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devil-in-the-details-ay · 3 months

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Chapter 18

After a rocky night, morning brings surprises....

Fingertips danced over the soft skin of Yara’s upper arm. She was still deep within the confines of sleep but Astaroth had awoken hours earlier. His mind kept turning over everything that had happened since his wife had first walked into his office with the information that she was to be his new intern.

Astaroth did not do relationships. He did not do emotional entanglement. Yet, here he was doing both with the woman in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder. Not only that, but he felt a protectiveness and possessiveness over her that he had never felt towards another. Never was he one to share someone he was with, but his reaction should they stray was simply to remove them from his life. Watching the men in the club lust after Yara had awakened feelings within Astaroth that were completely foreign.

How could one simple demoness have so affected him? He did not believe that she was deceiving him, but he wondered if Lucifer had done something. Was there an ulterior motive? Maybe who Yara’s mother was would shed light on what was going on. It was not like suddenly Death would change after being the same since the dawn of time. Yet, perplexingly, he had.

*****

Hours later, Yara awoke, stiĺl finding it hard to believe that Astaroth hadn’t rejected her or left her during the night. His acceptance and the vow he had made the night before were unlike anything she had expected or experienced before. There was a part of her that kept being afraid that this was one of her father’s illusions and it would disappear before her eyes.

As the couple were relaxing together and enjoying the morning breeze in the tropical island mansion that would be their new home, others were finding that their access to the two of them was no longer as free as it once had been. This did not go over well.

Lucifer was enraged. He’d already tried to send messengers to the island, but they couldn’t make it through the numerous wards erected by Astaroth. By creating his own island, Astaroth had created a pocket dimension connected to Earth, it technically didn’t exist ON Earth, and he was the creator and ruler of it. So, in order to enter it, you had to have Astaroth’s permission and only one being in all of creation did: Yara.

It did not take long for Lucifer’s displeasure to reach Astaroth’s office in Hell. His employees were used to dealing with the demon king and knew that there was nothing he could do to them. They answered him with dismissive tones and threw him out of the office, something that enraged him more. He had forgotten that the only reason he'd been able to entrap Astaroth in this whole scheme was repayment of a debt owed.

That Lucifer was apparently having a royal temper tantrum in Hell amused Yara no end. Astaroth had shown her the text messages and videos he’d been sent from friends of theirs in Hell. They really could not have asked for a better wedding present than him losing his mind over not being in control of the situation in the slightest. When he found out where Astaroth was taking her next on the “A&Y World Tour Honeymoon”, there was no doubt that Lucifer was likely to become even more apoplectic. Not that there was anything he could do to separate them after where they were about to go. Lucifer was a demon with no more power than a lesser god, and they were about to visit one of the major ones to have their marriage blessed. No matter what was in that cursed contract of his, after this day, it wouldn’t be worth the time that it had taken Lucifer to come up with it.

*****

“Are you ready for today’s adventure, Papilio?” Astaroth looked over to where she was finishing getting ready. She seemed calmer than she had been before and he hoped that their conversation the night before had set her mind and some of her worries to rest. Later, when things were calm and settled, there would have to be more conversations.

“I might be able to answer that if you told me where we were going!” Yara was laughing as she looked over at her husband and stuck at her tongue. He absolutely refused to tell her where they were going and it was driving her absolutely insane with curiosity. He promised her that she would enjoy it far more than their venture the previous night. At first she hadn’t been sure if he had been joking or if he had been serious.

“We, my beautiful wife, are going to find out who your mother is.” He sauntered over and leaned against the door frame as she froze and looked back at him through the mirror. It was clear that she was in shock, and not quite sure if she could believe him. “Who it is that is going to tell us, that my darling, is a surprise. One you’re not going to find out if you do not get that lovely posterior of yours into gear and finish getting ready.” He winked at her with a sly smile forming.

“You’re serious?” She looked at him skeptically through the mirror, still so surprised by all that Astaroth was doing and had done. The events of the previous night were still confusing to her, but that he had already arranged for them to take the first step in finding out who her mother was completely shocked her. There was nothing about her husband that made sense to her.

