Footsteps pounded against the cement as the members of the Breaken Tide raced through the street. Eldwin winced with every step. His bleeding had stopped, but the pain continued to pulse. They traveled through the street; everything was quiet. All the houses were dark, and only the lamp posts illuminated their way. As they traveled, Eldwin noticed a house coming into view with light pink siding, white pillars decorating the outside, and a blue roof adding to its oddity.

White flower boxes stood underneath all the windows. Eldwin skidded to a stop and stared at the landmark. The Ole McKenny house was the home of an old Victorian barrister who had robbed the town blind many years ago. Although he was never convicted, he lost everything except his wealth and his house, which was owned by a great-great-granddaughter who, in his opinion, turned it into a living dollhouse.

The Breaken Tide arrived at the black iron fence with white marble holding it down into the ground. Yard lights littered about gave the yard a mystical glow. It was enough to see where one was going but still gave the yard an ethereal feeling. They arrived at the iron fence and stared at the baby blue door that matched the shutters around each curved window pane. Eldwin shuttered. He couldn't understand how anyone would like such a house. All the lights in the house were dark. He glanced at Terrence, who had a smirk plastered on his face.

"There it is. The Ole McKenny Place. Rumor has it, there is a pedestal in one of the upper levels that holds the Amulet of Azeal." He glanced at everyone, searching their faces. Eldwin stared at the door and sucked in a deep breath before turning his attention back to the older boy. Kirk raised his hand and gazed at Terrence as well. Eldwin took a step back as the action caught him off.

"How do you propose we get in?"

"I was thinking of a small two-man job." Terrence returned his gaze and narrowed his eyes. Eldwin watched as Kirk glanced back at the door. Perhaps he was deeply thinking about the situation.

"Who ya sending?"

"You and your pet here." Terrence guffawed.

Eldwin opened his mouth to shout but once again was stopped by Kirk. "Of course, you would give me the new guy."

"I've been here as long as you have." Eldwin spat.

Kirk and Terrence looked at them. Kirk began chuckling as he crossed his arms. "You may be my senior, but how long have you been a member? All Terrence cares about is skill." Eldwin swallowed as a knife appeared once more in his hand. "Tell me, how many throats have you slit?"

Eldwin reached up and placed his hand over his fresh wound. He swallowed hard as the other boys returned to their conversation. He took a step back as the world swam around him. Random words hit his brain ever so often.

"How would you expect us to get in?"

"You could be dumb and use the front door or one of the many back doors."

"If she was sitting in her bedroom or bathroom or one of 5 porches, we'll be seen."

"That's your problem. Just get the loot and whatever else you can grab naturally." Terrence chuckled. Eldwin sucked in a deep breath, trying to still his brain. He could start running, but they all knew where he lived, and that wouldn't solve anything; it just put his mother in danger. Images of his mother sitting on the couch with his teacher made his skin crawl.

"Looks like we have no other choice." Eldwin reached up and grabbed the bar. He pulled his full weight to the arrow tips on top and fell to the other side. He glanced back at the others. Terrence smirked as Kirk chuckled and followed his lead. Eldwin stood on a yellow porch and glanced around, brushing dust off his shirt. The exhilaration of hitting the ground made his head throb.

The sound of Kirk dropping beside him caused him to shake away the feeling. He noticed Kirk had landed in a flower bed with several bushes of different shapes and sizes standing in a row. The bully walked up to Eldwin and pointed down a path that led to the back of the house. Eldwin glanced in every window, praying they wouldn't get caught. The first window had a red tint, and when he peered inside, he noticed red wallpaper with paintings of locations he had never seen before, with a dining room table in the middle of the room with many plates and silverware ready for unforeseen guests. 

Plants hung in the windows as he moved to the next. This one was tinted brown with pictures of instruments and a grand piano in the middle of the room. A hard thud slammed against his shoulder. He stumbled forward and hit the patio as Kirk snuck past him. "Stop gawking; we'll be in the house soon enough."

Eldwin watched him as he disappeared around the corner and behind a bush. He said and rushed to join them. He rounded the corner and noticed another patio a few feet away. A hammock rested in between two bushes, rocking back and forth. Eldwin swallowed as he caught a glimpse of purple hair. A door creaked somewhere, causing the figure to sit up. Eldwin withdrew into the shadow and watched as the woman glanced around. The woman shrugged and laid back down.

A door clicked from behind him, causing Eldwin to whirl around. Kirk stood at a door and swung it open. He waited for Eldwin to follow him inside. Turning his head to the right, he noticed a large kitchen with an island with pots and pans hanging over blue bar stools. Kirk placed a finger to his lips and motioned left to an open hallway leading to several other doors. "So what are we looking for?" Eldwin whispered.

 Kirk reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped a few times before turning the screen toward him. Eldwin had to raise his hand to block out the light. It almost closed his eyes to the darkness of the room. "The amulet of Azeal," Kirk replied. Eldwin took the phone and noticed an amulet on a golden chain with a giant sapphire in the middle. "Rumor has it that this gem can control ice. A man approached us two weeks ago and asked us to hunt it down for him." Eldwin stared at the image until Kirk swiped it out of his hands. "You look upstairs. I'll search down here."

