Page 30 of Wolf Trap

He splattered a burst of laughter, then promptly quietened it with his hand across his mouth.

“You know I am the King of Hell, right? If I need to, I can summon legions of demons. Of course, that would probably cost me my life,” his gaze broke as he scanned the house, “my life, such as it is. Honestly, and this is to go no further,” he met me with a stern gaze.

I was too nosey to resist, so I nodded. Lycaon shifted from foot to foot.

“What I would give to be mortal again. To have my lover in my arms. To live the simple life, where the only drama is in movies and books, and well…” puckering his lips in a cheeky smile, “Maybe some drama in the bedroom. I have a good existence, a good life. But eternity?”

“Your lover, is she human?”

His countenance changed, harsher. “I’ve said enough. Come on, follow my lead. We’ll use the front door. Anyone breaking in always makes the mistake of using the backdoor.”

I caught Lycaon frowning at the vampire in disbelief. Lycaon and I had used the backdoor the last time we’d come here, and we’d been lucky to make it out alive.

Still, having the King of Hell on your team, a vampire-demon who wielded magic, was reassuring.

A thin waist high fog had settled around the manor. The darkened windows gave the place an eerie feeling. No sounds other than chirps and tweets from the birds settling down as dusk clawed around the place.

A cawing had me glance up as we approached the columned porch.

A raven perched above it bobbed its head and flew off. Was that Bren?

Anthony wasted no time. He scanned the front door whilst I cast my palm over the lock. I could feel no magic, but then if it was a trap, I wouldn’t.

“Step aside,” Anthony’s voice was soft, and I gasped as he turned sideways and shoved his shoulder to the door.

Alarmed, Lycaon spoke in a hushed voice. “What are you doing? I could do that!”

Anthony whispered frantically as he cast his fingers over the lock, turned the handle, and we stepped tentatively inside.

“What the?”

The vampire grinned. “I just loosened the lock with my body. There’s no magic on it. And by the looks of it, nothing else, either.”

Our footsteps echoed on the black and white porcelain tiles, and the emptiness sent a shiver up my spine. But the suits of armour were still there. Still as creepy as the last time. A long row of different chain mail, armour, swords, and helmets. The empty helmets stared forward, but they didn't faze Anthony.

Craning his neck he asked, “Ok, we start on this floor?”

I nodded. Lycaon tilted his head back, sniffed, then nodded at us.

His voice was almost a whisper, Lycaon said, “This is the room they took me and Elsa. They held some kind of counsel or sabbat in here.”

Opening the double doors to the room where we were interrogated, I was hit with a blast of putrid, warm air.

A blood curdling scent.

Instinctively, all three of us covered our noses with our hands, our faces wrinkled.

Anthony muttered, “What a start!”

Around the edges of the room, three wood and leather trunks were placed against the wall.

The same trunks Lycaon and I had seen Adara’s shifters carry into the manor.

But I’d never seen inside of them.

As if on instinct, the vampire now stepped ahead of us and put his arm out.

Barely audible he said, “Stay back. Let me check.”

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