Bereft: Demise

6 | Of Thieves and Crows

"I leave you for five minutes and you're already having dinner with wolves," Darius complained as he led me from the dining room to the foot of the stairs. His wrapped his hand around the bag's strap and lifted it with ease. "Trying to keep you from danger defines futility. Idiot."

"Hey," I argued. "They weren't dangerous. They were very nice." I paused on the bottom step, frowning as his words sunk in. "Wolves? Plural?" 

Darius stopped as well. His face caught the glow of the gaudy chandelier, casting part of his features into shadow. He twisted his hand as if to say, "Yes," or "It wasn't obvious?" Or perhaps he was only calling me an idiot again. Sometimes it was hard to interpret that gesture.

"You mean—?! They were wolves?! Like werewolves?!" I yelped. 

"Gavin's a barghest, but yes. The concept's the same." The Sin started to climb again. "The other man was not a wolf, but he is...dangerous in his own right." 

Darius's mention of Gavin's name, his reaction to Anzel's presence, and their urgent whispering upon his departure made it obvious the Sin had been to Crow's End before. When? Just before becoming my Sin? That was only a few weeks ago, and their behavior in the dining room was too extreme for Darius to have been gone for such a short amount of time. When had the Sin of Pride last walked this eerie manor?

"If you hadn't taken so long, I wouldn't have been in there," I retorted at the Sin's back. "Where did you go? I understand us not being able to enter the building together, but for someone who can poof in and out of existence at will, you sure took your damn time."

Darius stopped at the top step, exhaling. "I was checking behind us, Sara." 

"Behind us?" 

"I went to Exeter, to Bristol. I had to ascertain he didn't...." Darius hesitated as his hand rose to touch my shoulder. It fell away as I stood next to him, wondering what the demon was thinking. "I checked if Sethan has found our trail yet. He hasn't. It's inevitable, but we've a few hours lead."

"Does it matter if he's found it or not? I thought we were safe here behind that—." I shook my arm in the entrance's general direction. "Ward?"

"We are." The Sin led me across the barren mezzanine to the spiral stairs. Dejected by the idea of more climbing, I resigned myself to my fate and trudged after Darius. "But he might not let us stay."

The dreaded question of where we could go if denied sanctuary floated to the surface of my thoughts, but I swiftly drowned it and said nothing. There was only one answer to that unspoken query: there wasn't any where else to go. Not if we hoped to stay alive. 

We climbed higher in silence. I studied the manor surrounding us, reaching out to brush my fingers over the flocked wallpaper. It was soft red in color and had a faint sheen to it, like new skin convalescing over a recent burn. It was also warm and tacky—just like real flesh. I removed my hand and shuddered.

Short landings offered exits into various dark corridors and small halls. I peeked into each one as we passed, occasionally meeting a reciprocal pair of inquisitive eyes peering at the Sin and me from the shadows of a doorway. I could hear others now, their voices disembodied by the hidden twists and curves within the manor's layout. We met no one on the steps, however. Anyone coming down immediately turned into the next available hall and disappeared.

Darius and I came upon a landing that didn't open into another passage. Instead, there was a single door with a curved top embellished by a carved marble inlay. There was a plaque upon the door with the words "Corvus oculum corvi non eruit," written in blocky, dated letters.