14 To Climb Or Not To Climb?

The chandelier glowed brightly in the middle of the room. It's light gilding the tastefully decorated place. The furniture were designed to fit the minimalist concept using tones of black and white where every little part has a purpose. The interior screams control to the observer.

In the center of the room was Ley walking back and forth. Her forehead scrunched with frustration. After a run in with another threat earlier, they went straight to this reclusive property far away from the city. Landon led her to this little mansion or maybe an oversized villa without a word. Two hours have passed since then and she was just waiting here.

There was no information provided. He didn't even explained why he just suddenly brought her here. A heads up in the car would have been fine already. Ley imagined a lot of ways this could've worked better but Landon just keep pushing her buttons, expecting her to just follow him without a word. She's really tired of Landon just arbitrarily deciding everything for her.

Should she just ditch this job?

She could easily do that but she's worried about the escalating threats. She can't just close her eyes and ignore the unusual attacks to Landon where other race seems to be dipping their fingers. It could be something major but she honestly hoped that it's just an overblown shifter rivalry.

She glanced at her watch and decided that she had enough of waiting already.

***

Inside a study room.

The atmosphere radiated an oppressive air threatening to choke the unaware. Gone was Landon's usual amiable smile, replaced by the stare of a predator waiting to pounce on just one wrong move. He was sitting in front of the table facing two guys, Sebastian and Silas.

Silas was a lanky guy wearing a buzz cut usually looking like a loafer unless he gets serious. He was in charge of security and one of the assigned backup earlier.

Landon directed his severe gaze at him and said, "Explain to me why you weren't able to capture at least one of them."

"It was a mess. We did well in intercepting them and almost apprehended them but our bodies suddenly felt sluggish in the middle. It all happened fast so I wasn't able to catch the reason why. Ara got hit on her vital parts and I had to prioritize getting her out of there. They clearly expected our appearance there and I strongly suspect that the humans know that we're shifters," Silas gestured agitatedly.

"Was there any magick present there?" Sebastian asked sharply upon hearing the abnormal circumstance.

"No, not even one or I would've felt their magic," Silas refuted.

"Not if it's one of their toys, those objects they engraved with magic are troublesome and you wouldn't feel any sort of sign at all when they use it," Sebastian countered.

"But they're prohibited to sell or pass it in any way to humans right?" Silas considered.

"There's only a few magicks with engraving talent. I want them investigated immediately and look into the Warped Alley if there's some object being sold with that kind of effect or any strange transaction going on," Landon laid down the orders.

He believed that Warped Alley would point them in the right direction if the investigation came up with nothing. It was the catch point for all things designed for the supernatural, both legal and illegal.

The place got their name because all sorts of enchantment to hide the place from the humans causing it to get warped and not having an authorized pass from them would result to an outsider getting lost with no way back from those bewildering magic.

They both acquiesced and Sebastian left the room to organize and get the investigation started straight away while Silas stayed.

"Please give me permission to hunt them. They drew blood, it's only right that we repay them. They can't just target us without expecting a response. My little sister was terribly wounded and it's in my rights to mete out retribution," Silas insisted heavily.

"What you're going to hunt are just the pawns. There's no use wasting your time on small fries just to vent out your anger. I want them taken out all the way to the roots. You can do so if you really can't tolerate it but I'll have to take you out of this case if you can't control your emotions. Besides, Ara isn't little anymore. She knows what to expect when she joined the security team," Landon coldly shot down his request.

"What about the spy? The fact that they were highly informed of our presence earlier strongly reinforced my suspicion of a spy here. Are we letting that slide too?" Silas asked, clearly upset.

Landon snarled at Silas' words. His expression gaining animalistic features with the appearance of fangs and the barest hint of black and orange stripes.

"Flush that rat out silently. No one betrays me and still continue to run rampant," Landon's voice gaining an inhuman register.

"Understood," Silas agreed, flashing a feral smile.

***

Ley carefully hid behind the wall and checked whether there was anybody passing by. The coast was clear so she slowly inched her way to the exit. It looked like only Landon lives there. It was a beautiful house but it's just so sad to live there alone. She didn't catch any unknown scent too hence the assumption.

At a distant part of the property, she can see some sort of compound filled with buildings around 4 storeys high.

Are there other shifters there?

Looks like they banded here together too which doesn't surprise her since shifters tend to gravitate towards the strong for protection.

She steered clear of that direction and entered the mini forest in search of some sort of way out of here. She'd like to go the way they entered earlier but she doubted the guard would let her out just like that.

Walking barefoot with heels in her hand for a while, she found some sort of wooden railings a bit taller than her which might've been there to keep animals off the property.

She can just climb these and look for the road to take a cab. She's got a terrible headache from all the computer work and not in a mood to run back home.

She looked at her skirt and decided to still climb since no one's around anyway. She was almost at the top when a cough sounded at her feet. She froze and stiffly looked down to find Landon looking up at her.

Don't think about it and just be chill.

She chanted through her head to give her guts. She unconcernedly said, "I'll just see you in the office."

"Stop climbing and get down now or I'll climb up there and get you," Landon spoke again with a tone that surely will do what he said.

Who cares?

Ley ignored him and still continued. She was about to cross to the other side when the world turned upside down