Wayward Favor || ONC 2024

Chapter 6: The Key

"Let me try. I can do it!" Lennette pips, squeezing between Jack and Magnus on the back stairs of my home.

"A proper little lady should not be picking locks," Jack insists, grabbing the girl by the waist and lifting her like she is a scrappy alley cat. I duck behind a bush as he puts the thrashing girl on the bottom step.

"It's not working." Magnus grunts. "Everything is magicked shut."

"Give it to me," Jack scoffs, skipping up the steps to snatch the tools from Magnus's hands. He kneels in front of the door, and fiddles with the lock. I tiptoe closer. "You might be right," Jack mutters, "there are mage-marks on the keyway."

"Told you," Magnus snipes, crossing his arms. "We need an actual key, or we'll have two locks to pick."

"Let's break a window!" Lennette suggests, hefting a large moss-covered rock she'd plucked from the garden path. A red and black millipede scurries from the crater, scrawling across the stones with far too many legs.

"No, the frames are mage-marked too," Magnus grumbles.

I have no idea what these idiots are talking about with their criminal lockpicking lingo. Magnus turns and kicks the wrought iron railing on the stairway, bending it.

"Losing your temper is not going to help us break in any faster," Jack chides.

I cross my arms over my chest and stalk out of the bushes. "What do you three think you're doing!" I shout.

Jack squeals like a pig, throwing his hands in the air. He leaps away from the door, nearly tipping backwards over the railing and into the hedges. "I'm innocent," he belts out. "I've been coerced! I...uh...oh..." He drops his arms. "Sweet Rosie? What are you doing here? You gave us all a fright."

I roll my eyes, "You are trying to break into my home."

"Your home?" Lennette says, rock hoisted in her little hand as if she intends to launch it at my face like a trebuchet. "But this is the Truvow house?"

"It seems Magnus chose not to inform you of my identity. I am a Truvow," I say, shooting a glower at Magnus. He crosses his arms and glowers back. "So, what exactly is your plan after breaking in? Do you think my father left a nice packet of incriminating evidence with a bow on top addressed to you? And what will you do when confronted by May in a dark hallway?"

"Who's May? Your elderly housekeeper?" Magnus scoffs.

"No, the Truvow family wolfdog. Break in and May will eat all three of you."

Jack groans. "A wolfdog? Maggie, you didn't say anything about him owning a wolfdog."

"He doesn't," Magnus states, jerking his chin up confidently. "In fact, I'm willing to bet Rose here is bluffing."

"Oh really? May-may!" I holler, then whistle twice. "Come!"

There is a scuffle, then two loud barks. Nails scrabble on the tile floor as she charges the door, smashing into it so hard it shudders in its frame. Jack stumbles down the stairs, Arshtic curses spewing from his mouth like an overflowing sewer. "I'm out! I'm not getting dragged into another one of your fine messes!"

Magnus leaps after Jack, grabbing his friend by the shoulder. "I need your help," Magnus begs, "Seriously, I'll owe you one. I swear it."

"You still owe me for the last three times I risked my neck for one of your harebrained plots," Jack mutters, looking away. "And I hate dogs."

"You're right, you're right. Higher risks deserve a higher reward. I know you've had your eye on Sunlight Delight. The mare is yours if you help me."

A grin plays at the corners of Jack's lips. He spits into his palm, grabs Magnus's hand, and shakes it fiercely. "You have yourself an Arshtic deal," Jack states, bouncing up the steps merrily. "No take-backsies."