“Is that… a phone?” she asked.
Titus followed the sound, placing Rae on the edge of the bed while he searched, finding a gold-plated rotary phone in the top drawer.
“Evening Mr Liu Wood, sorry for disturbing you,”a smooth voice said on the line.“There’s been a slight problem that we wish to bring to your attention.”
“What happened?” he asked, Rae frowning as she waited.
“Well Sir, the problem has been detained, and as per the policy for staying at the Conservatory we leave the decision to you. They violated the rules, and are therefore void of our protection.”
The receiver groaned in his ear, Titus having to physically relax his fist. “Where have you detained them?”
Chapter32
Rae
The dress hadn’t dried, the fabric still too wet to wear comfortably, so she’d opted for the complimentary white dressing gown, the middle knotted to stop any accidental flashes as they’d made their way to the reception desk.
Titus had offered her his spare t-shirt from his rucksack, but even though it reached to her knees, it was arguably even more indecent than the gown, without the option for trousers, especially considering he’d snapped her only pair of underwear. So white dressing gown it was.
“Mr and Mrs Liu Wood, if you would follow me,” the receptionist said before they’d even approached, turning to guide them behind a wall panel. “I would like to apologise again for this inconvenience. I would like to assure you, not many people risk a violation here at the Conservatory.”
“Not unless they’re stupid,” Rae muttered, her bare feet cold on the hard wooden floor.
“Or desperate,” Titus added, pausing to let her walk in front. He wore no shirt, neither of them figuring out how to get the fabric over his wing without ripping the entire back. “Can you tell us what happened?”
The receptionist turned, raven hair not moving a single strand at the gentle movement. “One of our security found this person entering the premises through a window, armed with a gun. It didn’t take us long to apprehend the intruder.” He gestured to a small lift, the style Victorian, old with a metal gate sliding open. “After you.”
Titus and Rae walked into the tight space, the receptionist closing the lattice behind him before pulling on the lever at his right. The lift descended slowly, the light growing more limited the further they descended.
“They have been tied up for ease, and we have provided you with some equipment. Please note any clean-up will be sorted in house, we just ask you to let us know when you’re done.”
With a heavy whine the structure came to a stop, the metal door squeaking as it opened. The golds and beiges were nowhere to be seen, the floor hard concrete beneath her feet, the walls stone with cracking flames lighting the way. The air was bitter, so cold it stung with every breath.
Sobbing echoed, bouncing off the hard stones.
The receptionist came to a stop outside a thick wooden door, unlocking it with a key card. “I will leave you here. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience, and will send champagne to your room once you are done.” Without another word, he turned back towards the Victorian lift, leaving them alone in the concrete basement.
“This is so weird,” Rae whispered, the chill teasing her ankles. “Does he creep you out? Or is it just me?”
“Faerie,” Titus said in explanation, pressing his palm to the door.
Rae didn’t immediately recognise the person bound to the chair, their head covered in a black fabric hood. A single light shone above, the rest of the room covered in shadows.
The person cried out, pulling against the ropes around their wrists and ankles, arms bulging with the effort. Titus reached into the room, clicking something on the wall. Three sconces, one on each wall flickered on, revealing a metal table with a selection of perfectly presented scalpels. The floor was concrete, stained a dark brown with a drain directly beneath the chair.
Rae let out an impressed whistle. “These guys mean business.” She had purposely ignored the person in the chair, a man, she guessed by the body shape.
She knew from practice the longer she made them wait, the quicker they cracked. So she took her time looking over each blade, amused with how neatly they’d been placed. She suspected Titus would have done the exact same, her man liking everything perfectly straight. Neat.
She was going to enjoy introducing him to a little mess.
“What do you think we should do with him?” she asked Titus, reaching for one of the smaller scalpels. “Should we cut him up a little first?” Rae straddled the man’s legs, making sure he felt her entire weight.
The man flinched, his cries muffled.
“Or just gut him like a fish, and be done with it?”
She reached beneath the hood, drawing the edge of the scalpel against his throat. It wasn’t deep enough to do damage, just enough to feel the scratch.
