, too, was examining the tree. With a long exhale and a philosophical shrug, she rubbed her hands together and reached for a low branch. Valo’s sharp intake of breath stopped her.

“We’re not going to… climb that thing, are we?” He heard Blitsa sigh through her teeth.

“Unless you’d rather knock on the front door, yes, we are. But I can always leave you behind if you don’t feel up to it.” The grin in her eyes, barely visible in the dark, suggested she would relish abandoning him.

Valo swallowed hard and shook his head, and Blitsa turned to start climbing. She easily sought out handholds on the uneven bark and branches, reaching the third floor in a matter of minutes. She took a seat on a slim, unsteady bough and beckoned him insistently.

He took a breath, lifted his hands to a low branch, placed a foot on a notch in the bark… and stepped down, shaking his head pleadingly.

“I don’t want to damage my clothes,” he protested. Blitsa gave a harsh laugh that sounded like the call of a hawk.

“Your clothes? Your clothes? This man could kill more people if we don’t stop him and you’re worried about your clothes?” When she put it like that, it really did sound like a flimsy excuse.

With no other options left to him, Valo steeled himself, reached for the branch, and began to climb the tree.

Every moment of the ascent was filled with heart-stopping terror. Every handhold could collapse, every creaking limb could set him off balance. His heart was galloping in his throat by the time he reached the top. He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled himself up to the branch where Blitsa sat.

To his surprise, instead of delivering a barbed insult, she wore the beginnings of an encouraging smile.

“Not bad for a beginner,” she commented. Then her brow furrowed. “Mind you, for an experienced tree climber, that was atrocious. You’d better improve by next time.” With that, she leaped from the branch to the ledge of the nearest window, as light-footed as a cat. Valo groaned and was about to follow, when Blitsa held up a hand to stop him.

“They have some torches and things lit inside,” she whispered. “That means they won’t be able to see us clearly. Let’s move.” Without a sound, she pulled a pin out of her hair and inserted it into the lock on the window, which sprang audibly in seconds. Valo gawked at her, open-mouthed. She had just picked the lock! Like it was nothing; like she did it every day!

“Stop it,” Blitsa whispered fiercely, and he shut his mouth, realizing he had been staring. “Now come on. I just hope Drake oiled his window hinges. Although rich people rarely ever do,” she added as an afterthought. With that encouraging statement, she eased the window open.

Keep going!!

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