by Amy Sparling
I take it. “Let’s go.”
Theo uses a crowbar to bust open the front door, which is a heavy wooden slab of a thing that goes with the castle like exterior. Once we’re inside, the whole place smells like roses and it also looks a lot like a real house and not a castle. I’d been picturing stone floors and walls, giant sweeping murals and metal candlesticks—pretty much like what the castles look like in movies and TV shows.
Instead, the walls are drywall instead of stone, painted in deep rich colors like burgundy and hunter green. There’s a sitting room to the left filled with stuffy old people furniture, floral print everything, and an antique coffee table. It’s so not what I’d picture being Lady Em’s style, but if she was raised in a different time period, maybe she never grew out of it.
There are dozens of paintings on the walls. Half-melted candles in the sconces that line the hallways. I let Theo lead the way through the house, opening doors every so often. The rooms are lavishly decorated in antique furniture and artwork, but it looks as though no one has lived in this house for centuries. Lady Em is a strange woman, that’s for sure.
We make it to the back of the house having seen nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly no stash of immortality stones. The last room at the end of a long hallway is locked. Theo bends down and peers through the hole. The door is made of dark wood, and a rusted brass lock has a large keyhole that you can see right through. He grabs the doorknob with both hands and shakes it, then pushes in hard.
The sound of wood splintering finally gives way and the door opens, the lock broken. The air floods my senses with the smell of rose perfume and there’s no mistaking that this is Lady Em’s bedroom. There’s a large four-poster bed in the center of the room, a plush burgundy rug underneath it. Sheer curtains drape over the headboard and rise up into the ceiling. The bedspread is red satin and it’s decorated with dozens of throw pillows.
There’s a writing desk off to the side, stationary and wax seals waiting to be made into letters. Her antique wardrobe is tall and long, and I pop open the door to find dozens of beautiful gowns hanging inside.
“I found something,” Theo says.
He’s standing over the nightstand next to her bed. The little drawer on the front of it is open, his fingers still resting on the handle. I rush over there and see a single immortality stone set in a necklace.
“Is that yours?” I ask, recognizing the silver chain.
Theo nods. “It’s useless to her without the lifeblood.” He reaches down and takes it, sliding it his pocket. “Let’s search the rest of the room.”
Several minutes go by and we tear the place apart looking for the other stones she’s stolen. The search is useless though, and after I’ve personally kicked and pried at every single floorboard to make sure none of them are secret hiding places, I stand up and wipe my hands on the front of my jeans. “They must be somewhere else.”
Theo’s forehead creases. The sudden change in his expression makes me nervous. He looks at me quickly, then turns toward the bedroom door.
A man appears. He’s probably seven feet tall, and he’s so muscular he might have trouble fitting through the doorway. “You’re not allowed to be here,” he says, his voice deep.
“And who are you?” Theo asks as casually as if he’d just walked into a bakery and wants to order a cupcake.
“I am Lady Em’s personal security,” he says. A vein pops out in his forehead. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
Theo tisks. “You’re a terrible security guard, dude. We just walked right in the place.”
“Impossible!” he says, his wide face twisting into a scowl. “The doors are locked.”
Theo chuckles. “Where the hell did she get you? The warehouse of idiots?”
It’s right about now that the guard realizes we’re not some of Lady Em’s friends just coming over to hang out. He looks at me, and then back at Theo. “You need to leave.”
I’m a little scared of the guy, even if he is kind of stupid. He’s nothing but huge bulging muscles, after all, and those things can be used to hurt us. Theo doesn’t seem too concerned.
He takes the necklace out of his pocket and holds it up. “Where does she keep these?”
The guy’s face flashes with recognition, and maybe even a little fear. “You need to leave, or I will make you leave.”
“You won’t make me do anything,” Theo says, sliding the stone back into his pocket. “Where does she keep them?”
The hulking giant in the doorway grits his teeth. “Leave or I will kill you.”
