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“Not great security,” Elijah said, as they walked across the yard.
“Vampires don’t rely on traditional means,” Mia said. “They rely on fear, skepticism, and civil society to protect them.”
“That doesn’t seem very safe,” he said.
“They’ve been on the island for almost three decades. As far as I know, we’re the first to challenge them.”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
They walked to the bottom steps of the mansion.
“The front door will be locked, and it’s visible from the road. Let’s go around.”
The little group followed Doug to the back door, a wide, glass-paned sliding door, and watched as he tried it. Of course it was locked.
“Ok,” he said, “here goes nothing.”
He used his glass cutter to cut a big hole around the handle, then popped the glass inside, where it shattered. Then he reached his hand through the hole and popped the lock before sliding the door open. They all stood there on the threshold, looking in.
“Ready?” Saber said, and Lozen nodded. Elijah handed Saber and Doug walkie talkies.
“I’m going around to the front,” he said. “If I see a car or a person, I’m going to alert you, then run back to your car, Saber. And if you find proof of vampires—”
“We’ll take pictures. We promise.”
Elijah nodded, and Saber wished he was going inside, so he could see firsthand if they found anything.
“Ok,” Elijah said, “good luck.”
Saber’s heart thumped.
Then they stepped inside.
The inside of the house, without people, music, and servers with trays sparkling with champagne, felt sterile and dead.Dead, Saber thought again, and the word echoed around her mind like it would in a cave. Now, the house didn’t have the sheen of glamour that it had before, it only looked tacky and overdone.Saber wondered how much the vampires could make people feel like they were enveloped by luxury, when really they were in a suburban McMansion with over-stuffed sofas and gaudy light fixtures. Saber suddenly had the thought that the vampires did not live here, in this mansion, that it was more like a porch lamp for moths, a place they used to attract teenagers and the nouveau riche to come play. They walked through the house, already re-set by housecleaners, through kitchens and living rooms, up the stairs to the bedrooms, which were all set perfectly, luscious beds with a glut of pillows and fluffy comforters, bathrooms with jetted tubs and mirrors on every wall.
“It reminds me of a hotel,” Doug said. “Nobody lives here.”
“I was just thinking that,” Saber said. “It’s just a place where they bring people.”
“Let’s try to go down,” Lozen said. “Maybe nobody lives here, but—”
“There’s definitely someone here,” Mia said, and they all looked at her. “I canfeelit.”
She was as white as ivory and the corner of her mouth was twitching. Her big blue eyes, further enlarged by her glasses, were round and darting. Saber thought she looked distinctly like an animal who sensed a threat. It made Saber’s hair stand on end, and she realized that she, too, was no more than an animal under threat. It wasn’t a bad feeling, and suddenly she felt quite calm, despite the hair rising on her arms and the steady thudding of her heart. She was in a house of death, and it made her feel alive in a way she never had before.
“Where are they?” Lozen asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, “but I canfeelthem.”
“Down,” Lozen said, and Saber was startled at the look of dark determination on her friend’s face. She was afraid, but her bravery was greater than her fear.
“Let’s do it,” said Saber, and Lozen, who had no proof, only trust in her friend, knew in her heart that something evil was happening. She led them down the stairs, through the first floor, and to the steps of the basement.
The door was locked from the inside.
“I think I can open it,” Lozen said. “I watched some videos on YouTube last night.”
“What?” Saber asked, laughing a little in surprise, as Lozen pulled a set of keys out of her pocket.
