Four Elements Book 1 - Hidden Powers

Chapter 13 - Finding a way - part 2

Andie's anxiety increased by the hour the next day. The prospect of what they were going to do that night was rather scary. Even when she tried not to think about it to not appear nervous, it still gnawed at the back of her mind. And judging by her friends' expressions, they were having a hard time not thinking about it, too. Which was not so surprising. Fighting demons was one thing. It was a no brainer. You knew there were people around you or even strangers that would be in danger if you didn't do anything. But stealing a valuable object, even for just a short while and to help someone, was something else altogether. Andie had wondered if this wasn't incredibly selfish. After all, if she had been in a coma, she wasn't sure she'd have wanted her friends to take that kind of risks... but Isabelle had pointed out that it was also necessary because without Bane, the four of them were not at their full power, and thus vulnerable. And if they were vulnerable, the entire world was in jeopardy. Maybe even the universe. Andie wasn't sure how powerful Zorak really was, but she didn't feel like waiting to find out. The upside, if it was one, was that the anxiety pushed the tiredness away. For the moment, at least.

"We can do this..." Andie said during break. "All we have to do is..."

"Steal a historical artifact and not get caught..." Isabelle said.

Andie nodded.

"Well, that'll be easy," Jessica said.

No one answered because they all knew it wouldn't be.

"Are your parents okay with us sleeping over?"

"Sure, I just told them we wanted to study together, and they were fine with it."

"We'll meet up after school at your place and review the plan one more time, then we'll... get going."

They agreed not to talk about the plan anymore in case they were overheard. They had all been given permission to sleep over at Isabelle's, so they would discuss more then. The rest of the day went on normally, despite their increasing nerves. Eventually, the final bell rang and they all drove up to Isabelle's house.

"Hey, Mom, we're home!" Isabelle called, her sisters and friends in tow.

"In the kitchen honey! I put out some snacks for you guys."

"Great, thanks, Mom!" Isabelle said.

"Thanks for having us, Mrs Woodland," Andie said. "I hope we're not a bother."

"Oh, not at all, dear, it's a pleasure," Mrs Woodland said with a smile.

"Mom, we'll be in my room, okay?"

She picked up the tray and led the way to her room. Andie hadn't been in it yet, having only rarely been inside Isabelle's home.

"Your room is so cute," Emily said, looking around.

It was certainly welcoming. It bore touches of pale blue and white, and had several things related to the sea, such as a line of seashells on her bookshelf,, a picture of a beach above her bed, a tapestry of a harbor on the wall opposite, and a white chest of drawers with starfish on the sides.

"Thanks. I always loved the sea."

They sat down on the floor in a circle, using cushions.

"So let's go over the plan again," Isabelle said.

"Again...? We've been over it ten times!"

"Fifteen, and clearly, that wasn't enough, because you can't remember it all yet!"

"Jeez, I didn't know we were shooting Ocean's fifteen..." Jessica grumbled.

Emily giggled.

"Isabelle's right," Andie intervened. "We have to work it out perfectly so we don't get caught."