Astaroth chuckled and walked up behind her, placing his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. “I have no reason to tease you with something like that. Of course, I am serious. Plus we are going to have our marriage blessed by a full godhead and ruler of a pantheon. So, you finish getting ready and I’m going to scry my friend.” Kissing the side of her neck, he gave her a wicked smile in the mirror and then turned to leave the room, leaving her speechless.

Less than twenty minutes later, she was ready. Astaroth was grinning, his plans coming together beautifully. If he could have Odin sanctify their marriage, then there was nothing Lucifer could do to break them apart, Yara could relax. Odin also had Mimir’s head, the strange oracle, and that was who he hoped would be able to tell him where they could find Yara’s mother. If not who she was, then at least someone who could help them find her. If this didn’t work, he was going to have to go to Delphi, and he hated having to fuck around with the Greeks.

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sophisticated-creepy · 2 months

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The sound of running footsteps thundered overhead, starting from one end of the house and racing towards the opposite side, the pounding vibrations traveling across the hallway from above. A door slamming violently shut was heard next as if the upstairs runner found escape in one of the many bedrooms, the force of the door hitting its frame hard enough to rattle the crystal on the fireplace mantle behind the startled group of friends who sat in a circle in the middle of the floor. Lola was the first who shot to her feet, giving chase as she sprinted out of the main parlor room, Raphael close at her heels, and Jack taking up the rear, halting briefly to look back at Modesta.

“Go!” she ordered, waving him off while steadying a swaying Lazare. “I’ll look after him.”

By the time Jack made it out of the room, the other couple was halfway up the main staircase.

“Lola, why are you running?” Raphael asked, catching up to her.

“Someone’s up there,” she replied, giving the clear and obvious answer.

“If there is someone running around up there, at least let me go first.” Raphael overtook Lola on the stairs as they reached the landing of the second story level, putting his beloved at his back to protect her from any potential attack made by an intruder, if one, in fact, had entered the Manor House.

“It sounded like those footsteps came this way,” Lola said, pointing in the direction of the hallway towards the back of the house where young Edgar’s room and Lillian’s library was situated.

“There’s nowhere for an intruder to go,” Raphael said, looking up and down the eerily abandoned corridor.

“We heard a door slam shut,” Jack said, reaching the landing to congregate with the others. “But I could have sworn we’ve had our rooms locked the whole time since the tour.”

Raphael checked the imposing paneled doors along the stretch of hallway, rattling their doorknobs to confirm all the rooms were indeed locked.

“It doesn’t make any sense. We all heard a door slam shut up here,” Lola stated as she tapped her bottom lip in thought.

“Weird timing hearing those running footsteps after Lazare specifically told us to run,” Jack commented.

Lola gasped, her eyes growing large with realization. “That’s right! He did tell us to run.”

“Let’s regroup downstairs and check in with Modesta and Lazare. Maybe he gleaned something while in his trance to help make sense of it all,” Raphael said. In agreement, the three departed, but Lola lagged behind, curiosity taking control as she loitered near the library, and before descending the stairs after the men, touched the crystal doorknob to the forbidden and tantalizing room. She let out a harsh gasp, recoiling back in shock, holding her hand close to her chest.

“Lola, what happened?” Raphael asked, instantly at her side upon hearing her outcry.

“Touch the doorknob,” she said while stepping into his comforting arms.

“I’m not falling for that again,” Jack quipped, also returning up the stairs.

“It’s cold as ice,” Lola finished, ignoring the wisecrack.

Raphael reached out with tentative fingers, brushing the doorknob’s surface, and he pulled his hand back in surprise once he felt the drastic cold. “It does feel like ice. Why does this doorknob have such a significant temperature difference?” he asked as everyone took turns touching the multifaceted antique hardware.

“It’s the runner-ghost!” Lola exclaimed. “We heard them run down the hallway and slam a door, right? Maybe this was the room they ran into.”

“It’s locked, though,” Jack said.

“So are the other rooms,” Lola reiterated. “However, this doorknob feels unnaturally cold.”

“I don’t think this runner-ghost has a key to get into the library,” Jack started, “let alone the proper time to unlock, open, slam, and then relock the door in the span of the thirty seconds it took for us to get up here to investigate.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Lola countered back as the three of them attempted to leave the landing again. By the time the group reentered the front parlor room, Lazare had removed his blindfold and headphones, adjusting his gold, wired rimmed glasses on his nose as he and Modesta talked softly to one another, and as the others walked into the room, the two looked up at their friends with expectant expressions.

