Battlefield (Book One)

Chapter Six - JD

JD got out of his car and looked at the Holmes Mansion. "Yowza! I'm pretty sure this thing is as big as the high school." He couldn't help but admire the stone walkway leading up to the large, red-brick mansion that could easily pass for a modern castle. It was an amazing sight to behold, and he was convinced it had the length of an entire city block.

"I don't know about that," Cadence said. She tried to hide it, but he could tell she was also impressed. It would have been stupid for either of them to not be, but he knew she had a personal issue with turning into a bumbling idiot over material things.

There was something else different about her as well, but JD couldn't quite put his finger on what, let alone if he liked it. She'd been unusually quiet the whole trip there.

"Look, there he is." She pointed toward a small section of garden near what they assumed was the front entrance.

Orlando was kneeling over a pot and pulling at a patch of weeds when he noticed them. He acknowledged their presence with a nod before returning to his work.

Seeing Orlando do physical labor gave JD a lot of joy. "What? No gardener to do it for you?"

Cadence shot him a dark look. Orlando did, too.

"I told you, I had chores," he said with a grunt as he gave the weeds another rough pull.

"How about a break now that we're here?" Cadence suggested.

"Sounds good to me." He stood up and dusted off the spilled dirt on his jeans and sighed. "I would have made myself more presentable for you guys, but my sister said I wasn't allowed to look normal as part of my punishment. Sorry if I smell. A lot. I've been out here all day. There's lunch though. I'm not sure if you've eaten or not."

"I'm always ready to eat," JD said.

"Right," Orlando mumbled and made a weak hand gesture for them to follow him inside.

JD had a hard time keeping up because every so many feet he'd stop to gawk at something: the crystal light fixtures, the marble floors; it was all like something out of a fairytale for him.

"I can give you a grand tour after we eat. Then you can be amazed and stare as much as you want, but I'm kind of hungry," Orlando said.

"Sorry." JD bit his lip and tried to contain his curiosity for later.

There was grilled cheese waiting for them in the kitchen, and he was pretty sure there were cookies in the oven, too.

"I didn't realize you liked us enough to bake," JD said as he grabbed a couple of sandwiches and poured himself a glass of lemonade.

"Hate to disappoint you, but my sister made lunch."

JD and Cadence exchanged a glance and shrugged. Conversation was weak at the table while they ate, but they were only there for business anyway. Why fake being friends more than they had to?

"So where are we going to work on this? Do you have a place where we won't be bothered by any unwanted visitors?" Cadence asked.

"Of course." Orlando flashed her a smile as he collected the used plates. "Lyssa is good about keeping her nose out of where it doesn't belong, but there are a few spots she doesn't know exist. My dad, when he designed the house, littered it with secret passages going all over the place. I know a good one. It goes to a completely separate wing of the house. She doesn't know how to get there." Orlando led them through the hallways, down the stairs to the basement level, and into a bland, dirty, and spider-covered storage closet.

"And you found this how?" JD asked with wide eyes, a tingle of excitement running down his spine. An entire secret wing to the mansion? He'd always wanted to live in a house with secret passages. His jealousy doubled.