Izzy had led them into the laboratory through a side entrance, from the unattended gardens. It had been overgrown with ivy, barely noticeable in the gloom that hung to the stones of the Helmut family home. He had said that hundreds of years before, the gardens were meticulously tended by alchemists and servants, occasionally human biologists, who used to live with the Helmut household. They cleaned and tended the main house, called the lab, as well as the large grounds. The head gardener had been an alchemist trained at the council house, chosen by Malus to cultivate magical agents and components for his experiments. Izadore did not say what had caused the loss of the servants but Finn assumed Malus had become bored of them or required additional subjects for his continued experiments. Whatever their fate, she guessed it was grizzly.
They made their way quickly through the labyrinth of corridors and hallways, Izadore only steps ahead of her, until they reached their destination. Izzy pressed his index finger to his mouth to indicate that Finn needed to stay silent. Her back was pressed against the cold stone wall of Malus' laboratory, she tried to focus on the feeling to ground herself in the moment. She had only been here once before in her life and those memories were some that she tried to bury the deepest. As her anxiety blossomed within her, Carter called out to her again. She winced in pain but it was enough to right herself in the moment. She ignored the terror that gripped her insides, pushed the link with her mate down, and turned her attention to her brother.
The reference library was beyond the doorframe her brother stood in, his eyes flicked from right to left. Eutus had told them he would return to the council for supplies. He promised he would state he had been away on business, to keep some semblance of peace. He'd meet them at their determined rendezvous when he was done. She wasn't sure they'd make it, but Izzy was pleased at least his lover was safe.
"The vault is under the library, accessed through the back most shelves. Father keeps his dark tomes ensconced there. Normally he has one of us on guard duty, despite the fact no one has ever entered this place uninvited by Malus."
"Until now," she corrected.
"Yes, little sister. Until now."
"Izadore, when did you get back?" A voice called out from within the darkened room, hidden by a display cabinet.
Izzy froze for a moment. He cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Just now, Ramsey. Malus sent me as your relief."
A quiet chuckle rumbled out, "Oh? Really. Then why is our little sister with you?"
Izzy cursed under his breath. Ramsey had limited scrying, he must have seen them enter the lab through his mind's eye. His eyes glanced at Finn and he lightly nodded his head.
Finn shifted quickly, screaming out in pain at her fast transformation. She ran into the dark room. Her new, sharper eyes immediately saw the outline of her brother Ramsey, a look of shock on his face. She dashed as fast as she could push her muscles, making the distance between them shrink in an instance. She grabbed him by the face, covered his mouth with her large clawed hand. She pulled him to her and hissed out, "if you wish to leave this room as anything other than an empty husk, I'd suggest you keep quiet." He pulled desperately at her hand with his fingers, but it was ineffectual.
She had never seen Ramsey close up before. He was as tall as Izadore, had the same hair,but his eyes were green and currently wide with fear. His ears were slightly pointed which indicated his mother had to have been an elf or a recent descendant of an elf. Finn knew elves did not willingly breed with humans, even high status enchanters. He was dressed in a long robe, deep purple, with some dark embroidery around the collar and hems. The sleeves of his robe pooled at his elbows as he tried to free himself from his little sister's grasp. Under the robe, his skin was covered in fabric wrappings to conceal the state of his ruined skin. Finn twisted her neck painfully backwards to look at Izzy for direction. She wanted to crush his head in her hands, to feel the warm ooze of his vacant mind. She hesitated and felt doubt. She didn't know what he had gone through or if he truly deserved it, death at her hands. She didn't know much anymore, she thought to herself grimly.
"Ramsey," Izzy said as he stood beside his siblings. "Brother. We need access to the safe. Will you grant access to us? Please hold up a hand if you will comply."
He stared daggers at them both, his green eyes alive with rage. After a moment, he stopped fighting Finn and put one hand in the air. She lowered him to the ground but did not remove her hand from his mouth.
"Thank you, little brother," and held out his hand for the key. When Ramsey relented, he deftly removed a signet ring with his fingers and placed it into their brother's outstretched palm. Izzy held up a small potion bottle to him. "Please drink this. You will go to sleep and wake in a few hours. Father will not be able to fault you for our actions."
Finn removed her fingers from his mouth, one by one slowly. She dropped her hand to his neck and dug her fingers into the sides of his throat with force. "If you scream or try to cast, I will slit your throat and you will bleed out before you can finish."
Ramsey slapped her hand away, taking the potion from Izadore. "You better kill him or we are all doomed," he said. Tipped his head back and drank the liquid in one quick gulp. Its effects were almost instantaneous. Finn grabbed his body as it drooped and fell, his soft breaths indicated he was fast asleep. She carried him to a chair, hidden from the door and gently lowered him into it.
She shifted back, shaking with the adrenaline. "That was easy!" She smiled at her older brother. He did not return it. He turned and walked towards the back of the vast room.
Izadore stopped at the back most bookcases, casting his eyes behind him anxiously. He slipped the ring into an almost hidden indentation in one of the books, a keyhole Finn couldn't see. The shelves slowly parted, revealing a dark stone staircase. The stone steps slowly began to glow, illuminating the way down. Finn made to start her descent when Izzy's hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him. She cast him a look of warning and he quickly removed his hand. He raised both in the air to signal surrender. "Wait!" he said softly. "Please!"
She frowned but stayed at the top of the stairs, waiting for an explanation.
"We call it a vault or safe but... it's more."
"What is with you wizards and your inaccurate naming tendencies? The council house isn't a fucking house, it's a mansion. This," her arms making exaggerated motions, "isn't a lab, it's a fucking castle. And now the safe isn't a safe?" Her voice was soft but filled with exasperation.
He rolled his eyes at her. "Look, I'm just trying to explain that. Yes, he keeps his precious books down there. But! He also keeps other things down there. I don't know what you're going to find. I just wanted to warn you."
"What 'other' things, Izadore?"
"Failed experiments..."
"Are there guards?"
"No. No one is stupid enough to break into his house and vault."
"Then I'll be fine."
"You need to be cautious," he hissed. "Or we are all dead."
"We are all dead if you don't stop prattling on! I will be fine. I will meet you here, shortly," she replied, walking down the first step.
