THE KINGS SCEPTRE

CHAPTER FOUR: hell breaks lose

part 18

Guards in theobald's mansion didn't see the cars coming, by time they saw them it was already late. Cars were coming at full speed their headlights turned off, men at the gate shouted warning to their fellows alerting them but were too slow to react. Cars broke directly into the mansion with deafening sound taking along the front gate.

Ava parked the wagon safe distance away from the mansion, while waiting for things inside to heat up so they could easily get in without being noticed. Her heart was racing wildly, no sooner they started hearing sounds of gunshots inside the mansion, it was like Armageddon.

"let's go." ava ordered, her voice dry as twig then opened door handle.

Irina and jay followed behind, reaching at the clearing closer to the mansion they broke into a run heading at the rear gate. Irina wasn't sure if the gate would be open for only few minutes passed since the firing inside started. When reached at the gate it was wide open, they didn't fool around quickly went inside. Backyard was empty, everyone went to the front busy trying killing one another. Sounds of gunshots were loud, enough to send birds scattered over three mile radius.

If the mansion had been nearer town, S.W.A.T team would've already sent down a squad and swarmed the place by now, ava thought to herself.

Hurriedly they crossed the garden separating them from mansion, and stuck close to mansion walls for cover as their hearts went on, drumming wildly. Jay wanted to speak anything even c***k a joke but his throat was dry as sandpaper, and his brain jumbled up. He couldn't think straight fear gripped him as a bug, all of his senses were off just adrenaline rush and instincts kept him in check.

Irina had entire situation under control, this is what she was trained for and had been closer to the battlefield, seeing all its ugliness. Her mind was clear as day, her instincts and senses were super charged. This was the environment she was capable of controlling, here she was the hunter and they were preys.

They stopped on their grounds as two men passed them at full speed not even glancing in their direction, though they were in open.

"we better get inside before another one comes running while he's in his right mind." irina cautioned.

By then they had reached at the mansion's back entrance door, it was also wide open same as the gate.

"is it karma or someone left both doors open for us purposely?" jay asked timidly.

They believed the rear gate their allies opened it for them though it was a bit too early to have reached it that quickly, finding the back entrance also wide open it was a bit of much luck, that didn't felt real to any of them.

"do you think theobald set a trap for us?" ava asked fearfully.

The idea had struck irina, but there was no other choice than to go on along even if it was a trap, sceptre needed to be brought back to Skyler. Her peoples life depended on it.

"keep your guards up, expect anything when inside." she advised then entered, irina wanted to tell them they can turn back and escape though doubted if they would have listened to her.

They stepped into the kitchen it was empty, glass door leading out of the kitchen they saw a hall. Irina was about twisting the door knob, she saw kirk and another man leading at front without a doubt that would be theobald. Kirk followed theobald behind with another guy down the stairs joined into the hall.

"I was expecting that girl here, not those wanna be rich thugs in my mansion." theobald spoke viciously.

"we were busy following on the girl, that our watch on addams wavered. They took us by surprise." Kirk told him.

"well, what's done can't be undone. If only that old hag could've placed me in light this nuisances wouldn't be pilling up." He said, then removed his handgun from the holster. His g*n was all silver decorated in gold. "it's about period, putting addam six feet under this war has been going on ages thanks to that little traveller of theirs."

Ava's body tightened up, theobald was about going to kill his father as if taking a dog on stroll. She just took a step aiming to charge off the room and face theo, she was furious and enraged. Jay suddenly hugged her tight from behind straining her movements.

"lemme go." she commanded while wildly thrashing around.

"hey, hey calm down." jay said, pinning her harder. "calm down."

"they are talking about going to kill my family." she retorted angrily.

"ava, look at me." irina called, forcing ava's head in her direction.

ava looked at irina, her eyes were full of fury.

"remember what your dad said at the road." she asked her gently, maintaining her stare.

