T W E L V E
The Second Riddle

BY THE TIME of exactly 3:58 in the morning, most of my traveling group of merry men were asleep, snoozing their heads away into dreamland where everything was probably fine and dandy. Unfortunately, I was not part of that group of merry men and women. I did not have the fortune to be able to doze off as easily for my mind was too preoccupied with the now.

As far as I know, seeing that I had not actually walked over and checked, Lucius and Gabriel were both asleep, tucked into their separate corners of the room, heads probably drooping with saliva dripping like a bunch of slobs that I know Lucius was. Cassiel, on the other hand, was just a few feet away from me, his arm around Bella as she rested her head on his shoulder, snoozing her life away as Cassiel stared blankly into space. He seemed to have a thousand thoughts running through his mind, thinking madly about whatever topic but never quite saying it out loud. Minnie, however, was much like me. She was wide awake, her eyes never leaving the door as she stood watch. She too was unable to fall into the soothing bliss of sleep.

Probably around half an hour ago, I too had snoozed off into that blissful dreamland. That rest was sadly not to last for I was wide awake with attention once more. I did, after all, catch a few minutes' worth of rest after witnessing the death of the man that had attempted to feel me up on the dance floor. Even though that was a few hours ago and my body was a usually very lazy machine, the adrenaline coursing through my veins and my will to stay alive was enough to keep me awake.

I hope that man finds peace in the burning depths of hell.

The winds were howling outside of the window, shuffling whatever leftover leaves there were from autumn. Occasionally, I would imagine myself hearing the slosh of water from the river just right by the boathouse, but then be reminded that the water, for the first time in probably a century, was frozen solid. Such small noises weren't the ones keeping me awake, though. The real culprit would be the soft distant scream I would undoubtedly hear, followed by the echo of laughter that rang through the depths of my mind like a bell set to chime.

If I strained my hearing, I could even hear Death's cold voice, whispering right in my ear as though he was in this very room. 'Time is ticking, princess,' he would say. 'You don't have forever to find yourself, you know. Better hurry for your own sake.'

I shrugged uncomfortably, attempting to shake off the heavy weight on my chest as fear clouded my sight. A voice mumbled right by me, and it took all of me to stop myself from violently flinching away and run screaming 'bloody murder'.

Cassiel must have noticed my distraught behavior because I could hear him scoff whenever the floorboards creaked from my movement and shift of weight.

"What's wrong with you, Pilediah?" There was the familiar tone of a pre-set scowl, and true enough, when I turned over to face Cassiel, his lips were turned down in a frown.

His light brown hair caught the rays of the moonlight, almost shining a reflection as I twitched my lips. This boy pulled at all of my wrong nerves. He is definitely one of those I wouldn't mind seeing dead by the end of this weekend. Sadly, the chances of the rest of us dying because he was caught were incredibly high.

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine."

"No you're not," he said, adjusting himself slightly, careful not to wake Bella up. He paused his movement when she stirred a little, holding his breath for fear of waking her up. Thankfully, she didn't. Bella had always been a heavy sleeper. "You're staring off into thin air like a damn nut job. What's bothering you?"

Irritation flooded my chest, causing me to frown slightly as Minnie peeked over as well from the sound of our conversation. Honestly, who did Cassiel think he is? He had no right to ask me such a question in such a disdainful tone, and yet still expect an answer.

"There is nothing bothering me. I'm feeling really wonderful, actually."

Minnie let out a small snort at my reply, her way of stifling her laughter as she gave a playful roll of her eyes. She shook her head, walking a little closer to where I was seated with a grin before dropping to the floor. Her legs folded under her, enabling her to sit comfortably. "Halt the sarcasm, sister."

Who gave her permission to side with the enemy?

"It's a package deal. Buy one, get one free," I retorted.

At my reply, the two kept quiet, simply finding whatever peace in staring at me strangely as I glared back. There was a definite sign of Minnie's little clockwork mind spinning, an attempt of hers to figure out what exactly was bothering me.

It was so easy to spot her change in perception. The way the little bit of skin right in between her eyebrows creased, her lips set into a thin line. Or how her eyes were staring over, studying the object – in this case, me – but not really looking. Her dimples would appear from how hard she was tensing her cheeks, and yet she would not notice all of this.

Cassiel, was, however, much more responsive. After seconds, he rolled his eyes before shaking his head slowly. All this while, his signature scowl never left his features. I wondered if it was a permanent expression on his lips. "You're worried about Death, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not—"

"Even a blind man can see it, Pilediah. Stop lying. Liars are disgusting." He snapped with slight anger, causing Bella to stir slightly once more.

Once he noticed that he had perhaps raised his voice a little too high, he gently smoothed down the creases on Bella's face, hushing her back to sleep as she snuggled deeper into his hold. Just like that, she was back to snoozing like a baby.

"Hypocritical, is it not?" With a raise of an eyebrow, I twisted my body to face him better. Cassiel's green eyes narrowed, eyeing me with distaste but not commenting any further. "You come in all of a sudden along with your group of merry men, and yet we know nothing about you or Gabriel. Heck, I'm starting to wonder if I truly knew everything about Lucius like I thought I did. And yet, you apparently know all about me, and those guys that are killing off this place's population one by one, and of this riddle and orb game." Annoyed, I raised the paper into his line of sight, shaking it slightly to make my point. "How is it that you know so much yet still know so little?"

