They never would. But their daughter had.
The boys stepped in beside me, flashlights in hand. Maddox checked around the house for any alarms or traps.
“All clear,” he pronounced, but I didn’t move.
“You all right, Brex?” Ash bumped my shoulder.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “It’s just... this is the closest I’ve ever been to anything of my mother’s. Things she touched...” What if it still smelled like her? What if something of hers was here? “The last place I have that is my father’s.” All small objects I had of my dad were left back in HDF, sacrificed to escape safely. “This is where they were happy. Together,” I croaked.
Ash took my fingers in his, leading me closer to the front door, where Maddox picked the lock. Ash and I had our weapons primed for any kind of an attack, inside and out.
“Bassza meg!” Fuck me! Maddox hissed under his breath. “This has, like, five deadbolts and a trick lock. Your father wanted to make sure it wasn’t easy to get in.” He stood up. “And we lost our fae lock pick when our last base was attacked.” His dark eyes darted to me with a frown.
My fault.
I was good at picking locks, but I doubted I could crack all five and a trick lock. Those were highly intricate and difficult. Nearly impossible.
“The windows are barred too.” Ash motioned to the one near the kitchen area. The cabin was small, but my dad had made sure it was bunker safe.
“This is when a brownie and an imp would be handy,” I mumbled.
“You called, Master Fishy?” A voice popped up by my ear.
“Holy shit!” I jumped, my hand going to my chest as Opie climbed out of my backpack up to my shoulder, Bitzy in her bag on his back. They still wore the same outfit I saw them in earlier, but Opie had doubled up on the cotton balls speared through his Mohawk, and now he had a cape made from a sock. “Were you guys there the whole time?” I gaped at him and back to my sack.
“Of course, Fishy.” Opie patted my cheek. “You couldn’t last a day without me.”
Chirp! Bitzy’s middle fingers went up.
“And, of course, Bitzy too.”
Chirp!
“Don’t put this on me!” Opie peered back at Bitzy. “You were the one who wanted to nap in there because it still smelled like mushrooms!”
Chirp! Chirp!
“I licked it once! Just seeing if there were still some crumbs left over... for your safety.”
Chirp!
“I was not! You were the one suckling it like a newborn.”
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
My eyes widened.
“Someone is awfully cranky,” Opie huffed.
Chir—
“Okay, I’m gonna stop whatever is happening here.” Ash motioned over the pair. “And get back to our task. Can you open the locks?”
“Please.” Opie snorted, his eyes rolling. “Peasants...” He strolled down my arm, hopping down onto the ground. “Move, underlings, your miracle is here.” He motioned for Maddox and Ash to get out of the way of the king, Bitzy flipping them off as they passed. Opie stopped as he reached the door, his head tilting back, his brows pinching.
My lips rolled together, trying not to laugh. “Does the miracle need a little assistance reaching the door?”
“My greatness is in a tiny package.”
Chirp!
“Not that package!” he retorted. “I’ll have you know I’ve been told by many it’s above normal for my size.”
Chirp.
“Okay, maybe not many, but plenty.”
Chirp.
“Okay, not plenty, but some.”
“My gods...” Ash rubbed his head. “If I was told I’d be listening to a brownie argue with an imp about his dick size on a mission for some fable nectar in the middle of the night, I would have thought it was me eating mushrooms.”
Chirp? Bitzy’s eyes turned to Ash, her ears going down as she blinked up at him with hope.
“No. I don’t have mushrooms. You ate them all,” Ash said back, then stopped. “Holy shit, I answered her, didn’t I?” He looked startled. “I’m talking to an imp.”
“Welcome to the club.” I chuckled. Leaning down, I lifted Opie up to the lock.
“I say you are all fucking crazy.” Maddox shook his head with annoyance.
Opie’s hands went over the lock, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. For several minutes he worked, his tongue switching sides. “Oh, this is a tough one.” He moved his hands around, his thick brows coming together. “I’m getting closer... broomsticks... I think I almost got it.” He closed his lids, face straining. “Wow... sticky one...”
Bitzy sighed, her long prong-like fingers reaching over his shoulder, slipping into the lock.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
Each one rang in the air, the door squealing as it swung open to a dark room. I stepped back, a wave of stale air blowing out.
“Well...” Opie bristled at Bitzy. “I loosened them for you.”
I sat them back on my shoulder as Ash and Maddox moved into the small cabin.
“Clear.” Ash checked the bathroom.
Maddox tugged open a closet door. “Clear here.”
The place was small, no other places to hide, but it was exactly like I saw it in the book. Like the very last time my father was here was that night.
Stepping in, I felt like an intruder to their sanctuary. The musty air was the most prominent, but under, I swore I could smell my father’s cologne. My hand brushed the wood chair at the table, and I imagined him sitting there, writing in his journal. I still struggled to really picture my mother, though I was sure I could feel her presence touching the room. She was a stranger, but familiar at the same time.
Opie and Bitzy jumped off my shoulder onto the counter while I took in the little things like the sugar and black tea, which I knew my dad loved. In a small bottle was cinnamon. My father never used cinnamon. Was this my mother’s? Did she like it on her toast like I did?
“Brex?” Ash yanked my attention to him. “Where are we looking?”
Moving to him, I went to where I saw apa stuff something into a hiding place, my hand going to the stone, running over it. “Somewhere here—” I felt the rock wiggle under my palm. Energy burst up my nerves, knowing I found it. What would be inside? Would it be the journal, or was it the nectar?
My nails dug into the crevice, pulling at the stone. My breath hitched as I lifted it away, adrenaline pumping down my arms as I shone the flashlight into the hiding spot.
“Oh gods...” I croaked, my heart beating against my ribs. Jammed into a hole laid a leather-bound book.
My father’s journal.
It was here. I found it.
My hand shaking, I reached inside, like I found a piece of my father I had never known about. A hidden gem, more precious to me than any real treasure. Blowing off the dusty cover, I coughed, billows of dirt filling my nose.
“That’s it? We came here for a notebook?” Maddox frowned.
I brushed at the cover with care. “It’s what’s inside the note—”
Bang!
A bullet sparked off the stone right above my head, coming through the door. My body jolted, a cry breaking from my lips as arms wrapped around me. Ash hauled us to the ground with a thud. Glass shattered through the kitchen window with another round of shells.