Page 6 of The Rising Dark
She showed no surprise at two people standing on her doorstep in the early hours of the morning.“There you are.You had both better come inside.”
Lavinia gestured for Michelle to go first, and Michelle stepped over the threshold, feeling like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole.
“I’m Proserpina, by the way,” the tattooed woman said to Michelle.Lavinia closed the door behind them, several locks clicking shut in rapid succession.They stood in a small foyer, the marble stone floor covered with an intricately designed carpet.Several doors branched off from the hallway, but what drew Michelle’s eyes in particular was the huge curving staircase leading up to the next floor.The woodwork of the balustrade looked hand-carved into fantastical designs, nymphs wrapped around the banister, fawns traipsing up the steps.Wherever Michelle looked, there was the quiet opulence of an old country home, where generations of wealth had been left behind like layers of sediment.She must have been staring because Lavinia leant close and said in a low voice in her ear, “It’s a bit much.”
“Lavinia likes her surroundings more Spartan.You should see her room, barely anything in it,” Proserpina said.
“It’s beautiful,” Michelle said, unsure of how to respond to the onslaught of luxury.She thought of her one-bedroom apartment in London that she had left only a couple of hours ago.She thought of the bedroom which only just had enough space for a bed and a wardrobe, the thin walls that separated her from her neighbours, the tiny kitchen that didn’t even have enough room on the counter for a coffee machine.That apartment had felt like her palace only a day ago; her walls might have been unpainted per her landlord’s rules, the bathroom faucet might have a drip, and the bedroom window never shut completely, but it had felt like exquisite luxury to have space to herself in the city.First the driver, now the big mansion—Lavinia clearly lived in a completely different world.And that was not even including all of the demon stuff.
Michelle’s eyes didn’t know where to look as they walked into a massive kitchen with cooking facilities that could easily serve a small hotel.
“Are you hungry?I could get the housekeeper to make you something,” Lavinia said.
Of course there was a housekeeper.Michelle imagined there was a butler hiding in the pantry as well.“No thank you.”Eating was the last thing on her mind right now.
A small woman with a brow so furrowed it almost radiated off her face marched into the room.She looked to be in her late sixties, her skin weathered by age and experience.Despite her thunderous expression, she wore an incongruously cheerful summer dress sporting bright yellow sunflowers.
“Mrs.Frost, there you are.Is Michelle’s room ready?”
“Of course it is,” she snapped rudely.If anything, her frown turned even more threatening.Michelle stayed very quiet, hoping not to draw any attention from the angry little woman.
“Thank you, Mrs.Frost,” Lavinia said easily, clearly brave enough to weather the woman’s temper.“The blue room?”
The housekeeper grunted something that might be assent before turning and stalking off through a doorway on the far side of the kitchen.
“Come, I’ll show you,” Lavinia said.Leaving Proserpina, they retraced their steps back to the entrance and climbed the grand staircase.Their footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet beneath their feet, and Michelle enjoyed the simple pleasure of the smooth wooden banister under her fingertips.“I’ll give you the grand tour tomorrow, but it might be helpful to know that the building is shaped like a U.We are currently at the bottom of the U, and two wings branch off, east and west.Your room will be in the east wing, where the guestrooms are.My Sisters and I have rooms in the west wing, and the staff have their rooms on the second floor.Although some, like Zachary, live in their own cottage on the grounds as well.”
They reached the first floor, the corridor branching off to the left and right.They turned right and passed several closed doors until Lavinia reached one that had been left ajar.She opened it wider for Michelle to pass through.“The bathroom is through the door over there.Feel free to use anything that Mrs.Frost left in there for you.”At Michelle’s sceptical look, Lavinia laughed.“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to her.She is actually a sweetheart.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Michelle said, still not convinced.
Lavinia placed Michelle’s bag on a wooden rack beside the door.“There’s a phone next to the bed, for outside calls press zero first, but if you just need some help, just pick it up and it will ring automatically.Someone should be around all night.Of course, you’re also welcome to come back down.”
Eyeing the massive bed at the centre of the room, Michelle said, “I think I’ll try to sleep.It’s been a long day.”
Lavinia nodded, looking as if she wanted to say something else.Michelle waited, but nothing followed.
Filling the awkward silence, she said, “You may wish to change your shirt, by the way.”
Lavinia glanced down at her splattered white T-shirt and the blood that had dried to dark brown plaque, raising the hem to get a better look.
“You’re right,” Lavinia said dryly.“That may explain Mrs.Frost’s temper.Demon blood doesn’t come out in the wash easily.”Michelle couldn’t help but smile at the muscular, self-possessed woman peeling a blood-covered shirt from her stomach as if it were nothing.
Then she turned serious again.“Thank you.For doing all of this for me, I mean.”Michelle gestured at the room, the mansion, everything.
“No problem,” Lavinia said with a smile, enigmatic as always.She left, closing the door softly behind her.
Michelle took a deep breath through her nose, exhaling through her mouth and willing her heart to beat more slowly.She looked around at the pale blue wallpaper and hardwood floors, the massive bed that looked like an antique, the tasteful paintings of mountainous landscapes neatly framed.Real oil paintings, not just the cheap reproductions on canvas that you could get at any furniture store.She peeked through the door to the bathroom and gasped slightly at the spacious walk-in rain shower and separate claw-foot bathtub.Fluffy white towels had been laid out for her, small colourful bottles of toiletries neatly arranged, ready for her use.She couldn’t quite believe that sour woman from downstairs had done all this, possibly within the last couple of hours.
Remembering Lavinia’s insistence to make use of what was left for her, Michelle rummaged through her backpack, its faded grey canvas looking incredibly cheap next to the luxurious materials in this house.She took out a clean change of clothes and stepped into the bathroom.
She set the shower’s water temperature as high as she could bear, letting it wash away the horrors of the evening.The droplets stung her face but she welcomed the pain, letting it ground her.Unbidden, her mind roamed back to Lavinia, standing in the doorway, silent, smiling.Over and over, her mind kept coming back to this image.Then, as she was lathering her shoulders with the shower gel, which smelled enticingly of coconut, a shock ran through her.That was what had been bothering her—that when Lavinia had peeled the shirt away from her stomach, all that had been underneath was smooth skin, covered in dried flakes of blood.There had been no wound, no scratch whatsoever.It had been gone completely.
Right now, she was going to enjoy this damn shower.She deserved to feel clean.Tonight, she would rest.And tomorrow, she would find out what the hell was going on here.
Chapter Four
Lavinia walked down the hallway of the east wing, the smell of Michelle still lingering in the air, floral with a hint of cinnamon.It was tinged with a suggestion of blood, just the tiniest aroma of iron and plasma.It was enough to awaken a tendril of hunger.
