by Kailin Gow
“They have classes tomorrow. They wouldn’t be out so late on a school night.”
Asher reached for the big Book of Angels on the coffee table and opened it. “While we’re up, how about we take a look through this?”
“Do you think it will help to explain my dream?” She had told him everything about her dream.
“I doubt it.” He turned to look at her. “You know, isn’t it pretty simple? You feel bad for leaving them there and you feel the urgency of getting them out. Your time with Romeo only adds to your sense of urgency.”
She shrugged. “I guess. But it was all so real.”
Asher turned the page and Lux pointed to a passage on the opposing page. “I know what that means,” she said proudly. “You know, my teacher said I had a natural instinct for Latin.”
“Did she? Well then, what does this mean?”
Before she could answer, Lucas and Sully walked in, muddied, disheveled and tired looking.
“Where in the world have you guys been?” Lux said, leaving Asher and going to meet them.
“What are you doing up at this hour?” Lucas said. “It’s three o’clock.”
“Three-thirty, actually,” Lux said. “I’m waiting up for you guys. Imagine my surprise when I woke up from a disturbing dream to find that both of you were gone. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
“You were sleeping, Lux,” Sully said. “We weren’t going to wake you.”
“Well, you could have left a note,” she argued.
The brothers looked at one another.
“We didn’t expect you to be up in the middle of the night.”
“Okay. Never mind that,” Lux said. “Now that you’re home, why don’t you tell me where you guys went off to in the middle of the night? I mean, you do have classes tomorrow, don’t you?”
“Yes, and we do have a mother, too,” Lucas said with a teasing grin. He kicked off his muddied boots and headed into the living room while Sully took off his boots and headed to the kitchen for a big glass of water.
“Sorry,” Lux said following Lucas into the living room. “It’s just that I was worried.”
“We never told you before,” Sully said as he joined them, “but in addition to what we do here at the Academy, we’re active slayers.”
“Okay. I guess I saw a glimpse of that the other day at the portal,” Lux admitted.
“It’s more than just that,” Lucas said, falling back into the cushions. “Students of Shadowlight Hunters Academy are often called upon to help destroy demons in various places all around the world. We don’t just tend to strictly local issues.”
“You mean there were others who left in the middle of the night?”
“We were about a dozen slayers.”
“So, if they’re such skilled slayers, why are they here at the Academy?”
“Honing their talent, revisiting certain lessons, learning new techniques, and also learning of new threats. Slaying has evolved over the years. Demons have evolved.”
“We have enough experience to go to these missions, and we’ve even led a few.”
Lux smiled. “I’m impressed. So, where did you go last night?”
“Not very far this time. Not long after you went to bed, we got the call to bring a dozen or so slayers out beyond Lake Mead,” Lucas said. “There’s a little ghost town out there and they’ve been having ongoing issues lately. There’s a huge abandoned mansion there and they suspect that people have been staying in there when they shouldn’t. We’re not sure if they’re responsible for any breaks in the seal of that portal.”
“For a while, we could barely keep up,” Sully added. “There were so many of them.”
“And a few of us were injured,” Lucas said, holding up his arm to show the tear in his shirt at the elbow and the accompanying gash.
“You should wash that up and get a bandage on it,” Lux said, but instantly heard the maternal tone of her voice. “Well, that is if you want. Whenever you want.”
Lucas chuckled.
“Unfortunately, we barely made a dent and we’ll have to go back tomorrow.” He looked at his watch. “Well, actually, later today.”
“Tomorrow? Today?” She’d hoped to ask them to join her on her quest to get Brax and Moore out of hell.
“Yeah,” Sully said. “We were hoping you two would join us.”
Although she tried to hide her disappointment, Asher looked knowingly at Lux. “It could be a great training ground, Lux. It can make you stronger.”
She knew he was right. Despite her eagerness to get Brax and Moore back, she knew she wasn’t strong enough to succeed on her own. Inadequately prepared, she could also put anyone else who came with her in danger.
She would have to put her plans to save Brax and Moore off until later.
Chapter 12
As the last class of the day ended, Lux met up with Asher just outside the Languages Building.
“Have you seen Sully and Lucas?” she said as she shoved her notes into her bag.
“They’re in the west parking lot waiting. You’re the last one out.”
“Sorry,” she said, closing her bag. “Weird. Ms. Angelo wasn’t there and her replacement lost track of time and held us in for what seemed like an eternity. Let’s go.”
They headed toward the parking lot, walking as fast as possible.
“Who are they?” Lux said as they saw other students waiting by Dean Good’s car and a huge black pick-up truck.
“The Goods said they wanted more reinforcements, so we’re going to be bringing a few available slayers.”
Lux felt a blend of excitement and concern as they approached the group. Heading out to an old haunted mansion wasn’t what she’d had planned. She would have preferred to go in search of Brax and Moore. But the idea of a hunt thrilled her all the same.
“Come on,” Lucas said as Lux and Asher came up to them. “They’re going to take the truck,” he said pointing to the other slayers. “We’ll get into the Escalade.”
