The Inventor's Son

Chapter 24: In Which the True Nature of La Chouette d'Or is Revealed

ETHAN COULD HEAR VOICES at the end of the long tunnel he was crawling through. He heard Liam and Nadine arguing about Uncle Malcolm. He could only crawl toward the end, one hand in front of the other, over and over. Ethan grit his teeth and kept going.

Was Nadine telling Uncle Malcolm about him all along while he was in the hospital? Was Professor Colbourne not actually sent to Paris, but went of his own accord? Did Professor Colbourne really tell Uncle Malcolm that he was dead? Ethan struggled to rise. Suddenly, he saw a very odd thing. He saw a quartz chess knight glowing in a man's hand. He could not see who the man was, but in that instant, Ethan knew that someone had taken that chess piece from the makeshift altar Ethan had left before Great Grandfather Horatio's portrait. Why would someone take it?

With all his remaining strength, Ethan stood up in the tunnel. He had a clue from his father; he needed to go and find this address on the slip of paper. He took a deep breath and began to run. Soon, he was flying through the tunnel, toward the light, toward the light...

*     *     *     *     *

Ethan opened his eyes. Sam was still in his arms. His head thudded dully. He figured he could manage with that level of pain. It was true that Liam was in the room, so trying to make himself invisible, even if he could manage it, was pointless. He groaned audibly, to get both adults' attention.

"Ethan, lad! That was a lousy damned thing you did back at the flat! You're just lucky that your grandmother isn't aware of it, else you'd be hearing the screaming all the way from here!" Liam growled.

Ethan bowed his head. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I had to go here, I had to find the clue, and I could not wait any longer!"

"You're not thinking with a proper frame of mind, young man! People who survive your sort of injury are often left deficient in judgment! You must allow others to make decisions on your behalf! You cannot make them on your own. Please don't be too hard on him this time."

Liam scowled at Ethan. "I don't care where you're getting your notions from, but you are coming back to the flat with me before your grandmother awakens and realizes you're gone!"

An all-too-familiar collective screaming began to rise up from the downstairs of La Chouette d'Or. Nadine jumped up from the desk. Liam set his jaw tightly, and Ethan's heart began to pound with miserable fright. "How did they find me here?" Ethan gibbered under his breath.

"They? As in those bastards Pollman and Kearney?" Nadine asked with dread.

"Lad, you and the lady need to go in there. Do it now, and do not turn back around under any circumstances!" Liam ordered, pointing behind them at the wall.

"But there's nothing there," Ethan reported.

"Sweet Jesus, you can't see the door?" Liam rushed there and reached for a knob that was completely invisible to Ethan. He was stunned when a door opened outward. "This place is a vampire's Nest," he explained quickly. "The Prime must have placed a glamour over the door to hide his Nest."

"Prime?" Nadine asked, bewildered.

"Aye, a Prime vampire! Never mind! Get in there, now!" Liam growled at her.

A metal fist blasted through the office door. Nadine grabbed Ethan's arm and dragged him into that secret room, with little Sam fleeing right behind them. Liam slammed the door shut just as Kearney tore down the front office door.

Inside the Nest it was dark, small, and had no windows. However, there were two caskets set next to each other. Ethan heard Kearney and Liam fighting again, and his heart lurched. He shook his head as Nadine tried to pull him toward another door.