Lucien watched as Leo paced in front of him before stopping, cursing, and clenching his fists. He had been doing that for five minutes.
Sitting to his right was Livie, her face in a deep frown. There was nothing but worry in those big doe eyes.
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Felix asked from where he stood by the door, hand reaching to brush his fingers through his hair
No one answered because no one had a response.
"I say we just go in, I'm sure we can handle it," Leo said, stopping
"We can't do that, trust me, I want to get her out of there as fast as possible, but going in blind could put her in danger."
"It's been hours, man, who knows what the fuck they're doing to her."
Lucien understood the group's nervousness and panic, and as their leader of sorts, he knew the ultimate decision lay with him, and they would follow whatever he said, even though Leo looked a few seconds away from punching his way through the building that held Mor.
He regretted sending her there; he always knew the costs of what they did, but fuck if this didn't make him want to call everything off.
As a wraith, Mor was best suited for the job that had led them here; her skills made her almost a shadow, unseen and undetected, perfect for spying. That was what she had been doing before she was caught by the men they had been following for weeks now.
They were involved with the drugs, and if his group was able to get something out of them that could lead them to their higher-ups, then they would eventually know how the suspicious activities happening in the cover of darkness were tied together and what the bigger plan was
Mor had sent an alert using her bracelet, an indication that they had been compromised, and after waiting for her for long minutes at the agreed spot, they realized she had not just been spotted, she had been captured
Guilt gnawed its way through him in a way that threatened to choke him. This was his fault; he put them up to this.
And damn it if he didn't do anything to get her back.
"I know someone, someone who can go there completely unseen," he declared. That was what was stopping them: finding a way to know the ins and outs of the building to plan a rescue.
"If you mean another wraith…"Livie started
"No, he means a projector," Felix said, catching on to what his friend meant.
"Don't joke about this, Felix, it's Mor." Leo's anger was only a provocation away from breaking
"He's not," Lucien added, making the two turn to him.
"Explain," Livie urged, and so he did. He told them about Laura.
"Wait, so you're telling me that a Projector has been living in your house for more than two weeks and you're telling us now," Leo, who had tried to be calm enough to listen, said
"And she is here because she was escaping the attack," Livie added.
"Yeah, and I think she's the only one who can help us."
"She'll want to know why, though, and that means telling her everything," Felix said
"We'll tell her enough to help us."
"You trust her?" Leo asked
"She has no one to tell whatever we relay, and she's smart enough to know if she says anything, she's dead. I know she'll help."
"And if she doesn't"
"She will, she's nice like that."
With that, the group left, leaving Leo behind in case the bastards holding Mor decided to leave, and because Lucien knew he wouldn't accept going.
And now, still standing by the door to the cottage was Laura, her hazel eyes jumping between them
"We need your help." Whatever emotion she saw or read, Lucien didn't care because she closed the door behind her and walked to them, taking a seat in that lone couch she liked
And so he quickly summed up their investigation on drugs, about the people they had been investigating, and eventually how it got Mor caught and why they needed her help.
"But you suspected us, didn't you?" Lucien asked, and Felix did look surprised. She only shrugged. Why he hadn't brought it up till now was beyond her.
"Do you know about The Den? About what they're planning to do with creatures and their use of drugs?" she asked, eager for answers.
"Yes"
"What exactly do you know?"
"Not much, we know it's true that they have prepared a special arena for those fights. We also know that there is use of drugs and CE is involved, but we suspected there are other drugs involved."
"I think they might be the ones making it, and if they're not, then they know who, but what I'm sure of is that they're supplying it," Lyla confessed.
Lucien leaned towards her, "Why are you so sure they're supplying it?"
"The arena draws massive crowds together. What better way to reach out to buyers than through it, and with the fights, they don't have to try and sell the benefits, the people can see it for themselves."
Felix whistled, "smart."
"Enough of that," Lyla said, ignoring the praise, "about Mor, how long has it been since she was captured?"
"About six hours now."
"Shit, we need to move now," she said, heading for the door
"So you're game?" Felix asked skeptically
"Why wouldn't I be? Mor's life is in danger, and if you're asking why I'm helping, it's because I want to. What kind of person would I be if I didn't?" She was already out the door
"You were right, she seems nice like that," Livie said beside Lucien.
*
The trip took them two hours by horse, during which she learnt the doe-eyed female was Livie and that she was a Witch. She also found out that Mor was a wraith, and that was why she had been the one to go in.
Now, crouched beside a wall, the group watched their target. The building was three stories tall with a flat roof and a singular balcony on the middle floor.
At the entrance were two armed men, and on the roof, they spotted two more. The space between the building and those next to it was big enough to make a jump risky; so they'd have to find an alternative for escape or entry, but if it came to it, this would be good enough. First, they needed a proper layout.
Lyla took note of any important spots that would help her project, making a mental map of the street, the corners, and the large front door. It was only until she had taken in enough that she told them they could leave.
"So do you think you'll be able to do it?" Lucien inquired once they were in their rented room
"Yeah, I think I know enough to do it," he nodded.
Lyla moved to the couch and lay down facing up, a tiny part of her warning her against doing this before them, but they were desperate. They wouldn't risk a chance at saving their friend.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out as she calmed her senses. She went to that place in her mind where calm peace resided while listening to the breaths of her companions, to her breaths and the beating of her heart.
"Guard my body," she said to none of them in particular, and in the next breath she took, her consciousness left her and was now in front of the three-story building.