Page 23 of Rekindled Prophecy
Gaelic Haven and Surrounding Grounds
Checking that the protection spells were still in place around the windows, doors, and vents in her room to ward off any demons, or more specifically Kael, from encroaching on her space, Greylyn headed back into the main house with a pile of laundry in her arms.
Why do all old houses contain dreary, damp, cold basements? More importantly, why is that always the designated place for the washer and dryer?
The stairs to the basement creaked as she placed her weight on them. Tentatively, she put one foot in front of the other until she hit solid ground. She waved her hand in the middle of the room several times as she fumbled for the dangling string from the ceiling to switch on the lone light bulb.
Her breath hitched in her throat. Complete darkness. Confined space. A faint, pungent earthen odor. Just like…
Get over yourself, Grey! This is a basement, not a coffin.
After almost giving up, light finally invaded the room revealing a clean, tidy, and dry room. Nothing like a coffin.
She tossed her clothes into the washer, threw in a scoop of detergent, and set the machine to run before bounding up the stairs, two at a time.
When she had come back into the house, her excellent hearing picked up the muffled sound of the innkeeper milling around upstairs, probably tidying the bedrooms. She had also seen her nemesis walking towards town before she even poked her head out of her room.
Yeah, real brave, Grey. Avoidance was not a tactic Sun Tzu would approve.
Taking advantage of his absence, Greylyn decided to snoop around his suite, assuming it was not warded against angels.
Surprisingly, the door to the second-floor room above her own was not even locked. She suspected a trap, such as being electrocuted as she entered the door. She hesitated for a few seconds before taking a tentative step into the room and… Nothing.
Interesting. She stopped to visually inspect the room for signs of traps, but it appeared to be well-kept with everything in its proper place. There were no clothes on the floor or bags kept out in the open, unlike her own room, which was a mess.
She rummaged through the drawers of the lone nightstand first. Nothing but a copy of the Holy Bible, a local phone book, and a set of the ear plugs provided to all Carriage House guests. Under the bed? Nothing. Not even a dust ball.
Next, she checked the dresser drawers and closet. Just men’s clothes tucked neatly away. Nice designer suit and shiny dress shoes. An assortment of ties hung neatly in the closet. Even his damp towel was perfectly folded and draped over the towel rack in the luxurious bathroom. No toothpaste spittle on the oval mirror above the sink. Just a hint of his signature scent – citrus and sandalwood.
After investigating the entire suite, behind mirrors and paintings, under drawers for false bottoms, she found nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing. He was just a super-tidy, handsome bachelor with everything in its place.Jerk!
She stood in the middle of the room, her balled fists on her hips.
If I were a dark guardian, where would I hide something of importance?
In the corner of the room next to the balcony door was a small writing desk with his photography equipment on top. The camera and equipment were expensive, high-quality gear. Kael must have been working on his photographer person for this job for a while, possibly months. Did not bode well for her then. She had been here less than twenty-four hours. He had quite the advantage.
Greylyn’s fingers fumbled around under the desk.Bingo!Her fingers latched onto a folder taped under it. Not the sneakiest of hiding places. Either the malicious demon was getting sloppy, or he wanted her to find it.
Greylyn pulled the folder out. More pictures. Some of the same ones from yesterday, but what she saw behind those made her knees go weak. She collapsed into a leather-bound vintage office chair in shock.
There were countless pictures of her and not just from her current visit toGaelic Haven. Pictures of her guiding the Boy Scout troop out of the Everglades covered in blood from fighting off the swamp creature. Perhaps he had been there after all. How could she have missed him? Pictures of her in New York City smuggling young immigrant children out of a sweatshop run by demons to manufacture fake designer purses. That had been a particularly nasty encounter proven by the blood, gore, and icky pieces stuck to her clothes and in her hair.
Pictures of her posing as a swimsuit model wannabe in four-inch stilettos to save Candace from falling into the world of pornography.Now that had been a humiliating experience!
Another picture of her walking away from a burning ramshackle barn that had housed a group of vampires responsible for the deaths of several runaways. Yet another picture of her getting into her pride and joy, her 1968 Camaro, outside of a diner somewhere in the Midwest.
A photograph of her in a teal evening gown with matching lapis lazuli jewelry from a high society cotillion in the Hamptons. She had crashed it to exorcise a demon from an aspiring political candidate before he got in a position to do real damage. Maneuvering in that form- fitting dress to hold the man down while performing the ritual had been a disaster. At least it was easier to fight in than the taffeta gowns with the bone corsets and hoop skirts from colonial and pre-Civil War days.
More pictures of her from countless missions. A few of the depicted scenes were from times she remembered dealing with Kael. Others, he had not been around. At least, she had not seen him.
Soft padding of soled shoes coming up the stairs alerted her to Kael’s return almost too late. No time to place the folder back in its hiding place so she threw it on the desk and bolted for the balcony door. Lithely, Greylyn jumped down to the ground outside her room without a sound. She quietly made her way back to the main house to retrieve her laundry.
She knew she could only avoid him for so long. Then she determined to get some real answers. First, she needed to clear her head…and then call Thomas. The bride and groom were expected to arrive soon, but she still had no idea what danger they were in.
***
The meeting with Jensen had not gone as planned. Kael’s temperament suffered for it. He had been so wrapped up in his own angry thoughts, he had not capitalized on Greylyn snooping around in his room. It was logical she would investigate there while he was away. He had even left the door unlocked. But two seconds too late opening the door and she was gone, the thud of her feet hitting the ground outside his window the only evidence.