“Well?” Modesta asked. “What did you find?”

“Nothing,” Lola said with a sigh, sitting down in her place amongst the circle on the floor.

“We checked all the rooms to locate whomever was running upstairs, but all of the doors are locked,” Raphael said next, joining Lola on the floor.

“Even though we heard that door slam?” Modesta asked.

Lola nodded. “The only thing out of the ordinary we found was that the doorknob to the library was freezing cold.”

“That’s peculiar,” Lazare commented.

“Lola thinks a runner-ghost ran down the hallway and went into the library,” Raphael shared, “which explains why the doorknob was so cold.”

“And the library is still locked, yes?” Modesta asked, giving Lola a stern glower.

“I didn’t break into the library if that’s what you’re asking me,” Lola defended herself. “Now, how about you two? Anything interesting happen down here?”

“All I have to say,” Lazare began, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses, “is that was probably one of the deepest trances I’ve ever experienced. But what is really the most strange, is I feel there are warring energies running throughout this house.”

“Warring energies?” Jack repeated. “I thought only the Gray Lady haunted the Manor.”

“She has the most legend surrounding her spirit,” Lazare agreed, “and is the most commonly known ghost, but there’s an undercurrent flying just beneath the radar of this main, dominant energy. At times, I could feel it bubbling to the surface, but then that one dominant energy of the house came in to squash it back down. It happened multiple times while I was channeling.”

“How many spirits did you hear talking to you?” Raphael asked.

“Just the one.”

“I don’t know if that’s good,” Lola said. “Before we heard the runner-ghost, you sounded…gnarly is the only word I can think of to describe it.”

“It wasn’t the most pleasant sounding voice,” Modesta agreed. “If this one spirit is portraying to be sweet and innocent, only to switch to that kind of ghastly growl, then which is the true face of this entity?”

“It could be lying, lulling us into a false sense of security, acting all sweet and nice, but is actually really rather unsavory,” Lola speculated. After a brief moment of thought, she sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. “Well, the séance didn’t go quite as planned and all the flashlights are dead. What do we want to do now?”

“If you’re up for trying again, there’s still one other way we can connect with Lillian,” Modesta said.

“How?”

“By tapping into her energy using my tarot cards. She can communicate to us through the cards, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to perform some old school ghost hunting techniques to experience a Northcott haunting.”

“That sounds like a fun idea,” Lola exclaimed, perking up at hearing Modesta’s plan of using tarot cards. “Do you want us to light some candles?” The room groaned, Lola’s attempt at making a joke falling flat amongst her friends. “Too soon?”

“The ambient lighting is perfectly acceptable,” Modesta assured while she retrieved her tarot deck from her purse mixed in with the party supplies. Once situated back into the circle on the floor, she shuffled the well-worn, loved deck of cards, then fanned them out face down in a line in front of her, and after taking a steady breath, she hovered her left hand above the spread of mystical rectangles.

“Okay, Lillian, what do you have to say?” Modesta felt a small patch of skin tingle on her palm under her pinky finger, and moved her hand towards the left half of the row of cards, stopping over the one that made her fingertips prickle. She flipped the card over, revealing the Ace of Cups. “Oh! That’s nice, albeit a little unexpected.”

“Which card is that?” Jack asked, squinting at the tarot deck to see better in the near darkness.

“It’s the Ace of Cups, which means big love,” Modesta answered.

“From what I’ve gathered in my research, it wasn’t a secret that Lillian loved this house,” Lola said. “She prided herself on her gardens, and had many high-society luncheons on the grounds as part of her social clubs.”

“What else do you have to say, Lillian?” Modesta asked, holding out her hand over the line of cards once more. She moved her hand over towards the right this time, and flipped over the second card. “The Nine of Swords? What were you so stressed about?” She felt the pull of her hand move back towards the left and turned over another card. “Three of Wands,” she announced, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Why were you stressed over your ships coming in?”

