I walked up the arduous stone steps to reach the opulent dark wooden doors that contained hints of gold accents. The doors that used to lead into the grand museum, which displayed many artifacts in remembrance of historical events, now led to where The Aggregation is held. At the front door, I locate an elder man in old tattered clothing, carrying around what seemed to be a sack of clothes. To anyone passing by, this man looks to be a homeless person who had found himself a new home at the very top steps of this deserted museum, but to the people inside the organization, we all knew it as the place that held our confidential meetings. That man was no ordinary homeless man. He's the complete opposite, although his life choices are questionable. The man was none other than Phil, a very outlandish old man that seemed to be the guard for every event the organization assembled.

"Who goes there?" Phil remarked as I neared him, squinting heavily. "Does 'ye wish to go against me?"

"Phil, put on your damn glasses," I replied with a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. As he burrowed inside the bag, he dropped the filthy sack of garments he had been carrying over his shoulder. He withdrew a cracked pair of glasses and placed them on his face. His eyes widened as if he was seeing for the first time in years.

"Rune? Where did 'ye come from?"

"I've been here the whole ti-" I closed my mouth, allowing the situation to handle itself. "Can you just let me inside?"

"Depends. Do 'ye have an invitation?" I handed him a cream-colored envelope, which he opened and examined. He gave me a nod of approval and returned the invitation back to me.

"I grant 'ye entrance." He looked both ways, making sure that nobody was wandering around. Once he saw that the area was clear, he opened the grand wooden doors, allowing me to enter. As soon as I stepped inside on the polished concrete, the large doors slowly closed. I watched as the steadily closing doors blocked the sunlight, leaving me with only the lit candles within the museum to guide my way.

I followed the burning candles, passing untouched wooden tables that once held historical artifacts. They transported the antiques that were previously displayed here to a different location several hours away. This museum closed down due to lack of business, leaving a convenient meeting space for our organization.

The candles led me to a door in the back corner of the museum. As I open the wooden door, I discover jagged stone steps leading down into the darkness. I pull my hood over my head and dive deep into the shadows. My feet landed on cobblestone flooring as I approached the depths of darkness. Straining to see, I struck a match, showing a large group of cloaked men protecting what appeared to be a curtain. I headed towards the curtain, but they stopped me in my tracks as the man held out an arm.

"Password," one of the towering men grumbled to me. I took out my invitation, but he shook his head in disapproval.

"Password," he said once more.

"I don't know the password," I admitted. All he did was nod, and another of them took a step forward. He was significantly shorter than the previous hooded man and spoke much more coherently.

"You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?"

"Are you a fucking idiot?" I said, out of confusion. "Seeing as you're clearly human, why did you ask that question?"

"Incorrect."

"What do you mean by incorrect? I'm going to be late because of you guys, call Alastor out here!"

"Your answer was not correct. You have two more attempts before it required of us to get rid of you." He pointed to a large man with a spiked baseball bat. The bat was stained red, showing that someone had gotten the answer wrong one too many times. "Would you like me to repeat the question?"

I gave him a slight nod. "You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?"

I thought, considering every potential answer that came to mind. When I looked up, all the shrouded men were staring back at me. This is the first time they've ever given us a riddle to solve in order to grant entry. I was told that our invitation was the only thing needed; I guess they left information out on purpose. After much thinking, I realized guessing at random was my best bet.

"A cloud?" My response sounded more like a question than an answer. I felt a flood of foolishness wash over me as soon as the response left my mouth.

As the gigantic man with the stained baseball bat approached, I drew my revolver from my holster and leveled it at him. "I have one more guess," I said through clenched teeth. "It doesn't matter where we are; if I need to use it, I will. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal," said the man who was giving me the riddle. "Not yet," he whispered to the man with the bloody smeared bat.

"Repeat the riddle again," I said, more determined than ever.

Before he could repeat the riddle for the third time, the sound of footsteps grew loud as they approached. A thin figure in a royal purple robe stood in the candlelight. They pursued the men, ignoring me as they went, and offered the invitation to the same man I did. Shaking his head, the man declined the invitation.

The cloaked figure removed their hood, revealing someone I recognized. Mara Lenore. Her brown curls fell to her waist, and her amber eyes glowed brightly in the candlelight. Even in this dreadful lightning, her brown skin gleamed like jewels.

"How come you aren't accepting my invitation?" She inquired, her voice slightly husky.

"Password?"

"Is there really a password?" She spoke in disbelief.

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one," I said as she glanced around, realizing I'd been standing here the whole time. Her gaze was drawn to me for a few moments before she reverted to ignoring my existence.

"Explain."

"You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?"

She was ready to answer the riddle, but I yanked her away before she could say anything. "What do you want?" She asked irritably, staring into my eyes. "The meeting starts in thirty minutes, and I don't have time for your bullshit."

"Listen, we need to strike a deal." She started walking back to the hooded men, but I dragged her back to me. "I'm on my third try, and I'm still stumped."

"It's not my fault you're stupid; the riddle is simple, your pea-sized brain is the problem."

"Wait, you know what the answer is?"

"Of course I know the answer," '' she remarked, baffled that I would question her knowledge. "However, I don't make deals, you're on your own."

"Stop!" I shout at her as she tries to escape from me yet again. "Aren't we supposed to be working as a team? Isn't it why we're having this meeting in the first place, to strengthen our bonds? If we don't help each other, we'll let them win."

Hopefully, she doesn't see through my bullshit; I thought to myself.

"The meeting starts in fifteen minutes," she said as she pulled out a golden pocket watch and checked the time. She strode back over to the group of men and this time I didn't stop her.

"I'm glad you came to your senses and agreed to the deal."

"I didn't agree to anything," she replied bitterly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." She walked back to the group of hooded figures, ignoring my comment as she went. I trailed behind her, giving her some distance.

"Repeat the riddle," I urge, irritation visible on Mara's face.

"You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?"

"A candle," Mara answered.

A veiled man in the back of the group drew back a curtain, allowing her to enter. I began following her when a blood-streaked bat appeared in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"You still have to answer the riddle," groused the burly man wielding the spiked bat.

"He's with me," I smirk as I turn to face the voice. Outside the curtain, I notice Mara waiting for me to join her.

"Well, big guy, I'm sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be," I chuckled as I walked towards her. "I had a feeling you'd come to your senses."

"Don't get too cocky," she snarled as she slammed the curtain in my face. I slid the curtain back and walked through it. 

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I absolutely loved making this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much I did writing it. In the next chapter we will continue in Rune's POV and finally learn what The Aggregation is. It's been mentioned a lot in most of the chapters so I bet many of you guys are curious. No worries, in future chapters we will learn more about the inner workings of it AND we will learn more about the organization.

I also have a question for guys: Do you like the fact that I tell you a little bit about the next chapter beforehand, or do you prefer the next chapter to be a complete surprise? Let me know, so I can either continue these little previews or stop them. I just want to know how I can make the reading experience better for you guys <3

XOXO,

Niyawriter