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I watched him leave, taking with him the last bit of confidence I had left. Raquel waited until Gabe disappeared down the end of the hall before she ushered me into her room.
Two full-sized beds with elaborate headboards sat on opposite sides of the room with a fireplace in between. A set of armoires and a vanity with a mirror and antique washing basin on top took up some of the remaining floor space. Altogether, Granny’s entire house probably would’ve fit into this room.
“That bed’s yours,” she said, pointing to the neatly made mattress on the left. “The washroom’s that door to the right. The good thing about sharing a room is we don’t have to use the community washroom. I’d die if I had to shower in the same place as the boys.”
Raquel threw herself on her messy bed. She had on a pair of pink flannel pajama bottoms and a white tank top. Posters hung around her headboard. Some were from rock bands that I recognized. Others were from movies I’d heard about. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought this was a normal teenager’s room.
“How old are you?” Raquel grabbed a couple of granola bars from under her bed and threw me one. She tore hers open and ripped into it. “I’m nineteen.”
“Twenty-one,” I said without thinking.
With the granola bar in hand, I suddenly realized how hungry I was and tore open the package. I hadn’t eaten much during the past twenty-four hours.
“I can’t wait until I’m twenty-one.” Raquel talked with her mouth full of food, stuffing another granola bar in her mouth. “When we turn twenty-one, we can make a bid for warrior status and partnership. I’m hoping I get paired with someone like Gabe. Not only is he dead sexy, but he’s a great fighter.”
I nodded along, but didn’t understand anything she was saying. All I could think about was the bed, just two feet away. A good night’s rest was tempting, but I had to start hatching an escape plan. Going to Hanna was out of the question, but maybe one of the neighboring towns wasn’t too far off. All I knew was that I couldn’t stay in a place full of demons, worrying that at any second one of them was going to attack me and eat me for breakfast.
“Not only that, but Gabe’s way nicer than his younger brother, Adam.” Raquel rolled over on her bed. “Adam could transfer to Africa, for all I care.”
My ears perked up. “
Adam, the tall blond surly guy with attitude for miles?”
She nodded.
“You mean to tell me Gabe and Adam are related? That seems impossible.”
These demon families were confusing to me. There was so much more to being a demon than I thought possible.
Raquel flipped to her stomach and grinned. “No kidding. They had a younger sister, too, but she passed away years ago in a skirmish.”
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Gabe. My loss had been before I even knew what a mother was. I couldn’t imagine having to bury a sister.
“Do you mind if I get some rest?” I asked Raquel after she’d finished her third granola bar. Maybe she’d leave me alone if she thought I was sleeping. “I didn’t get any sleep last night and I’m dying. Would that be okay with you?”
Raquel nodded and jumped out of bed, running to her armoire. “Sure thing, let me grab you some clothes.” She pulled out a similar pair of flannel pajamas and a t-shirt. “For now, you can wear mine. I’ll pick up something for you after I go down for breakfast and training. Then I’ll come back and see how you’re doing.”
I pulled on the clothes, grateful to have something actually cover my legs and my chest that wasn’t so see through. Leaving the dress crumpled on the floor, I crawled into bed with a sigh. It would’ve been too easy to fall asleep in this huge bed and forget that I was imprisoned by demons.
“I’ll fill you in on the rest of the manor rules when I get back.” Raquel ran a brush through her hair and pulled on a pair of skinny jeans that sat low on her slim hips. “Just don’t go anywhere in the meantime. Uncle Luke will kill me if I let you wander around without an escort.”
There it was again. A thinly veiled attempt to keep me from noticing that I was their prisoner. Not allowed to go anywhere or do anything without a babysitter. We were going to see about that.
“See you later,” Raquel said, before slipping out the door and leaving me in total darkness.
“Not if I have anything to do with it,” I mumbled into the covers.
Chapter Thirteen
I gave Raquel a good fifteen minutes before throwing the comforter off and rummaging through her things for a pair of shoes. She wore a size bigger than me, but with a stolen pair of her thickest socks, the shoes fit pretty well. I grabbed a black hoodie from her armoire and dropped below her bed to dig out the rest of the granola bars. To my surprise, there was an entire feast down there consisting of candy and snacks. I took as much as I could stuff in my pockets and then ran for the hall.
It was still early, so the halls were empty. Not wanting to push my luck, I went in the opposite direction Gabe had brought me, hoping to find a back staircase. If I didn’t get out of here before all seventy-five of the demons that lived on this floor woke up, I’d be in trouble. None of them were probably as nice as Gabe had been to me.
I found an old stone stairway in the back that led to a side door. The sun was higher now and beginning to warm the dew that lay heavy on the grassy clearing. If this was the west wing, I’d need to go around the manor and travel east. Although I’d been too upset to pay much attention to where Gabe brought me last night, I was pretty sure that if I traveled southeast from here, I could hit the small town of Dumont, or at least run into the highway.
Pulling the hood up over my head, I skated the edge of the building, pausing at corners to peer around and watch for anyone awake. The grounds were quiet, but some signs of life were coming from the tiny houses on the southern lawn. Lights shone in some windows and the occasional clang of pots and pans interrupted the quiet.
The house where they had tested me stood quiet and still. I wondered if Esther lived there, all alone. If I remember correctly, I’d spotted Raquel and her fiery red hair in several pictures in the hallway.
