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“Very well,” she whispered, heading for the door.
Donja watched as she took her leave and just as her hand found the door knob, Donja called out to her. “You’re Chippewa, aren’t you?”
She paused, easing the door open. “Yes.”
“You were one of the women in the wedding album. I recognize you.”
“Yes,” she said as her demeanor shifted; a faraway look in her eyes.
“Who were all those women?”
Silence fell upon them, the woman contemplating. “They are descendants of the Durent Clan—aunts, sisters and cousins.” She raised a hand to swipe a lock from her brow. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She disappeared to the hallway.
Donja turned and immediately surveyed the room, searching for a phone. None existed, at least none she could see, but she did spy several computers in a nook behind a wall of books. Zaroc made his way to an ornate desk and pulled out a mahogany, high-back chair. Donja followed and nearing the desk, saw the wedding album. Her eyes widened, avoiding the chair. “That’s the wedding album. You had Jonas steal it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Why, what’s so important about these pictures?”
“Because they were twice stolen,” he said.
Donja took a step back. “I don’t understand.”
“They were the property of the Iridescent Council, photos and hand-drawn images of Chippewa brides taken as consorts dating back hundreds of years. The album was in my possession, you see, I had stolen it from the Council chambers to remove my mother’s picture. She’s immortal, one of the few brides who crossed over. She didn’t want someone like a Council maid or caretaker to get their hands on it for fear they would discover her secret. It happened once and the woman, who was my mother’s cousin, was blackmailed. Anyway, I had every intention of returning it but unfortunately, it came up stolen…again.” He took a breath. “I couldn’t prove it, but I suspected Nara Engadine to be the thief. At the time, she lived in the home now occupied by your family.”
Donja tucked her hair behind her ears, recalling her mother’s tale of Nara. “And this Nara, who was rumored to be a ghost, was aware of Iridescents?”
“Ghost, how did you know of the rumors?” he asked.
“The realtor told my parents.”
“Ahhh,” he breathed with open lips, his eyes on her neck.
Donja raised a hand to cover the spot where Torin marked her. “And you say Nara knew about Iridescents?” she asked hoping to escape his eyes which were still on her neck.
“Of course, and like I said, I suspected her to be the thief, but she denied it,” he sighed. “I must have searched that house a thousand times, but couldn’t find it and look at you. Move in and find it immediately.” He took a step forward, towering over her, reached out and touched her hair. “Where exactly was it hidden?”
Donja moved back, as if examining the album. “In a faux attic discovered during construction.”
He shook his head. “Well I’ll be damned. That Nara, she was a sly one and I’m not surprised she went to such extremes. She had an axe to grind.”
“Why?”
A smile slowly spread upon his face. “Long story short, she was my consort.”
“That’s impossible,” Donja blurted, “she lived alone with a female caregiver who inherited her home when she died.”
“No, sorry that’s not how it went. Dear Nara was a Chippewa female, marked by an Iridescent nicknamed ‘Lion,’ dubbed such because he had a head full of wild curly hair that resembled a lion’s mane.
Donja recalled the lock of hair bound in leather found in attic. It had the initials L.C.N.
That was Nara’s husband? That accounts for the all the lion heads throughout the manor.
“Lion worked for my father,” Zaroc said drawing her from thought, “and quite by accident, my father found out that he was swindling money from his business and that he had used the funds to buy Nara that estate. They argued and when a fight ensued my father killed him. Nara was told to get off the estate, but when my father found out she was pregnant, he allowed her to stay until she could give birth.”
“That’s admirable.”
“I suppose, but his true hope was that she would bear a female which might grow up to be mine, but things went from bad to worse, especially for Nara. The baby was born, and we were delighted, unmarked Durent females are rare, but five days after birth a rogue Iridescent from Detroit broke into the house, attacked the baby and drank her blood in…”