Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Twenty-One: Poachers Delight

Her eyes raked over the two of us, and I was again reminded just how much she was like her brother. Her freckles were lighter, dusting over less of her face than his, but her brows furrowed the same, lips pursed the same. "Things are getting dangerous here. I wanted to tell you two not to poke around."

I had to stifle a laugh. If she didn't want Sebastian to go poking around, she should have just told him to sod off, not invite him here.

Sebastian went rigid behind me. "Dangerous, how?"

"Seb, it's just poachers. Nothing crazy, just not as safe to go wandering around at night."

She was lying and I knew it. Sebastian knew it. I could see the way her shoulders tended to shrug up slightly when she was talking, the subtle way her voice inflected tone. She was downplaying whatever was happening in Feldcroft.

"Anne," I said finally stepping away from Sebastian. His fingers brushed against my back faintly and I shuddered. "You know the worst thing to do is to not tell him what's happening. Inviting us here and telling us nothing is worse than just telling us to take a hike."

Her eyes darted between her brother and me, and finally she sighed. "Fine. There's a new poacher camp moving in. They mentioned wanting to find a Phoenix they had heard was found in Hogwarts Valley two years ago. They set up shop here, at Rookwood castle."

My heart plummeted, mind immediately turning to my Phoenix. Safe and sound in my Vivarium in Hogwarts. He was the only Phoenix in the area then, and I highly doubted there would be another one now. If Anne was right about what she had heard, they were after my Phoenix.

"The poacher you saw when we took the Floo," I turned to Sebastian. "Did you hear anything?"

"Only what I told you then. They mentioned Rookwood castle and waiting for others."

"Shit," I groaned, flopping into one of the chairs at the table as I did so. "If they are after a Phoenix, and they are waiting for others, they are out for blood."

"Which is why I thought of you two. You get into enough mischief as it is, but I'm begging you to stay out of this."

I whipped my head up, shooting her my best glare. "It might be a little late for that. Besides, what are you doing poking around? You are barely recovered from the last time."

"Watch it!"

"She's right, Anne. What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

"I told Ominis! It's not like I hadn't told anyone," Anne said sharply, arms crossed over her chest as she huffed.

"Like hell you told Ominis! I've seen every letter you've written him."

"Oh, I highly doubt that, or we'd be having some different discussions."

Sebastian closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't even want to think about that, Anne."

I couldn't help but laugh at the banter the Sallow twins shot back and forth to one another. Even in the midst of discussing poachers hunting a Phoenix- my Phoenix, they couldn't help the sibling bond. Both twins eyed me as the laugh escaped my lips and I just shrugged in response.

"What's so funny?" Anne demanded, once again glaring at me.

"Nothing," I said truthfully. "I just think it odd you haven't written to him in weeks so he had to get me involved. Now, you're back to pushing his buttons as though nothing happened."

Sebastian shot me a look but I didn't face him. She wasn't off the hook with me yet, despite how much I loved to see her poke his temper.

"Look," Sebastian said, another attempt to ease the tension between his sister and I. "We just need to figure out where that Phoenix is before they do. We get it, they realize it's not here and they clear out. No one gets hurt."