AWAKENING

Excerpt:

Lincoln was crouched down in front of the only locked door in the entire castle, his tongue sticking out slightly from between his teeth while he attempted to pick the lock with a straightened out paper clip.  If this place was as important as he’d been taught it was, why was this door the only locked door in the entire place?  Scrambling the wire in the lock one more time, he jerked on the door knob in frustration and found it was still locked up tight.

He let his head hit the stone wall with a thud.  “I need a hairpin please,” he said, reaching his hand out behind him without bothering to look up.

“You think I have a hairpin?”  Guin was sitting on the banister, her hands clenching the old wood tightly as she watched him.

Lincoln sighed, rolling his eyes.  “In that bag of yours, I’m sure you have a lot of things I wouldn’t want to know about.  Just give me a hairpin.  Please?”

Reaching up into her elaborately pinned updo, Guin let her fingers search along her scalp until she found a pin that wasn’t vital to her hairstyle and pulled it out, handing it to him.  Turning back to what he’d been doing, Lincoln knelt back down on the floor, taking his paper clip and holding it to the top of the lock while he slid the hairpin into the bottom part.  Maybe he’d been attacking this all wrong.

Guin looked around, admiring the craftsmanship of the castle.  “It’s very nice here.”

“Yeah, it’s a summer home.”  Lincoln grunted as he twisted the hairpin, hoping it would catch the ancient tumblers in the lock, but he struck out again.  Maybe I’ve got this all wrong, he thought to himself.  Maybe if I put the paper clip in the bottom and use the hairpin to twist at the top.  Maybe that’s the answer.

“Can you imagine growing up here?  Being able to run through all this space, living in the middle of nowhere.  It must’ve been magical.”

Twisting with all his might, Lincoln ended up breaking both the paper clip and the hair pin in the lock.  He threw the remains away, cursing.  “We’re not getting in there.  It’s over.”

Guin rolled her eyes.  “Oh please.  We’re vampires.  Break the door down.”

Frustrated that he wasn’t able to pick a simple lock, Lincoln stood up and looked at her, his hands clenched in fists.  “You are crazy.  I can’t break through that.  It’s oak.  I’ll hurt myself.  Some vampire you are.  You want to break down the door, you break it.”

She jumped down from the banister, landing on the stone floor of the first level.  Lincoln looked over the banister at her.  “There has to be some way into that room.  I’m going outside.  Maybe we haven’t thought of it yet.”

“And while you’re out there, what am I supposed to do here?  Twiddle my thumbs?”

“Try to break it down.  It might be oak, but it’s old oak.  You might have more success than you think.”  A small cloud of dust followed after her as she ran through the front door and out of his sight.

Glancing back at the door, Lincoln rolled up his sleeves.  “’Break down the door.’  Right.  She is crazy.”  He backed up as much as he could in the narrow hallway and charged the door, bouncing off and landing against the banister.  “Oh she is crazy.”

That didn’t stop him from trying again.  When the result was much the same, frustration broke through his rationale to become a full out childish temper tantrum.  He’d show that stupid door who was boss.  Backing up, Lincoln charged the door again, this time bouncing off of it with so much force that he ended up flying over the banister to land on his back on the stone floor of the first level.  He had enough time to reflect on his immature stupidity while a silvery cloud of dust floated around him.

Breaking down the door wasn’t going to be an option, not in that little hallway.  He’d need something bigger if he was going to succeed in that.  He’d need an axe or a battering ram.  A light bulb went off in his head.  An axe.  Hadn’t there been weapons in one of the rooms on this level?  You could see where the prized weapons had been removed from the walls, but he was certain there’d been an axe still up there somewhere.

As he was coming back to the stairway, a large battle axe in his hands and a satisfied smile on his face, Lincoln was brought up short by Guin standing in his way with her arms crossed over her chest and an indulgent look on her face.  “You were going to chop the door down?”

“I can’t break it down.  This was the next best option.”

She shook her head, smiling.  “Boys and destruction.  When in doubt, smash it with an axe or blow it up, just as long as you completely destroy it.  I’m sorry to mess up your fun, but I have another solution.”

on the banister, her hands clenching the old wood tightly as she watched him.

Lincoln sighed, rolling his eyes.  “In that bag of yours, I’m sure you have a lot of things I wouldn’t want to know about.  Just give me a hairpin.  Please?”

Reaching up into her elaborately pinned updo, Guin let her fingers search along her scalp until she found a pin that wasn’t vital to her hairstyle and pulled it out, handing it to him.  Turning back to what he’d been doing, Lincoln knelt back down on the floor, taking his paper clip and holding it to the top of the lock while he slid the hairpin into the bottom part.  Maybe he’d been attacking this all wrong.

Guin looked around, admiring the craftsmanship of the castle.  “It’s very nice here.”

“Yeah, it’s a summer home.”  Lincoln grunted as he twisted the hairpin, hoping it would catch the ancient tumblers in the lock, but he struck out again.  Maybe I’ve got this all wrong, he thought to himself.  Maybe if I put the paper clip in the bottom and use the hairpin to twist at the top.  Maybe that’s the answer.

“Can you imagine growing up here?  Being able to run through all this space, living in the middle of nowhere.  It must’ve been magical.”

Twisting with all his might, Lincoln ended up breaking both the paper clip and the hair pin in the lock.  He threw the remains away, cursing.  “We’re not getting in there.  It’s over.”

Guin rolled her eyes.  “Oh please.  We’re vampires.  Break the door down.”

Frustrated that he wasn’t able to pick a simple lock, Lincoln stood up and looked at her, his hands clenched in fists.  “You are crazy.  I can’t break through that.  It’s oak.  I’ll hurt myself.  Some vampire you are.  You want to break down the door, you break it.”

She jumped down from the banister, landing on the stone floor of the first level.  Lincoln looked over the banister at her.  “There has to be some way into that room.  I’m going outside.  Maybe we haven’t thought of it yet.”

“And while you’re out there, what am I supposed to do here?  Twiddle my thumbs?”

“Try to break it down.  It might be oak, but it’s old oak.  You might have more success than you think.”  A small cloud of dust followed after her as she ran through the front door and out of his sight.

Glancing back at the door, Lincoln rolled up his sleeves.  “’Break down the door.’  Right.  She is crazy.”  He backed up as much as he could in the narrow hallway and charged the door, bouncing off and landing against the banister.  “Oh she is crazy.”

That didn’t stop him from trying again.  When the result was much the same, frustration broke through his rationale to become a full out childish temper tantrum.  He’d show that stupid door who was boss.  Backing up, Lincoln charged the door again, this time bouncing off of it with so much force that he ended up flying over the banister to land on his back on the stone floor of the first level.  He had enough time to reflect on his immature stupidity while a silvery cloud of dust floated around him.

Breaking down the door wasn’t going to be an option, not in that little hallway.  He’d need something bigger if he was going to succeed in that.  He’d need an axe or a battering ram.  A light bulb went off in his head.  An axe.  Hadn’t there been weapons in one of the rooms on this level?  You could see where the prized weapons had been removed from the walls, but he was certain there’d been an axe still up there somewhere.

As he was coming back to the stairway, a large battle axe in his hands and a satisfied smile on his face, Lincoln was brought up short by Guin standing in his way with her arms crossed over her chest and an indulgent look on her face.  “You were going to chop the door down?”

“I can’t break it down.  This was the next best option.”

She shook her head, smiling.  “Boys and destruction.  When in doubt, smash it with an axe or blow it up, just as long as you completely destroy it.  I’m sorry to mess up your fun, but I have another solution.”