An Ember's Keeper

Chapter 3

The night is dark and quiet. The sky is clear without a cloud in sight and filled with shining stars as far as the eye can see.

Everything is peaceful.

Still, Hayden finds himself suddenly awake. He lies still for a long moment, trying to find what could have possibly woken him up. There's an odd feeling in the air. He can't explain it, but something feels wrong.

He moves slowly, careful not to wake Harry as he slips from under the pirate's arm and climbs out of bed. He crosses over to the window and opens the heavy black drapes.

A beam of moonlight cuts across the room as Hayden quietly undoes the window's latch. He plants both hands on the windowsill and leans out, studying the night sky. There's nothing to see, no indication that anything has happened and yet...

Hayden closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

He can feel a change in the air. It feels like someone has used a rather large amount of magic which is worrisome enough. What worries him more, however, is the fact that he can personally feel it.

He takes another breath and feels an odd hitch in his chest.

He doesn't know what exactly has been done (though he has a fair idea as to who did it) but he knows with something deep inside and in some instinctive way that it won't bode well for him.

Hayden closes the window with a frown. There's nothing he can do about it right now. All he can do is wait for morning and the inevitable meeting that will be called when the others realize that something has happened.

He makes his way back to the bed, sliding under the black sheets as an odd shiver runs down his spine. He rolls over and his breath seems to hitch in his chest once again.

He smiles slightly as he feels Harry move in his sleep, subconsciously wrapping his arm back around him, his bare chest pressing against his back.

Hayden closes his eyes and tries to fall back asleep, resolved to facing whatever's happened in the morning.

Sure enough, Hayden finds himself called into a meeting early the next morning. He walks into Ben's office to see that Ben, Mal, Beastie, and Belle are already there.

"So, what happened?" he asks as soon as the door shuts behind him. They all exchange looks.

"How do you know something's happened?" Belle asks curiously.

Hayden cocks one eyebrow. "Besides the fact that this little meeting was called?" he drawls. "I felt it. Something happened last night."

"Well, yes," Beast admits. "Something did." He turns to his son, clearly waiting for an answer.

Ben sighs. "Maleficent's scepter and the Queen's Crown were stolen from the museum," he says quietly.

While Beastie and Belle both gasp (rather dramatically in Hayden's opinion), he just sighs. "Three guesses who did it," he says dryly. He gives Mal a pointed look. "And the first two don't count," he adds.

"We don't know that," Mal protests weakly.

"True," Hayden agrees. "It doesn't do to start accusing people without evidence either."

He's still fairly sure that Audrey is behind the thefts, but he won't actually go making accusations without proof. After all, true justice requires the truth.

"What are we supposed to do?" Belle asks as she wrings her hands anxiously. "The people will panic if they know the scepter is in, presumably, dangerous hands."

Hayden rubs slightly at his chest, fighting back a cough as Ben starts to pace in front of his desk.

"We don't say anything," he decides. "Not yet, at least. Hopefully, we can solve this quietly and the people will have no reason to panic."

Mal nods. "That might be the best course to take," she agrees.

"They're bound to find out eventually," Hayden points out. He drops his hand abruptly when he realizes he still has it against his chest and doesn't miss the looks he gets from the others when they notice.

"Eventually," Ben reluctantly agrees. "We'll just have to get the scepter and the crown back before anything bad can happen." He looks at Hayden in concern when he sees the grimace on his face.

Hayden notices and quickly schools his features back into a blank mask. "Whoever's behind this can't have anything good in mind," he tells them. "The scepter is," he clears his throat, fighting the urge to cough, "dangerous, especially if it's in inexperienced hands."

Mal's brow furrows. "Hayden, are you okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine," he says shortly.

She doesn't look convinced but seems willing to let it go for now. "My mother's scepter is extremely dangerous," she reminds them.

"The guards have already been informed about the theft," Ben says seriously. "They're on the lookout now and have agreed to be as discreet as possible."

There's a few moments of silence as they all just look at each other.

"Right," Hayden drawls. "Well, since there's nothing more to be done right now, I'll just be going."

He makes a quick exit, feeling their eyes on him as he leaves but unwilling to stick around any longer. He waits until he's turned the corner and is sure to be out of anyone's line of sight before he stops, one hand pressed to the wall.

His chest still feels... wrong. Every so many breaths there's a sort of stutter like his lungs forget momentarily how they're supposed to work. He can feel that urge to cough returning as a chill wracks his frame.

As the child of two gods, Hayden doesn't get sick. Even when he was living under the barrier without full access to his powers, he never has. This, whatever it actually is, clearly correlates with the stolen scepter.

He coughs roughly, the fit lasting for a few seconds before it finally subsides. He stiffens as a metallic taste hits his tongue.

Hayden pulls his hand away from his mouth and stares at the flecks of red dotted across his palm.

A quiet curse escapes his lips as he wipes his hand on his shirt, never so thankful to wear black. Resolving to keep this to himself, Hayden starts back down the hallway. He needs to find Harry, Uma, and Gil.

He knows Mal will take care of telling Evie, Carlos, and Jay. He also knows they'll need all the help they can get if they're going to get that scepter back, well, and the Queen's Crown but he's not nearly as concerned with that as he's sure Ben and Mal are.

All he's really concerned with right now is finding that scepter so he can fix whatever's been done to him, preferably before his overprotective parents, boyfriend, and/or friends find out something's even wrong.