Lord Loss (The Demonata 1)

Did the painting really talk to me or did I just imagine it?

I honestly don't know. I think it was real. But I was extra tense. Overreacting to everything. It could have been a hallucination.

What was definitely real — the werewolf photos. I didn't imagine them. They're what I must focus on. The Lord Loss mystery can wait. I went down the cellar to find evidence of a werewolf. And I believe I found it.

Time to call in the expert.

“Paging Bill-E Spleen …”

I phone while Dervish sleeps. Ma Spleen answers, even grumpier than usual. “It's seven twenty-three!” she snaps. “He's still asleep and so was I!”

“Please,” I say calmly. “This is important. I want to catch him before he goes to school.”

“If you tell me, I can give him a message,” she sniffs.

“No,” I insist. “I have to speak to him in person.”

She grumbles some more, but eventually goes to wake the snoozing master Spleen.

“This had better be life-or-death,” Bill-E yawns down the line a minute later.

“You've got to come over,” I tell him directly. “Pretend you're going to school, then come here.”

“What?” he grunts. “Have you lost your mind? I can't fart in these parts without Grandma knowing. Skipping school is out of —”

“There's a full moon tonight,” I hiss. “I don't want to be trapped here alone with Dervish.”

A cautious pause. “What's happened?” Bill-E asks.

“Come over. Find out.”

I put the phone down before he can ask any further questions, confident that his curiosity will entice him. Start thinking about what I'm going to tell Dervish to explain Bill-E's being here.

He arrives at 9:17, schoolbag slung across his back, left eye squinting suspiciously, black hair slick with sweat — he must have run.

“Couldn't come any earlier or Grandma would have been suspicious,” he says, entering by the huge front doors, which I hold open for him like a butler. He looks around like a detective. “Where's Dervish?”

“In his study. I told him you were coming to work on a school project with me.”

“He believed that?” Bill-E snorts.

“He had no reason not to. He doesn't know we know about him.”

Bill-E looks at me smugly. “So you think I'm telling the truth now?”

I lead him through to the kitchen before answering. “Yes.”

“Coolio! What changed your mind?”

I sit down. So does Bill-E. “I've seen his lair,” I mutter, and proceed to tell him everything about the deer and my exploration of the wine cellar and the sub-cellar beyond (only leaving out the section relating to Lord Loss — that's personal).

Ten-fifteen. Bill-E arguing that Dervish doesn't pose a threat.

“Don't you see?” he groans with exasperation. “The cage is for him! He knows the change is upon him. That's why he caught the deer and stuck it in there. Tonight he'll lock himself in, and when he changes he'll feed on the deer and stay caged there until morning.”

“How will he get out?” I ask.

“Meera. That must be why she's here. She knows about his sickness and probably comes every month to help him.”