Page 52 of Dance in the Stones

Damon pulled his hand back, breaking the connection, and after a long moment, Redford did the same. They were both breathing hard, although Damon could feel his heart rate slow down to a steady jog.

“What did we just do?” Damon asked.

“I think...we woke the ‘heart’... The sanctuary’s original protective magic.”

Through the stone beneath his feet, Damon felt the castle’s awareness, not threatening in any way, but present all the same. It was difficult to tell, but Damon felt curious about it, and it would seem the castle was thinking the same thing about him.

“We should probably go for now,” Damon said, grabbing the vellum sheets and tucking them carefully inside of his jacket. “We need to read these papers and understand what this thing does… What the…?”

The tower trembled again, gentler this time. It was clear something else was happening. But even as Damon was tuning into his mate’s gargoyle, he sensed how the wards they’d spent weeks reinforcing were now weaving into the crystal heart’s protective magic.

“It’s helping,” Redford said, his excitement evident. “Tell me I’m wrong, or going plain loopy, but these crystals recognize us as having the same signatures Beatrice keyed her wards to.” His dark eyes found Damon’s. “It knows we belong here.”

Things could get messy if the crystal changes its mind, Damon thought, but he kept that one to himself. “We should probably leave,” he said out loud. “Research what we’ve found before we touch anything else.”

“Good idea.”

They left the chamber, the hidden door grinding closed behind them. But as they climbed the spiral staircase, Damon felt the castle following their progress. There wasn’t anything threatening in the awareness – more like curiosity and a sense of patience. That made sense in a way. The castle had waited centuries for new caretakers. Let us read the user manual before you go expecting stuff, please.

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning Redford reached for the bedroom door handle, ready to start the day with coffee and whatever new revelation the castle decided to throw at them. The handle turned, but the door didn’t budge.

He tried again, putting his shoulder into it, but it wouldn’t move.

“Problem?” Damon’s voice was sleep-rough behind him.

“The door won’t open.” Redford stepped back, examining the wood and then the stones around the framework, trying to understand what was happening. The castle’s awareness brushed against his consciousness as if playing tag – you’re it.

“You’re joking.” Redford pressed his hands against the wood. “Are you playing with us?”

“Who the heck are you talking to?” Damon joined him, dressed only in sleep pants that hung low on his hips.

“The castle.” Redford tried the handle again but still nothing. “I think it’s locked us in.”

Damon’s hellhound surged forward, his eyes flashing red. He gripped the handle and pulled hard enough that the wood groaned in protest, but the door remained sealed as if the frame had fused together.

“Well.” Damon released the handle. “That’s new.”

“It doesn’t feel malicious.” Redford kept his palms against the doorframe, sensing the stone beyond it. “More like...curious? Or maybe it’s observing us?”

“Great.” Damon went back and flopped onto the bed. “We’ve awakened a voyeuristic castle.”

Despite really wanting that coffee, Redford laughed. “I don’t think it works that way.”

“Then what does it want?”

Redford had no idea. Between them, they tried everything – force on the door, trying to get out the window, and Damon tried to translocate. That last one was particularly interesting, as Damon reported hitting an invisible barrier the moment he tried to shift through space.

“It’s keeping us here,” Damon said, pacing now. His hellhound was alert but not alarmed, which Redford took as a good sign. “It would be helpful if we knew why the castle was doing this.”

An hour later, just as Redford was considering whether gargoyle claws could carve through the oak, the door swung open on its own. No warning – it was just locked one minute and open the next.

Damon stared at it. “What changed?”

“I’ve got no idea.” But Redford felt something like...satisfaction? As if the castle had learned what it wanted to know.

They headed to the kitchen, both wary of what else might happen. Redford reached for the coffee maker just as it turned on by itself, the water already heating.