Page 132 of Rescued By the Beast
Various belongings of the victims.
Mark stops walking and lifts his foot, as if he had stepped on something. When I look, I see that it is an identity card. Iglance ahead and find others, discarded there like pieces of a macabre puzzle.
"Ted, I need you to check some names," Mark asks, using hisheadsetto relay the information from the IDs we found.
The silence on the other end of the line is heavy, almost unbearable.
Then Ted's voice cuts through the silence, tense and cold.
"All of these people have been reported missing in the last few days."
My stomach churns again, panic begins to rise, but Mark, with relentless focus, notices something in the back of the attic and approaches it.
Viklaus and I follow him, keeping within three steps of him to stay inside his protective barrier.
The yellow lamp's light doesn't reach that far, so I hadn't paid much attention to it before. But on the back wall is a macabre board filled with photos, mostly of women. Each face is marked with a red X, and dirty words like "slut" and "whore" are scrawled on them. There are two men as well, with the word "accomplice" written on them.
A feeling of terror grows in me as I look at the photos, connected by red lines, all of them gathered around a photo in the centre of the frame.
When I strain my eyes, my stomach knots up.
It's him. Benny. Her husband, the man who died.
Above his photo is written "traitor".
"By the stars..." I murmur behind my palm, trying to control the nausea rising in my throat.
I gasp and a feeling of dread envelops me like a heavy cloud when, in the middle of the photos, I find my face.
I move closer and realise it is a photo taken from a distance, at a moment when I was leaving the tavern after a night's work, oblivious to those watching me.
There is no X marked on it, but there is something even worse, the word "next".
"That'snotgoing to happen," Mark pulls me from behind, his protective arms sheltering me and his lips pressing a firm kiss on top of my head. "She can't hurt you anymore, I won't allow it."
I try to control my tremors, try to breathe, but the putrid smell only makes me worse.
Then Viklaus's voice catches our attention.
"Mark, look at this," he points to one of the images.
I follow the direction of his pale finger and see a photo of the facade of Mark's company, with the words: "They know too much."
I feel his arms tighten around me, his whole body stiffening behind me.
"Damn it, I knew it," Mark growls.
"It's her..." I whisper, reality hitting me hard.
He kisses my head again before letting go of me, walking around the basement as if looking for something, and Viklaus does the same.
"It's not here," the vampire says dryly, but his shoulders relax slightly as if relieved.
"She must have hidden the grimoire somewhere else, or cast a concealment spell."
"Now what?" I ask quietly, hugging myself.
Mark stares at me, his wolfish eyes shining gold.