Raphael leaned inward to get a good look at the card Modesta held up for everyone to see. “If the person in the card is watching for the ships on the horizon to come in, then here’s a bit of interesting information that could shed some light. Originally, this house was blueprinted to have a widow’s walk,” he said, “but at some point during construction, the design was scrapped, and now a turret is in the place where the widow’s walk would have been.”

“I didn’t know that,” Lola said, wildly impressed by the information her fiancé delivered.

“I have access to untold amounts of resources as a board member of the Historical Society.”

“Wait, do we know if Mr. Northcott was a sailor?” Jack asked. “I know he founded the cannery, but did he ever actually go out to sea?”

“A widow’s walk would explain why she was stressed over watching the ships come in,” Lazare began, “and if Cornelius was a sailor, I can understand her worry. I mean, I’d be stressed out too if my husband was at sea, and all I could do was watch for him to have a safe return home.”

“But the widow’s walk was decommissioned. So, if her husband wasn’t a sailor, why initially build a widow’s walk to begin with?” Lola asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Modesta’s hand moving again over the tarot, flipping over a new card, and as the image was revealed, her friend gave a startled gasp. “What card did you pull?”

“It’s the Lovers,” Modesta said, holding up the card. As she picked the object up, the one next to it jumped out of line and flipped over, and Modesta couldn’t help but let out another startled gasp of surprise. “The Devil.” A collective chill ran through the group of friends as she held up both cards together.

“Lillian, what does all of this mean?” Lola beseeched the room, the drama of the tarot reading almost too much to bear.

“Okay, okay, okay, now hold on a minute,” Modesta spoke, trying her best to rein in the beginning stirrings of chaos. “Let’s all take a nice, calming breath before jumping off the deep end. The Lovers doesn’t always mean romantic partnerships, nor does the Devil literally mean Satan. They’re a mirror to one another. Remember, we need to look at the big picture behind the cards’ symbolisms and depictions. I think it’s safe to say Lillian was not in love with a demon.”

“Unless!” Lola scream-gasped, her imagination already sprinting ahead with reckless abandon. “She was having an affair!”

“What?” the others collectively questioned.

“Think about it. She’s stressed about a widow’s walk because her secret lover was a sailor,” Lola explained.

“Then, how does the Devil play into this scenario?” Modesta asked.

“Her secret tryst was evil,” the extemporaneous author answered, gesturing with her hands by the sides of her head that her mind was blown.

“I don’t think any of that is true,” Raphael said at length.

“It makes for a great story,” Lola defended with a shrug of her shoulders while folding her arms, unbothered that no one seemed to be catching onto her idea.

“But it’s not Lillian’s story,” Modesta stressed. “I’m going to flip over one more card, and hopefully it will tie this all together.” Modesta took in a large breath and closed her eyes, her hand for the last time hovering over the tarot cards, and selected the one that made her palm burn, regretting turning it over the instant the image was revealed.

“The Death card!” Lola shrieked. “Oh, my God, Lillian was murdered by her lover the Devil!”

“Lola,” Modesta chastised. “I know I’ve taught you better than this. In tarot, Death does not mean ‘literal dying’, nor the Devil being something evil.”

“I know, but, at first glance, doesn’t it just seem to…fit?”

“No. What ‘fits’ is that Lillian’s love for this house brought in opportunities that may have been overly stressful,” Modesta began to explain. She picked up each card one by one, sharing the insights the images made in a cohesive storyline. “She had lots of choices to make in running this house as well as keeping up with high society, and that clearly had some kind of pressure on her, which was cause for a critical transformation.”

“But what about the widow’s walk?” Lola asked, challenging the new narrative Modesta presented.

“Simply a pearl of wisdom courtesy of the Newberry Historical Society,” Modesta said. “Now, thank you, Lillian for trying to communicate, if this was you,” she said next into the room, making to gather the cards.

“Wait!” Lola shouted, stopping her friend. “One last card. Please. As my birthday wish. What does Lillian want us to know?”

A tense moment passed between the two women as they locked eyes, until Modesta relented, and waved her hand over the row of rectangles, turning over the last card.

“Of course it is,” Modesta scoffed with a half-hearted laugh, tossing the card into the middle of the circle. It landed face up, and the friends waited anxiously for her to explain the meaning behind the gruesome image of a bleeding heart. “Three of Swords. Heartbreak.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Happy Lion's gate portal day!!

