Bells of Demonio (Kings of Terror 1)

Alex laid a map on the table and held up a bright red sharpie.

“Where did you get that?” Bellatrix asked.

“The lobby. Malachi said GPS wouldn’t work out there.”

The mention of Malachi drew me right into their conversation. “When did he tell you that?”

“Sometime last night. I think after he walked us back to the room. You were still getting your brain shaken around by his brother, so he waited with us next door.”

My brows dipped in confusion. Malachi had been with me nearly the whole time Nico was. Even at the end he’d sat on the other bed and watched us alongside Damian.

Had he left and I missed it?

Did my brain fuck up the sequence of events that badly?

“Alex, his name is banned amongst us, remember? His brother is shit,” Jacob spewed. He reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. “Fuck that guy, babe. He shouldn’t have run out on you like that.”

“What?” I questioned with a laugh. “It was a one-night stand not a consummation of vows.”

“He still could have stayed until morning. I’m ecstatic you got your rocks off, Angel, I am, but the guy was an asshole.”

“I thought you loved him because he gave us that paper for free drinks,” Collin retorted sarcastically.

“You guys are trippin. People have freaky one-night stands all the time and dip out as soon as the deeds done. It’s kind of the point,” Tyson chimed in.

“Thank you,” I agreed.

Jacob lowered his sunglasses and gave him a pointed look. “Then why is Sasha still right here, bow-legged and chipper?”

“Jacob,” I sighed, pushing my plate away from me. Talking about the other night with them was bound to confuse me even more if our timelines were different.

The discussion would eventually reveal more than I was ready to.

Bellatrix studied me closely through slightly narrowed eyes. She was highly keyed into my emotions—a twin thing.

She and I hadn’t had a chance to be alone yet for me to relay my version of events. After leaving the room Alex had practically dragged me down to this table where everyone was already sitting except for Amber.

I smiled at her slouched-over form. The girl didn’t have a care in the world, snoozing away with a chunk of watermelon right in front of her face.

“Where won’t GPS work?” I asked, changing the subject.

“The manor,” Alex replied slowly.

“What…the house in the woods?”

“He’s been dead-set on going since he woke up this morning,” Bellatrix explained.

“We’ve snuck into mines, abandoned hospitals, and deserted towns. Why are you so against walking through the woods to see if this house is real?” He began making marks on the map with his Sharpie, using his phone to compare layouts.

“I never said I was against it.”

“Then you’re going? We all are, with or without you and your shadow, so make your mind up in the next five minutes because we need to get dressed and hit the road.” He folded his map up and walked away, announcing he needed a lemonade.

CHAPTER

The warnings began about ten miles out.

Wrong-Way.

Do Not Enter.

There were six of those before the NO TRESPASSING signs started to appear. Our two-car caravan ignored all of them and pressed forward. I crossed my arms and double-checked that my boots were laced.

Alex insisted we put on our next set of costumes to blend in. I thought that was rather pointless since no one else had gotten into a car and drove away from the main part of the village besides us.

Trekking through the woods in a costume was going to be far from comfortable. I wore my ringmaster getup to keep the peace. The tights were dark enough to hide my leg markings and the black and gold bodysuit was long-sleeved. That would add some protection against elements.

My sister was dressed as an acrobat, her costume similar to mine. I propped my elbow on the windowsill and watched the woods pass us by. They were vast and dense with trees towering high into the sky between thick underbrush.

Jacob twisted around with a bright smile, his camera clutched in his hands. His face was done to look like a puppet today.

“What do you think?”

“I think we need to hurry up and find this parking spot.”

“It’s just up ahead, based on my calculations,” Alex stated.

“Your calculations? Right. When was the last time you manually followed directions somewhere?” Bellatrix asked.

“Never.”

I laughed softly and leaned my head against the glass. It was deathly quiet out here. Not a single car had gone by in either direction. Then again, this road was considered private property.

Another two minutes rolled by before Alex finally turned off onto a narrow overpass. Sasha hit her blinker and followed behind him. Tyson had ridden in the car with her. She was the only reason he’d come out here with us. He would normally refuse an adventure like this the second it was mentioned. He had to really like her.