Noble Hearts

Chapter 8

~:~ Ashlyn ~:~

"This is it," my eyes were wide, the point on the cloth map had led us to the burned-out structure in front of us. Despite the condition of the building, starting at it sent flashes of images thru my mind.

It was nine a.m. We had gotten up at virtually six am trying to get an early start on the day, but Kyle had effectively squashed that plan when he asked for a three-course breakfast.

"You know this place?" Seth questioned.

"Yes," I stepped through the doorway, the half-burnt doorway. It was so familiar, the large entryway and wide staircase that led to the second floor, "But the last time I saw this place, it wasn't like this. What happened here?"

Seth followed me into the house, "This place is barely standing. I don't think we should be in here Ash."

"My room was upstairs," everything faded into the background as I moved toward the stairs. I felt my memory trying to break through the invisible chains that held it at bay.

I trailed up the stairs and into the far bedroom. Shadows turned into images.

My foot hit something on the floor and a quite noise echoed in my ears. Looking down I saw a small knife on the floor, in a silver sheath and covered in a thick layer of ash and dust.

"Ash!" Seth yelled, but his voice sounded like it was a mile away.

I stepped forward to pick up the knife, the weight of my foot on the blackened floorboard caused them to snap.

For a moment I was suspended in midair, falling in slow motion. Then a hand grabbed mine and caught me before I hit the first floor, "You idiot! What were you thinking?"

He hauled me back up, with a loud grunt, and laid me down on the floor.

"Sorry," I shook my head, clearing away the fog and trying to stop my pounding heart.

"What were you doing?"

"I saw this," I opened my hand, revealing the knife. The silver, even covered in dust, was clearly real and shone brightly, "It was my brothers, I think."

He held out his hand for the knife and ran his fingers over the symbol on the sheath, "A family crest?"

Seth helped me to my feet.

"Maybe we should get out of here, before anything else collapses," I tried to lighten the mood.

"Agreed," he grabbed my hand and lead me carefully through the hallway and downstairs, "You really have to be more careful; you could have gotten seriously hurt."

"I didn't mean to worry you," we crossed the threshold of the house, his hand slipped from mine, "Thank you."

He shook his head, "There are a lot of people who care about you. Just think about others when you're about to do something stupid next time, okay?"

The ride home was marked by silence and a few sideways glances.

We arrived back at the villa around ten thirty, with just enough time to pack and get to the airport by noon. Our flight back to America was at one.

"How did the treasure hunt go?" Kyle was planted on the couch watching a movie, which I couldn't identify from the scene playing. His eyes scanned me and noticed the dirt that covered the right side of my body, a result of almost falling through the floor.

"We didn't find anything," I barked a little too harshly. The knife was safely hidden in my pocket, although the fear of him asking about it was a cloud over my head.