Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sammamish was a suburb city, like the other cities that surrounded Seattle on the north, south, and east sides of Lake Washington.
Not far from the iconic lake, and eight miles east of Seattle, Lake Sammamish was seven miles long, and about one and a half miles wide.
At its north end, the lake drained into the Sammamish River, which in turn, meandered north to where it eventually fed into the north end of Lake Washington.
All the bodies of water around here seemed to come together at some point—Lake Washington fed into Lake Union, which opened into Puget Sound. They were all one, big, watery family.
Unfortunately, swimmers braving the waters during winter didn’t fare as well. And at one point Ted Bundy had managed to abduct two of his victims, on the same day. Neither one made it out alive, and their remains were found some months later, near Issaquah.
Some said the ghosts of those two women haunted the park, but there were plenty of other ghosts hanging around, so it was hard to tell whether they were among the parks’ spirit-bound populace. So the lake had history, and both accidental and deliberate deaths had left their mark.
Erik and Analee’s house was at the southern part of the park, off of NW Sammamish Road, just past Sovde Landing. I glanced at my watch. We were a little early, but we parked in the lot, and slipped out of the car, leaning against the trunk.
The sun had set at nine, the weather had cleared, and the temperature had risen enough to be comfortable. The stars were coming out and it looked like we’d have a good amount of light from the waning crescent to see by.
“How long till the others get here?” Penn asked.
“I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be long,” I said. “I want to head over to the house, but—” But as I spoke, a car entered the parking lot. I recognized it as Dante’s. “Dante’s here.”
He parked and hopped out, heading toward us. “Hey, so what’s going on?”
“Wait for the others,” I said. Within another ten minutes, Lazenti and Orik arrived.
“So, here’s what we think,” I said. I told them about the meeting. “We’re not sure why they’re attracting people—other than for money. That’s one hell of an initiation fee and even ten members a year would be a quarter of a million.”
“That’s not spare change, for sure.” Dante frowned. “But there has to be more. There’s no dedicated temple or church or anything, as far as I can tell. They always hold their meetings in rented spaces. But Carson couldn’t find any mention of any permanent structure owned by the group.”
“Maybe it’s in their name, and not under the temple’s name?” Orik suggested.
“Good idea. Text Sophia, would you, and ask her to check all the properties owned by Erik and Analee.” I glanced at the sky. “Let’s go. If they close out the meeting around eleven, it will probably take them half an hour to get home. It’s ten-thirty now, so we have an hour on the outside.”
We headed across the parking lot at a good jog. Even Penn could run faster than most humans, and we made pretty good time. The house was about three-quarters of a mile from the parking lot. By cutting across the park, it took us barely ten minutes.
We reached the tree-shrouded front of the house by 10:40, and swung around the corner into the driveway, slowing as we crept through the shadows.
The house, which was only a few hundred feet back from the lake had its own private pier.
Lit by dim lights, the driveway showed one car, parked to the side.
It could be a spare car, or there could be somebody there.
“What do you think?” I asked the others as we neared the house.
“They have cameras pointing at the driveway, so avoid the pavement area. Continue creeping along the side fence here,” Dante said.
“In fact, give me a moment and I’ll run in, in my wolf form.
They’re not going to think much if they see that on the camera.
I could be just a huge Samoyed, for all they know. ”
We stopped, crouching beneath a massive maple tree that was out in full leaf. Dante shifted form, then—still skirting the edge of the driveway—padded toward the house.
“It’s handy, having a shifter along,” Penn said.
“Most definitely. Thank gods he heals up so fast,” I said, settling back on a nearby rock that was the size of an ottoman.
We waited for someone to come out, but everything remained quiet. A few minutes later, Dante came running back, shifting as he skidded to a halt beside us.
“All right, if there’s anybody there, they aren’t making any noise, and they didn’t seem to notice the big doggo running around their house.
I looked in several windows and couldn’t see anybody.
It’s a one story house, as far as I can tell.
The lights that are on inside appear to be dimmed, and I think that they’re just trying to keep burglars at bay.
They’re stupid, though, because if they have an alarm system, they’ve screwed up.
I saw an open window, leading into what appears to be a den.
