Lockwood And Co. The Queen's Spirit

Chapter 16

I tried harder a second time and this time, I felt the door give way and it opened slowly with a squeaky sound.

The contents inside were murky and covered with a thin layer of dust. There were cobwebs everywhere and it reeked of musty, thick air.

"George?" I whispered.

"Yea, here it is!" he fumbled around in his backpack and produced a torchlight. I grabbed it and flashed it at the contents on the other side of the door. What I saw, almost made me blind--literally. Inside was a diamond the size of my hand gleaming brightly in the torchlight. It had a few scratches here and there but otherwise, it was a beauty. Now, I've seen my share of sources, a head, a locket, heck, even a jar of teeth but a diamond? Now, that's new.

Lockwood peered at the Source from behind me. "George, quick! Silver!" he said with urgency. George pushed his glasses back and at speed unimaginable for hands that big, produced a silver net and handed it to me. Suddenly, we heard a thud and a loud scream.

"Oh no! Kipps and Holly!" I said, startled.

"Lucy! The source!" Lockwood urged. In one swift move, I had placed the seal around the diamond and the negative energy in the house dissipated with a sizzle. All the tension we felt had risen and we could finally breathe.

George placed the diamond carefully into the silver glass and pulled out a jam sandwich. "Sandwich, anyone?" he asked, peeking at us through his glasses.

"Sure." I grabbed it and shoved it down my throat.

"Hey! I only asked out of courtesy, you know!" George complained. I ignored him and started running down the stairs with Lockwood by my side. Where had that scream come from? We came down to the floor where we had left Holly and Kipps and found Quill lying on the floor and Holly nowhere to be seen. "Kipps? Are you alright?" I asked, shaking him.

"Ugh...Lucy? Holly! Where's Holly?" Kipps looked around wildly.

"We were kind of hoping you would know. What happened? We heard a scream." Lockwood asked, calmly.

"We were facing back to back and smashing the pots as they kept coming when all of a sudden, something heavy hit me on the head and the last thing I heard was Holly's scream." Kipps recounted. "Please tell me you found the Source." he added.

"We did. But we can't get out of here before we find Holly." Lockwood replied.

"It puzzles me with all these disappearances. First it was Lisa. Now it's Holly? Why would anyone want to take her? And who is this person?" George contemplated.

"I have a hunch but I can't know for sure. Anyway, let's start searching. This house may be big, but we can find her!" Lockwood declared.

Just as we started packing up and moving, I sensed a movement in the air. I got out my rapier and jumped violently. A voice from the shadows came to me. "Looking for someone?" it said. Lockwood, Kipps and George turned around at the sound and pointed their rapiers at the voice. From the shadows, I could make out a feminine figure holding Holly, a gun pointing right at her head.   

**Author's Note**

Yes, I know it's a small chapter but I've been sick with the flu and I've barely had the energy to write so this is the best I could do. I still hope you like it!

Thanks for reading. Plz vote, share and comment!