Hunter glanced at it, then met her shocked gaze unblinkingly. "Yes," he said in a deadpan voice. "Yes, it is. It's my... coffee table."
He walked over to it, lifted the lid and pulled a remote out of it. "For the TV if you want to watch it tomorrow."
Amanda shook her head. Now that she noticed it, she saw there were all kinds of weird little vampire trinkets lying around. Miniature statues, small crossbows, even a vampire tarot deck on the mantel.
"Nick thinks it's funny," Hunter said as she picked up the deck of tarot cards. "Any time he finds something with a vampire in it or on it, he brings it here and leaves it for me to find."
"Does it bother you?"
"No, he's a good kid most of the time."
As he led her room by room through the old mansion, she began to get lost. "Just how big is this place?" she asked as they entered a game room.
"There are twelve bedrooms and it's a little over seven thousand square feet."
"Jeez, I've been inside smaller malls."
He laughed.
An elaborate pool table was set in the middle of the game room, along with a collection of arcade games and a big-screen TV with an entire array of game consoles lined up on a low coffee table in front of it. But what she found most peculiar was a pair of baseball gloves and a baseball on a drop-leaf table in one corner of the room. Amanda went over to them.
"I toss the ball around with Nick some nights," Hunter explained.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "It clears my head when I'm trying to sort through things."
"Nick doesn't mind?"
He laughed at that. "Nick minds everything. I don't think I've ever asked him to do something he didn't complain about it."
"Then why do you keep him around?"
"I'm a glutton for punishment."
Now it was her turn to laugh. "I would really like to meet this Nick."
"No doubt you will tomorrow."
"Really?"
He nodded. "Anything you need, you tell him and he'll get it for you. If he offends you in any way, let me know and I'll kill him when I get up."
There was a note in his voice that told her it might not be an empty threat.
Hunter opened the large French doors and led her into a glass-enclosed atrium. The ceiling was clear and showed a million stars flickering overhead and their shoes clicked idly on the tile floor.
"It's beautiful in here."
"Thanks."
She walked up to a large statue of three women in the center of the room. The piece was absolutely breathtaking. The youngest of them was lying on her side with a scroll while the other two were sitting with their backs to each other. One held a lyre while the other appeared to sing. But what amazed her most was the way they were painted. Each one looked real, and they bore a striking resemblance to Hunter.
"Is this from Greece?" she asked.
A painful look crossed his face as he nodded. "They were my sisters."
Her heart heavy, she studied them closely.