Page 80 of House of Malice
The silver fox smiled and nodded. “Yes, indeed. It was quite a show because he was very sought-after artist during his time. Some of his pieces were sold off at auction for six figures.”
Alecto and Jolene gushed in surprise. Even Jolene was putting on a show today.
“You don’t happen to have any pieces laying around, do you?” Alecto asked. “It would be an honor to showcase art from our Dean. He’d surely be pleased to be remembered for his glory days as an artist.”
Silver The silver fox rubbed his chin. “Ah, I am not sure. I used to have quite a collection, but at the beginning of last summer, he came to collect his artwork. He wanted to have it for his own personal collection.”
Alecto could barely conceal her surprise. She smiled. “Fair enough. We might need to ask him ourselves.”
“But wait, let me double double-check for you,” the silver fox said. “I remember finding a small painting after he collected his works, but I don’t think I ever reached out to him about it.”
The silver fox left them at the desk and disappeared in the maze of boxes and artwork.
“We can’t be that lucky, can we?” Jolene asked, biting her lip.
Alecto’s skin was buzzing with anticipation.
“I want to say that we definitely can’t. But maybe, just maybe, today is our lucky day.”
Jolene crossed her fingers and murmured a quick prayer. Alecto chuckled, shaking her head.
After ten minutes, the silver fox returned, carrying something in his hands. Alecto almost jumped out of her own skin.
The gallery owner smiled. “Look at that, I was right. I found this small piece a few months back, and I forgot to reach out to Gondalez about it.”
He removed the white sheet covering the canvas and turned it to the girls. It was a small painting, barely bigger than their textbook. But there it was, the initialsEGscribbled at the bottom right corner. It was a painting of a full blood moon over Blood Lake.
“This is wonderful, thank you,” Alecto said and took the painting from the silver fox. “We can reach out to the Dean ourselves. We’ll let him know that we have the painting and that we will return it once the exposition is over.”
“Sounds great,” the silver fox said. “I’m glad that I could help you tonight.”
“We appreciate it,” Jolene said with a smile. She shook the man’s hand. “We’ll be in touch if we need any more information on the artists or the art for our expo.”
“Anytime,” the silver fox said with a wink.
34
“Did you send the message to Val?” Alecto asked.
“Yes, I did send a message to everyone,” Jolene said.
The gravel underneath their feet crunched loudly. It was already late as they made their way towards the Old Church. Alecto carried the Dean’s painting close to her chest, afraid it might vanish at any moment.
“What if he knows we have it?” Jolene asked.
Alecto shook her head. “If he’d noticed it missing, he would have already taken it from the gallery. It was probably an insignificant piece he forgot about. We’re safe.”
“What if it’s warded?” Jolene asked.
Alecto had already thought about it. It might be warded against anyone trying to cast a tracking spell.
“I doubt that,” Alecto said. “Back then, he didn’t have to worry about anyone trying to mess with his artwork. I doubt he would put a protective spell on it.”
“We don’t know what happened back then,” Jolene said. They passed the gate and made their way down the street through Old Darly. “And you know, artists can be quirky in this way. They have all sort of paranoias.”
Alecto didn’t argue. First, they had to make their way somewhere safe and then meet the others. After, they can see whether the painting is enchanted and what there is to do.
After ten minutes, they reached the Old Church, and Jolene unlocked the door. The inside was chilly and dark.
