Guardian: Darkness Rising (3 page)

“
We should get
it tonight,” Luke whispered. His face looked like he was up for a
little bit of mischief making. “We’ll pick the lock to both his
study
and
the
drawer, just like we’ve always done – and then we can read it
during our sleepover. When we’re done, we’ll return it before Dad
wakes up. He’ll never know that book ever left the
drawer.”

“
The
sleepover’s
tonight
? Ian said. Oh, yeah – right.”

Every first of the month, Luke, his brothers,
and their friends held a sleepover. Mari and Daisy (a girl who was
part of their group of friends) had been the ones to come up with
the idea of the monthly sleepover, and as the teens got older, they
continued the tradition in Mari's honour, as if she was still there
with them. Sometimes, it came off as silly, as they were nearly
adults by now, but no one seemed to want to stop the sleepovers,
either.

And tonight would be no different. It was
Luke's and his brothers' turn to host the sleepover this time,
which gave them an extra advantage when it came to snatching the
book.

The triplets' parents usually went
to bed around ten. The teenagers were allowed to stay up until
twelve when they were hosting a sleepover, which meant they could
easily pick the lock of James’s study without getting caught. Emma
probably wouldn’t betray her brothers if she caught them –
right?

“
Seems like a good plan,” Ian
said. “Don’t let Dad find out.

*

Later that afternoon, the triplets and
their friends decided to meet up in the park. It was
cold for the time of year, but the sun was shining, which made the
cold temperatures slightly more durable. 

Without Mari, the main friend group
consisted of seven teenagers; Luke and his brothers, their cousin
Felicity and her brother Anthony (Tony for short, Marco,
and Desireé (Daisy for short). 

Daisy was actually the triplets’ (and thus
also Felicity and Tony’s) second cousin, but the six teenagers
never truly treated each other differently from their friends who
weren’t related to them. 

You probably couldn’t imagine yourself
spending time with your cousins for at least five days a week, but
that was regular business for the Riverdales,
the Collins and the Bennetts. They were almost just
as close as their parents were, and did pretty much everything
together. 

That didn’t mean they didn’t have
any 
other
 friends – after all, Marco wasn’t related to
them -, but the teens simply preferred the company
of family. It meant that they’d always have someone to rely on; it
gave them a sense of safety no one else could provide. Other
friends were just as good, but never as close. After all,
Marco kind of felt like family, anyway. 

There was a certain spot in the park
where the teenagers preferred to hang out; underneath the big
oak tree in the middle of the park, on the grass field. Whenever
they met up in the park, the teenagers just simply spent their
days sitting in the tree’s shadow, exchanging news and telling
jokes and stories. 

And Luke had a particularly exciting story to
tell. 

“
So guys, for tonight, I’ve got a
special show planned,” the redhead said
mischievously. ”But it’s going to be a
true endeavour to get to it. An... adventure,
I’d say.” 

Intrigued sounds came from the
others. ”Why, really?” Marco said; his eyes were a
calming grey colour, and his dark, curly hair was always
messy. Marco was popular with the girls at school; his olive
skin was soft, his hands big, and his jawline
strong. 

“
It’s a
book,” Theodore said, his navy blue eyes
twinkling, ”but a very 
special 
book. According to
our dad, at least.” 

“
Really?” Felicity
said. ”What’s so special about it, then?” 

“
We don’t know,” Luke
chuckled. ”He started freaking out and took it from me before
I got the chance to read it.” 

“
He locked it up?” Marco
said thoughtfully, sounding moderately surprised as he leant
back on the grass. “I don’t know dude. A book just doesn’t
seem worth all the effort to me.” 

“
Oh, but it will
be,” Ian reassured him. ”Why else would Dad take it
away from us, just because he doesn’t want us to read
it?” 

“
I don’t know,” Luke
said, and shrugged. His mouth pulled into a quick
pout as he did so. ”Adults just think we’re a bunch of dumb
teenagers, that’s why.” Everyone laughed; they were indeed
dumb teenagers, but in a certain way, they were more mature than
their parents believed them to be. 

“
Alright, we’ll help
you,” Felicity said. She was nineteen years old, and
therefore the oldest of her friends. Her dark blonde hair framed
her face, just brushing her shoulders; her bangs nearly covered her
blue eyes. Her face had a round shape – she was slightly chubby,
like her mother had always been, but she wasn’t fat,
either. ”What do you require us to
do?” 

“
You guys just need to stay as
quiet as possible,” Luke said smugly. “My brothers
and I can handle this problem by ourselves.” 

“
What about Emma?” Tony
said, his blue eyes reflecting worry. His hair was short and brown,
combed up in a cow-lick. He was just as tall as Ian, which could be
considered tall for his age, as he was only fourteen. “I mean –
she’s going to want to take part in this. There’s no way your
little sister is going to miss out on a chance to bust your ass to
your parents.” 

Ian, Theodore and Luke looked at each
other. Tony had a point – their sister usually threatened to tell
on her brothers to get them to do her bidding. She was, as quoted
by Ian, ‘small, yet terrifying.’ 

“
We’ll take care of her,” Luke
said decisively. “And of Mia, too.” 

Luke was referring to Marco’s younger sister,
Mia. She was ten years old, and almost just as sneaky as Emma.
Marco often blamed his sister’s snarky attitude on Emma’s
company. 

“
That’s right...
there’s going to be two of them to keep watch of,” Theodore sighed.
“Why do they have to have their sleepover on the same days
as
we
do?” 

“
Probably because our parents
don’t want screaming children in their house for two nights a
month,” Marco suggested, “which frankly, I can
understand.” 

