His Fire Maiden - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,52
“She was up there.”
Rick hit the device several times. “False alarm. It’s not picking up anything now. The temperature must be causing it to glitch.”
“Atmospheric reading still normal,” Dev said. “But the temperature has dropped a few degrees. Let’s keep moving.”
As they neared the castle’s front door, he detected the crushed area where Lucien and Viktor had gotten into a fight next to the sad frozen remains of some small hairy creature. He braced his weight against the door and pushed hard, bouncing his shoulder until the ice seam gluing it shut broke free.
“Let’s get to work. Coms stay on,” Dev ordered. Jackson had given him the lead on this part of the mission since he’d be with Josselyn and Violette the whole time and needed the authority to make judgment calls for the group if anything when wrong. “Stay in pairs and follow the maps Josselyn drew for you. Try to find the personal items she requested, otherwise, take the most valuable and transportable. Check in at each stop. Expandable crates are in your packs. Don’t load them too heavy. We still have to drag them down to meet the ship if it’s too cold for the hover attachments to work.”
A soft light came through narrow windows from outside to illuminate the entryway. When everyone had entered, Dev pushed the door closed.
Rick turned on the castle power. Flickering light flooded the inside from torch-shaped fixtures on the walls. “You heard the man, let’s get to work.”
Lucien and Viktor took off in one direction. Jackson and Rick went in another.
“I don’t suppose we can find me a girlfriend this time,” Lucien’s soft voice came through the coms as they walked away. “Statue girl turned out all right for Evan.”
“Sure, rocket boy, we can try defrosting that dog-creature outside. I think you might have a chance with it,” Viktor answered.
“I’m not listening to this,” Jackson’s voice interrupted. “Dev, please, can we leave com-links on, but not open?”
“Fine,” Dev stated. “Turn off the open channel, but leave them on. Be careful. It might look sturdy, but there is no telling the damage weather and time have done to this structure, especially in the timber-enforced sections. If you get your asses trapped under rubble, I might not dig them out.”
Chapter 22
“I want to show you something.” Josselyn nodded that Violette should follow her. The groups had split up to explore the castle, but Dev and Evan kept the sisters together. Violette knew what they were trying to do. It was clear Evan wanted them to bond, and Dev wanted to make sure she didn’t try to attack Josselyn. As an independent woman, babysitters annoyed her, but then, she had threatened to kill her sister on several occasions, so their concern was probably warranted.
Strange personal items filled the abandoned castle, and decorations hung as they had for over a hundred years. Time had stopped in this place, and Violette again had the feeling she was trespassing in someone else’s memory. Josselyn led the group to a large dining hall. Tables were lined up in even rows on the stone floor. Dinnerware was set out as if a meal had been interrupted. Whatever food would have been on them looked long disintegrated. Josselyn took a couple of the plates and goblets and handed them to her husband. Evan pulled out an oversized expandable crate and put the items inside. She noticed carvings that reminded her of the wooden door to her father’s office.
A cylinder fireplace was in the middle of the room. Violette would have loved to start it. Maybe then feeling would come back to her fingertips. There were more torch fixtures to light the way. Banners covered parts of the walls in large woven strips.
“That tapestry,” Josselyn told Evan. The large cloth had men and animals sewn onto it. The men lifted swords over their heads in battle. “It was my father’s favorite. Try to be careful with it. I can’t believe the material lasted in this weather.”
Dev moved to help Evan retrieve the tapestry. Josselyn tossed a few small items in the crate. They made clanking noises as they landed against the side of the container.
Violette stood very still and didn’t touch anything. What right did she have to these things? Her father had left this property to Josselyn. The day he gave her the scar, he’d told her, “The land I spoke of does not belong to you. You will never see it. You would not want it.”
This land, this strange