"Thank you for your help," Sara said to the servants. Once they had left the room, she sat at her desk and opened her diary to record the progress of the third ritual.
Petra gave the butler, Lulu, a questioning look. Lulu turned to the elderly housekeeper standing nearby. "What happened to Rola after we left?"
"As there was no blood loss, the result of the resurrection was sowhat better than last ti. However, he still cannot speak and is incapable of thought. He is like a puppet, obedient to my commands. Perhaps I am missing so components?" the ancient voice intoned.
"He collapsed as if poisoned, and then... they dragged him to the bedroom. After a while, he ca out, moving with the sa unnatural stiffness as the Shadow Puppeteer, and headed for the cellar by the woodshed," the housekeeper explained, her account interspersed with the whispers of the ancient voice.
In the real world, the spot corresponding to the treehouse was just a patch of what used to be lawn, but the woodshed and the cellar did, in fact, exist.
The butler, Lulu, nodded. After requesting that lunch be brought to the corridor, he returned to the baroness.
"Perhaps I've overlooked so link," Sara thought. The ancient book lay in the cellar. She glanced at the balcony, said sothing to her maid, Eileen, and headed into the garden toward the cellar.
The ancient voice faded as Sara departed.
"Perhaps we should follow her," Petra suggested slowly.
The deaths of David and Rola had left him deeply unsettled, and he was eager to take action.
"I wouldn't advise that."
It was Vincent who spoke, his sudden words drawing everyone's attention. "Don't forget, this is a story, and there's an omniscient being assisting the protagonist. If we do anything unnecessary, our actions will be ignored at best."
Everyone waited in silence. Vincent didn't seem inclined to continue. The butler adjusted his thick, bottle-bottom glasses and asked, "And at worst?"
"Just like in all the stories we've ever read, the clumsy side characters who try to secretly follow the hero always foolishly give themselves away," Vincent continued, pointing out their mistake. "This is a story. The protagonist always cos out unscathed, no matter what challenges she faces. It's everyone else who suffers the bad luck."
Vincent's words gave them all pause. Petra agreed with the logic but had his own reservations. "But we have to know what happens next."
"And then what?" Vincent spread his hands. "We can't change a thing. The story will inevitably run its course to the very end."
All they could do was try to protect themselves.
Petra fell silent for a mont, then looked to Lu Li expectantly.
This, perhaps, was the fundantal difference between the Night's Watch and the Investigators.
"You're both right," Lu Li said calmly.
Vincent took out his pipe and chuckled. "We don't need a politician's speech from you."
Lu Li continued, "Then let's take both options. We'll get closer, but keep our distance. As soon as we hear the 'voice'..."
"I have no objection," the baroness said, looking at Lu Li. Her clothes and expression made her seem like the girl next door talking to her crush.
A match scraped.
Vincent struck a match, lit his pipe, and tucked the spent matchstick into his pocket. "Since our employer has decided," he said casually, "we'll do as you say."
They entered the room closest to the woodshed. The maids who lived there were already gone.
Through the pouring rain and flashes of lightning, the dim outline of the shed was just visible.
The ancient voice was silent. Either the plot wasn't advancing, or they were too far away...
They stood by the window for several minutes until the glass fogged over. Not a sound ca from the shed.
Petra looked at the others. "Maybe we should get closer."
Vincent put away his extinguished pipe. "The rain's too heavy. If I get sick at my age, I might not get back up again."
Of course, it was just an excuse. With the baroness's backing, it would be difficult for him to fall ill.
"Then Lu Li and I will approach the shed," Petra said, glancing at Lu Li for approval. eting no objection, he continued, "The baroness and Vincent will stay here."
Unable to grab umbrellas or raincoats, Lu Li and Petra followed a maid out of the house and into the downpour.
Their servants' clothes were instantly soaked. Water stread down the garden paths toward Agate Lake.
The two of them approached the shed, a faint shape in the rain, coming into view of those who remained in the maid's room.
Lu Li and Petra stopped at the shed door, and then, to everyone's surprise, went inside.
"What did they find?" the housekeeper whispered.
In truth, they had heard the ancient voice. Or rather, the ancient voice had started speaking again because of their arrival.
"Sara had entered the woodshed long ago. The servants, Lu Li and Petra, sent by the viscount to follow Sara, exchanged a look and quietly opened the door," the ancient voice whispered.
"Dust swirled up from the doorway. The servants, Lu Li and Petra, scanned the shed but couldn't find the young lady. 'Where did she go?' the servant Petra asked in surprise. 'Look at the floor...' The servant Lu Li suddenly pointed. Fresh tracks led away from their feet..."
The Shadow Puppeteer was rationalizing their actions.
After they followed its directions, the plot began to shift.
"But suddenly, dust rained down from above, getting into the servant Petra's eyes. As Petra stumbled back, trying to rub his eyes clear, a figure appeared behind the servant Lu Li."
"Sara, standing by the door, swung a shovel and struck the servant Lu Li in the back."
"Look out!" Anna cried. A gentle but cold force materialized behind Lu Li, shoving him forward. He stumbled a few steps, dodging the shovel's blow.
The shovel whistled past his ear.
"What are you doing here?" Lu Li asked, straightening up.
In the dark doorway stood Sara, dressed all in black, holding the shovel.
Petra, having managed to wipe his eyes, watched her warily.
"What are you doing here?" the servant Lu Li asked, breathless. "Help ... I'm so sorry, I nearly hit you," Sara hastily offered the shovel to the servant Lu Li and said in an apologetic tone, "I just wanted to get a shovel to fix the flowerbed. I saw you and wanted to say hello, but I accidentally... Petra, are you all right?"
"Of course, I'm fine, just a little dust," the servant Petra chuckled. The servant Lu Li looked at Petra, then turned helplessly to Sara. "My lady, you can't fix a flowerbed with a shovel. You can leave that to the gardener; you don't need to do it yourself."
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