I laughed. “I love your house. Don't buy another.”
“Our house,” Rune said. “It's yours too, Lora.”
“Not yet,” Merrick muttered and nuzzled my forehead.
“Merrick, what the fuck?” Rune asked.
“I'm just worried. We need to bond with her soon. We can't protect Lora fully without the bond. What if Hermes suddenly takes away her immortality and we haven't shared ours with her yet? She'd age instantly.”
“Over four hundred years,” I said.
We all went grim and silent.
A knock came at Braxen's window, startling all of us. We glared at Darius, who chuckled and lifted his hands.
“Just wondering when you were going to join us,” he said, his voice sounding hollow through the glass.
We got out of the car, and the men grabbed our luggage. Then we followed Dominic and Darius up the porch steps and to the main door. A carving of a Cerberus in its collective form, with three heads, adorned it. The door opened before we got there.
“Welcome,” Declan said, opening the door further and stepping back into the house.
“Any updates?” Darius asked.
“Nah. I've been working on getting names. All we have is the one who came from Seattle. Morgan Rand. He hasn't used a credit card again, and he abandoned his car in Seattle. He doesn't own any property, not here or in Seattle, so I'm hoping I can find one of the others who were with him, spot him on a security camera, or even get a tip from the police. I've been monitoring their radios and computers.”
“Wow,” I whispered.
“I can do all that too,” Merrick said to me.
I leaned into Merrick and smirked. “Don't be jealous. I'm already impressed by you.”
A flush crept up Merrick's neck.
“What about the man who Michael last possessed?” Rune asked as we went inside.
Declan shut the door behind us. “I've got him here. I thought you might like to question him further. I didn't get anything out of him. He remembers a few things, but not much.”
“Where?” Braxen asked.
“He's in one of the guest rooms,” Declan said as he led us down the entry hall. “I told him we're part of a private organization tracking paranormal activity. I'll take you to him in a sec. But let's get you guys settled first.”
There were rooms to either side and through them, I saw corridors beyond. The furnishings were old, many appropriate to the home, but the further in we went, the more modern touches I saw. Light switches, for one. Then there were the electronics. The runner on the stairs was new and so was the chandelier that hung in the stairwell, though it was a good reproduction. The finial on the stair's newel post was original, indicating the home was paid for. I liked that touch, especially since I knew that they had probably placed it there themselves and so knew what it meant.
We went upstairs and down a hallway before going left and down another long corridor. The shift was subtle but I could tell immediately when we left the original and entered the new wing.
“There are three guest rooms down here.” Declan waved at the open doorways. Then looked at me to ask, “Or did you need four?”
“Three is fine,” I said and went into the first room.
Merrick surprised me by following me inside.
I lifted a brow at him.
“Is this all right?” he asked.
I hesitated, then said, “Yes.”
His face had gone tight during my hesitation, but then relaxed. “Thank you.”
