(A N)

This is the very first 39 clues fanfiction story I have ever attempted, so please go easy on the newbie! :D

A HUGE shout out to my fantastic Beta reader, LovelySOS! You should ALL read her stories, they're amazing! :)

Let the story...BEGIN!

Adrian Kabra. The name sent shivers down my spine, and I wished selfishly I could turn back. But I couldn't.

Not now. Dan needed me...

I should probably rewind a bit and begin again at the start of my story.

My grandmother was always telling me not to leave out important details when I tell stories, and there are a lot of those in this one.

Well, here I go.

My grandmother, Grace, was an amazing person. She even adopted my brother Dan and I when our parents died in a fire years ago, and despite the high taxes given by Lord Adrian, and having virtually no money, Grace always found a way to keep us warm and happy. She also adored her work. What work, you ask?

Grace Cahill is a spy.

Correction...was.

I hate that word. 'Was'.

A short while back, a lot of the nobles who went into Lord Adrian's mansion fell mysteriously ill, and died shortly after they left. Most people thought nothing of it, but not my grandmother. Being a spy, she immediately suspected fowl play.

Turns out, she was right. But unfortunately, she wouldn't live to tell anyone the truth.

The last words she ever said to me were, "Amy, it wasn't E."

I cried then, and grabbed her hand, in a feeble attempt to keep her alive. "Of course it wasn't you!" I said, my voice shaking because I knew her life was slipping away.

Grace gripped my wrist. "No! It wasn't ….not...ME-" She said. I sobbed- her words made no sense to me; she was mad from the poison in her blood. "Promise, Amy, castle... Promise." She sputtered. I felt like my heart was cracking inside of my chest.

"I promise." I said blindly, not knowing at all what she meant.

"Amy... It wasn't...E." she whispered. And then her eyes glazed over, and she was gone.

A tremor ran through my body, and I felt weak. I couldn't stop crying. My brother Dan came and tried to comfort me with a rare hug, but I pushed him away. I needed to be alone to grieve, so deep was my pain.

But a knock on the door brought me back to life. I raised a tear stained face from Grace's still form.

"Go away." I mumbled, my voice cracking.

I saw Jake leaning in the doorway, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Are you okay, Amy?" He asked me.

"She's dead." I said, monotone, staring at Grace's body dully. I wasn't me- I didn't have the strength to say more.

"Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was sick." Jake said.

I turned on him, teeth clenched to keep back the tears, "She wasn't sick. Someone poisoned her! My grandmother was MURDERED!" In my effort to hold back the tears, my vision blurred.

But I saw Jake's eyes widen anyway. "Murdered? Are you sure?"

I almost laughed. I was the granddaughter of a spy, and I knew poison when I saw it.

"Of course I'm sure!" I yelled, hysterical.

Jake shifted until his arm was around me.

"I'm so sorry, Amy."

I shrugged him away and got to my feet. I took a deep breath and attempted to collect myself, and whatever strength I had left. "I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"Sit here while her killer is on the loose."

Jake grabbed my arm. "Don't be so melodramatic, Amy! You can't go after a killer, you could get hurt!" Jake said, insistently. I shook my head no, and I shook his arm off of me.

"Too late for that." I whispered. I grabbed the dagger Grace had given me once- one that before now, I had never needed to use, and I shoved it dramatically into its sheath.

I felt better when its cold weight was pressed against my ankle the way Grace had taught me to carry it.

I scanned the room, and my gaze landed on my grandmother. "Jake, could you-?" I started, but I couldn't finish the sentence. My throat felt like it had been stuffed into my mouth.

Jake followed my gaze to Grace's still form, and his eyes went soft..

"I'll help you bury her, Amy." He whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I clenched my fists, determined still not to allow my pent up tears to flow.

Jake's brown eyes were full of empathy, melting my resolve.

"Come here." he said, wrapping me in in a warm embrace.

That did it for me. I wasn't as strong as I wished I was. I sobbed wildly against his chest, and he stroked my head like I was a lost Beagle. My grandmother, Grace, dead...

We could have gone on like that forever if Dan hadn't barged in on the forlorn scene.

He gave me one look, and his face darkened intensely. "Amy, what the heck? Someone murdered our grandmother, and you're just going to sit there like a lump crying on some schlub's shoulder?" He hissed.

To me, this reaction was so unexpected that I gave a slow blink, and stopped crying. Blushing slightly- a natural reaction for me- I wriggled out of Jake's embrace and brushed a sweaty strand of hair away from my face.

Dan's face was grim. "What are you going to do about this, Amy?"

The fact that my brother was actually asking my opinion was alarming, and I scrambled to make sense of it. Dan didn't usually look to me for answers. He was more of a do-it-himself kind of guy.

"Dan, ugh! What do you want me to do? Go run after some murderer? I could get killed, and then who would look after you?" I said lamely, contradicting my own earlier feelings.

Dan wasn't in the mood for my justification. "That is the lamest excuse EVER Amy!" He frowned at me quite openly. "Grace needs to be avenged."

"What about mourning?" I shot back, my emotions raging again. Up and down, up and down. "She's been gone a total of one hour and already you're going off to avenge her? Who's the real lame one in the picture, Dan?"

I immediately felt awful when I saw the angry, hurt look on his face. Our Grandmother had passed, and he was right, at least, about taking action. Grace would have preferred that over mourning.

"You know what, Amy?" Dan sneered before I could right my wrong, "I don't need you, or your boyfriend. I can go to the castle on my own."

"Dan!" I yelled.

He ignored me, and darted outside.

Jake shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "So...I'll go see if I can find a shovel."

"You do that." I muttered, slipping on a coat.

"Where are you going?"

I shoved my feet into a pair of shoes, and turned to face Jake.

"To find Dan. I don't think we can have the funeral right now. We'll have to reschedule."

The joke fell short, and we both stood in silence for a minute. The once cozy room now felt cold, and heavy with death. I shivered involuntarily, and stepped quickly outside.

"I'm off." I said unnecessarily.

Jake nodded. "Just a tip, Amy- be careful. There are secrets in that castle best left in the dark."

I felt nervous at this eerie advice, but I covered it up with an eye roll. "Dramatic much?" I said, trying my best not to shiver again.

Jake grinned at me. "Maybe a little."

I threw him a quick smile, and then I was running down the path, after Dan. Away from the death in the room, and towards whatever danger would be waiting for me at the castle.