Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 11

Hi,

I'm back! :-)

I promised you an extra-long chapter. Well, here it is!!! I hope you all like it.

Lara

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Chapter 11

I pressed my back to the wall, peering into the poorly-lit hallway. Slipping out Leonhard Goshanger's office without being detected was difficult enough. Whatever else this hellhole of mansion had to offer, it was going to be even tougher. If I wanted to escape, I'd have to do it the old-fashioned way and get out through the front door.

If Sonya's words could be trusted, she had led the vamps to the back of the mansion. No, I was sure that she saw me when she was searching the office. She was giving me a chance to get out of the mansion. I had no idea why she was helping me, but I wasn't going to let that gift horse go.

All I had to do was tackle the main hall and get past whoever was guarding the door. And I had to do it before the witch set up the wards again. I could only hope that Sonya was taking her time and that Alexander and his entourage of vamps were coming along to make sure she didn't hoodwink them.

The great hall looked empty, gave off the sense of abandonment. I crossed it swiftly and moved past another row of ancient paintings that reeked of violence in long gone times.

Almost there.

Just a few rushed footsteps that would bring me to the front door, and to safety. I was so busy scanning the space in front of me for threats, I almost bumped into the door that seemed to magically open in front of me. Out stepped George and Alexander. I froze, remained still, forced down that violent beating in my chest.

"You know," Alexander said. He stopped in front of the door, turning to his enforcer.

A non-committal grunt from George, so soft, it might have been part of my imagination, or nothing at all.

"The most likely scenario is that someone let them in," the head vampire said. "If it was a vampire, it was someone from the inside. Must have been. None of the other coven leaders would have gotten into the heart of this compound. Leo was a recluse. If he entertained guests other than me, he always met them downstairs."

"What about Anna? You think she's telling the truth? That she didn't know the Raven killed them?" George said. "I don't trust her."

"She better be telling us the truth. If not she will regret it," Alexander said.

George's eyes narrowed. "You think she's involved."

Time seemed to unhinge. Alexander went still the way a predator stills before the kill.

"I implied that I suspected the murderer was the Raven. She denied it," Alexander said. Life was breathed into him and he turned.

Blue eyes.

My heart faltered. He was almost looking at me. I stared into his eyes, met a two-thousand-yard stare head on. An abyss of secrets, ancient knowledge, and maybe death. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. In a second Alexander would walk right past me. If the spell held.

George followed him. The enforcer's arms loose at this sides, swinging. I wasn't fooled by the gesture. Something about the way he moved told me he was more than tense. Ready for a fight, or an enemy, should he try to attack his head vampire.

"You think she really went over?"

They walked past me, so close I could have touched them if I took a step away from the wall.