Angel of Fire - Requiem of Lost Souls - Book Two

Admission of Guilt

Chapter 7

Evidently, Carmen and the guys had been so worried that they hadn't even bothered to pack up their equipment before coming to find me.

   Gee, I felt special.

   Nick drove the van up the long winding driveway, leading us back to the Kalamazoo Castle. The parking lot that had been filled to the brim with cars on Halloween, was now eerily empty.

   My heart sank. What if Vycandor was no longer here?

   Carmen slid the door open and jumped out of the van first, checking her watch. “Okay, so it's 3:15. Let's meet back here in two hours.”

   “Why the rush?” I asked.

   Carmen looked at me annoyed. “Duh! Like, we have school tomorrow. Do you wanna be late?”

   I climbed out next, frowning. “What about sleep? Oh yeah, that reminds me. I haven't had any.”

   She rolled her eyes. This time both pupils managed to land on me, facing in the same direction. Thank God for small miracles. “You can sleep when you get home afterwards.”

   I glanced at Sebastian, and whispered, “Serenity must've put something else in that poison. Carmen never gave a damn about school before.”

   He nodded in agreement. “Probably to make sure the undead stick to their old schedules until they're ready to be unleashed. Serenity wouldn't want them doing anything out of the ordinary that might arouse suspicion.”

   Skylar wrapped an arm loosely around my shoulder, not only guiding me towards the castle, but also away from Sebastian. “What's up with that guy? Ever since you introduced him, he's been looking at you like he owns you. I don't think he's even taken his eyes off you once. He's enjoying the view way too much, in my opinion.”

   “I'm not scenery.”

   Skylar made a sound in the back of his throat. “Why don't you try telling him that.”

   "C'mon guys, hurry up," Carmen called, as she climbed the steps leading up to the castle. "We don't have all night."

   She crossed the creaky wooden porch, then tossed open the heavy iron bound door as if she owned the place. The rest of us trailed after her like good little ducklings as she made her way to the grand staircase in near total darkness.

   Turning to me, she said, “I'll be upstairs packing the trunk, while the guys get their equipment around. I know you've been dying to take a tour of the place. Why don't you go show Sebastian around, and meet up with us later?” Without waiting for me to reply, she lit an oil lantern and disappeared along with the guys into the murky shadows.

   I had no idea where to begin my search for Vycandor. One thing's for sure, I didn't want to go back to the dungeon. The memory of almost destroying the one angel I was born to love, was just way too fresh in my mind. Hopefully, not all searches had to lead underground.

   Lighting another lantern, I held it up and decided to investigate the north wing of the castle.

   “So, what's up with you?” I finally asked while we walked, voice suspicious. “What were you doing at the hospital?”

   He shrugged. “Looking for you.”

   “No shit, genius. What I want to know is why?”

   “I don't know why.”

   “What's with the penguin suit?”

   He glanced down, then back up again. “You mean my clothes?”