Ava had forgotten all about it. Her dad assured them that he and harry would be outside the mansion beyond its chaos, leaving his men doing full work of fighting theobald until he's pushed back inside his mansion that is when they would step in. This was a tactic of buying them time so as to slip easily in facing less obstacles and avoid being captured, now for theobald had stepped outside his father would increase the attacks forcing him back in, under the assumption that on their side they would've already done their task of transporting irina to Skyler, and long gone by then.

Ava realised time was running out they needed to open the gate and send irina back before theo was backed against the corners, for the moment her father wasn't in the fight going at the front. It was impossible for theo to spot him.

"we are running out of time." she said recognizing what was about to happen.

Irina shook her head in agreement, and opened the door to the hall.

From the blueprints of the house it showed that between stairs which led to the upper floor, and the wall there is a small corridor. At the end of that corridor there is another door leading to the underground bunker, gate's location. Door down to the bunker could only be opened by drops of bloods from crystal blood family members, it was ancient magic and irina told ava about it before they had arrived that's the reason why it was crucial for ava to be there.

Once he saw theo going out Irina became sure theobald and his ancestors hadn't discovered the door, for they would've guarded it heavily and theobald wouldn't have left easily. Sure enough they found the corridor unguarded but what was at the end didn't look at all like a door, it was just a normal wall.

"how is it opened?" ava questioned.

"I don't know." irina admitted. "maybe there is a secret hole or something similar, where you can drop bits of your blood."

Then Irina saw lantern for holding candles at the wall.

"what do you think that's for?" she asked ava, pointing at the lantern.

"for holding candles, duh." ava replied sounding agitated, time was running short and here they were finding a secret door.

"i know what is used for, but who needs candles where there is no passage leading anywhere." Irina told her then continued explaining once she saw ava didn't grasp on the idea. "I just think the lantern is for more than a single purpose."

"guys better hurry up, theobald and his men are taken out like ducks." jay informed them, he was at the foot of stairs keeping watch if things go sideways out in field.

Irina removed the glass from the lantern post, at the bottom of its handle there was a small hole drilled into it.

"are you thinking what I'm thinking?" ava asked irina, as she looked at the hole.

"I don't know what you are thinking." irina replied. "hope it's a right thought."

"if your hypothesis is correct, that will be where am supposed to collect drops of my blood for the door to open."

"let's do it then." irina replied, lowering down the glass.

"you are agreeing with me?" ava asked uncertainly.

"do I have an option?" irina questioned, "only way to prove the theory, is by tasting it. This whole wall is bare."

Ava shrugged, it was true there wasn't much of options. She took pocket knife out of her jeans and cut herself slightly across her left hand palm, then raised her bleeding arm on top of the drilled hole in lantern. Few minutes passed nothing happened, they turned to each other puzzled, then the wooden wall in front of them started moving inwards releasing cracking sound, it opened wide enough for one person entry at a time.

Ava and irina took a peek, inside they saw stairs descending to the bunker, it was too dark for them seeing up to the foot of the stairs. Ava turned on her phone flashlight and shone on the stair case. At the foot of the stairs there was another corner heading to the right direction.

"we better rush, before their return." ava chimed in.

"jay, let's go." irina called jay from his watch post.

Irina was the first to enter followed by ava, jay was the last one. Reaching at the corner they saw the other remaining few sets of stairs descending. At the last stair step there was a large room, it had burning lanterns in the pillar posts on both sides. Across the room, far end they saw carvings on the wall.

"that wall is the dimensional gate." irina told them.

Drawings on the wall showed two men facing each other, and their spears crossed path at the bottom. Where spears met there was a gap of something amiss to complete the carvings.

"that is where I'm supposed to place the gem for the gate to open." irina explained, showing them the gap.

By then they were at the centre of the room, jay and ava still amazed with the carving.

"it took you forever." feminine voice came from behind them.

Before they could turn to see whom spoke, people started emerging out of shadows casted by light behind the pillars.

Jay knew the voice that spoke behind them, it had a little hardness on its edges and sounded cold but still it was the same voice, his curiosity got better of him. Jay turned his head to look.

"mom." he called in small unassured voice, his face mixed with confusion.