They all climbed aboard the vehicles, and Lucas led the way to a part of Las Vegas completely unknown to Lux.
“Are we still in Las Vegas?” Lux said, looking up at huge mansions.
“Yeah,” Lucas said. “And we’re heading even farther back to an old part nobody ever visits.”
“The houses here are obscenely huge,” she whispered as she looked at the sprawling ranch-style mansions, most of them gated.
“Mobster money,” Sully called out from the back. “Most of the houses here are from the 1950s, back when men made money in a less than honest way.”
Lucas turned the car onto a deeply rutted road that was probably once nicely paved, and the homes were notably older and had been neglected.
“It’s like driving into a time capsule,” Sully said with a chuckle. “So many of them still show signs of a bygone era.”
“And most of them have been abandoned since the 90s,” Lucas added.
“The house that we’re going to used to belong to a big-time casino boss.” Lucas pulled up in front of an over the top, elaborate mansion with an old rusted gate and an overgrown lawn. “But unfortunately, this crime boss got a little too greedy, stepped on a few toes and ended up buried out in the desert somewhere.”
“Wow,” Lux muttered. “Look at the old shutters. They’re barely hanging on.”
“Never mind that,” Sully said with a laugh. “Look at the little statue of that boy fishing out front in the slimy green pond.”
“Enough about the décor,” Lucas said. “Let’s head inside.”
“I’ll go open the gate,” Sully said. He opened the door and hopped out, pushed the old gate out of the way and got back in the car. “I can feel it,” he said. “It’s not going to be pretty.”
Lucas drove up the long, rutted drive and stopped the car in front of the dilapidated mansion. “Let’s go have a look,” he said. “Hopefully it won’t be as bad as last night.”
They all got out of the car and me
t up with the slayers from the pick-up truck. Squinting before the setting sun, they all looked at the outdated mansion,
“Is it true this place is haunted?” one of the student slayers said. She seemed more excited by the prospect than scared.
“That’s what they say,” Sully said. “Apparently, that casino boss was slaughtered in one room, his wife in another and his mistress in a third room. A real bloody mess.”
“No wonder no one ever wanted to buy it,” Lucas said.
Lux shivered and forced a smile as she looked up at the house. “Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.”
“The fact that they were all murdered here, or the fact that the big boss had a mistress,” Sully said with a silly grin.
Lux simply shot a glare at him.
“The thing that should really give you the creeps is that there might me a portal somewhere in that house,” Lucas said.
“That certainly would explain the entities roaming around,” Sully said. He turned to Asher and Lux. “Take these,” he said, handing them each a vial of holy water. “Hopefully we won’t run into any trouble, but just in case.”
Lux took the vial and looked more closely at the mansion. Certain architectural details were sophisticated and classic, like the tall columns and ornate trimming. It must have been magnificent in its heyday, and it reminded her somewhat of the Hatchett’s mansion back in San Francisco. Looking into the window at the large foyer, it also reminded her of where Brax lived; at Dr. Kingsley’s mansion.
“I’ve sent a text out to everyone,” Lucas called out to the group. “Everybody got it?”
The students pulled out their phones to check and nodded.
Lux pulled out her phone. “A text of what?”
“The layout of the house.”
“What for?” Asher said.
“This place is huge; a lot bigger than what we see from here. There’s a wing that turns left and out toward the back and a smaller wing to the right. There are dozens of rooms.”
Lux looked at her phone, analyzing the layout.
“Not only is the place huge, but it has deteriorated a lot over the years. The wind has blown off a number of roof tiles and the rain has come in and rotted out a lot of the floor. The city condemned the house years ago, so we really need to be careful.”
“The house is also dark,” Sully added. “If all goes well, we should be able to sweep a lot of the rooms before the sun goes completely down.” He looked at the distant horizon. “That barely gives us twenty minutes of dim light. Then darkness will really be upon us.”
“I’ve crossed out the rooms that are too dangerous to enter,” Lucas said. “The floors to these rooms are too weak and are likely to yield under the weight of too many people. I’ll tend to those rooms myself.”
“Everybody clear on everything so far?” Sully called out.
Again, the student slayers nodded.
“I’m sure many of you are aware of the challenges facing us,” Lucas said to everyone. “In fact, this may turn out to be our most challenging case ever. As big as this house is, we all know how hard it can be to fight demons within an enclosed environment. Be cautious.”
“The sheer number of entities could make it very challenging,” Sully said.
“And,” Lucas said, looking at Lux, “that’s why we brought out our best student slayers.”
Lux offered Lucas a weak smile. “But, I’m not the best,” she said. “I’m not even one of the best.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Lucas said. “You are among the best slayers I’ve ever known.”
Sully put his arm around her shoulders. “You underestimate yourself far too much, Lux. You’re legendary. You just need to tap back into your natural instincts. You need to build your confidence back up.”
Asher reached out to give her hand a squeeze. “I think you’ve forgotten what a badass you are. You’re the one who taught me everything, Lux. You recruited me, remember? You recruited Brax and Moore. You were our leader and you led us on many successful missions.”