“Well, now you just pissed me off,” Theo says. There’s a hunger in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. He cracks his neck to the side and then tosses a wink my way before he charges forward.
The guy launches as well, his meaty fist raised and ready to punch Theo right in the face. Theo ducks, then grabs the guy’s wrist as he throws the punch. Theo pulls the guy’s weight forward and throws him to the ground. Then he swipes a curtain right off the freaking wall.
It only takes a second, but the curtain is now wrapped around the guy’s neck, and his face is turning bluer by the second. He kicks and struggles, but soon he stops, the only energy he has left he uses in an attempt to breathe.
“You don’t have a stone,” Theo says through gritted teeth. “That means she hasn’t made you immortal.” He kneels down, digging his knee into the guy’s abdomen. Judging by the guy’s gurgle of pain, it doesn’t feel very good.
“She doesn’t care about you,” Theo says, tugging the curtain a little tighter around his neck. “So why remain loyal to her? Help me and you’ll be helping all of society.”
His eyes are bloodshot, his face a picture of agony. But it only takes a few more seconds before he makes what resembles a nod. Theo loosens his makeshift noose a little. “Where does she keep the stones?”
“Fuck you,” he spits out.
I cringe, because the guy is only going to piss off Theo more. “Don’t worry,” Theo says, turning to me. “I’ll just kill him and we can find the stones the old fashion way.”
“Fine!” the guy says. Panic seems to light up his whole face.
“Oh now you’re cooperating?” Theo says, tightening the curtain around his neck. “Seems like it’s a little too late now, buddy.”
The guy thrashes and groans, begging for Theo to give him another chance. I’m pretty sure it’s all just an act on Theo’s part, but he’s doing a damn good job of being convincing.
“The…safe,” he says.
“Where?” Theo asks. His forearm muscles are taunt as he grips the curtain.
“Attic,” he says again. “Where I sleep.”
“That explains why my men never knew you were here,” Theo says, seeming to take his sweet time talking. “They looked for people inside the house, but not in the attic. So there’s a safe up there?”
He nods. Well, he does what can only be considered a nod.
“What’s the combination?”
“His birthday,” the guys says.
“Who’s birthday?”
His expression darkens. He doesn’t know whose birthday is the combination, and now he’s terrified to die.
“It’s Lord Timothy,” I say. I don’t know for sure, but who else could it be? Plus this guy is cooperating with us, so I don’t want him to suffer any more than necessary.
Theo releases him, then stands up. He holds out his hand, palm toward the guy just like Lady Em did before she blasted us with power. The guy cowers like a scared dog. Just as Theo must have suspected, this guy is used to her torture with the power she’s obtained.
Now all Theo has to do is pretend he has the same power. “Leave,” he says. “Walk out the front door and leave and never come back.”
“Y-yes—yes sir,” the guy mumbles.
With one hand facing the guy, Theo gets his phone with the other hand and calls Damien. “A man is leaving,” he says into the phone. “Let him go. If he tries coming back, kill him.”
“Thank you,” the guy says as he scrambles to his feet.
“Lady Em is no friend of yours,” Theo tells him. “If you want to remain alive, you’ll never seek her out again. And you will never speak a word of this to anyone.”
Chapter 18
Damien calls Theo’s name from somewhere in the castle. The guard that Theo had let go has been gone a few minutes now, and we’re still in Lady Em’s bedroom, looking for anything that might be of importance before we head to the attic.
Theo walks to the door. “I’m down here,” he calls back. “The long ass creepy hallway.”
Footsteps jog down the length of the creepy hallway and Damien appears, his brows pulled together. “Who was that?”
Theo straightens his shirt which had gotten rumpled while he fought with the guy. “Lady Em’s secret guard who lives in the attic.”
“The attic?” Damien scoffs, running a hand down his beard. “The one place we didn’t scout out before we came over. Who lives in an attic?”
