Dreamchaser

The House of the Devil

Three weeks had passed and I was still no closer to going home, if I could even call it that. Max spent his days going to and from his office, apparently working on some important project, and avoiding most of my questions. I was supposed to be 'resting', who knows what excuse he'd used at work for my sudden disappearance.

He'd only shared what I already knew, how I was part of some powerful family which didn't exist anymore, the power his father wanted that I clearly didn't have. Every answer had him questioning me more, if I felt anything inside, anything unnatural I could do. He claimed to want to protect me and his father would be happy if we were together and eventually had children. The whole thing twisted my stomach.

Luckily, with all the probing he was too distracted to make any advances, the odd feeling I felt when he touched me was long gone. Being held captive against your will can do that to a girl.

With all the free time I had, I spent days wandering the big house and reading their trove of books. I'd discovered so much more about this strange race of human like creatures called Fae and other names which didn't make any sense, all with advanced abilities and magical properties. I still didn't believe any of it, where was the proof, but it may come in handy if I was ever proved wrong.

There was a huge leather-bound book, the pages tied with old string, which held a detailed history of the Blakewell family as well as others they considered 'worthy'. I had read all about the sizes of other communities around the world, some small like my own and others with over two hundred people. It also listed 'known abilities', it made the whole thing seem unbelievable but why would they go to such great lengths if it wasn't true...

I noted Max's parents both had special abilities, his mother had an affinity for plants and life and his father something to do with fire. The words were old and faded and I couldn't read much more. They must have given up adding to it after that because there was no mention of their child.

Other than reading, I'd explored most of the house bar the attic which had been locked. I'd made friends with a few of the staff, much to Max's distaste, but none of them knew where the key was and they wouldn't tell me what was inside so it must be worth checking out.

I put on my aptly named investigation pants and set out to find the key. It took hours to search through the thousands of cupboards, boxes, even teapots but I had no luck. Max rang halfway through to let me know he wouldn't be back tonight, something about schmoozing investors, not like I cared. He was considerably less interesting the more I got to know him.

Yawning, I headed back to my favourite place in the house, the library. I skimmed over the shelves in search of something less factual and more light hearted. My eyes stopped on a well-worn novel, the spine bent and cracked, words barely legible. I could tell it had been treasured and re-read over and over again. I settled into the sofa, tea in one hand and book in the other, hoping for a long night. I picked right.

Siorys was a stable hand, searching for something more in his drab life when he happened to save the beautiful damsel in distress, Efa. He fought off a pack of wolves while she was out exploring the magical forest full of dark and scary creatures. My fingers stroked over some small annotations in the margins, someone had been a critic and wrote scathing remarks about the book's poor choice of words. I smiled knowing even though they disagreed with the love story they'd read it repeatedly, something we had in common.

The story went on to talk about their love at first sight and secret romance, 'ridiculous trope', I silently agreed. Who fell in love the second you met someone? Efa finally introduced Siorys to her father, begging for his permission to wed but the King was enraged. How dare she tarnish her family's name by dallying with a peasant. 'Giant arsehole', that one made me giggle. Just as it was getting good, the King was about to sentence Siorys to life imprisonment, a square chunk of the book had been cut away roughly, leaving an old brass key hidden inside. I was angry someone had destroyed it, being unable to get to the end but at least I had something else to keep me busy.