Unsteady; House of Anubis *B2*

[67] House of Collections

*Unedited*
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Jasper was waiting for Jerome as the boy came rushing to the library. Water droplets hanging from him as a light drizzle had started to fall.

The image of Camilla emblazoned on his mind, small but smiling – as pretty as a butterfly looking to innocent to do anything but as deadly as any lioness – this was his motivation for what he was about to do. He had to do it to protect his Camilla, the question was from whom. 'The Collector' – well Jerome wanted to know who he was. He needed to know who he was, who was threatening the people he cared about most. No matter what Jasper said there would be three of them at the meeting this evening. Though if his plan went well 2 of them wouldn't even know of his presence.

"have you got it?" Jasper demanded of the boy the moment he entered the library.

"No!" Jerome responded holding his arms out as if to question where he would hide a dollhouse. He wasn't magical like Camilla, though, from the way the twins or anyone else who knew about the girl's powers always quietened when the man was around, he suspected she hadn't shared that little discovery of her's with her family. "but I have got something your Collector will be interested in." with that he opened his bag and pulled out the small china doll he'd found in Victor's office. Holding it out to Jasper for him to see. The man in question didn't seem to understand the importance of the doll causing Jerome to sigh and lift the dolls leg up to show the small but detailed stitching of the word 'Sarah' on her leg.

"Okay... "Jasper took the doll of Jerome understanding now why he had brought it. It had belonged to Sarah Frobisher-Smythe. "this might do."

"and listen to this." Jerome knew he was pushing but he needed the meeting to go ahead. So, he leaned forward and pulled on a small toggle on the doll causing the childhood voice of Sarah to fill their ears.

"The Athenaeum is the place to look. Lift the wings to find the book. Hidden in this book of old, the water of life and tears of gold."

Throughout the dolls little speech, Jerome watched as a confident smile crept onto Jasper's face. He had found something worthy of a meeting.

"Oh yes!" Jasper exclaimed excitedly. "he'll be very interested in this."

"are you meeting him here?" Jerome casually asked seeing the man was distracted by the doll.

"no, Jepwoods Heath, "Jasper absentmindedly told the boy as his eyes focused on the doll.

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Following a car was harder than Jerome had expected and by the time he arrived at Jepwoods Heath with his bike the heavens had opened and was soaking everything in sight. Jerome quickly hid behind a dump pile of scrap metal as Jasper's figure was illuminated by headlights. He had arrived just in time for the meeting. The engine of the car stopped and the lights switched off but, in the moonlight, it was still easy to see the ghostly figures well. Jerome covered his mouth as Vera was the first to step out of the approaching car, "Vera, I knew it." He muttered to himself bitterly at the woman's sight.

Along with Vera came a hooded man, and in the darkness, due to the hood, Jerome couldn't see his face at all. This must be The Collector.

"I don't see the dollhouse." The man spoke though the voice sounded off, robotic even as if he was using a voice changer and had put it to the wrong setting or something. Jerome frowned why would he have to hide himself in such a dramatic way. "are you incapable of completing one simple task?" the man bitterly spoke to the petrified Jasper.