"Sad to say, Lucius speaks about you a lot, unfortunately for us." Frowning, Cassiel leaned back against the wall. "And we grew up with those guys, spent years together before they turned on us. I never lied. Not telling you how I know all of this is called 'withdrawing the truth', the last time I checked."

"Why you little—"

"Addison." Minnie's voice steered my attention away, causing me to turn over to her instead. "The paper! There's another riddle."

I blinked dumbly for a second, registering her words slowly before flipping over to view the paper's contents. True enough, a third riddle had appeared. Its black ink gleamed slightly from the moonlight as well as the artificial lighting that illuminated the room, the words ever so clear.

Rich folk burn cash. Poor folk burn ambitions.

"What does it say?"

Reciting the riddle to the two listeners, I slowly turned over to face them, the constant frown on my face deepening. "What does that mean?"

"Rich folk burn cash," Minnie whispered under her breath, eyes darting around the floorboards as she thought of a possibility.

The riddle was vague as ever, just as mind-boggling as the first riddle was. And yet, having solved the riddle once, by accident might I add, certainly did not make this one any easier to deal with. In fact, the riddles only seemed to make lesser and lesser sense.

"I have a thought." Cassiel's voice was unsure, almost as if he was whispering to himself instead but both Minnie and I's attention were on him within seconds.

"Well?"

"This is a boathouse, right? What is the only thing that connects rich people to this place?"

All of a sudden, it was as if a single bulb of light had illuminated my features, snapping a ray of hope into my path as I beamed with delight. "The yacht trips! My dad used to bring my family on every summer for a week's journey around the river. I used to love it so much and it was a big part of my childhood."

"Bingo." For the first time in the night, a smirk graced Cassiel's lips, a satisfied grin amplifying his handsome features. "And the poor people use this boathouse to catch fish for the market. Since this used to be their primary source of income, in other words, their jobs, they did not have the luxury to go out and do the things that they really want to do. They gave up their ambitions to help support their family. The location that the riddle is hinting to has to be around the boats."

"And the water is frozen solid!" Minnie gasped in delight, jumping up to her feet as she began to pace the room. "We can walk over to the fences! Find the police and get the hell out of here!"

"That's brilliant, Minnie." Grinning, I too stood up as I darted to the door. "Come on, we have no time to lose. Every second we waste is a second we are closer to being defeated by Death at this little twisted game."

"Hold up, blondie," Cassiel stated, causing me to turn over with a frown back onto my face. He gently placed Bella on the floor, removing his jacket to serve as a pillow for her, leaving him in a white t-shirt that will do no well to keep the cold out in this winter weather. "You can't leave, remember? The fact that the lake is frozen over will still do you no good because you are unable to leave this compound. Won't you die or something since parts of your soul are not even with you?"

My shoulders dropped in defeat, body slumping as I groaned. Of course, there just had to be something in the way when everything was going well.

"But she needs to go get that orb even if she can't leave," Minnie argued. "It probably is whatever fighting chance we have left against these guys. And this riddle leads us directly to it."

Before any of us could reply, a howl came from outside, one that matched the wailing of those wretched creatures, followed by a man's scream before everything went silent once more. I could feel goose bumps began to rise on my skin, causing my hair to stand as fear crept into my mind once more.

"You are not going alone," Cassiel stated, making his way towards me. "Leaving a dumb blonde such as yourself out in the dark is as good as throwing a kid into a vat of poison."

"Who said that blondes were dumb?" I grumbled in offense but Cassiel paid me no heed.

"I'm coming too," Minnie said before I shook my head.

"No way. You have to stay here and keep Bella safe." I gave my best friend a pointed look. At first, she seemed upset, confused even that I would reject her help and yet make no comment at Cassiel's offer to help. It took her a few moments before her eyes lit up just the slightest in understanding, nodding once when she finally grasped the hidden meaning in my words.

Keep Bella safe from the boys in case they betray us.

"Will you be alright?" She asked instead, worry tingeing her voice as she walked over slowly to embrace me.

"I'll be fine. Plus, I have this." Raising the white pistol, I flashed it around with a grim smile. "I'll see you soon, Minnie. Until then, stay safe."

She offered me nothing but a small nod, shooting Cassiel an unsure look before glancing back at me. No words were spoken, but her look said it all. It was those hidden telepathic messages between two best friends that allowed silent communications.

Watch Cassiel carefully. Use the gun if necessary.

With a last fleeting smile, I turned the knob of the handle, stepping out of the room as a wave of metallic stink hit my nostrils. Without the door to stand in between us and the polluted air that flooded the rest of the boathouse, the sharp coppery scent of blood hit us in full force. It caused my eyes to water, stomach gurgling with fear as I thought about the different people that had died because of this madness.

Cassiel stepped out soon after I did, and I could hear Minnie locking the door behind us.

This is it, the second orb. And there was no turning back now that we know where it was.

-----

social media:

instagram: twelvewonderingstars (private: aurorayeo)

twitter: aurorayeo (private: aurorayyq)

facebook: twelvewonderingstars