Page 86 of House of Pain
Alecto looked around the familiar place, now quiet and empty, and they all stopped for a moment to listen for any sounds.
Nothing.
“Andro, check the first floor,” Val instructed. “We three are going to check upstairs.”
As the group split up, Alecto followed Val up the stairs, Blaze trailing behind them. Val stopped at the top of the stairs abruptly, and Alecto barely had the time to stop herself before walking into her friend.
She turned back to Blaze to find his gaze plastered on her ass, head cocked to the side.There was a side of Alecto that wanted to hiss, to slap his face.
But Alecto couldn’t deny the satisfaction, that little sneaky feeling of being wanted, and it made her angry with herself.
“Alecto, check the east wing, Blaze go west,” Val whispered.
“And what are you going to do?” Blaze came to the top of the narrow landing.
“Keep an eye here.”
Alecto didn’t argue. She took the corridor to the east wing and quickly checked the rooms, listening for any weird sounds. All she found was darkness and silence.
When she came back to Val, Blaze was not back from the west wing yet.
“What the fuck is he doing?”
Val waved her hand for Alecto to follow. They went down the corridor to the very end where the room with a light in the window was.
Blaze stood by the door, watching something through the small crack. When Alecto and Val approached, he lifted a finger and pressed it to his lips.
Quietly, Alecto moved to stand behind him, pushing onto her toes to peek over his shoulder.
Someone was indeed inside the room.
And thatsomeonewas not a student from Venefica.
A girl, no older than twelve or thirteen years old, lay on a twin bed, her knees pressed to her chest, long golden hair sprawled around her cream face.
“What the fuck?” Alecto hissed.
How the fuck did this girl get in here?
“It must be someone’s sister,” Blaze whispered, turning to them.
“That’s a violation of the House rules,” Val said. The corner of her lip curled up as she stared at the girl, clearly scheming.
“Val,” Alecto warned.
For a moment, Val ignored her. But then she averted her gaze. “It seems as if the Gods are truly on our side tonight.”
There were the sounds of rustling and feet shuffling behind them as Andro approached.
“Is there someone inside?” Andro whispered, pointing a finger at the door.
Alecto nodded.
He peeked inside, and his eyes widened before his eyebrows came together in confusion at the sight of the girl on the bed. “What the fuck?”
“A little gift for us,” Val answered, a wicked smile gracing her beige face.
Andro blinked, and then he scrunched his nose.