She looked at him, remembering the fierce slayer she’d once been. What happened to that girl? What happened to that fierce fighter? “Thanks for the encouragement,” she said. “I’ll try to live up to the admiration you all have for me.”
Asher leaned in closer. “Focus, Lux. You’ve got this.”
She nodded and smiled. “I will.”
“Okay,” Lucas called out, clasping his hands together. “We have two teams of four slayers each.”
Lux looked around at the small group. She had thought others might come on their own. “That’s it?”
Lucas nodded. “We had a third team out here last night, but we suffered too many injuries. We gathered the most experienced students from the academy, and this is what we have.”
Concerned, Lux furrowed her brow but nodded.
“But there’s also another reason for keeping our teams small and manageable. It’s dark in there, and as big as this house is, we’re still fighting in a confined space. It’s very easy to get confused and think that a slayer is a demon… or vice versa.” He pulled a handful of glowing bracelets. “I want everyone to wear one of these.” He handed them out. “We had a few slayers attack one another last night and I don’t want that to happen again.”
Lux clipped the plastic green bracelet to her wrist.
“Isn’t this going to make us an easy target for the demons?” a student called out.
“They can already see in the dark,” Lux said with firm authority. “This isn’t going to change anything as far as they’re concerned.”
Lucas smiled at her and nodded. “That’s right.” He looked up at the group. “Any other questions?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“Okay,” Lucas said with finality. “Asher and Lux, you’re with Sully and me. We’ll head to the wing that juts out toward the back.” He looked at the four other slayers. “You guys take the smaller wing.”
He turned and led the way to the front door and easily pushed it open.
“Now this is really like walking into a time machine,” Lux said as she took in the outdated décor. Olive green shag carpeting covered the floor of the main living area while marbled mirrors clung in broken chips to the wall with dried up old glue. “I’ve only seen carpeting like this in the movies.”
“My grandmother had carpeting just like this.”
Everyone turned to the sound of the voice.
“I thought you guys would never get here,” the same voice said.
Lux looked up to see Professor Angelo leading a small team into the main foyer. Dressed in dark jeans and a black leather jacket, she’d pulled her long dark hair back into a thick braid that ran down her back.
“Wow,” Lux couldn’t help but say. “Look at you.”
The professor grinned. “I’m not just some fuddy-duddy professor.”
“Sorry,” Lucas said. “I didn’t know you guys were in here.”
“We’ve set up a few battery powered lamps to help us out, but it’s still dark in much of the house.”
“And we each have a small handheld flashlight,” Lucas said.
“Good,” Ms. Angelo said. “You’ll need them.”
“I didn’t know you were a slayer,” Lux said to her professor.
The professor nodded. “I was an active slayer in Europe before I was called to come teach at the Academy. I suggest you guys stick close to your team. It’s easy to get lost in here. The house has a strange layout. Certain corridors are dead ends, but others lead back down the stairs and into the kitchen, or other servant quarters. It’s easy to get confused.”
“We’re planning on staying very close,” Lucas said. “Thanks for the advice.”
“And if things get too rough,” Ms. Angelo added. “You all know what to do.”
“We’re all experienced slayers,” Lucas said, looking at his teams. “We all know how to listen to our guts and use our best judgement.”
“Goo
d,” the professor said. “I’m happy to hear that.” She looked up at the narrow corridor that led to the kitchen. “We’re heading through there. Be careful everyone.” And with that, she turned to lead her team in sweeping entities.
Lux looked to Asher. “That certainly explains why she wasn’t in class this afternoon.”
“Seems like everyone is in on the action, one way or another,” Asher said.
Lucas looked at his second team. “The smaller wing is by there,” he said, pointing them to a wide hallway. They headed off and Lucas turned to his own team. “Follow me and stay close.” He led the way down a generous hallway.
Entering one room after the other, the team swept them.
As they finished sweeping the eighth room and headed back out the door, Lux noticed a slight movement from the corner of her eye. It could simply have been her shadow from one of the guys’ flashlight, or it could be a play of the moonlight, but she knew in her gut that it was something more than that. While Asher, Lucas and Sully continued to the next room, Lux returned to the room to confirm what she thought she’d seen.
She quietly pushed the door open just enough to peer into the room. And there they were; four entities. “Damn,” she muttered under her breath. She hurried back to her team.
“Where did you go?” Sully said, clearly upset. “We have to stick together.”
“I know. Sorry. I wanted to check on something, and I was right,” she whispered.
“Right about what?” Lucas said.
“They see and hear us coming and they hide while we sweep. The minute we leave the room, they return.”
“Are you sure?” Sully said.
She nodded. “There are four of them right now in the room we just swept.”
“Okay,” Lucas said softly. “Let’s sneak back.”
They all nodded, and Lux took the lead, bursting into the room. She rushed the first demon she saw, her crucifix in hand. She quickly pressed the crucifix to the demon, destroying him. Lucas and Sully hurried to two other demons while Asher chased the last one that tried to hide in the closet.
“Now, I think the room is really clear,” Lux said.
The guys nodded.