Saving the Soul Stone - The Elementum Academy Book One

We're Maybe Starting To Actually Get Somewhere - Part One

Cyrus P.O.V.
Mia stared at us, annoyance on her face, but didn't say anything. I turned to Willow and Celia, anxious for what we were going to find. "Are the traps still active?"
"As far as I know. They haven't been in the attic since you guys left for school, so nothing should be turned off or changed."
Celia turned to the others. "Wait here. No matter what, don't come in."
"You need protection——" Malachi started to protest, but Willow cut him off.
"We'd have to protect you more than you'd protect us, and that's a hassle. Just stay here and be good. Okay?" She then gave her you-dare-argue-and-you-will-die smile, and it was kind of funny.
"Okay," he mumbled, taking the hint.
We turned to the door. I unblocked the bottom lock with dad's key, and Celia got the top one with moms. After a few clicks, the door swung open.
I flipped on the light and looked around. There were stacks of boxes, books, and other random junk for the actual attic part of the attic, but I knew there was more. Carefully following the path we had around all the stuff, Celia tailed the line and shut the door behind us, leaving us alone in the quiet room.
As I was almost to the back of the house, I heard a minute thump. Anywhere else in the house, and I probably wouldn't've been heard, but the attic loved to echo, and so it was loud and clear.
"What was that?" Willow asked, all of us looking around, but nobody seeing anything.
"It sounded like it came from the other room," Celia replied.
"Oh, that's just great. The room full of the weapons and magical stuff. Be prepared for an attack."
We walked extra slowly the last few twists and turns to the sacrifice room to make sure we didn't set off any of the surplus of traps. Putting my hand in the knob, Celia stopped me. "Draw a weapon. We don't know what's in there, and what it has to protect itself or hurt us."
I nodded and pulled a shorter sword out of my quiver of arrows. Getting ready to attack something with powers with sword if I had to, I slowly turned the knob, and then quickly threw the door open to reveal... a puppy?
"Am I the only one seeing this?"
Celia and Willow shook their heads. "There is a Dalmatian puppy sitting in front of us, in our extremely booby-trapped attic, alive," Celia said slowly. "Something's not right, here."
All of a sudden, the Dalmatian puppy cocked its head and looked at me. I like you. I'm Tesha. Don't hurt me. Those two are scary.
I looked between my sister and guardian, and the dog. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
I turned back to Tesha, kneeling down in front of her. How did you find this place?
I followed the blue ball. I wanted to catch it.
The will-o-wisps. I said suddenly. If fate is tied into this enough to bring in the wisps without Willow, then it's bad.
What're you talking about?"
I shook my head, standing up. "Nothing you need to worry about." I turned to the others. "Her name is Tesha, she's scared off y'all, and the wisps led her here."
"When did you become a dog whisperer?" Willow asked me sarcastically.
"When I nearly stabbed a puppy. Now come one, let's look around for this map piece."
Tesha moved to the side,, and I turned on the light of the dark room that was hidden to most by magic. Inside was a bunch of closed cabinets with cutting and carving tools, and different things to work with the sacrifice. In the middle of the room was a table with five chairs around it and a hole in the middle. Above the hole, there were chains suspended to keep the animals from going anywhere, and below the hole was the sacrifice pot that collected anything that fell.
We always hated this place. Everybody in the town hated the sacrifices. We will do it publicly in the middle of town once a year, but we stopped private ones since everybody hated them so much, and since it was killing so many animals we could've used for food.
We started looking through cabinets and drawers to find anything that could hold or be the map piece. We had the room nearly destroyed, but we couldn't find anything. After half an hour, Willow finally turned to us, her essence dimmed down so much in exasperation that you could see her wavy blue hair underneath of it. "It's not in here."
What are you looking for? Tesha asked me.
I turned to the pup again. Something like a map that has a riddle on it. Have you seen it?
She lifted her head up, and I was confused for a second before I suddenly realised what she was doing. I pulled the black cord necklace with a small silver ball pendant on it off her neck. Opening the ball, I saw a folded up piece of map.
I looked at Tesha, but she just cocked her head. I woke up with it on me before the ball came.
I nodded and put the map back in the pendant before it could disappear. Do you want to join us? I asked Tesha.
She jumped and yipped in excitement. Yes! Yes! Yes!
Okay, let's go. Be careful.
"Tesha is coming with us," I told the others, and they nodded. We started to leave, and everything was good until Tesha suddenly jumped at something, knocking over a box and setting off a trap. We ran for the door as traps started going off sporadically.
I pushed Celia, Willow, and Tesha out the door first. Just as I was about to go, I tripped over a box, and it flew out the door with me.
Willow helped me up, and I looked around the hall to see that of all boxes, I had smashed into the one with all of our family pictures. There was no use in trying to hide them, though, because everybody else already had some of the pictures in their hands, and I knew for a fact that they were all labeled.
After a long three minutes of silence, they looked up at us, and Eero spoke first. "Those two councilmen, Crimson and Calian. They're your parents."
"You're from here," Malachi continued. "You are bloomers."
"Yep," I nodded. "We are."

Hey guys! Do you like Tesha? How do you think the will-o-wisps are involved? What do you think is about to happen? Tell me in the comments. See you soon!