The dark of night descended and the temperature decreased. In the dead of night, twisted trees formed ghoulish shapes; as the crows began to cry; each animal in turn gave there own voice and the music began to swell. An eery night began to grow as I trudged, squelching, through the snow. As i walked a shadow loomed over the surrounding trees. The figure was a gothic house of unquestionable size and grandeur. Every cobwebbed window spoke to me and each broken statue had a tale, this was the kind of place for me.
I strolled at ease through the flowerless garden and up the stone stairs. My long hair and trench coat blew in the wind when i knocked on the wooden doors. I waited, impatiently, for my employer to let me in, I recited what i knew of this case over in my head. I did not wait long before i heard clicking and clacking on a marble floor. An old woman of medium build and a thin, horselike face greeted me with a grimace and a look of disdain.
“ A little bit young to be in your line of work, aren’t we?” she sneered. I quickly sized her up; a human maid; not a large threat and a quick glance at her eyes told me she was loyal to the family she served. She was still a pain, though.
“ A little bit old to be in your line of work, aren’t we?” I retorted. The woman exclaimed and spluttered while I pushed passed her and into a grand parlor.
“I will need everyone collected in the living room promptly.” I ordered her, slipping off my leather gloves and resting them on a dark, oak table. She nodded stiffly and passed the message on to another maid before leading me to a beautifully decorated living room. It was cluttered with antique vases of different shapes and sizes; expensive paintings and exquisite furniture from the victorian era.
Spoiling the splendor of the room was the middle aged couple, the woman sobbing violently, her body heaving with sobs and her eyes streaming with tears. The man stood silently, looking at his wife with a look of annoyance.
“Really Jenna, pull yourself together woman! Your making a scene!” he barked at his wife who, after glaring at the man, immediately straightened up and her sobs quietened to sniffling. Finally the man turned to me and spoke.
“I am Rupert Hedling, head of this house hold and you are?”
I smirked softly, keeping my head down.The man, in my opinion, looked as though he was a cynical, pessimistic old fool and would for ever be that way, but who was I to judge my employer?
“I am Lilith, class A supernatural detective. You called for me about a case to do with your daughter?” I asked. The man took in my appearance; billowing trench coat; dark combat boots; bottles of different shapes and sizes hooked into loops on my belt; hair covering my face and cascading down my back. The only visible parts of my body being my dark eyes and my almost translucent skin. All together I think he was not pleased with my appearance and the fact that I was his last hope.
Rupert heaved a sorrowful sigh and then proceeded to make a grand gesture of flopping back onto the couch, next to his wife.
“ Christie went missing two days ago, but for months strange things have been happening, expensive things going missing, mirrors broken, curtain ripped to shreds and strange noises in the walls. Please help her.” Jenna asked, tears in her eyes.
“ I will, but it will be a hard job.” I stated, running my hands over a silk table cloth.
“That is what I’m paying you for!” the man spluttered, his face slowly turning purple. I just nodded absent-minded and stood up.
“I will scout the house now.” The woman nodded, but Rupert shook his head.
“ Your not going alone, you might steal something, Godrick, my butler will go with you.” I was surprised by this and this time I shook my head.
“Sir, with all due respect, I would prefer to go alo-”
“No!”
“Sir can’t i just b-”
“No!”
I sighed; nodded my head and turning on my heels, i left.
The man named Godrick tailed me wherever I went, his vacant face looking at me everywhere I went. Suddenly there was a shattering of something and a scream from the end of the corridor. I turned and raced to the sound, my boots pounding against the wooden flooring.
Almost there..
BANG! I burst through the door to find a maid standing; staring at the large glass window; a pile of shattered plates at her feet and her body shaking.
“What happened?” I asked, authority in my voice. The maid turned slowly and looked at me with frightened eyes.
“There was a wolf outside, staring, just staring at me.” she whispered. I nodded and turned to leave, but finding that Godrick blocked my way, I sidestepped around him.
I continued to hunt in the house; pushing panels; lifting floorboards, but to no avail.I sighed, frustrated, and moved on. Each part of the house was beautiful and filled with priceless antiques, but that was not what I was looking for.
Suddenly a howl went up from the downstairs kitchen and I was off again. Screams came from the kitchen and I sped up. Upon entering the kitchen i saw what appeared to be the tail of a wolf disappear and a hysteric cook curled up on the kitchen tiles.
“The wolf he took my Greta and he disappeared into the wall! I am telling you the truth!” she screamed. Godrick went to comfort and quieten the woman while I stared at the wall.
Why would there be wolves in the walls? More importantly, how in the world did they get in the walls?
I sat staring at the wall while time went by and sat there long into the night.
“Thats it!” I screamed, jumping up and startling Godrick. I moved to the wall and tapped on it, it was hollow. I moved around, checking every panel until...
Click!
A hidden door swung open. I had never thought to check the kitchen. I moved slowly in. The secret passage was slim; caked with dust and filthy, but most of all, it was dark. I travelled through with Godrick tailing me.
There were doors that lined the passage, going out into different rooms and I must have gone through dozens before I found what I wanted. I gripped the door handle tightly and turned it. The door slowly creaked open and I peered inside. Two young girls sat shivering in holding cells both dirty and scared. I moved towards the cells before being stopped in my tracks by a wolf, this was no ordinary wolf, it was a werewolf. I gasped and grabbed one of the viles on my belt and threw it at the wolf, the liquid splashed on the wolf and it howled in pain, slinking away and alerting his brothers to retreat.
I splashed another vile of green liquid onto the doors of the cages and it seared a hole through the metal, freeing the girls. They both hugged each other and cried while i motioned for Godrick to pick them up. We moved out of the passage way and I sealed shut the entrance door with one of my many bottles. All four of us then moved to the living room where I asked one of the maids, again, to assemble everyone.
Once all were assembled, Godrick handed the young girls to their mothers. Both said their thanks while holding onto their precious daughters. The father than gave me my due and I was off, but not before giving my thanks to Godrick. As I stepped out I felt a presence in the shadows of the night.
“Who is it,” I called, “show yourself!”
A wolf slowly stepped onto the light, a dark wolf with bared teeth, he then changed into the form of a man.
“It is done master.” He bowed. I nodded softly before smiling as a heard a scream in the night.
What a night.