I figured this chapter's timing was apt in posting, what with tarot being involved. I gotta say, I had so much fun writing this chapter specifically because it dealt with a tarot reading! As a reader myself, it was a delight to poke fun at the stereotypical reactions to pulling the "scary cards" like death and the devil. No, the devil card does not literally mean Satan! haha!

Also, why is it that every ghost Lola deals with has a broken heart?

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I will see you all next time! Take care!

~Melissa

#the third light #newberry at night #adventure #fantasy #romance #love #magic #witches #paranormal #paranormal cozy mystery #cozy mystery #paranormal investigation #spooky #scary

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authorkarajorgensen · 2 months

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Today's the cover reveal for The Reanimator's Remains (TRM #3)

Today is the day we have all been waiting for, the cover reveal for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3). Crowglass Design has outdone himself with the cover for The Reanimator’s Remains! I absolutely love what he’s come up with, and I think it fits the vibe of the story so well. Plus, it’s my favorite color.

If you haven’t read book one, you can start the series in ebook, audiobook, or paperback, or you can grab book 2 in any of those formats.

The Reanimator’s Remains is the third book in the Reanimator Mysteries series and will be out October 29th, 2024. You can preorder the ebook now at all major retailers, and the paperback will be available in October closer to release day.

Check out the cover, current content warnings, blurb, and preorder link below:

An autistic necromancer, his undead love, and a covenant that must be broken.

Oliver Barlow never knew what happened to his parents. With a note from his mother as his only lead, Oliver had given up hope of ever learning the truth. But when the dead start rising in the town of Aldorhaven, Oliver jumps at the chance to take the case if it means he can investigate the last place his parents were seen alive.

Felipe Galvan would like to be anywhere but Aldorhaven. Between protecting Oliver and Gwen, dealing with distrustful townsfolk, and an unexpected letter from his estranged parents, Felipe is already stretched thin. But when he is suddenly plagued by whispers from the woods and nightmares from his past, Felipe fears he is only one misstep away from becoming the monster he was meant to be.

Far more sinister things than the dead lurk in Aldorhaven’s woods. A centuries old bargain has been broken, and the only thing that can satisfy it is Oliver’s blood. Together, Oliver, Felipe, and Gwen must finish what Oliver’s parents started, or they too will be ensnared by their devil’s bargain.

CWs include but are not limited to/are subject to change: suicidal ideation, self-harm, blood, gore, violence, death, descriptions of dead bodies, autopsies, on page sexual content, anxiety attack, mentions of homophobia, remembered/mentioned child abuse

If you haven’t preordered, The Reanimator’s Remains yet, you can use this universal link to preorder it at Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Apple Books, Smashwords, and more.

Or add it on Goodreads.

Paperbacks will be available closer to release day.

#The Reanimator's Remains #The Reanimator's Heart #The Reanimator Mysteries #Oliver x Felipe #my boys are back #mm paranormal romance #mm historical romance #mm romance #put the romance back in necromance #autistic author #autistic mc #cover reveal #Crowglass Design

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vanmarie3 · 4 months

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#paranormal #books #murder mystery #romance #vampires #badboys #detective #reading #steamy #authors #serial fiction

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bestlaidplansproductions · 5 months

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Local villainess asks existential questions about her existence.

Overworked authors working on upcoming Kickstarter & demo respond with more bad endings.

Interested in a fully animated black comedy murder mystery game with unique love interests that may or may not want to destroy you?

🦋Join Save the Villainess' Kickstarter & Demo Pre-Launch.

🦋Wishlist Save the Villainess on Steam.

🦋Follow Save the Villainess on Itch.

🦋Sign up to the Mailing List for exclusive character cards every month.

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whileyouwait-dm · 8 months

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So it begins...

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Miriana had been crossing the street with a group of people one minute and the next she was in a strange dark forest. Obviously she was at least unconscious and this was some kind of dream; at least that was what she was hoping. The alternative was that she was dead. Were that the case, then where exactly she was confounded her. This certainly did not resemble any description of Heaven that she had read of, but it didn’t exactly resemble Hell either. She hadn’t read up on all mythologies though, but she doubted Hell as supposed to look like a dense forest with lush vegetation. So, exactly what happened and where was she? Two questions that she hoped would be answered by someone in at least some kind of decent timeframe.

