Page 39 of The Tracker's Revenge
Chapter 13
Ihadn’t been backto Damien’s house since I’d told him and Eric about the unearthing of the Unholy Vessel. As I parked my Camaro under a fluorescent lamp post, I braced myself for any memories that might come at me when I went in. Damien had saved my life when Blake and Jenson had ambushed Rosalina and me after they destroyed Damien’s first rhabo cure. He’d healed my broken bones enough to allow me to shift and trigger my own healing abilities.
And what had I been able to do for him as he lay dying? Nothing. Absolutely nothing except hold his hand as he passed.
Stop it!
I hit my forehead with the heel of my hand. This was exactly what I was supposed to avoid. Why did we have to train here today?
Keeping alert—this area of town wasn’t the best to be around at this time of day—I crossed the street and approached Damien’s old, five-story mansion. The gargoyles at the top corners of the building seemed to glower as I raised my fist to knock. Before I rapped my knuckles on the wood, the door opened on its own, and an eerie voice spoke, sounding like the cross between a ghost and a monotonous AI.
“Welcome, Antonietta Sunder.”
“What the hell?” I murmured as I cautiously walked in, expecting some sort of trap. This was new. The house hadn’t welcomed me this way when Damien was alive.
“It’s safe. C’mon in,” Eric called from the top of the marble staircase to the right. He was standing on the last step, feet shoulder-width apart, fists at his hips. He wore a pair of black shorts and a red T-shirt.
I closed the door behind me and approached the staircase. “What’s with the creep show? This place is spooky this early in the morning.”
Eric shrugged. “Damien magicked the house to admit his friends.”
I barely had time to process my surprise because Eric made a “follow me” gesture with one hand, then disappeared down a corridor without a word. I shook my head and bounded up the steps, taking two at a time until I caught up with him. I had only visited the first floor, so I glanced around curiously, taking in every detail.
Though the first floor had been modernized, the second floor seemed to have been left untouched. I felt transported to the eighteen hundreds, which was when the house had been built. The furniture, the gas sconces on the walls that flickered with what looked like magical flames, the ancient portraits, the crimson-colored worn rug, everything spoke of a different time.
“Why are we here?” I asked, running up to catch up with Eric.
“This place is... special. It will facilitate our training.”
“Special?”
I waited for him to elaborate, but he just kept walking further down the long hall until he reached the last door and walked into a room, leaving me standing outside, hesitant to follow. The room was dimly lit, worse than the hall we’d just traversed.
“C’mon, you’re wasting time.” Eric’s voice echoed from inside, sounding far away.
I inched closer to the threshold, my tennis shoes barely in, and peered into what appeared to be an empty room.
“There are mirrors everywhere,” Eric said.
Huh?I was about to ask what mirrors when, in the next blink, the place turned into some sort of mirror maze at a fun house.
“What the hell?” I said under my breath.
“Quick,” Eric urged. “You need to find me. You only have twenty seconds.” As soon as he said this, a huge digital clock appeared on the wall, ticking down the seconds.
20, 19, 18...
I finally stepped inside, the door behind me closed on its own. Panic surged, and I almost turned around and ran out of the room, but I didn’t want Eric to make fun of me.
“If you don’t find me quickly,” Eric’s voice called out, “I’m dead.”
I sputtered out a nervous laugh. “Don’t be melodramatic.”
His only answer was his agitated breaths. I cautiously went around one of the many body-length mirrors that stood all around the room. They weren’t affixed to the wall. They were framed and freestanding and in a variety of shapes. Ovals, rectangles, oblong, and more. The one in front of me had an elaborate gilded frame with carved flowers and vines. The mirror itself was clouded, old-looking. It reflected my bleary-eyed expression that revealed a hint of panic.
Calm down, Toni,I mouthed, but my own admonishment only managed to send my heart into a quicker pitter-patter.