The others couldn’t help but
chuckle. 

“
I mean – come
on,” Luke suddenly said. “We’re not going to let those two
little tell-tales stand in our way, now are we?” He
flashed a mischievous grin “I mean – their average age
is eleven, and ours is-” he took a moment to count the numbers
in his head – “at
 least
 fifteen. So what’s
stopping us?” 

His friends couldn’t help but agree with him.
Luke had a point. 

“
We’re not letting those two
brats get to us this time,” Luke said decisively,
crossing his arms and leaning back against the trunk of the tree he
was sitting in front of. ”If necessary, we’ll find a way to
keep them quiet. Perhaps they won’t be much trouble after
all.” 

The others agreed with
him.  

“
You’re right, Luke,” Daisy said.
“There’s a certain chance the girls won’t even find out what we’re
planning to do.  

“
If we manage to hide it from them
and your parents and don’t run into more trouble, we should be able
to handle this fairly easily.” 

 
The teenagers then proceeded
to make their plan of action for that night, and decided that after
ten o’clock, they would wait for an hour before breaking in to
James’s study and get the book. Luke would pick the lock and go in
to get the book, while his brothers stood watch. One of them
outside the study, one of them in the upstairs corridor, to watch
both Emma’s and James’s bedroom. The plan seemed perfect: if
everyone played their part properly and did everything they ought
to, nothing could go wrong. The teenagers would simply have a peek
inside the book and have it returned to James’s study before they
went to sleep. 

And, knowing Luke really wanted to know the
contents of the book, he wouldn’t let Emma,  Mia or anyone
else get in his way.

Release the
Magic

It was eleven o’clock, and that
meant that it was time for the teenagers to execute their plan. The
teenagers had successfully hidden their plans from everyone outside
their friend circle, and thus they could proceed with their plans
according to planning. 

As soon as everyone was in
position and Luke got the message that the coast was clear,
Luke pulled out the bobby pin he’d always specifically used to
pick the lock to his father’s study. It took him a few turns, but
eventually, the lock clicked and the door swung open when Luke
pushed the handle.  

eir plans from everyone outside
their friend circle, and thus they could proceed with their plans
according to planning. 

As soon as everyone was in
position and Luke got the message that the coast was clear,
Luke pulled out the bobby pin he’d always specifically used to
pick the lock to his father’s study. It took him a few turns, but
eventually, the lock clicked and the door swung open when Luke
pushed the handle.  

Luke went inside to snatch
the book from the drawer; he’d need another pin to pick the
drawer’s lock. If everything went according to plan, he’d
be upstairs reading the book with his friends within
just a few minutes. 

Luke had little trouble picking the drawer’s
lock; he was surprised how easy it actually was for him to best his
father. Luke was convinced that his father should’ve known about
his sons’ tactics by now, but apparently, James still
didn’t. 

Or perhaps James was still relying
on his boys to be the better person and not break the rules at any
given opportunity. If that was the case, then James was failing
miserably. 

Luke and Theo, who had been
waiting for his brother outside the study, walked upstairs, and
entered their bedroom together with Ian as they met up with him
halfway through the hallway. 

But as soon as Luke entered the bedroom, he
froze. 

In the middle of the room (originally
two rooms, but James had broken away the wall that
separated the rooms so the three brothers could share one room)
stood Emma and Mia. Luke’s friends quietly sat on the
bed. 

“
You were scheming again,” the
taller girl with chestnut brown hair and piercing blue eyes said to
Luke, “and you decided not to invite us?

“
You disappoint me,
brother.” 

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not
playing this game again, Emmy,” he said. He exchanged a look
with each of his brothers. “We promised we’d take care of
them...” 

“
...And that’s exactly what we’re
going to do,” Theodore said, as he walked forward and flung his
sister over his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.” 

“
And you’re coming with me,” Ian
said to Mia. The girl was quite a bit smaller and lighter than Emma
was, but Ian still had some trouble getting her off the ground –
mainly because her nails were sharp, and she wasn’t afraid to use
them. 

“
We’re here to negotiate!” Mia
protested, her dark brown eyes spouting fire and her short curls
dancing around her head aggressively. “You have to give us a
chance!” 

“
Be quiet!” Luke hissed at her.
“If you wake up our parents, we’ll end up in trouble. We don’t
negotiate with children.” He then straightened his back and said to
his brothers, “take them away, boys. And keep them quiet. Try to
lock them inside their room or something – this sleepover is ages
thirteen and up only.” 

Ian and Theo then proceeded to escort the two
girls out of the bedroom. “This isn’t fair, Luke!” Emma said.
“You’ll regret this!” 

“
Sure thing kiddo,” Luke said,
disinterestedly stretching his arms. ”Alright,
then,” he said and sat down beside his
friends. ”Let’s do this then, shall we?” 

He waited for the encouraging nods that came
from his friends until opening the book; something which
could have been considered to be the biggest mistake
of his life.  

Nothing happened while
the teenagers read the first few pages – but Luke got
distracted due to impatience. It would
take them hours to
read the entire book –
and Luke wanted to show his friends the
weird last page 
and
 return the book to his
father’s study before he’d wake up. 

So, obviously, Luke skipped to the
final page straight after finishing the first
chapter. 

“
Why’d you stop
reading?” Tony said, while taking a closer look at the
page. ”What’s that?” he said. 

“
Believe
,” Felicity said,
reading the word aloud. Both she and Tony had reached forward, and
had one of their hands touching the page
briefly. 

Daisy did the same thing, as she said, “I
think it’s some kind of message. But what does it
mean?”