The Hunt for the Ghostkeeper

Chapter 3: Flight

The warm rays of sun shone through the urban haze and into the elaborate window of an older, inner city building. The light cascaded into the room behind the window, which had the look of an office, with a dark mahogany desk and two smaller mahogany chairs seated on a royal blue rug with an intricate design, which was cut to fit the circular room. Giant shelves lined the entirety of the curved walls, with the exception of the small door directly in front of the desk. The shelves were filled with books of all colors and sizes, reaching to the ceiling and making the room look smaller than what it actually was. Looking through the window, one would be under the illusion that the office was empty, but the light extended only to a fragile hand resting on the desk's surface, illuminating the sapphire rings on the long fingers and shining upon the pale skin.

A woman sat silently at the desk, deep in thought. She appeared beautiful, her full, dark brown hair lining her long face, and surrounding her bright blue eyes. On her head sat a silver circlet, gleaming in the light. Her long, azure dress was cut in a V shape on her chest and reached down to her ankles, which rested in silver high heels. Along her waist was a thin silver sheath holding an unseen blade. But close to her face, hairline wrinkles could be found around her mouth and reaching like a spiderweb on her face and down her neck, not wrinkles of a person withholding years of age, but those appearing on a face of great stress and tension, one that has seen far too much to forever keep a young, pure appearance.

On her desk sat an intriguing object: it seemed to be a sort of four-sided balance, with four small golden bowls circling around a center pole. Upon closer glance, the bowls appeared to be floating in midair, for there was no connection between them and the pole. Each bowl contained a different substance: one held a small pile of golden sand, another a cluster of small glass orbs, the other a small, apprently inextinguishable lick of flame, and the last one a clear pool of water. Each of the bowls moved counterclockwise, very slowly in accord with one another.

A knock sounded on the door, and it slowly opened to reveal an older woman, who also appeared beautiful but in a different way, looking as if she had an eternal smirk on face. Her short, dark hair was curled and streaked with purple, her mischievous eyes never faced straight ahead but instead constantly around her. Her eyes were that which could shine blue even in the pitch darkness, gazing upon the room as if she was looking at it for the first time.

The younger woman at the desk raised her eyes to her visitor. "Lady Gebirah," she said quietly. "What is the reason for your visit?"

"Why so formal today?" the woman called Gebirah asked. "I miss the days when I could visit you anytime without interrogation."

"I hope you bring news?"

Gebirah laughed. "You're funny sometimes, you know that?"

"Now is not the time for your pranks, Gebirah," the young woman said as she stood up, trying to sound serious and hide her smile.

"Please, Circire, how much time do I have left, and you have to sit here pouting all day? And stop calling me that."

Circire bowed mockingly. "My apologies. What do you wish me to call you, my lady?"

"Call me Hecata, like they used to," Hecata said. "Or you could just call me Mom, like you used to."

"Times have changed," Circire asked plainly, taking a book off of a shelf behind her desk and scanning through it.

"Oh, I've got news. The question of whether or not I hold your full and complete attention remains yet unanswered," Hecata said, reaching for the four-sided balance on Circire's desk. She took the bowl which held the sand pile, removed a small cluster of the sandy substance, and let it trinkle back into the golden dish, much like an hourglass.

"Excuse yourself, give that back," Circire said, reaching for the bowl, but Hecata held it further from her grasp.

"Please, Circire, I always had fun playing with the Pendulum, and I never got hurt, did I? I miss having it on my desk."

"Yes, but do you have to disturb it every day?" Circire asked, taking the bowl back it carefully placing it in the empty spot in the balance, where it continued to move with the other bowls as if it were magnatized.

"Well, I don't have to, but you need to learn how to have some fun every once in a while."

"This is no time for-"

Another knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Circire said, sitting back down at the desk.

A small woman, barely more than a girl, stepped into the office. "My Lady, word from Chief Hollingsworth." She spoke quickly and breathed heavily, as if she had sprinted there. "They've been found."

"What do you mean, all of them?" Hecata asked incredulously.

"Mother, please," Circire said.

"No, my lady, only three of them. They are on their way to the Stronghold in Washington."

All three women stood in silence, as if debating to themselves what should be done with this information.

"Circire, we should go to Washington right now." Hecata said.

"No, someone needs to stay in Paris." Circire said quietly, staring at a certain point on her desk as if in a trance.

"Perhaps you didn't hear the prophecy properly, Circire," Hecata said, "but 707 has been located and I think it would be best to speak with them as soon as possible, and I think we should both be there!"

"Mom-"

"Paris can wait, Circire," Hecata said. "If it's so important, I'll stay here, but you should get there right away, you're supposed to leave anyway for the Solstice, and-"

"All right!" Circire said, standing up and straightening her azure dress. "I'll go to Washington. You stay here and wait until the 20th to follow me." She said to her mother. "And you-" she turned to the small woman, "-did Chief Hollingsworth make any mention of the Zarrius girl?"

"Yes, she has also arrived safely," the woman said.

"The Zarrius girl?" Hecata asked in shock. "Please tell me you're not still meddling in the affairs of the Zarriuss'."

"Yes, I am," Circire said irritably.

"What kind of family are you leading, Circire?" Hecata asked with narrowed eyes. "Because if it's a family that includes any Zarrius, I certainly will not tolerate-"

Circire slapped her hand on her desk, silencing her mother. She turned to the small woman. "You are excused."

The child-like woman bowed and left the office.

"Now, listen to me, and listen well. You and I both know what this information means. Sooner or later, the prophecy will speak truth and before we had any time to prepare for it, we will all be dead before we realized what was coming. Hold yourself together!" Circire exclaimed, for Hecata had given a small gasp- "We've been playing offense for years now, and it's high time we started defending ourselves from what's out there. I am the Prime Witch, and I have to be a leader to these people. They need someone to look up to, someone they can trust, someone they know will protect them, and I vow, here and now, that history will not speak my name with infamy. Now are you with me or are you against me?"

Hecata looked at her daughter, as if with both fear and pride. "I stand behind you, my child."

Circire nodded. "I will leave now."

She began to walk away, but Hecata grabbed her arm, and wrapped her fingers around the soft, azure fabric. "You must put these people in front of your own needs, and think of them before anything else. But you must also think of yourself, and remember that even though you may feel you can trust no one- " Hecata gasped, as a single tear slowly ran down her face, "- remember to trust me."

Hecata ran her hand down her daughter's face. "I love you," she said.

Circire embraced her mother, and wordlessly said goodbye as she turned around, took a deep breath, and stepped into the beautiful sunlight, and as she did so, Hecata watched as the particles of sun surrounded her daughter. Circire carefully extracted the blade from the sheath on her waist and as she did so, she became wrapped in invisibility. An unknown force carried her from human sight as she began her journey, and she vanished.