Miriana turned in a circle, but saw no path or anything that gave a clear direction out of the clearing that she was in. There was just this jagged oval of a clearing where the underbrush was lower, then it grew higher again and the trees were closer together. The canopy was still lush and green, keeping everything below in shade and relative darkness. There were no sounds of birds or active wildlife that she could ascertain, which seemed odd for the middle of the day, but she wasn’t any kind of wildlife or forest expert. Trying to decide which way to go was not easy, since she had no idea where she was and there were no ambient noises to guide her.

Finally, she just picked a direction and headed into the thicker underbrush and darker canopy cover. There was no better or worse option, none of them seemed any different than the other at this point since there were no indicators of where she would find someone else. Hopefully when she did find someone else, they’d be able to tell her where she was and how she got them from the middle of a busy intersection with no memory of it. She’d never been camping or hiking, so this definitely wasn’t one of her friends playing some messed up kind of a prank, they’d know better than to drop her city girl ass out in the middle of the wilderness. Fending for herself meant using the microwave to heat up leftovers, not making her way through the wilderness.

****

“SIRE!” A messenger came running into Djall’s office. He was out of breath and flushed, looking almost on the verge of panic. This could mean nothing good for the ruler of the underworld, so there went his afternoon. “Yes? What is it?” He asked, leaning back in his chair. Hopefully it wasn’t something too bad and he could get back to organizing the newest batch of arrivals according to what demon would be overseeing them.

“There was a problem with the afterlife routing algorithm and we’ve received…………a mistake.” The color seemed to drain from the demon’s face.

“A mistake?” Djall’s dark eyes narrowed at the demon, who was nodding and simultaneously looking like he wanted to become one with the wall behind him. “What kind of mistake?” His head cantered to one side as he tried to figure out how they could receive any kind of mistake. This was Hell. Mistakes didn’t happen in Hell and you didn’t end up in Hell by mistake. You earned your way here.

“Sir, the algorithm sent a murderer to Paradise, and an innocent human girl here. She just landed in the forest of beasts. She was supposed to go the other way. There are a few beings arguing over whose fault it is, but we need to find her before the beasts do. She’s done nothing wrong to be here, Sire.” The demon’s back was pressed against the wall and he was truly terrified that his liege was going to cause him great pain from the look of displeasure currently upon his face.

“I have a completely innocent female IN THE FOREST OF BEASTS?!” Djall almost roared at the information. Of all of the places for her to land, the one that was the most violent and vicious. Of course, because having her land someplace “safe” in Hell would be to easy when the pompous pricks upstairs fucked up. Instead he was going to have to go find her before she was hurt and he had to put a bunch of pieces back together. Had he fucked over some deity that he’d forgotten about? He didn’t think so, but the day was sure shaping up that way.

Pushing on the armrests of his chair, Djall came to standing. “I will be off finding this female. Can you please find out who I’m supposed to call once I have her back here to the manor? Getting her out of Hell promptly is, I'm sure, on the top of everyone’s agenda. And, also, find out how the fuck this happened!” He gave the demon a tight smile and teleported to the forest. This was not going to be fun, and someone would definitely pay for the inconvenience later.

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behindthesemasks · 6 months

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It's time to get some answers...

Mel and Klaus stood arguing about her safety while they waited for Ambrose and Nic to make an entrance. He wanted her back in the suite at the hotel, she wanted to get to the hospital or help at the dig site. Melania was tired of being treated like a china doll by everyone around her. While he understood that, he couldn’t get her to understand what that drive had just felt like to him; knowing that if the asshole in the passenger seat of that SUV had been a better shot, she could have been hurt or killed. It had felt like being on that plane when the bullet had gone through Grant and hit her during the extraction in Peru.

Finally, tired of arguing with him and getting nowhere, she had agreed to go back to the hotel, but not for the reasons he would have wanted. She didn’t tell him, but she planned on getting every drop of information from Andreas she could. His final disposition she’d leave to Klaus and Eric, but she was going to make that man hurt…a lot. Being shot at while going on archaeological expeditions was something she was seriously becoming tired of. Ever since she’d landed in Peru last year, she felt like she’d had a gun pointed at her every damn day. Whether it was because they were keeping her safe, or because they were considering taking her out…it mattered little to her at this point.

