Gold Dust | Barns Courtney

Chapter Eight | Safe House

The next morning Barns went out to get us breakfast. Barnaby was still sleeping, and we didn't want to disturb him. It was obvious he hadn't gotten any rest since he was kidnapped. I was reading a book I picked up from a local shop the other day. Just passing the time as I waited on Barns to come back with food. The sound of a yawn and movement caught my attention. When I looked over at the other bed I noticed that Barnaby was waking up.

He looked at me after rubbing his eyes, and I gave him a small smile. "Good morning sleeping beauty." I joked, and a smile spread across his face. "Good morning," He said as he stretched a little. "Where's Barns?" He asked curiously. "He went to get us breakfast." I replied. "Oh." He said. Barnaby sat up and slowly got out of bed. He quietly walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Neither of us had asked him about leaving the hotel to hide out somewhere else.

I just hoped that he knew we had his best interest in mind. I pressed my thoughts aside as I went back to reading. I heard the shower turn on and a few minutes later Barns entered the room. He had several bags filled with takeout. The smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee made my stomach growl. "He's taking a shower." I said when Barns noticed Barnaby wasn't in bed. He listened and nodded as he sat the food down. I could have dived into the takeout bags immediately, but I decided to wait.

Neither one of us wanted Barnaby to eat alone. When he came out of the bathroom his hair was still damp. He was dresses in a white button down and black jeans that Barns had let him borrow. "The food smells delicious." He said as he joined us. We started opening the takeout bags and divided the food. Barns really ordered everything anyone could have wanted. Eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, and coffee. It was breakfast fit for a king, or at least in my mind it was.

When we were finished we gathered all the trash and threw it away. "So... Rose and I stayed up and talked last night. We think it's best if we take you somewhere else. That way if anyone saw us last night they won't be coming here." Barns said after a long time of comfortable silence. "Where will you be taking me?" Barnaby asked. There was worry and a hot of fear in his blue eyes. I would have probably felt the same way. Especially if I had been tied up and hid away like him.

It surprised me that he was trusting us. But I guess he didn't really have any other option. He trusts us because we helped him escape the Opossum Lounge. "It's kind of a safe house. You'll have plenty of people there to protect you, I promise." Barns replied. "I've met them and they're all really nice." I added, hoping it would help him relax a little. He sat there and looked back and forth between the two of us. It took a few minutes, but he eventually agreed to go.

Barns gave him a hat to wear so it hid is face a little. Then we gathered our things to leave. We also checked out of the hotel. Barnaby rode on the white horse with Barns. Mostly because he couldn't ride on my horse with me due to my backpack. I followed Barns and made sure we weren't being followed. I was looking forward to seeing Theresa again. Even though I was nervous that someone might be coming after us. I hoped that no one had really seen us leaving the Opossum Lounge last night.

I could hear Barnaby comment how beautiful the scenery was. It made me smile when he got excited seeing a few squirrels. I smiled softly every time he pointed out a small animal. After a while we reached our destination. We got off of our horses and tied them up. "This place looks really nice." Barnaby said as we walked up to the door. Barns unlocked the door with a key that he kept on a necklace. Just like the first time we were here.

I followed Barns and Barnaby inside. Theresa as well as her friend Alex walked up to us. I think they figured it was Barns who had arrived at the house. They weren't wrong, but judging by their faces they were shocked to see two versions on Barns. "Why the hell are there two of you?" Alex asked curiously with furrowed brows. "It's a long story." Barns said with a deep sigh. "Well, you can fill us in over tea. Robert was just making a pot." Theresa said as she lead us into the living room.

Alex helped Robert bring the tea pot, cups, sugar, cream, etc into the living room. I sat between Theresa and Barns. Robert and Alex sat on a couch that faced us. Barnaby sat in a chair to the right of where I was sitting. Everyone glanced over at Barnaby every now and then as Barns told them what had happened. We drank the lovely tea that had been made as well. "This is fucking insane! Why the hell are there three of you, and one of you is a power hungry lunatic!?!" Robert said what we were all thinking.

"I don't know, but we need to find out why. I'm just as confused as you all are." Barns said, ruffling his hair a little. I could tell he was stressed. "And how exactly do we do that?" Alex asked curiously. "I don't fucking know. I just... I just... need to be alone for a while." Barns said before he quickly stood up and left. The sound of his boots on the hardwood floor was followed by the front door closing loudly. We all sort of looked at each other awkwardly. None of knew what to do.

We just finished off the pot of tea and I offered to help clean up. "No, we've got it. You're a guest in this house." Robert said before he and Alex took everything back into the kitchen. That left Theresa, Barnaby, and I alone. "You have to know something about what's going on." Theresa broke the uncomfortable silence as she looked at Barnaby. His eyes widened a little when she addressed him. "Okay, fine... a few months ago I did something I probably shouldn't have done." He started.

He admitted to dabbling in dark magic. "It was my first time trying anything like that. Somehow I... I mast have split my personality into three physical beings. It was foolish and I should have never done it." He said as he rubbed his face quite hard. "How do we fix it? You do know how to reverse what you did don't you?" I said, feeling anxiety fill my stomach. To my disappointment he said no. "I guess we'll have to start doing some research then. I'll try and find a way to get my hands on some witch craft books." Theresa said with a deep sigh as she stood up.

She left the room, and I wanted to go and help her. But I didn't wanna leave Barnaby alone. I didn't want to make him feel worse than he obviously did. "Did Sevens mention anything about a crown?" I asked curiously after a long moment of silence. I wasn't sure if I should mention the crown, but I decided to do so. Even if Barns would have told me not to. "Yes. He's after the crown of Babylon. Whoever has the crown has the power to rule the city." He said.

The conversation didn't seem to make him feel any better. "Tell me about you." I said, which seemed to surprise him. We spent a few hours talking about ourselves. He seemed like a really nice person. I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to dabble in dark magic, but I guess there had to be a reason. But for some reason I had a feeling he was manipulated into doing it. By whom I wasn't quite sure. "Come on, let's see if we can help Theresa find those books." I said as I slowly stood up. He agreed and we went looking for her.

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