Detective Inspector Gerald Clarke was carefully examining the remnants of the fire that had burned down Lady Helena's estate. They had found the bones and charred officer's sword of Lord Crawley. That made this a potential murder investigation. Lady Helena and her Gardner Lucious were missing and no other bodies had yet been found. Only the shell of the home remained. Witnesses had sworn that the devil had been at work here. How else could fire spread so quickly across stone? Inspector Clarke knew of only one substance on earth that could do such a thing. And there was only one man who knew how to make it. Doctor Nicolai Van Helsing. But the monster hunter had not shown his face since the fire.
Constable Cunningham called out from the small cell where he was digging. "Inspector, I've found somethin' a bit off 'ere."
Inspector Clarke hurried over to see what the constable had found. A smooth piece of soot had hardened against the wall. It seemed a lighter color then everything else—almost as if illuminated from behind. He removed his pen and broke a hole in the crust. Fresh air flowed in through the perforation. Lowering his face, he peered into the hole. A long tunnel ran away from the building and ended in daylight. His eyes tracked the edges and sides of the tunnel and stopped on a piece of singed brown fur. The light gleamed off something shiny further down the tunnel. It looked like a woman's earring.
The constable shuffled his feet. "What do you see, sir?"
The Inspector stood slowly and wiped some soot off his coat. "I doubt you will find any more remains in this room, Constable. It seems that there were survivors after all."
Dorian watched the sun rise from his hiding place high up in an oak tree. He had transformed back into his human form sometime just before morning. He was no longer joined with the grey werewolf, but he had lost the battle against it and he was still cursed to turn into a monster every full moon. He wondered if Shuvani Ingraham had somehow survived. If he could only find her she might be able to help stop the transformation.
Lucious had taken his injured Mistress to a small apartment that she used to entertain visiting businessmen. He was too afraid to call a doctor, so had bandaged her neck as best he could before venturing out to find some antiseptic.
Lady Helena was having a delicious dream. She was reliving her time at the North London Collegiate School for Women. She was young again and just returning to her apartment to see her first love, Joel Guyet. She opened to door to his art studio and gasped. Joel was naked with some young harlot. But instead of throwing them out as she remembered doing, she closed and locked the door behind her.
Helena approached the sofa where the strumpet was attempting to cover herself. "Joel, you have been a very naughty boy."
Typical Joel was slow to think of an excuse. "Calm down Helena, let's discuss this."
Helena reached out her hand to touch his face. "My sweet Joel. I loved you so much. But I won't let you hurt me again."
Her hand locked onto his throat like a vise. Joel pulled on her wrist with both arms but was unable to free himself. His face began turning red and he made a faint gurgling sound. The terrified girl tried to break her hold on him but Helena backhanded her and she fell away crying.
Helena pulled Joel's face close to hers and whispered to him as their eyes locked. "I won't let you leave me." She placed a kiss gently on his forehead and then moved her mouth near his ear. How she had loved to nibble and lick Joel's ear. She loosened her hold on Joel's neck and gave his ear one final nibble. Her mouth came away bloody and Joel began wheezing in a silent scream.
Helena looked at the boy in annoyance. "Oh, do be silent." She bit deeply into his throat and tore the soft flesh away.
His whore began screaming and tried to scurry away. Helena sunk her nails into her leg and dragged her across the sofa.
Helena stood and lifted the girl upside-down by her legs into the air. She yelled at the girl with a fury she had never known before. "I won't let you take him from me!"
She used her fingernails to slit open the girl's slender waist just above her navel. Helena pulled out her entrails and began devouring them as the strumpet watched in horror.
Lady Helena pulled up the covers in her bed and rolled to her side. Eyes still closed, she moved her hand to rip off the bandage and feel the bite marks on her neck. They had stopped bleeding and had closed completely. She smiled. Her skin hadn't felt so smooth and supple in years.
—to be continued soon in Book 3. (see my profile on wattpad and please subscribe to my mailing list http://www.brianference.com/mailing-list/)
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