Klaus was relieved that she agreed to go back, even if he didn’t trust that his thoughts and feelings on the matter had any bearing on her decision. He could tell there was something more going on behind those crystal blue eyes of hers, but if she was out of the line of fire, he could at least focus on taking out the threat to her and their friends. When it was all said and done, he knew there would be a reckoning to be had over this, and the incident in the hallway at the hotel. That didn’t bother him; the possibility of her being hurt bothered him. He could take her anger. Seeing her in a coma in a bed again, that he wasn’t sure he could take. Twice in less than six months was too much for him.

When they showed up in the Quonset hut, looking frustrated and ready to commit great violence, Nic and Ambrose agreed with Klaus about Mel going back to the hotel. They hadn’t found anything of use in the SUV. Whoever was funding this was good, very good. Ambrose already had calls out to people who technically didn’t exist. The word was being spread that there was a price, a high one, on the head of whoever thought to try and take out the heir to the Meyers fortune. There was to be no expense spared in finding out who did it. Ambrose was calling in favors in spades, and he knew that in the end he would get what he wanted.

Tossing his keys to Case, Ambrose told him to get her back to the hotel. After seeing the man’s driving, Ambrose was sure that he could keep her safe and in one piece if there was another incident. He considered sending Gabe back with them as well, but decided to keep him with the team for the moment. With Cam and Erik back at the hotel in addition to Case, that should be enough. With the warning going across the wires, anyone attempting to harm his granddaughter did truly have a death wish that every man in that building would gladly grant. From the look on Klaus’s face and the missing rear window of the SUV they had been in, he had no doubt that retribution was going to be swift and brutal from him.

Following Case and Mel out to the SUV that was parked alongside the one that they had arrived in, Klaus hated that she was going back without him but also wanted to go hunting for those responsible for what just happened and wanted her safe. He was pissed, beyond pissed. Cupping her face in his hands, he gave her a look that spoke volumes about the warring emotions that were inside him. Her hands rested on his hips before she went to her toes to kiss him.

“Go get ‘em killer. I’ll be fine.” Her voice was low and sexy, her lips brushing over his. There was something more in her eyes though, something feral and lethal. Damn if it didn’t turn him on. She was going to be the death of him someday, but damn he’d die a happy man.

He looked over to Case as she got in the vehicle and nodded. Shutting her door, he headed back into the building and the waiting team. His strides were long and purposeful; it was clear from his gate that this was a man on a mission. He was going to find out who put her in danger, and eliminate them with great malice. Maybe he’d even let the others help.

“Dez, get to the hospital. That SUV had run flat tires. They had expected to take fire, they were on a mission. Alexander and Sasha aren’t safe and Cade isn’t enough backup in this situation. I don’t want Mel leaving that hotel and the only way to keep her there is to get Alexander back there. As soon as it’s dark, get him back to the hotel and keep his ass there.” Nic was talking when Klaus walked back in. He nodded over to him as he joined the others.

“Klaus, Gabe, Donovan…you’re with us. Grandfather just got intel. We’ve got a visit to make to a mansion just outside of town that’s being rented by a mysterious Australian. Seems there have been some rumors of the resident being a relics dealer. Seeing as how we have one archaeologist down and another as a target, I think we’ve found who we’re looking for.” Nic smirked as he looked at his men. Damn he had a good team; he trusted every damn one of them.

Both groups headed out to the two remaining SUV’s. Ambrose had gotten the keys from Case for the one that was missing the back window. Klaus took up position in the back of it as the other males got in the front. Then they followed Case and Dez back to the main road towards town. Just outside of the city, they turned off on another road, heading in the general direction of the manor. They weren’t going to just roll up to the front door, they might have before someone tried to take out four of them. Too late for being polite now.

When they were within a quarter mile, and on a road that didn’t lead directly to the house, Ambrose pulled the SUV off of the road onto a turn in that was rather overgrown. Pulling past the tree line so that the rear of the vehicle was at least partly hidden, everyone slipped out as quietly as they could. Doors were left slightly ajar and the tailgate was left up. Silence was the name of the game now. The sun was up and that meant that they would stay low and in the trees as much as possible.

