Lyla moved past the guards, past the doors, and into the compound, drifting like wind itself. She moved to each floor to each room, noting what she needed. None of the guards so much as turned her way; she was air; invisible…unseen.
Certain she had everything she needed, she drifted away; time was of the essence. But in that place between spaces, she stopped, unsure why
"Danger calls to you, or are you the one who seeks it?" She whipped her head to her side and there…
A woman with glowing dark hair stood looking at her, her green eyes surveyed her, taking in every inch of her, body and soul.
"Who are you?" Lyla dared to ask
"Who I am is not important." Why did her voice sound familiar?
"I have been observing you… You have grown," the woman said, her gaze and confession making her uncomfortable.
"What do you want?"
"There's nothing you can offer me. They are the ones who need you." Lyla opened her mouth, but the woman stopped her, "I don't have much time. I come bearing a warning; forces are already stirring. Prepare yourself. Find people whom you can trust and keep them close because you will not be able to achieve this alone. Be cautious of even the most innocent of beings and trust no one completely, not even your allies."
The woman's silhouette began to blur, but she continued quicker this time, "Your last gift, once you know what it is, train it and shape it to your will, it will be a powerful weapon. Its knowledge lies underneath"
With that, the woman disappeared, and Lyla was back in her body, heart beating erratically.
Felix was at her side, holding her up, but her mind was far from her body. The woman seemed to know a lot about her, her gifts, and about this world. Who was she?
"Laura? Laura?" black eyes stared at her in worry.
"I'm fine," she breathed
"Mor?"
"Leo!" Livie reprimanded
"I…just give me a second," breathing in and exhaling deeply before sitting up, she looked at them.
"There are only two guards at the front, a small corridor opens up to a space in the middle of the ground floor, and there are two sets of stairs on each side leading up. Each floor has three rooms and two guards protecting its entirety. A single staircase leads to the roof, and only the two guards we saw are there. The guards are armed with swords, daggers, knives, and the ones on the roof have bows," her brows furrowed.
"What about Mor?" Leo asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice
"She's in an underground room."
"What?"
"Yeah, the building is only a decoy. There is a false wall in the corner of the last room on the ground floor. Inside, there are two separate rooms, each with a guard outside. Mor is to the left, she's chained up and…" she swallowed, "I think they've been torturing her."
Leo swore hard and filthy, "I'm going to fucking kill them."
"She's bloodied and pretty hurt, so I don't think she'll be able to move without help. They're keeping some drugs in the other room."
"CE?"
"One was a mix of sparkling purple, blue, and black."
"CE," Felix whispered.
"Another was a mix of sparkling black and red. They also have vials with a glowing green substance."
"Shit, I knew they had more of those things."
"We'll need to get them," Livie added
"Okay, but Mor is our priority," Lucien said
"There are two men, I assume they're in charge, both were in that room, but there's this other guy, I don't know what his role is, but I think…I think he's the one doing the torturing."
"What's he look like?" Leo demanded between gritted teeth
"Pale blonde hair, brown eyes, tall, slim but built, he's wearing white pants and a vest." Leo nodded, his deep blue eyes promising vengeance
"Any exit points you saw?" Lucien inquired
"There's a back door, no one is guarding it, but I know it's locked. It looks like it hasn't been opened for a very long time."
"That could be our exit," Felix suggested
Lyla shook her head, "It looks rusty, they could have lost its keys or something, and that's why they don't use it. It's also heavy, breaking it down will take a lot of force, if not impossible to open."
"Leaving through the front is risky; they could have men hidden outside ready to ambush us."
"Then doesn't that also make it impossible to get in through the front?" Livie stated
"We could enter through the roof. Was the door closed?" Leo asked, rubbing his jaw
"Didn't look like it, but the jump is big."
"I can make it," he asserted
"Me too," Felix added
"Even if we can all make it, attacking from the top gives those at the bottom an advantage. We need to ambush from both ends," Lyla said, brows furrowed deeply, trying to come up with a plan.
"We? You're coming."
"Wasn't that obvious?" Lyla asked, tilting her head
Leo sized her, "Can you fight?" She hated the hint of doubt in his voice
Lyla smirked, "I can take you any time."
Despite himself, the male gave a feral grin, "That's some big talk coming from…"
"She can handle herself, Leo," Lucien interrupted, then looked at her, "you were saying about ambushing from both sides."
"While I was in the room, I heard the two mention they were expecting some female company." She turned to Livie, "Me and her could get in from the front while you three take the top."
"Why do you assume I can fight?" the witch asked
"I don't think you'd be part of them and not"
Her doe eyes surveyed her, a small smile settling on her face
"Do you know what time they're expecting them?"
"Soon, we should be quick to head out."
"That still leaves an issue of the actual company; we'll need to get rid of them, and we aren't even sure how many they're expecting."
"We'll have to take the risk."
"Let's get ready then."
Both women walked to the bathroom to change. If they were to get in, they needed to play the part. Livie handed her Mor's leather skirt, top, and boots, and then changed into a short dress. They looked good, but the problem was that they left little room for weapons.
Stepping out, they reached to grab from the weapons available to find which would be easy to hide; daggers and knives were their only suitable options.
"Here," Livie handed her hair chopsticks, their ends were sharp; perfect weapons hidden in plain sight. She grinned at the female, thanking her.
"Is everyone ready?" Lucien started. They all nodded, "Livie let out the whistle once you're both in, we'll only move then. Take out however many you can, but try to be as quiet as possible. Felix, we'll need your gift to distract them as we move. I'll move in first, Leo, you cover from the back. No one goes down there until we're all gathered. Felix, you'll remain outside the hidden wall and warn us if anyone approaches, understood?" They all grunted their responses
"Remember, Mor is our priority, but if you have a chance, take the drugs."
"What about our exit?"
"I suggest we exit the same way we came in. Livie and I will take Mor. We'll try to cover her as best as we can; it will be less suspicious if three females leave that way."
Lucien nodded, contemplating, "Fine. Livie, you'll go straight to Mor once we give you a way. Try and heal her as best as you can."
"Okay, let's do this." Leo moved to the door, and as Lyla watched him leave, she was glad she wasn't the one on the receiving end of the storm brewing in his eyes