40 Of All The Places

'We are breaking into his house AGAIN?' Aurelia looked seconds away from banging her head on the wall. 'Is the ring even here?'

'Yes. And this is the last time I am going inside this mansion.'

'Where even IS the ring?'

'Inside Cyan Yarrow's bedroom.'

Aurelia groaned. 'Did you not check every nook and cranny for the ring? Even his painting chamber was empty.'

'Was it?' Falcon smiled, turning up the corner of his mouth to look mysterious.

Aurelia made an incoherent sound in her throat before glaring at him. 'Could you please tell me where Cyan hid the ring if you are done letting me know that you are aware of the place?'

'Shhh,' he said. 'someone will hear us.'

'Too late.' She rolled her eyes, jerking her head back just as Falcon heard the thud of footsteps behind them.

A guard stood behind them, a perplexed look on his face as he stared at the intruders before him. The man seemed young, and looked like he was still adjusting to the new job. Falcon wondered if he had been hired in his place. Suddenly, he was grateful he had covered his face.

The guard slowly raised his gun, motioning at them to put their hands up.

Groaning inwardly, Falcon moved towards the guard slightly, but Aurelia placed a hand on his bicep to hold him back.

'Mr. Davis, it's me.' Aurelia said.

The guard nodded slightly. 'Come with me.' He turned around, motioning for them to follow him.

When Falcon started to move, Aurelia placed a hand on his chest to hold him back. 'Sorry. Just me,' she glared at him, 'go your own way in if you're so smart.' She turned her head away in annoyance.

Falcon resisted the urge to laugh. 'I can't believe you are doing this.'

She just shrugged, disappearing in the dark after the guard. He watched her shadow dart across the lawn, disappearing the instant he blinked. His heart swelled for a bit with unexplainable emotions, but he placed a hand on his chest to calm the beating. It was like the night his life had changed, when Cyan Yarrow had caught him inside his bedroom. Wondering if they had replaced the lock on Cyan's window, he prepared to go in.

XXX

He squeezed in through the window and jumped soundlessly, his feet making noise no more than a gentle padding, much like last time. The memories came rushing back, the barking bullhounds, the wall of guards, and knocking Cyan out, all of it done with a confidence that had gotten him caught.

Falcon was thoroughly grateful for getting caught.

Apologizing internally to Cyan and promising to come for him soon, he padded over to the painting in the shadows of the room. The room was completely dark and the door was closed, allowing not a ray of light in. Half of the room was illuminated with a soft glow from the moonlight coming through the glass wall, while the other half was drenched in darkness.

A shadow touched the small of his back, and Aurelia whispered, 'Boo.' She made a face when he didn't even flinch and turned to face him in the dark.

'So, where is the mystery place?' She followed his eyes, which had landed on the painting. Much like last time, Falcon marveled at the perfect strokes, the heavenly pink sunset looking nothing short of a resplendent picnic spot.

Impatient, Aurelia moved towards the frame and removed it from the wall with careful hands and without making a sound. Falcon saw her admiring the canvas, her eyes going over the painting with her mouth hanging open slightly.

'This…is beautiful.' She gushed.

'I know.' He whispered back as the console revealed itself and he punched in the code. The small compartment slid open to reveal the empty cavity behind. He pushed against the back wall, which slid to the side and Falcon saw the chamber where he had picked up the pebble from.

Aurelia leaned over his shoulder, her warm breathing tingling his neck as he pressed on the wall. He expected it to open to the side, but shivered as Aurelia grabbed his hand and moved it away.

'It's a lift up wall, look.' She pushed him aside and grabbed the base of the back wall. Her nails scraped painfully against the stone as she pulled at the base, the wall lifting up like a garage door.

'Ta-daaa.' She said.

The chamber was very small and looked like Cyan had fashioned it out himself, chiseling away at the stone with a rough blade. Their eyes had fallen upon a black box inside the chamber, with a bow on top, the kind in which rings come in. Aurelia pulled out the box reverently, whispering, 'Triple chambers, I love it.'

Aurelia opened the box and Falcon felt his breath catching in his throat. If beautiful was the word he'd use to describe the stone, it would be the understatement of the year. The stone was fixed in a ring, catching the surrounding light and absorbing all of the colors in it. It reflected a different ray as Aurelia held it up and examined it, the swirling colors a whirlwind of beauty captured inside the tiny stone.

'So, this is what the stone looks like,' Aurelia said, her voice hushed, 'no wonder everybody wants it.'

Falcon took the ring from her hands and twirled it. 'How did Cyan get a copy built? He must have paid the jeweler handsomely for this decoy, which means, there is someone other than us and Canis who thinks two rings like these exist.'

'Let's just hope Cyan had paid him enough for him to keep his mouth shut.' Aurelia shrugged off his concern like that.

'Hope. That's right, that's the perfect plan. Why did I not think of it?'

Aurelia glared at him. 'Are we leaving or not?'

Falcon closed the compartments with a definite click and placed the painting back on the wall. He had a sudden urge to grab hold of Aurelia's hand and ask her to leave with him, and not with the guard; which he barely managed to suppress.

'Can I steal it?' Aurelia said wistfully, staring at the painting. She held the ring up close to the canvas, reading the name of the painting in the light of the swirling colors of the ring.

'Shangri La,' she muttered.

'Indeed.' Falcon said deeply, trying to imitate Cyan. 'A peaceful wonderland that you wish to escape to.'

'You sound creepy.' Aurelia faux shuddered. 'Hey, Falcon, if I hire you to steal it after we get Cyan back, would you do it for me?'

He grew quiet. Aurelia had said it lightly like she was joking, which Falcon reminded himself she was, as she closed the box and placed it inside her coat pocket. To his annoyance, he found her words extremely heavy upon him. She doesn't know how you feel about breaking into this house, Falcon, he reminded himself.

That was when all thoughts were driven from his mind.

The door to Cyan's room opened with a creak. A maid walked in, humming to herself as she bent down to pick up a basket of laundry by the bed. In the dark, she hadn't noticed the pair of intruders standing by the far wall.

His body frozen, he turned to Aurelia, who was staring at him with eyes wide as saucers.

Run? She asked with her eyes, and Falcon slowly shook his head, slipping his hand in the waistband of his jeans and sliding his gun out like a snake's silent slither.

The maid hummed merrily, as she walked about, collecting sheets, oblivious of their presence. An exact eternity later, her eyes fell on the pair of feet and her gaze traveled slowly up their bodies, finally meeting their eyes, as she saw the two black-clad burglars standing in the semi-dark.

Her features twisted into pure terror and she froze, stiffening at the sight of the gun.

Falcon slowly raised the pistol as he trained it on her forehead, slowly raising a single finger to his lips, warning her not to make a sound.

The maid nodded her head, body still paralyzed, as she took in the warning. Then she opened her mouth and let out the longest, shrillest scream he had ever heard in his life, including Aurelia's friends.

Beside him, Aurelia snorted.