Chapter 6 Nylah Lovecraft

Nylah stood in front of the door of Enchanted with her hand still raised. She had read about the store from the file and instantly moved there straight after buying gloves. Nylah doubted it would be this easy to find her here. But still, she was going to check all the bases.

"Just to be safe and thorough."

After a moment of waiting in silence, Nylah frowned. She moved to peer into the small door window. The inside looked to be dark and quiet.

Were they already closed? It's not even half past noon. Nylah felt a little astonished by that.

How is it even acceptable? What were they even doing? Nylah thought and then narrowed her eyes.

"This is no way to conduct business."

Nylah was vexed. Why did it seem like every Teran was just irresponsible and self-centered?

Without being able to answer her question, Nylah just shook her head again. She then moved her newly bought gloves to rap at the door a second time. The gloves had cost her nearly her whole paycheck to purchase.

And they weren't anything even special, Nylah thought with disinterest. She looked at them and exhaled sharply.

Am I meant to save the receipt for Ms. Ferguson? So she would know how much I spent?

"This is ridiculous," Nylah voiced. She gave another hard knock on the purple door. She was losing her patience now.

"Hello, is anyone here?" Nylah shouted into the little window.

After a moment of silence, Nylah groaned.

I must have caught the witch after she stepped out. Nylah moved to sit down on the doorsteps.

This could take a while, she thought. But Nylah was resolved. She would hand over the pink slip.

Even if that means staying and missing dinner, so be it. Nylah would remain there until the witch returned, turnover the final notice, send her message, and then report back.

But until then, Nylah had to figure out what to do while she waited. She then remembered her farewell gift from her sister in Freet. She moved to bring it out.

The watch was not fancy—just a simple trinket made out of silver. There was, however, an inscription inside. Something Nylah loved to read to when she had the chance.

Nylah gently clicked open the lid to see it. It was written in the country's oldest language: Dragon's tongue. She read it aloud to herself.

"Cloud fishi cloo knocked sub naak franck/ Clonal braasch frock loo. Isich sosok again Cha/ Cloaked drow dackit fracss lan da li

[By the mother you are raised, the father you are fed, the brother you are sheltered, and the sister you are loved.]." Nylah finished and then fell silent.

"Another five years of this..." Nylah forced herself to inhale deeply. There was no point in crying and dwelling over it for too long.

Nylah exhaled slowly, pushing out every inch of air in her chest. She then took a deep inhale and relaxed. Her eyes shifted to the clock face and saw it to be well past lunch.

I hadn't realized it was this far into the afternoon. I must have lost track because of that damn glove shop. Nylah thought before grimacing.

I never want to go to another glove shop again in my life. It was all just confusing...and the expense! It's only gloves. Nylah thought and snapped and closed the lid with frustration.

Pointless gloves!

Right then, a raindrop fell onto Nylah's cheek.

"Huh?" Nylah voiced and automatically looked up. Above her, the sky was now filled with large grey clouds. They ripped open to pour out a flood of water. It soaked her completely before Nylah could attempt to jump away.

Nylah got to her feet and rushed to stand under the hanging overhead. But unfortunately, her glasses were doomed. They began to fog up as she helplessly watched the rain fall in heavy sheets.

"But it wasn't supposed to rain today." Nylah voiced in disbelief. The weather report she read that morning, a daily habit, said nothing about it.

Otherwise, I would have prepared. Nylah couldn't help but feel a little irritated by that.

Nylah did not like getting wet. It ruined her hair, and then there was the issue of her uniform. It was made entirely of wool. Nylah could now feel how it grew heavier from the rain. It instantly felt like she had strapped weights to her body.

My gloves- Nylah thought, feeling them heavier. They were now soaked through. The water had managed to slip in and drench her skin.

Before she could react to that, though, a horrifying realization came over her.

"The watch!" Nylah cried, suddenly remembering. She looked over to see if the watch was still alright. It was not. Water had also managed to slip in. It was no longer ticking.

