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“Unless you would prefer a cold, stony corner in the basement?”

“I don’t want to be anywhere in this house.”

“We can arrange that, too. There’s probably a little room in the kennels with the dogs… only I should warn you, we keep them somewhat underfed. It makes them sharp.”

“You are monsters.”

Carla picked up the strange glass pocket watch on the nearby table and tossed it toward me. I scrambled to catch it.

“There are worse monsters in these halls, of that I can assure you. Now, walk.”

Mason Diaboli gave his wife a soft kiss on the back of her neck. She shut her eyes, leaned into the kiss, and smiled. He then melted away into the darkness, leaving me alone with his psychotic wife. I found it incredibly unsettling that I couldn’t see anything in this place, but I realized quickly that was by design.

They didn’t want me to know where I was or where I was going. They wanted me to feel like I was in a maze, that way, if I wanted to try escaping, I would have no idea where to go. I also knew I was powerless, here.

Sure, I could summon my magic, but I doubted if it would be any good against the Diaboli. I was on their turf, in the dark, surrounded by strange, demonic whispers, and directly in the sights of a woman who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

If I wanted to survive, I was going to have to do what she said… so, I walked. Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. The bedroom I was brought to was an upgrade from the trunk, for sure, but I couldn’t help but feel like the deeper I went with these people, the harder it would be for me to get out.

Carla stood by the bedroom door and watched me as I entered the room and had a look around. The bed in here looked big, and comfortable, with four posters and a mountain of pillows. There was a desk, with a chair, even some writing tools. The window, strangely enough, didn’t have bars on it or a fancy looking locking mechanism.

That was also probably by design. It would create the temptation for me to try to escape, even though I probably wasn’t going to make it more than a few feet out of the house before I was spotted and stopped.

“This is where I’m supposed to stay?” I asked.

“What’s the matter?” Carla asked, “Is it not up to your standards?”

“I just thought if you were trying to lock me up, a couple of bars and magic suppression runes would’ve gone a long way.”

“Why deface our décor with ugly runes when I know you won’t try to use magic to escape?”

“And what makes you say that.”

“Because if you do, they will stop you,” she paused on that ominous note. “And in any case, you wouldn’t get very far if you tried. I suggest you make yourself comfortable and not make any trouble. You’ll need all the points you can get for after.”

“After what?”

“Once we find your brother and take back what belongs to us… and we decide your fate.”

Carla took a step back, blew the candle out, and disappeared into the stark darkness of the corridor beyond the bedroom door. A moment later, the door slammed shut, causing me to nearly jump out of my own skin.

Once again, I was alone, only this time I wasn’t in the trunk of a car, my magical hands tied by powerful runes. I rushed up to the window and tried to open it. The window opened without a fuss, a soft breeze rolled in, bringing with it the scent of night flowers and fresh cut grass.

The drop was easily fifteen feet into some shrubs, and even though I felt like I could manage that—especially with magic—just looking down made my stomach turn itself inside out. I also couldn’t see the edge of the property from here. No walls, no fence, and no gate; just deep, dark trees.

How long would I be able to run in the dark before they found me? And what about those dogs Carla talked about? Would they set them on me if they knew I had escaped?

No.

Now wasn’t the time for hasty escapes. I needed to be smart about this, and that meant I needed a plan. The sun had to rise sometime, and when it did, I would be able to see my way out and plan my escape. Until then, all I could do was sit down by the window, try to stay awake, and try not to fall apart.

Chapter

Ten

Ihadn’t meant to fall asleep, but when I opened my eyes again, it was morning. I had slept in the Diaboli house. Morning came suddenly, and with a fresh rush of panic. I scrambled to sit upright. I was still by the window, only now I could hear the song of birds and the rustle of trees and… a leaf blower?

I pulled myself up and looked out the window, giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the ambient sunlight outside. Thick trees lined what I could only imagine was the property line. These trees were massive, tall, and full; probably evergreens. They hunched close to each other like prison bars, their full branches obscuring the wall at the very end of the estate.