26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Tension was high when I joined the others in the dining room. Greg had left my clothes folded neatly on top of the car so I'd dressed quickly, humming a little ditty and reaching out to his mind. Using that tenuous connection, I'd been able to find my way through the large mansion to him without having to ask anyone for directions. Let them wonder at that.

‘How was your run?' he asked, his tone light and casual. His eyes were wide in warning as he reached up and tapped his ear: someone was listening to us.

Bugged? I mouthed to him. He nodded, looking grim.

‘Good, thank you,' I said warmly. ‘I'm starving, though. We didn't kill anything on our run.'

‘You must be ravenous,' Liam said. ‘There's plenty of food. The Staffordshire pack has been most generous.'

‘Wonderful.' I looked at the laden table. ‘Have you even eaten yet?' I asked dubiously.

‘We made a sizeable dent!' David protested. Plates were piled high with the remnants of their meal, but they had barely made any inroads into the feast. Challenge accepted.

I sat down and started stacking food on my own plate. We really were hungry after our shift and run, but Esme felt settled in a way that she hadn't been for days so it was worth it.

I fell on the food, shoving it into my mouth with no finesse. Greg poured me a cup of tea, having made it expertly to my taste, and I drank it down. I ate until my belly felt distended but the hunger was still there; I'd have to wait until I had a little more room for a second round.

When my phone rang, Greg fished it out of his pocket and passed it over. I gave him a grateful smile; he'd removed it from my clothes when I'd shifted to stop it being tampered with. He was a smart cookie.

It was Amber and I swiped to answer. ‘Hey, Amber.'

‘I'm outside,' she said abruptly. ‘Come and get me and we'll sort out today's piping.'

‘Excellent timing, thank you. I'll send Greg to fetch you.' We rang off.

‘Miss DeLea is outside,' I said to Greg, ‘Please bring her to me.' I used my phone to type him a message: Tell her about the bugs and ask if she can paint us some privacy runes? He nodded and left the room.

‘Did you enjoy your run on the land?' Archie asked solicitously.

‘Oh yes,' I confirmed. ‘It was beautiful. Their land is beautiful and bountiful.'

‘I look forward to a hunt.' He stretched his arms wide above his head before interlocking his fingers to cradle the back of his.

Silence fell as we waited for Greg to return with Amber. David and Liam sat at the table; obviously seeing the gargantuan amount of food for the challenge it was, they dug in again.

Amber swanned in with her usual grace. As I opened my mouth to greet her, she held up a finger to indicate the need for silence. When she walked over and touched the walls, runes lit up. She studied them intently before releasing her hold on the wall and reached into her tote bag for a jar of potion and a paintbrush. She drew a quick squiggle across some of the runes then painted some more of her own. ‘We are safe to talk in here,' she confirmed abruptly.

‘What if they have electronic bugs?'

‘The runes will disrupt them. Magic trumps science. Cars are where it's really difficult because the metal doesn't hold runes for long so the bugs reign supreme.'

‘Can you check our bedrooms as well?' Greg asked.

‘Of course.'

‘It's a suite just off this one.' He led her through an oak door.

‘What's the plan, boss?' Archie asked me.

‘Did you spy the wooden cottage when we came in?' I asked.

‘Yeah. It gave me the heebie-jeebies.'

‘Rightly so. While I watched, it lured in a deer and killed it.'

Liam frowned. ‘What do you mean, it lured in a deer?'

‘The house – because I'm sure there was no one inside. The deer had glowing red eyes and it just … walked right in. The front door opened and closed by itself.'

‘A sentient house,' David murmured, his eyes wide. ‘I'd heard such things existed but I thought they were the domain of vampyrs.'

That was news to me but I tried to keep my reaction off my face. If Voltaire had his own sentient house, then I was jealous with a capital J. ‘Well, it looks like the Staffordshire pack has a murderous house.'

‘That's so cool.' Archie was wide-eyed.

‘Not if it's killing things.' Liam made a face at his friend.

‘Right, right,' Archie agreed hastily. ‘Totally evil and creepy – but also a bit cool.'

Amber swept back in. ‘Your bedrooms are all sorted. I'll check them again tomorrow, but it may be best to leave one of you around at all times so a witch can't sneak in and paint some more runes when you're not looking.'

‘Good idea,' I agreed. ‘We can work with that. Shall we do the amulet in my bedroom?'

‘Sure.' She led the way back to an opulent room that looked like it had come straight from a Regency-style movie set. The bed was a four-poster, complete with elegantly tied-back curtains. The carpet was garishly patterned – but I'd learnt that such things helped disguise bloodshed. That realisation felt vaguely ominous, especially combined with the knowledge of the murderous house that resided oh-so-close-by.

Amber pulled out the amulet from her tote bag and we got to work. She painted some delicate runes on the back of the metal pendant before handing it to me. I pulled up my magic and reached out to the necklace. I found it a little easier to connect to the amulet this time, not to the inanimate magic in it but my own living magic which resided there.

‘Enough,' Amber said abruptly after twenty minutes of work.

I passed her the amulet and she examined it. ‘It's working,' she said, a small smile playing at her lips. ‘Jinx will love it.'

‘She really will,' I agreed.

‘Fantastic. Same time tomorrow?'

‘Perhaps earlier? Elliott has various things planned. There's a ball tonight whilst I claim the crown, and who knows what tomorrow will bring?'

Amber's mouth tightened. ‘Be careful, Lucy. I hear Rain has arrived and I sense a darkness here.'

I grimaced. ‘Thanks for the heads up.'

‘Rain has been known to use poison. I will stay local, very local. In the meantime…' She turned to my bedside table and painted on a handful of runes, nodding with satisfaction when she'd finished. ‘Lay any food or drink on this table and it will glow green if it has magic in it. If it does, don't eat or drink it. Call me if you need me sooner.'

I reached out and touched her arm lightly. ‘Thank you so much, Amber. I really am very grateful.'

She graced me with another rare smile. ‘What are friends for?' She whirled out of the room before I could acknowledge her comment. The woman had issues with emotional intimacy but I could hardly throw stones: I was aware that I had a pathological need to be liked. Even now, knowing I was in danger, I still wanted Elliott to like me. If he could respect me as Queen, life would be a helluva lot easier.

I might even survive the week.