Chapter Three. #2
Emmaline looked lost, and Vladimir came to her rescue. “Emmaline means it sounded like something from a horror movie.”
I spun to Phoe, who was standing wide-eyed by the stove. “Is this your doing? Another fright night?”
“No!”
Suspiciously, I stared at her, and Phoe growled at me. “Did I make Drake take the wrong turn? How could I arrange for strangers to arrive? Rosie, why would I invite people I don’t know to a fright night?”
Okay, Phoe had a point.
“What is happening?” Calamity demanded.
A series of banging doors echoed, and several of us screamed.
“Stay with the women,” Drake ordered Chance, who glowered.
“You aren’t going out there alone,” Chance retorted.
“No, I’ll go with him,” Lucian said.
“And me,” Vladimir stated. I was close enough to hear him when he leaned forward and whispered in Emmaline’s ear. “Protect them. We can erase their memories if we have to.”
What the hell was he on about? Was Vladimir talking about hypnosis? Emmaline agreed, and Vladimir kissed her gently and picked up a knife.
Drake eyed him.
“Perhaps we should be armed,” Vladimir suggested.
Drake nodded and pulled out a gun from the back of his waist. “Totally agree.”
I couldn’t help myself and released a snort. What was the betting that James, Calamity, Chance, and Inglorious were also armed similarly? I caught Nanci nodding at Inglorious and guessed she had a weapon too.
“Let’s go.” Lucian moved towards the kitchen door, grabbing his own knife.
Once they’d left, Calamity took one side of the door and Chance the other. Daniel watched the barred window carefully as Inglorious prowled, making sure there was no other entrance.
“Will they be okay?” I worried as Calamity glanced at me. He offered a reassuring smile.
“Who’s going to mess with Drake?” he murmured, and I smiled. True.
Drake
My senses were on high alert as we left the kitchen. To my utter surprise, Vladimir sniffed the air and frowned.
“Odd, I smell sulphur,” he muttered, and Lucian stiffened and sent him a wary glance.
“Sulphur?” I asked, and Vladimir jolted. “Is that important?”
“No,” Lucian answered for Vladimir, and I wondered what the hell they knew as they swapped glances.
“I’ll take the lead,” I said, and Vladimir shook his head.
“No offence, my friend, but I’m stronger than you,” Vladimir stated, and my back went up.
“Doubt that,” I retorted, my pride stung.
“Forget the piddling match,” Lucian snapped, and we both swung to him, confused.
“The what?” Vladimir asked.
“Did I say it wrong? The piddling match?”
“Pissing match, Lucian,” I corrected with a chuckle.
Lucian frowned and shrugged. “Modern idiocies,” he complained, making me look at him again.
I shook my head and moved out. Vladimir snorted, but was on my heels.
Together, we walked down the hallway seeking anything out of the ordinary. Once we checked everywhere possible, we ended up back in the vast entrance hall. I eyed the door through which Eden and Jacques had disappeared earlier this afternoon.
“They said it’s dangerous on that side,” Lucian mused as he too considered the door.
“The windows were boarded up,” Vladimir added.
“Yeah, but they really didn’t want us there,” I replied and headed for the door. They either came with me or not. My woman was here and my family, so I wasn’t going to rest until everything had been checked.
I shoved open the door and brought my phone out as a torch. I glanced around and discovered what appeared to be a sitting room. Once more, everything was shrouded in secrecy and concealment. Paintings hung on the walls, covered in dust, and I spotted footprints on the dusty floor.
“Let’s follow.” I strode off.
Lucian let out a low curse and chased after me while Vladimir merely sighed.
I passed into another room similar to the previous one.
The boarded-up windows allowed little light to pass, and I was grateful for my phone.
The next room I entered made me stop as the phone highlighted what could only be destruction.
Something had happened here. The furniture was shrouded, but…
what a mess. Huge slashes had been ripped through the silk wallpaper.
They resembled claws, and I frowned. The damage was immense.
Paintings had been slashed and hung wonkily on the walls.
Two chairs had been reduced to mere kindling, and the furniture had been shoved aside.
It looked like a fight had occurred, but my mind couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing.
“What?” I exclaimed as I shone the phone around. The light landed on the window, and the long, heavy velvet curtains had been shredded into ribbons. There was a large hole in the wall, as if a force had hit it hard, and I moved closer.
“Is that blood?” I murmured, and Vladimir approached. Dripping from the hole with its jagged edges was a red liquid.
“Yes,” Vladimir confirmed, his nostrils flaring. He looked to be battling a problem within himself and seemed tense.
“You okay, man? Do you wanna go back?” I asked.
Vladimir sent me a quelling glance. “I’m not frightened, I’m curious. Something bad happened here.”
“Gotta admit, you seem on edge,” I pushed.
“Wouldn’t you be? In a strange house, no idea what’s happening around you?” Vladimir retorted.
I couldn’t argue with his logic, but my gut told me there was more to this. I nodded as Lucian bent down.
“What did you find?” I asked as Lucian picked something up.
“A dagger. I’ve seen this style before. It’s rare and very old. Incredibly old,” Lucian said, holding it out.
“How old?” I frowned at the blade in Lucian’s hand.
“Several thousand years.”
“Not likely; the metal would have deteriorated by now,” I retorted. Did they think that because I was a biker, I was stupid? That a biker couldn’t possibly be educated?
Lucian shook his head. “No. This was a metal mix that we’re still unable to replicate, it shouldn’t be here.”
Unsure if he was messing with me, I headed for the next door. It was shut.
“It’s jammed,” I said, yanking on it.
Vladimir approached and tugged hard. The door didn’t open, and I flashed him a smirk. I wasn’t a damn weakling. Vladimir flashed his teeth and yanked once more, and it came open.
I sent him a dirty look and began to step forward, coming face-to-face with Jacques and Eden. Neither looked amused to see us here.
Shame, because I wanted answers.