“That guy, apparently.” I look up at the ceiling, even though I know the attic door won’t be in here. “He said the stones were in a safe in the attic. Let’s get them and get the hell out of here.” I shudder, glancing at the statue of a crying woman in the corner. “This place is creeping me out.
Damien and Theo chuckle, even though I wasn’t being funny. Together, we search through the house again until we find a narrow metal staircase that spirals up into the ceiling. It’s tucked away in the utility room that looks like a modern add-on to the old house. The door at the top of the stairs is open.
“I’ll go first,” Theo says, stepping in front of me. He puts a hand on the metal railing and begins scaling up the tiny steps, the metallic sound echoing off the walls in this small room. I’m behind him, with Damien behind me. It feels safer to be sandwiched between these two immortals, but the truth is that anything could be up here and none of us are prepared for it.
I watch Theo’s body disappear into the hole at the top of the stairs, and briefly wonder how that massive man was able to fit through it at all. Theo’s quiet for a minute, and then he calls out to us. “It’s safe to come up.
It’s awkward because the stairs end at the top of the ceiling, which is the bottom of the floor in this room. There’s no handrail in the attic, just a square hole I have to step into. Theo holds out a hand for me, but I still feel uneasy. I don’t say anything though, because Theo is already being protective of me. I don’t want him to suggest that I sit this one out.
Once I’m inside, I look around. The walls are slanted inward with the roofline, but the attic spans nearly the entire house. It’s mostly empty, cobwebs in the corners, dusty footprints on the wooden floors. One corner of the room has a bed, a minifridge, and a television on the floor. There’s a laundry basket full of clothes at the foot of the bed, and an open Coke bottle next to the TV.
“What a sad life,” I say, suddenly feeling sorry for the guy Theo banished from here. “We should have let him take his clothes or something.”
“He’ll be fine,” Theo says.
Damien enters the attic space and makes pretty much the same face I did as he looks around. “So what are we looking for?”
“A safe,” Theo says, walking hunched over through at attic so he won’t hit his head on the low roof. “There’s some stuff over there,” he says, pointing toward a stack of boxes.
I turn the other way, still trying to free myself of thoughts about that guard. Lady Em has this huge home all to herself, yet she keeps her guard in the attic? That’s just weird. Plus, as it’s already proven, it makes for a crappy guard when he’s not in the house ready to defend it.
Sunlight peers in from a vent in the roof, illuminating something shiny in the far corner of the attic. I venture toward it. An old sheet is draped over something square. I think it’s furniture at first, but the shiny golden corner that’s sticking out from the sheet looks like a picture frame. Only it’s as tall as I am.
I pull the sheet back to reveal a golden framed painting. It’s at least five feet tall, and ancient by the looks of it. Curious, I pull the sheet all the way back until it falls to the floor. Then I stand back, eyes wide as I take in what I can only assume is supposed to be a piece of art.
It’s a portrait if a man with dark red hair and pale skin. His eyes are severely green, and I wonder if they’re true to real life or if this was the artist’s flattering exaggeration. The man is wearing a black cloak with a coat of arms on the breast pocket. His hands are folded in his lap. He looks regal. And bored.
“What’s going on over there?” Theo calls out. He drops a box back on the stack he and Damien had been searching through and pats his hands on the front of his jeans.
“It’s a painting of some guy,” I say, stepping back so they can see.
“That’s Lord Timothy,” Damien says.
I look back at the painting. The man has an sharply angular face with a long nose and a stern expression. He’s not exactly handsome, and it makes me question Lady Em even more. I mean, if you’re going to fall crazy in love with someone and become a mass murderer because of it…shouldn’t the guy at least be hot?
As the guys walk over, I step to the side and notice that the painting is leaned against something. I peer behind it and my heartbeat quickens. “I found the safe!” I call out.
