The Hanes Enigma

Chapter Nine - Trespasser

Etney Adara 

Four Years Ago

"Etney, don't you dare leave your room again. Do you hear me?" My father scowls at me.

"I hear you..." I purse my lips. Obviously my not being deaf doesn't necessarily mean I will actually obey my father. But what he doesn't know can't hurt him. Or me. He slams my door shut and I hear his footsteps as he runs down the hall.

There was a break in. Again. We hadn't had one in decades and suddenly it happens every few days. It's suspicious, to say the least.

I immediately walk back out of the door and decide to go upstairs seeing as my father had gone down. I keep my back to the wall, giving my black clothes the largest change of blending into the darkness in the dimly lit hallway. Last time the mansion was broken into, the Clanless stole a vial of pau ka wai. It's one of our most powerful weapons and now they have it at their disposal. So, if they keep breaking in but have to leave before they caught every time and then finally steal something but still come back a few days later, what can that mean? They didn't find what they came for? Did they want something else as well? Whatever it is, I doubt wandering about the border will be high up on their list of things to do and so I have no idea why the rest of this household think that's where they should be.

I open the door to the treasury and slip inside quietly. If there has been another break-in, I'm sure this is where they would come. I look around the large room, still in the corner so as not to be seen.

Silence. Maybe they're not here after all.

A crash. "Shit!" I see a boy hopping and clutching at his foot. Did he seriously just stub his toe? Wow.

He recovers himself and looks around the room. He doesn't see me. I watch him as he creeps about the room, peeking into glass boxes. I'm about to give up and just get him out of here but he stops. I almost laugh when he stands in front of our most secure safe.

He cracks his knuckles and takes a large round piece of metal out of his pocket and puts it inside a sock before crouching down. He now faces the safe we keep all our keys in. I watch him, extremely confused, as he places the sock onto the safe. It sticks there and so I assume the metal to be a magnet of some sort. To my absolute horror, he shuffles it around the top left corner before the safe opens. Out of it he takes every single key and begins to whistle to himself cooly as he walks to every glass box; places a palm on the front, out of which a purple glow seems to pulsate around the cube; and then unlocks the case. Just like that. After putting every precious item we have in a black fucking canvas bag he walks back to the most secure safe. Now, I'm worried.

First, he places every key back into its original position and then pulls the magnet off the safe, using the sock. My mouth is gaping open at this point. Next, he stands up and gets out a tape measure. He finds the perfect point and then presses his forefinger into it. My eyes widen even more as his whole hand seems to melt into the safe and open it from the inside. He smiles to himself proudly and then carefully removes his arm before poking his head into the safe.

This is my chance. I creep up behind him, letting him get a good grip of the Kawela stone before I wrap my hand tightly around his wrist.

"I suggest you put that back where you found it." I snarl through gritted teeth, my hand clenching onto his tense shoulder. It's quite a reach for me but he doesn't need to know that. "I'm going to let go of your wrist now and then you'll put the stone back in the safe. Got it?"

He bites his lip and tries to struggle out of my grip.

I tighten my hold on his wrist and let my hands heat up, burning him ever so slightly, just enough so he realises I'm not joking. "I said, put it down. Quickly, while I'm still being nice." I spit into his ear.

He gulps and nods, hands shaking slightly as I let go of his wrist. He places the stone back where he found it.

"Name, species and who you're working for." I glare as I spin him around and press him against the wall, knife now pressing into his neck.

"N-Namjoon. Kim Namjoon. I-I'm a witch." He gulps again, terrified.

"Why the hell would a witch join the Clanless?." I glare, digging the blade into his skin.

"I didn't! Please, I'm not part of them. I swear." His eyes clenched tightly shut and his bottom lip is quivering slightly.

"Why should I believe you, Kim Namjoon?." I laugh, I already do. He has no idea what to do with himself. If he was part of Clanless he'd have escaped by now.

"I.. Um..." He clears his throat and frowns furiously, trying to come up with a reason. "Well, you shouldn't.. I-I mean you have no reason to. I've broken into your boss's house and attempted to steal expensive things... Taking my word as the truth would be practically stupid."

"Right..." I frown slightly, unsure why he would purposefully incriminate himself. "How did you get into the safe?"

"Which one?" He blinks innocently and smiles.

I practically gape at him. Why is being so friendly? I literally have a knife to his throat. "Surprise me." I deadpan.

"Well.. I could tell you both?" He shrugs and I just blink at him. He awkwardly clears his throat and bites his lip. "Well, the bottom one was easy. There's a no magic charm on it so I just used a magnet to pull up the nickel thingymabob and then those four metal slotty bits can move freely when you twist the um.. What's it called? Handle!" He smiles proudly. "I just used a simple calming spell on those glass cases to stop the alarms from going off. And the arm is from a potion I made this morning. It breaks down the atoms in any physical object to make it.. Well, non-physical. It can go through anything until the potion wears off in 24 hours. See?" He grins as he slides his arm through my waist. "You technically shouldn't do your body.. It could be seriously permanently damaging, but an arm doesn't have any essential organs so..." He shrugs, letting it fall to his side.

"Right... Put everything back then." I sigh and let go of him. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to catch him if he ran.

"I.. Can't I take at least one?" He bites his lip.

"Hmm, let me think... No." Is he serious?

"B-But isn't there something you wouldn't miss? Anything! Really, I'll take whatever..." He's pleading with me and I frown.

"If you stay here much longer the Adara's will come up here and gut you." I glare at him. "Leave while you can."

"I don't care, I need something." Tears swell in his eyes and I'm incredibly confused now.

"I'm not just going to hand something over to a thief." I laugh, shaking my head.

"But you don't understand. You don't know what they'll do." He's getting desperate now.

"What, kill you? Does it look like I care? You're the same one who broke in earlier this week, aren't you?" I glare, stepping forward and backing him further into the wall.

"I.. Yes..." He mutters.

"Why come back?" I glare.

"Th-They wanted the stone. I took the pau ka wai hoping it would be enough instead because I know how strong that stone's gonna be in a months time. I was going to take the rest to give myself some time and then try to use the stone on the woman who's blackmailing me. That's why I was putting everything back like I'd never been here! I was going to return it, I swear!" He bites his lower lip and sighs, giving up. "You don't care... Why should you?"

"You were stealing all of the Adara's most expensive items." I glare. "And you're trying to convince me it was because of blackmail? Maybe the Clanless weren't involved in the first place."

"Bu-"

"Leave. Namjoon." I raise my eyebrows and he gulps. He looks terrified but I don't think it's because of me.