💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Four: Cedrick Hawthorne

Rose Delaney

          Ellewood Manor May have looked monumental on the outside, but it had nothing on the inside. Black marble with veins of silver covered the floor while metallic grey walls stretched upwards to reach a curved ceiling. Black pedestals rose from the floor as they held ancient-looking artifacts and wrinkled, yellow papers. Every single item was scrawled with unfamiliar languages. There were no lights on the smooth ceilings-only blue spotlights nestled into the wall-illuminating each pedestal.

           I crept forward cautiously, holding out the Scythe in front of me in a vise. The manor was deathly silent. Only the click of my heels could be heard echoing softly through the halls. I began to walk more carefully. I anxiously tapped the balls of my feet on the ground before lowering my heels to the cool marble. This caused a tiny thump rather than a loud click. I peeked our from behind a corner before easing into the next hallway.

                'You're holding The Scythe of Death. That makes you a temporary supernatural being.' The Apprentice's words rang in my head over and over again. I raised the Scythe so that I could observe my eyes more closely. Bright blue orbs circled the eclipse of my pupils. A soft glow glinted off of the blade.

"Supernatural indeed." I murmured. The title gave me a rush, and for a moment or two I couldn't stop grinning to myself. I playfully twirled the weapon in my hands as if it were a bo staff. It was a mistake. Suddenly the handle slipped from my fingers, and I swiped at the air to catch it. At last I snatched it up, but the momentum of the catch sent it swinging into one of the artifacts.

          CRASH! A thick slab of rock hit the ground with an enormous racket before shattering into a million pieces. Every muscle in my body tightened as I gaped at the mess in horror. Loud footsteps could be heard marching my way from another hallway. I whipped my head around as I searched frantically for a hiding spot. Thump! Thump! Thump! The footfalls were just around the corner! There was nowhere to hide. I backed up in fear as two tall, burly men rounded the corner. A dog walked on a tight leash between them.

I froze in terror and waited for the guards to spot me and drag me away. They searched the hallway as they carefully waved their flashlights around the room. They stared blankly at me, but made no moves to grab me. Then I spotted it. The Scythe was invisible. I could still feel it my hands-my hands! I nearly dropped the Scythe as my eyes raked past my arms and over my body. I was invisible! I fought myself to keep a giddy giggle from escaping my mouth.

The dog suddenly froze, and I could see every muscle in its body tense. It's lip curled before letting out a guttural growl. The men stopped, watching the dog carefully to see where it was staring. I inched over to the wall. Moving was a grave mistake. The dog sprang into the air to attack, and would have succeeded had the guards not had a tight grip on its leash. It lunged at me viciously as the guards slowly followed where the dog was pulling.

"There's no one there! You're barking at the wall, stupid!" It was now the guard's turn to growl. The dog was practically dragged away as it snapped and gnashed it's teeth in a desperate attempt to get to me. The three of them disappeared around the next corner. Eventually the guards voices were drowned out by distance, and I could only hear the howls of the dog echoing through the building. I hadn't realized that I had stopped breathing altogether.

Bang! I could hear the sound of scuffling, booms, and muffled voices from where the guards had come from. I stretched my arms out if front of me to check if I was still invisible. The air appeared empty. More noises sounded off, but they were getting closer. I openly strode around the corner-and promptly plastered myself to wall again.

Two obnoxiously tall guards rounded the same corner before they continued dragging someone down the hallway. It was the Apprentice! A gash ran down his forehead and stopped just above his eye. His hands were scraped up, and his suit was dirty and torn. I clutched the Scythe to my chest in mute terror just looking at him.

"Fellas, I appreciate the ride, but I think I can walk from here." The Apprentice quipped. The two guards purposely took the next corner widely, causing him to careen into the opposite wall. "So inhospitable. Didn't your mothers ever teach you how to treat guests?" He groaned and held his shoulder before being yanked out of sight. I narrowed my eyes and followed them.

          I was led into a giant living room-library hybrid. The arched ceilings curved upwards into a glass dome ceiling, and an enormous fireplace raged and crackled from the far side of the room. Three gigantic, black, leather couches sat in an unfinished square around the fireplace with a black, polished coffee table the size of a small island sitting in the middle. Tall bookshelves lined the walls and were stuffed with novels, pretty paper weights, and plants. Silvery blue light rained down from above as the fire cast an orange glow from below, giving the room a two-toned lighting that shifted with the dancing firelight.

          "Tonight is too important to waste time on nobodies. We'll finish our work here, and when it's finished we'll throw him out. No use in taking chances on him getting back in. Or breaking more windows." Cedrick Hawthorne stood facing the fireplace as he instructed his guards on what to do about his intruder. Or at least the visible one. Cedrick spun around with a furious glare. His brown eyes glinted from behind a pair of wooden-framed glasses.

          "One of which you will be paying for." He snapped.

          "What's so important about tonight?" The Apprentice ignored his demands. Typical. I rolled my eyes-until they caught something on the coffee table. My phone! And the files! I began to inch around the couch as Cedrick chuckled. He strode forward to stand in front of the table. I carefully crept forward. The files and phone were uncomfortably close to the very man I was trying to avoid.

          "It's special because someone special is here." Cedrick explained. I stretched out an inside hand towards my stolen things. "But what's more special...is this!" He roared as he ripped the Scythe out of my grasp. I gasped in shock as the color returned to my figure. The guards launched forward to grab me and drag me next to the apprentice.

       "Miss Delaney...I'm glad you could join us."