Hell's Army

Chapter Fourteen- Meet the Lectis Family

Holly and Ingleseid wandered down the peaceful street as grass crept onto the pavement and cows mooed in the distance. Ingleseid had forgotten how much he liked the country. In Setan City, it was all choking smoke and crowded subways and peoples' noses pressed against their phones, but out here everything was clean and fresh. The air smelled of honey and the people actually took the time to acknowledge you when you walked past. It was about as close to Heaven as Ingleseid was ever going to get.

"So, you think the kid's our kidnapper because...?" Holly asked suspiciously as they turned the corner.

"He was acting strange," Ingleseid said. "Very strange."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's a relief. I thought we were stalking a minor for a completely irrelevant and coincidental reason."

"Just trust me, okay?" he said. "He was saying things and wearing all this leather, and-"

"Leather?" Holly interrupted. "You're right, that's solid evidence. Arrest him immediately."

"Holly Fawkes, I do believe you are mocking me."

"Good call," she muttered. "So, the kid changed his address recently?"

"He was living in an apartment block, then a couple of weeks ago, he moves to-"

They rounded the next corner and came face to face with a polished stone wall bearing a plaque with the gold letters bearing, 'Golden Oaks Community.' "-Here."

The houses were all towering proudly at three storeys tall, adorned with crafted pillars and lawns you could have eaten your dinner off. Not a blade of grass was out of place.

"Snob alert, much?" Holly muttered.

"Just because they're rich doesn't make them snobs," Ingleseid said reasonably.

"No, the fact that they have water fountains shaped like swans and little signs saying 'keep off the grass' makes them snobs."

They made their way down the path to Mansfield's new address.

"Whoa," Holly said.

Whoa, indeed. The mansion stretched above the other houses like their unquestioned ruler. Hedges sculpted into men and women lined the tiled floors up to the double oak doors. Trellises and canopies wound their way up the base, balconies the size of swimming pools protruding from the Diocletian windows. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. A fairy tale with a ridiculously large budget.

They were shut out like animals in a zoo by a dangerous looking black fence winding its way around the property. A golden crest of a snake biting into the neck of a rabbit sat proudly in the centre of the gate.

"Kid moves out of a crummy little apartment and into this?" Holly asked disbelievingly.

"See? I told you. Suspicious."

As if one cue, an ageing man in a suit walked briskly over to them.

Holly raised an eyebrow. "A butler? Seriously?"

"Good afternoon," the butler said pleasantly.

"Yeah, we're looking for Ian Mansfield?" Ingleseid asked. "He's my student."

"I'm sorry," the butler said in a gravelley voice. "The house of Lectis is not accepting any visitors today."

"He's late on his homework. Very late. If I could just-"

"The house of Lectis is not accepting any visitors today," the butler said, a little more firmly. With what looked like great effort, he smiled. "Good day." Then he walked back across the polished lawn and out of sight.