Chapter 41 Chapter 41
His eyebrows raise at her desperate tone. “Why?”
“My friend is planning to do something very reckless, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to help her on my own,” Valerie sputtered nervously.
“You want me to help a human?” he repeated, eyes cooling rapidly. He scowled at her, clarifying what he thought of her idea. “Who do you take me for? I’m not an angel.” He spat the last word like it was a terrible curse.
“Maxwell, please. I beg you.”
“For a price. My services are not cheap,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes in a way that made her shudder. She did not like the idea of owing him something, but didn’t want Naomi to be in danger either.
“Fine, I’ll do anything.”
“Are you sure? That could be a lot,” he said lowly, leaning closer to her. He took a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger. She gulped, not liking where this was going, but she didn’t take her words back. Meeting his gaze with determination, she said, “Yes.”
“Great, then we have a deal,” he drawled, looking so pleased that she feared she made a mistake just now.
“We need to leave now if we want to stop her,” Valerie breathed nervously and got up, grabbing her smartphone before she ran to her bedroom to change into a pair of jeans. She was back within a minute and snatched her car key before they left the apartment.
—
“You’re telling me your idiot friend is planning to break into a house in the middle of the night because she wants to see a ghost,” Maxwell grumbled annoyedly.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” Valerie replied, keeping her eyes on the narrow road that led up the mountain. The car’s headlights illuminated merely a fraction of the seemingly impenetrable darkness that had settled over them. An endless sea of trees framed the road, and the silence surrounding it was eerie and unnatural.
A shiver ran down Valerie’s spine at the mere thought of entering a haunted mansion in the middle of the night. Many supernatural creatures could be waiting for them, depending on what had occurred there. Possibly much worse things than ghosts.
“I doubt your friend will see a ghost tonight—I’d place my bets on a demon. Humans are ridiculous; she’s basically asking to die,” Maxwell said uncaringly. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles turned white.
“Stop it with the insults. Naomi doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into,” she defended her friend. “Besides, we have a deal! You’re not doing this for free, so don’t complain.”
“Ah, yes. I’m looking forward to your end of the deal,” he laughed. The corners of her lips turned down as unease washed over her—she wondered what he had in mind.
“Well, I’m not,” she uttered, following a curve in the road until a fence appeared before them, and they reached a dead end. The gate of the property was closed, but judging by the car parked in front of it, Naomi and her friends had found a way inside already. Frowning, Valerie took her jacket from the backseat and got out, putting it on since the cold night air made her shiver.
They walked up to the gate, which was almost thrice as high as Valerie was tall, and she wondered how Naomi and her friends had climbed over it without breaking their necks.
“Fuck,” she cursed as she stood in front of it.
“I could always destroy it,” Maxwell offered with an evil glint in his eyes.
“No, nobody is supposed to know we were here. We’ll have to climb over it, just like the others.”
“Yeah, sure. You’ll break your neck if you try to, and I don’t want to die early because of a clumsy human.”
“You have so much trust in me, demon. I’m flattered,” Valerie snapped sarcastically.
“I’m going first,” Maxwell said, ignoring her words. “Someone has to make sure you don’t fall over it.”
She rolled her eyes and watched him climb over it with ease, jumping down nearly three meters without a care in the world. A human would have broken a few bones… Valerie focused and pulled herself up, higher and higher, until she reached the highest point. Her arms were shaking in exertion, but she didn’t give up. Not daring to look down, she swung one leg over the gate and took a deep breath.
“Come on, faster. You’re worse than a sloth,” Maxwell called from below, and she made the mistake of looking at him, seeing how high up she was. Her eyes widened, and her grip on the metal stiffened. She tensed up. This was worse than she had imagined. Why did she want to climb over it again?
“Jump,” he yelled.
“Are you insane?”
“I’ll catch you; just do it.”
She looked at him, meeting his eyes. He was surrounded by an unnatural glow originating from his body. It was the only light source in the vicinity, and somehow, the sight eased her fear.
She took one more deep breath and swung her second leg over the gate. Then, she let go and fell.
It was over so fast that she didn’t even have time to scream. Valerie heard the rushing of the wind, and then she was enveloped in his arms. She clung to his shoulders by instinct. “That was enough excitement for tonight,” she whispered, and he let her down, sending her a mildly amused glance.
“The fun hasn’t even started yet. I sense a powerful presence in that house… and it’s angered,” he said, appearing unconcerned despite the looming danger. Valerie wished she could be this relaxed, but felt nauseous just thinking about the monsters awaiting them in that death trap.
“Then we should hurry and get them out of there,” she sighed and walked up to the dark mansion. The building must have been majestic once before, but now it radiated a deep sense of foreboding. Its architectural style was very unusual—it reminded Valerie of the old Victorian houses in horror movies. She had never seen a building like this in America.