I also saw a staircase going down. So there’s a basement. ”
“Okay, let’s give that a try. We don’t have time to be particular,” I said.
“What are we looking for?” Orik asked.
“Signs that Mark was here? I’m not sure. Just…something that might tell us what they did with him.” I paused, then grimaced. “Other than draining his insides.”
Dante led us along the edge of the fence to the room with the open window. Then, motioning for us to wait, he turned back into his wolf form and easily—with a single jump—managed to fit through the space between the sill and the frame.
I held my breath, waiting. A few moments later, he opened the window the rest of the way and we all crawled through.
“What about the alarm?” I asked as I crawled through the window.
“It’s not actively armed. Hell, it might be for show only, as far as I can tell. You can have cameras without them being attached to some security alarm,” Dante said.
Orik helped Penn in, and we took a moment to look around the den.
The house was tidy, with very little mess.
But I quickly realized that the place felt barely lived in.
There was a bookcase, but only a few books on it.
A computer at a desk, but the desk was almost clear of papers and pens.
Seating, but nothing looked used. In fact, the place felt staged.
“This is odd,” I said, peeking out the door. As we spread out through the house, the entire place felt empty, and—as a home—soulless.
“I don’t sense much here,” Penn said. “But…there’s something beneath the surface. I can’t quite pick it up, yet.” She looked around, holding out her hand. “Over here,” she said, heading toward the staircase that led to the basement.
As we approached, my stomach flipped and I tensed. Something was very wrong. My solar plexus was warning me that something was up—in a bad way. Something magical, and yet—not.
I followed Penn down the stairs, with Dante behind me and Orik standing guard above. Tapping her on the shoulder, I motioned for Penn to get behind me.
“I’m stronger than you,” I whispered. “It’s safer that way.” The basement door was shut, with a padlock on it. I reached for the lock and tugged on it. “I don’t think I can break this. I wish I’d brought my lockpicks with me, but I didn’t expect we’d be out in stealth tonight.”
“Will a hairpin help?” Penn asked, pulling one from her air and offering it to me.
I took the pin. “Do you mind if I bend it?”
“Be my guest.”
I bent it and then, stripping the plastic off the tip, inserted it in the lock and began jimmying it.
A moment later, I heard a click and the padlock opened.
I quickly pulled it off the hook and pocketed it.
Thank gods the skirt had pockets. That was another thing—I wasn’t dressed for this, but it would have to do.
“Dante, do you have a flashlight?”
He nodded, pulling one out of his pack. “Get ready—hey, you don’t have any weapons,” he said, handing me a dagger. He motioned for Penn to get behind him. “All right, ready.”
Holding the dagger in one hand, I eased the door open as he shone the light inside.
The first thing that hit me was the smell. The stench was so rank it made me gag. What the hell? It smelled like a fish factory. Or…
Dante gasped. “What the hell?” He pointed his flashlight toward the back of the basement.
There were three cells there, and two of them held some sort of creature.
They both looked like a cross between a short Godzilla and the creature from the Black Lagoon.
Both were wincing, trying to fend off the light.
The third cell was open, and the door looked broken.
“What on earth?” Penn advanced to stand beside us. “Who…what…are they?”
“I don’t know,” I said, crossing over to the cells. Neither of the creatures in there looked remotely human. “Hello…can you understand me?”
One of them looked directly at me, and in those soft, golden eyes, I saw fear and bewilderment. Then, along with the other creature, it backed up toward the wall, cowering against the bars. What the hell was going on here?
“Kyann, look,” Penn said, her voice trembling.
Dante and I turned to where she was standing by a desk. A large box sat beside the desk. Penn was looking in it, a horrified look on her face. She pointed to it, shaking her head.
“What is it?” I peeked in, then froze. At first, I thought it was a deflated balloon, but then—I realized it wasn’t. “No…”
“Yes,” Penn said. “I’m not touching it but that looks like a skinsuit.”
“Like Mark’s.” I glanced back at the cells, looking at the third, empty one. It was open, broken, and next to a narrow window that was busted. I looked back at the other two creatures, and examined their doors. The locks had been reinforced.
“Can you say anything? Do you understand me?” I asked the figures inside.