"No-" Nylah brought it to her chest. Out of everything that had happened today, this was the final straw. Her only piece of Freet was now ruined.

"Damn it." Nylah cursed at her wit's end. Her eyes drifted over to her gloved hand, and she suddenly felt enraged.

"Damn stupid pointless!" Nylah jumbled. She stuffed her broken watch into a pocket and turned onto the gloves. They were soaked and pointless now.

And after all the effort and money I had to go through to get them, Nylah thought. They're ruined.

Nylah aggressively ripped them off and lifted them above her head. She was ready to throw them into the street, but something stopped her at the last second. She could still hear her voice of reason.

The watch can be fixed, Nylah heard herself say. And the gloves can dry.

I just need to remain calm and collect myself, Nylah rationalized. She lowered her hand and then forced them into the same pocket.

Nylah glanced over to see how the pocket now bulged out and exhaled. She forced herself not to cry. It would be best not to dwell on it. She needed to think of something else.

Perhaps something positive.

At least, Nylah thought, I won't need to worry about being caught without wearing them here.

Nylah was miles away from D.O.W. and in the worst part of the city. The buildings here were run down and decrepit. It was as if Terra and its' riches had forgotten all about it.

No one from D.O.W. would be over here. And certainly not Ms. Ferguson. Nylah thought with certainty.

The young witch felt tired now and leaned back against the door. From her peripheral vision, Nylah could see how her once pristine braids were now a mess of frizz and disorder. This worsened her mood.

"It seems like everything I try to do here fails-"

Nylah felt the door click against her and give in. It opened to make Nylah fall backward. She yelped before landing with a loud 'oomph.' She laid there dazed for a moment.

"Oh no-" Nylah realized and quickly sat up. Her brown eyes looked about her rapidly.

"I didn't mean to-" Nylah paused. She found herself to be alone.

The store was dark and silent. Nylah could barely see a thing. A gas lamp had been turned mockingly low. Its' flame created long shadows.

"Bust in…" Nylah finished softly.

Nylah pulled herself onto her feet. A shot of pain came from her backside, and she let out a slight wince. The fall had not been kind to her. Nylah moved to rub at it as she tried to navigate the darkness. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light.

Nylah couldn't see all the details, but she could make up the general setup of the store. It held the traditional spice racks, crystal shelves, brooms, and books. In the back, it looked to be some kind of door.

Perhaps someone was back there, she thought.

"Hello?...Madame Madeline? Are you here?" Nylah called out nervously. She paused to listen for a reply.

"I...shouldn't be here," Nylah whispered to herself. It was wrong to come into someone's place without permission. And Nylah couldn't help but feel like she was intruding. This was not right.

The witch turned to go back outside when a low creak echoed from behind her.

"H-hello?" Nylah quipped and quickly swiveled her head back. There was no one behind her. She furrowed her brows. Had she imagined it?

The sound came again. It sounded like it was coming from that other door.

"I'm from the Designated Office of Witchcraft. I'm here to deliver a final notice for Madame Madeline…." Nylah called out. Again she could hear the sound. It was low and sounded like wood creaking.

Perhaps someone was in there but didn't hear me, Nylah guessed.

Nylah turned to look over her shoulder toward the outside. The rain was blowing into the open doorway and was soaking the wooden floor. Nylah pressed her lips together with uncertainty.

She felt it be proper to go back and wait. At least until she was sure someone was here. That would be the better plan.

The sound came again from behind her. Nylah closed her eyes and tried to decide what to do.

It may have been proper to go, but if someone, maybe Madame Madeline, was already back there…

"'If you fail, I will demote you to as low as janitorial services and keep you there." Nylah heard Ms. Ferguson echo in her head.

This made her open her eyes.

Nylah stepped over and closed the door.

"I refuse to be a janitor,"

Nylah heard the sound come again from behind and turned to look back. She paused to take in a deep breath. She then moved forward to reach the door.

"Hello? Madame Madeline?" Nylah moved to turn the knob. The door opened silently to reveal a small apartment behind it.

This must be where she lives, Nylah thought.

