11/28/23 Daily

Instructions

427 words! A cliffhanger from my own novel hehe Crystal gasped as the door opened to reveal a trashed foyer. Furniture was slashed open and tipped over, books scattered the ground, rugs were displaced, and all sorts of things were scattered around the floor. Cyfrin drew in a sharp breath. “Something definitely wrong, he’s a very organized man,” He muttered. “We should split up and explore,” Mira suggested. “That way if there’s anyone here, they won’t catch all of us at once.” Cyfrin nodded. “Good idea. Samson, you go with Max, and Crystal, Mira, you’ll be with me. Let’s go.” “We’ll take you upstairs,” Max said. Cyfrin nodded. “Very well. We’ll do this floor and all the underground sublevels.” They searched in silence for a while, Crystal unsure what exactly they were looking for. The first floor didn’t have it, so they searched the basement, which was also trashed. Nothing was there either, so Cyfrin revealed a secret door. Crystal had no idea how he had made it appear, but the question was soon forgotten as she headed down into the darkness of a stone stairwell. Mira summoned a light to illuminate their path, and Crystal looked around nervously as they descended. They reached a large room, this one untouched by the raid. Shelves of books filled the room, and tables of lots of intricate things were in the center. A golden globe sparkled on one, and lots of glass instruments filled most of the others, as well as lots of curious things, most looking quite ancient. Mira’s jaw dropped. “No. Way.” Cyfrin silently began to walk through the room and Crystal followed him, unsure what else to do. Mira wandered away from them, and soon the room was silent except for the sound of Crystal’s footsteps. They rounded a corner back to the main area and Cyfrin froze. “Mira,” He said, his voice wary, “Put that down.” Crystal nervously peered around him to see MIra holding a book. She could feel the power radiating from it from across the room. Mira’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “I don’t think I will,” SHe replied. Cyfrin stepped forward. “Put it down.” His words were hard now, more of an order than a request. Mira looked back at him defiantly. “No.” He started for her but was immediately knocked back as she flicked her hand. He got to his feet and gave her a cold look. “Of all the people I was suspicious of, you were hardly high on that list,” He said to her. “Of all the people who could’ve betrayed us, I wouldn’t have guessed you.”