"But, what if she comes inside?"

"Then run and hide. Hopefully, she won't, tho. I've been watching the house, and she likes sleeping outside on nights like tonight." 

Eldwin blinked a couple of times, his brain trying to process the logic, and then shrugged. "I'll jump out of the window if I have to."

Kirk made a face before turning and opening the first set of doors, which appeared to lead into a bedroom. Eldwin looked around before heading into a hallway at the other end of the kitchen. He opened the door on the right and noticed a bathroom. He then opened the door and saw a room with a washer and dryer and a door on the left hangers for other clothes. Closing the door, he looked at the open entryway before him. 

Sucking in a deep breath, he snuck down the hall and wandered into a sitting room. He looked away and noticed a stairwell going up to the next floor. He pressed his back against the wall, wishing he wouldn't be seen, and snuck up the stairs. When he arrived at the landing, he found himself in a gallery with pictures and bookshelves littering the walls. He looked and saw another opening. He walked forward and wandered into a gallery. There were pictures on every wall, each with a light to illuminate them, and on the right were two easies with tables next to them holding painting supplies. 

A light flipped on from a room on the left. Eldwin moved behind a wall, hoping he wouldn't be seen. A sweet humming meets his ears. He peered over thatched as a young woman with reddish-orange hair came from the left, grabbed a cookie off a plate from a counter over the wall, and disappeared into the door on the left. Eldwin placed a hand against his chest to calm his heart rate. He had heard that the owner's half wall and his sister visit now and then. 

Anxiety began flooding through him. He shouldn't be here. He should jump out of the window while he had the chance and be done with it. He didn't want to be here anyway or alert the owners that someone could jump their fence and get inside their house. Eldwin swallowed hard. He crept into the room and noticed bookshelves littered around the wall with counters that held candy and baked goods with a cafe-styled table and chairs in the middle. A light blue glow emanated from above his head. He glanced upward. All he could make out was another room with more shelves and books.

Eldwin looked around the room. Besides his entry, there were three others. A big open room on his right, another one on the same side with closed doors, and another set of closed doors on the left. Chewing on his bottom lip, he wandered into the room with the open door. He looked around and noticed, once again, that he was in another room with a library, but at least there was a cozy couch in the center of the room with several blankets and pillows. He looked around and noticed a smaller staircase to a third floor. A door creaked somewhere close by. Eldwin glanced around before scrambling up the stairwell into a third story. 

Scanning the area, he noticed a doorway and wandered toward it. A blue light glowed underneath the door, drawing him to it. A voice began echoing in his ears, calling him. A chill raised his spine. The glow under the door turned red as the voice grew huskier. He tried to stop his progression. Something felt wrong about this place, yet his body kept moving without his bidding. He closed his eyes. Snowflakes appeared under his feet and before him, as a pedestal with the amulet appeared in his mind.

Unbidden, his body stopped moving, and his eyes opened. He gazed down at the shining object lying on a pillow under a cubbed piece of glass for protection. The voice became louder and more apparent. "Eldwin," it whispered. He whirled around, looking for the voice, but all he saw was the way back into the immense library from the smaller one he now occupied. "I've been waiting for you."

Eldwin whirled back to the amulet and watched as a pair of red eyes appeared on the surface. His hands reached out and touched the glass. The glass trembled under his touch before shattering. Movement came from behind the wall. He turned to leave, but his feet refused to move. Laughter echoed through his mind. "Now that we have been reunited, we can't be separated." Eldwin watched as the amulet turned red and hovered off the pillow with snowflakes falling around it. Eldwin tried to pull back. He didn't want anything to do with this cursed object. His body refused to respond. 

The amulet drew closer as his right hand reached out to it. Eldwin bit his lower lip. There was nothing he could do. The amulet came into his hand. As soon as his fingers wrapped around the object, he felt an icy chill raced up his arm, and snow began falling around him. A noise came below him, drawing his attention away from the amulet. "We must leave." The voice told him.

"Who..." Eldwin began but trailed off.

"You'll find out soon enough; now go. Your friend will be looking for you. I feel his presence."

Shoving the amulet into a pocket, he turned and ran out of the room the way he had come. He stopped at the first stairwell and watched as the woman with the purple hair disappeared outside onto a balcony. "What are you boys doing out there?" She shouted. Eldwin watched the younger girl rush to her side. Eldiwn swallowed a lump in his throat and hurried past them. He heard the glass door slam shut behind him as he made it to the stairs that would take him downstairs.

Kirk rounded the corner from the music room if he recalled. "What's going on?" He whispered. Eldwin jumped the last few steps, headed toward the front door, flung it open, and ran out into the open. A woman's voice yelled something from above him, but he refused to acknowledge it as he clambered up the fence and dropped down on the other side of the wall. Eldwin looked around as fear gripped his heart. Kirk wasn't there... The sound of someone falling to the ground beside him caused him to look. He watched as Kirk rose to his feet, grabbed Eldwin by the shirt, and ran. "Come on!"