Page 42 of Fangs, Frost, and Folios
“This room is as old as the house itself,” Barnes said. “It originally led directly to the mudroom.” He looked at the back wall. “It was bricked up to create the vault.”
The feelings from Giovanni were confused, so Beatrice took a deep breath. She didn’t need him blazing into the house and setting everything on fire. The most important thing was to get Barnes help.
“Is there another way into the mudroom from here?” Beatrice asked.
Barnes shook his head. “We didn’t think… I suppose we didn’t plan well, did we?”
“It’s a beautiful little vault, Mr. Barnes. Very safe from… everyone.” Beatrice scanned the room, looking at the art that was left, the bookcases of manuscripts and scrolls, the treasures Elise had been forced to leave behind.
“Nearly there,” René said.
“How is he bending that metal?” Barnes asked. “I think Miss Lambert wasn’t the only one with secrets.”
“That’s true,” Beatrice said. “But don’t worry—I’m going to wipe your memory after this so you won’t remember the details.”
“I’m quite sure I’ll remember all this.”
She muttered, “You say that now.”
Giovanni was on the move again, coming closer with every breath Barnes took.
Come faster.
Help.
He needs help.
She was silently praying to all the saints when her eyes landed on the one thing that could distract her in the face of chaos. It was a crumbling old book sitting on the bookshelf, next to a pile of scrolls.
The Alchemist and other Collected Works of Ben Jonson.
She smiled a little. “Huh.”
“Beatrice!”
She heard her mate’s voice in the courtyard.
“We’re in the library!”
“And we’re free.” René reached down, grabbed the massive wooden door by the hinges, and yanked it back, revealing the grey metal door beyond with the bookcases on the other side. He put his hand to the metal around the combination lock and sank his fingers into it as if the steel was nothing more than wet cardboard. Then he pushed the door forward, snapping whatever mechanism held the bookcases in place.
“Beatrice!”
She smiled when she heard Giovanni’s voice. “We need a doctor for Barnes, but everyone else is safe.” She looked at René. “The Frenchman earned his share.”
Elise Lambert, aka Emilie Mandel, was tied to a chair in the library of Graves Court when she woke from vampire stupor.
She murmured a string of French curses as she woke. “Arosh will kill you all.”
“Not when he finds out you tried to kill my mate.” Giovanni leaned forward. “And definitely not when I tell him how you nearly killed the beloved servant of a friend for no reason at all.”
Elise froze when she saw Beatrice and Giovanni sitting across from her. “Where’s René?”
“René who?” The growl came from a vampire sitting near the fire. He wore a pin-striped suit and his hair in a buzz cut close to his skull. His accent was anything but fine. “Welcome to Graves Court, Miss Lambert. I’m Terrance Ramsay. Do you know who I am?”
Elise nodded.
“My friends here say that you tried to kill my neighbor and his man. Is that true?”
