Wolf's Bane

Portrait

Desiree read every book Andrew had on the history of werewolves and vampires. Unfortunately, she could find nothing helpful to her cause. A witch brewed the ink and gave vampires the mark, but none of the books explained how to remove it. She, also, couldn't come up with a way to ensure Peter wouldn't find him again. With his resources, it would likely only be a matter of time, even if she got him out of the country.

She decided to take a break and clear her head. It was raining outside, so she didn't really feel like going out. She figured she may as well explore the mansion some more. She'd been there nearly two months, but there was still a significant portion of the house she hadn't seen yet. She'd often found something else to do. She had a whole estate to explore, after all.

She passed any sections she'd already visited. A couple times she took a wrong turn and wound up back where she started, but she eventually found a flight of steps she hadn't yet climbed. She went to the top and found more rooms to explore. She caught sight of an attic door above her head in the hallway. She had to jump to grab the cord, but she managed to pull it down. A ladder descended, allowing her to climb up into the room.

It was cleaner than she'd expected. It looked like a small sitting room. There were a few chests and a bookshelf, which was pushed back against a wall.

Desiree looked around, half-expecting to get caught doing something she shouldn't. She reminded herself that she was allowed to go anywhere in the house. She wasn't sure if it was okay for her to open the chests, but her curiosity got the better of her. She opened one to find it was full of women's clothes. They looked ancient. Desiree was impressed by what good condition they were in. She hardly dared to touch them before she closed the chest back up, making sure it was tightly latched.

The other chest was smaller. She looked around to make sure no one was coming before she opened it. This one held a single, white dress. It wasn't difficult to recognize it as an old wedding dress. There were shoes, jewelry and a veil inside, as well. Desiree's heart pounded and she quickly closed the chest, taking even more care to make sure the latch was secure.

She sat back and stared at the chest for a minute. It was easy enough to guess what this was. After all, she knew Andrew had been married before. He lost his wife, but kept her wedding dress. That wasn't so unusual, right? She glanced at the other chest, knowing those must have belonged to her, as well. He'd kept these things for two centuries and had clearly taken excellent care of them.

Desiree looked around the room, realizing the furniture placement was specific. There were two chairs, each with a small table. They were clearly designed for one to be more feminine. This was the kind of set a husband and wife might have had.

She walked over to the bookshelf. Like everything else, the books were old, but well-looked-after. There were all sorts of books, but Desiree found her gaze drawn to a copy of Frankenstein. She couldn't explain it, but the book seemed to call out to her. She reached out with trepidation to remove it from the shelf, but it didn't come. Instead, as she pulled it back, she heard a latch click and the bookshelf opened like a door.

This was the kind of thing that would normally excite her. A secret door in a mysterious library was like something out of a mystery novel. She should have been eager to see what was behind it, but she discovered she was terrified, instead. Something in her gut told her she didn't want to know what was hidden here. At the same time, she was sure she needed to know.

She took deep breaths to calm herself as she pulled the shelf and it opened to reveal a small room. She used the light from her cellphone to look around until she found a lamp. She turned it on, illuminating the small space.