Cloudy Sky: The Unlucky Thirteen

43 - Crystal Arrows

Ari awkwardly waves as the rest of us stare at her, not even trying to hide our hostility. Her clear green gaze fixes on him for enough time to be considered awkward.

I consider it my job to clear my throat with a purposeful cough. Ari shoots me a glare, but at least he breaks eye contact with Peridot. Her cheeks flush a soft red.

Caprice nods, ignoring Ari and Peridot as she makes her way towards the door and runs back down the hallway, probably to bother Spectra. With a shrug, I grab Ari's arm and drag him after me. A displeased look crosses Peridot's face quickly before she starts after us. "Uh, no," puts in Gemi, "you're staying here." He helpfully smiles and enunciates the words in a vaguely condescending way. Gotta love Gemi. The bright and cheerful short boy has a brain under his mop of fluffy hair, and apparently one section is not fully devoted to pining over my older sister. Which I'm painfully aware of. 

Caprice turns a hallway quickly as I tug Ari after me faster. A silhouette of a person is tucked into the corner of a hallway. "Spectra!" yells Caprice in greeting, and Spectra looks up from her phone. Her face is haunted, hair sticking to her face, eyes wide and horrified.

"Yeah?" she asks quietly. Her bubbly, mischievous enthusiasm is gone from her face. At our looks, she forces a cheerful look onto her face, but I can see right through it. Sad and guilty.

"Where's the weapons room?" Ari interrupts, glaring at Caprice, who glares right back, folding her arms. Noticing the archenemies' distraction, Spectra addresses her answer to me.

"This place is actually kind of small. Just down this hall, at the end of it. I need time." Her voice is tired as her expression flickers slightly. "Leave me the hell alone."

She's dead. Euphoria's voice is a careful, emotionless statement.

"Who's dead?" I ask, hoping it's Peridot. I just don't like her. I don't know why. Then again, I feel the same way about Leo. I disliked him the day we met, when he threw a metal block through my wall. I'd peered through the hole into amused dark brown eyes and decided then and there that I did not like him.

Spectra's sister. She knows. It was her idea, the crash and everything. She feels guilty, not just for that, Euphoria's voice grows low, deep, and musing. It only makes her sound more dangerous. Weakling.

Apparently, Euphoria loves calling people weaklings. I'm surprisingly unbothered by the fact that I have a siren Queen in my head. Other than the mental breakdown, of course.

Caprice has already high–tailed it down the hallway, Ari right on her heels. They seem to be arguing while running. Casting a last glance at Spectra — her eyes are riveted on her phone again — I run after them.

We stop at a large wooden door. Caprice pushes it slowly open, and it occurs to me exactly how empty this place is. I've only seen the Veil sisters, Miasma, Haunt, and Hydrus here.

The weapons room is dark, lit only by two flickering lamps hanging on either side of the room. The walls are lined with weapons — scythes, maces, spears, and an especially large collection of daggers — all protected in cases. Across the floor are laid many black rubber mats with Xs taped onto them with blue tape.

The single occupant of this room is a tall redhead, possibly a bit shorter than Spectra, her dark red hair pinned up into a bun, her eyes fixed on the dagger in her hand, which she's slowly twirling. Shadowly Veil doesn't look up at our entrance at all. The Veil sisters have similar coping mechanisms, avoidance. They truly must have evidence that the youngest Veil is dead.

I wonder about Haunt. Viv's apprentice was the most attached to her.

Inside the room, Caprice swivels around slowly until her eyes light on a case containing bows and quivers of arrows. Ari's already seen it, though. He reaches it first, carefully pulling the case open and first grabbing a quiver. It seems more ornamental, the quiver itself made from a silky fabric in a rich red hue. He sorts through the arrows, all made of dark wood. Definitely ornamental. Caprice hisses between her teeth before removing a quiver that seems to be made of skin, or something, and sorting through the metal arrows.