It was so much smaller and cramped than anything Nylah had seen in Terra. She hadn't expected Terra even to have such a place. She had to wonder how old this store was.

Nylah walked inside hesitantly before hearing the sound come again. She paused to listen. It was coming from another nearby doorway. Nylah turned to follow it into what must have been the kitchen.

"Hello?" Nylah called out to the empty room.

Nylah couldn't help but notice all the cabinets had been left open to expose empty shelves. One of their doors was still slightly swaying. Nylah watched in silence.

It seemed as though someone just opened everything, she thought. This made her furrow her eyebrows.

"Is anyone here?" Nylah spoke in a softer voice. She was beginning to think that maybe no one was here. But, what about the noise? What was it?

Before Nylah could begin to regret her decision, the sound came again. Nylah turned towards the noise to see the pulled-away carpet and the trap door. It had clicked open with a gust of air and then pulled back down to close with a low groan.

"Huh?" Nylah did not expect to see a trap door. She took another step up to it. Nearby, she could see that a rug had been pushed away carelessly.

Did someone just go through here, she wondered.

"Perhaps they are still down there?" Nylah asked. She crouched down to pull open the latch. A gust of cool air greeted her face. It smelt like earth and rock.

Nylah couldn't make out what was there as it was too dark. But, she could make out a stairway carved in stone. There was a black feather lying on one of the steps.

Nylah reached down to pick it up.

"A crow?"

Suddenly there was a sound of wood cracking and splintering from behind her. Nylah quickly got to her feet to look back.

"Greenhouse- Everyone's under arrest!" An old woman's voice called out behind Nylah.

Greenhouse! Nylah thought in confused horror. The Greenhouse was here? She gasped with fright. She moved to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. Ahead of her, she could hear glass shatter and more wood splinter.

It made her panic. She had the urge to get away, even though she had done nothing wrong. But no one was safe when Greenhouse came. She needed to get away.

I need to get far away! Nylah thought hysterically.

Without warning, Nylah's instincts took over. Her body moved on its own. It jumped straight into the hole and pulled close the latch behind her.

Nylah fell hard to her feet but disregarded the pain. Instead, she stood up. Her ears strained to listen to what was happening above. The sound of footsteps was getting closer.

The Gleamer is coming over here, Nylah thought with panic. She needed to move. She needed to get away or else be thrown into Greenhouse.

With that thought in mind, Nylah plunged into the darkness. She couldn't see anything in front of her but it didn't matter. She was not about to stop and make a light. There was no time. She needed to get away. It was Greenhouse!

Instead of sight, Nylah moved to have her hands out in front of her. She felt around the walls. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest.

Nylah became aware of her damp uniform. It was slowing her down. Nylah had to make a decision.

"Sorry!" Nylah apologized for breaking the rules. But the jacket had to go. Nylah ripped it off to fall and fell lost behind her.

FASTER, FASTER! Nylah urged thought. She needed to get far away.

Ahead of her, Nylah began to hear the sound of voices. She slowed with a feeling of uncertainty. Who else was down here?

Whoever they were, one sounded to be a male and another a girl, Nylah recognized. She was moving near enough to start making out what they were saying.

"I can't take it. Please, Salem. Light a candle for us. The dark scares me." Went the deep male voice.

"I'm perfectly fine with it- but, okay. I'll light one for you. We are almost at the Gollum, anyways. And I'm sure James would appreciate it too, right James?"

"Hn hn," grunted a small voice.

Nylah then heard the sound of a match being lit. She watched as the tunnel was now filled with the small light. Nylah could now make out who was ahead of her.

It's a girl? Nylah looked at the young dark-haired girl. She had a crow on her shoulder and a gnome in her shirt. She was busy looking to her comapions.

"There, there. Are that better, guys?" The young girl said.

"Yes, thank you, Salem." The crow cooed. He flapped his wings. Salem smiled at him but then stopped. Her head snapped over to see Nylah.

They locked eyes.

"Who are you?" The girl asked as Nylah stared right into her golden eyes.