That makes them walk a little faster. Theo pulls the painting off the safe and leans it against a nearby wall. And there, exactly as the guard had said, is a safe. It’s black and shiny, not covered in dust like everything else in this attic. The dial in the center is lined up with the number zero. “What’s his birthday?” I ask.
Theo looks questioningly at Damien.
Damien shrugs. “Hell, I don’t know. You’ve met the guy.”
“I didn’t ask for his date of birth,” Theo says sarcastically. Damien curses under his breath.
“You guys are so old,” I say with a laugh as I take out my cell phone. I Google Lord Timothy Dover Castle birthday and then turn my phone to face the guys.
“How did you two survive in the days before handheld smartphones and Google?”
Theo grins and then leans over, kissing me on the cheek. “Thank you, love.”
The birthday combination works and the safe pops open. It is completely empty besides ten blue velvet jewelry bags sitting on a shelf. Theo takes one and pours the contents into his hand. One immortality stone bracelet, and the matching necklace. “That wasn’t so hard,” he says.
Damien’s finger touches each one and then he looks up, his forehead crinkling in the center. “Ten. Where did ten come from? I figured she had eight from the eight recent murders.”
Theo sighs, shaking his head. “This bitch is on a murder streak.” Regret flashes across his eyes. “I’ve been in this clan for months. I should have figured this out ages ago.”
“It’s okay, brother.” Damien claps Theo on the shoulder. “We found it now. We’ll put an end to this.”
I want to say something, especially a gleeful shout about how these stones mean I will get my life back when we bargain them to the Dover clan, but the moment is too serious right now. The former owners of these stones were all immortals, many of them from Damien and Theo’s clan. They were friends, and now they’re gone because of one women’s desire for power.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Theo says, his eyes flitting to me. He makes this half smile and I can tell he’s trying to pull himself out of the funk of knowing how many people died recently. I give him a half smile back.
“So what’s next?” I ask. “We fly to Dover?”
“We fly back home,” Theo says, shoving some of the jewelry bags into his pockets. Damien does the same with the other half. “Then we figure out a solid plan going forward.”
I press the safe closed and make the number line back up with zero. I get a little thrill when I picture Lady Em returning here to find her home broken into, only to rush up to the safe and sigh in reli
ef when it looks how she left it. She’ll think we couldn’t get in.
Joke’s on her.
I want to argue about going home to make plans, but I hold my tongue. Plans are what make things successful, not barging around doing whatever you want. Right? I’ve made it this far, I can wait a little longer.
As we turn to leave, it almost sounds like…well…no, it can’t be. But then I hear it again. I look up and see Theo and Damien walking toward the stairs, totally oblivious to the sound coming from behind the safe.
“Hello?” I call out.
Theo’s footsteps stop. “Cara?” he says. I don’t look at him. I’m looking toward the safe. Or rather—what’s beyond it.
“Hello?” I say again. “Is someone there?”
“Yes,” a soft voice calls back. “We’re here. Who are you?”
Chapter 19
Theo whirls around, his eyes wide. Damien stands rigid. Both men look like they’re preparing to fight, but they must not have heard what I did, because that voice was a child’s.
“Where are you?” I call out. For a moment, I wonder if it’s a ghost trapped in this attic. Normally I wouldn’t believe in things like that, but that was before I discovered that immortality was a thing. Now, I’m likely to believe anything.
“We’re in here,” the voice calls back. It’s so soft and tiny that I can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl, or even how old they are. Just that they’re very small, and probably weak.
“Cara,” Theo calls out. “Wait.” He rushes over to me, then puts a hand on the safe, looking for something that isn’t there. Maybe he’s thinking the ghost thing, too.
I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight. The roof comes to a peak just behind the safe, and right there against the wall is another door. It’s only about four feet tall, but there’s a padlock on it and soft sunlight shining in through the crack on the floor.
“Who are you?” I call out.
“Who are you?” the voice says back.
“Do you work for Lady Em?” Theo says.