That quarter mile seemed to take forever to cross. If whoever was in the house was responsible for the attack on Sasha, and the price on Alexander, they didn’t want to give them warning that hell was about to come down on them. They were as silent as possible, making sure to stay undetected and hidden the whole time. Once they reached the tree line, they were no more than 50 yards from the main house. There were no guards that could be seen, but there were people inside. While the windows did reflect some of the surroundings, shadows moving inside could be seen.

Each of the men took up observation positions to try and determine how many were inside and their locations. They would wait till the cover of darkness to move in any closer. There could be no more than two or three hours of daylight remaining. Klaus and Donovan had shotguns, Ambrose and Nic were brandishing pistols, and Gabe had an AR. They were ready for whatever lay inside that house.

As dusk was beginning to set, Klaus’s phone buzzed. Pulling it out, he looked down at the number and sighed as he swiped to answer it. “Yeah?” His eyes closed tightly, then he responded curtly, “not now,” before hanging up. Turning his phone off, he stored it in one of the pockets on his pants before returning his attention to the house.

No one asked who it was or what they had wanted. For him to answer it right now meant it was Mel or one of the other men on the team. His response told them this wasn’t a good time to start a conversation on it either. But they all did pull out their phones and turn them off. Last thing they needed was a distraction when they were raiding the house.

Soon darkness had fallen. The men emerged from the tree line and headed towards the house. Hand signals guided the entry to the house, 3 through the back and two through the front. As Klaus, Donovan, and Nic headed around back, they were careful to avoid being seen through the large windows that each room on the bottom floor seemed to have. While they had seen people inside the house earlier, no one was seen in any of the rooms now. They could only hope that this meant that they hadn’t been spotted.

At the back door they paused and listened. Seconds ticked by slowly till they heard the distinctive whistle that meant it was time for entry. Klaus and Donovan brought boots to door at the same time to break the lock and swing it open. Klaus took point with Nic bringing up the rear.

There were no sounds on the first floor when the teams made entry, but the sounds of the scraping of chairs could be heard upstairs. Neither group delayed in heading up, where they were met with two armed bodyguards that were quickly dispatched. The other men in the room looked surprised at first, and then fearful when Ambrose’s tall frame rounded the corner to enter the room they were in.

“So gentlemen, you’ve decided it was a wise thing to take out a hit on members of an expedition team on a archaeological dig that I’m financing. You’d better have a damn good reason that you just put my granddaughter in jeopardy because I don’t take kindly to her being shot at.”

This is where the stammering started, first from one then another of the men. All seemed to be claiming that they had no idea that Ambrose was financing the dig nor that Mel was one of the archaeologists on site. If it hadn’t been abundantly clear they had found out who was behind the attack on Sasha and the hit on Alexander, Klaus might have found their stammering amusing. As things were, he found it irritating and annoying.

“Boys, restrain our hosts. I think they’ve forgotten what it means to do their homework before starting a job. A refresher on exactly what happens to anyone who crosses me might be in order as well.” Ambrose smirked as the color began to drain from the faces of the men who were facing him.

Four hours later the men emerged from the house. A little blood splatter here and there, but only the two bodyguards had ended up dead. Now they needed to get back to the SUV and to the hotel. Hopefully all the rest of the team would now be there with information from Andreas.

As they got to the SUV, everyone started pulling out phones and turning them on. Most likely there would be texts or calls with updates to at least Ambrose and Nic. Klaus knew he needed to return the call he’d gotten to, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to do that with everyone in the vehicle able to hear him.

“Shit! How the fuck do I have over 100 missed calls.” Nic growled as he started to flip through his call log.

“I’ve got 50,” Klaus replied, not really wanting to look through his log.

“What, did I get the jackpot with only 3?” Gabe joked as he tried to figure out who was calling him from the 228 area code.

“FUCK!” All heads turned to look at Ambrose. In the dim light of his cell phone, pure anger showed on his face. He hit a number on his phone and the soft sound of ringing could be heard in the stillness as no one else moved. “What is so god damned important?” His voice left no room for misunderstanding that he was pissed. “What do you mean she’s missing?”

Klaus’s heart dropped through the floor and Gabe almost dropped his phone.

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