The local tavern was frequented by adventurers passing through, so it had a surprising array of food available. It also had a few private rooms, and though they had to bring in an extra chair from the main floor, the private room wasn’t too cramped.

  Henry and Ash sat next to Soraya while across the rectangular table, Asal sat with Farin and Nima. Outside, Ash had told them that they had picked up a request from the Adventurer’s Guild about the estate. Asal and the others were coming to investigate for personal reasons and had arrived a few days earlier to start collecting information.

  Soraya invited them to eat at the tavern to discuss. Getting information from the party would save her time.

  After confirming their meal order, Soraya looked back at the trio. “I’m sure we all know the general story about the merchant sending his servants to clean and repair the estate, and then disappearing, then the mage from the Magic Tower going missing.”

  Asal nodded. “Yes. Cyrus found the request through the Guild and thought it was a simple magic item identification and investigation. Still, it’s our party’s policy to never go on a quest solo, if at all possible.”

  “That’s a good precaution to take,” Soraya agreed. Henry held back his curious look, as he knew she did exorcisms alone for the most part. It wasn’t the standard for exorcists of the holy order. Usually, they had an assistant with them, if only to report if something went wrong and the exorcist needed assistance.

  Soraya wantonly going off to capture and lay to rest malevolent ghosts was in line with how Nera often complained about her: extremely responsible and trustworthy when it came to others, but reckless when by herself.

  Henry’s gaze shifted to his brother. It sort of reminded him of a certain someone.

  “It is, but now we’ve lost contact with both of them.” Nima’s response was filled with frustration and confusion.

  “When did you lose contact?” Soraya asked.

  Asal hesitated. “Six months ago, we received his last correspondence by messenger bird.”

  “Six months?” Ash’s eyes widened. Henry pursed his lips. Drae had said the request had been up for months.

  Asal held up her hand to calm him. “It isn’t that we waited six months to come after him, but Cyrus said that there was a possibility there was a portal involved, since people disappeared and there are no witnesses of anyone leaving the estate.”

  “He said to give him two months to investigate,” Farin told them. She tapped her hand on the tabletop. “Two months to the day, we sent out a messenger bird and it came back. We sent two more, then checked with the Guild.”

  “The Guild said they were not contacted and there was nothing reported about their whereabouts. They contacted the owner of the estate, who confirmed that he hadn’t been contacted either,” Asal continued, her eyes narrowing. “After a month of trying to contact him, we wanted to investigate on our own. The Guild reposted the request after confirmation that the Magic Tower hadn’t heard anything from their missing mage, hoping to get a mage to follow up on Cyrus. We didn’t know that someone had picked up the request.”

  They looked towards Ash, who had leaned back against his chair and furrowed his brows in thought. “The dossier said that three mages had gone missing. That’s a warning if I’ve ever heard one.”

  Farin tilted her head to the side and gave him a confused look. “Ash, why did you take the request? What if it’s dangerous?”

  Ash let out a small scoff and shook his head. “Danger never deterred me.”

  Which is a problem! Henry clenched his jaw as he glared at his brother.

  Nima let out a chuckle. “I thought you’d grow out of that blind confidence.”

  “He hasn’t.”

  “It’s not blind.” Henry spoke at the same time as Ash, who shot him a glare of his own. Henry avoided his eyes and Ash huffed. “I make risk calculations. If the chance of success is too small, if the risk to my life is too great, I’m not going to accept it.”

  The incredulous look on Henry’s face seemed noticed by all, but Ash ignored him.

  Soraya gave them both a look to stop them from arguing before she looked back at the adventurers in front of them.

  “Going back to Cyrus and Jasper, this means you haven’t received any word from them since their last message six months ago?”

  “That’s correct.” The three adventurers nodded.

  “And when did you arrive here?”

  “About a month ago,” Asal replied. “We wanted to come sooner, but the seasonal rains in our hometown was much greater than expected. There was a dam breach, which made travel difficult.”

  “Not to mention our families were affected,” Farin added. “We were hoping that we’d receive something from Cyrus of Jasper, but...” She shook her head, helpless. “Nothing.”

  “It’s worse that when we arrived, we questioned half the town and their answers were consistent,” Asal said. “People went into the manor, but no one came out.”

  “The only exception is Beatrice,” Farin told them. “Her father was an older servant of the manor owner, and she had accompanied him. She followed her father inside and a few days later, came out, absolutely shaken.”

  “Beatrice Iturralde?” Ash asked. She was mentioned in the Guild dossier.

  “Do you know where we can find her?” Soraya leaned forward.

  “She’s back in Prem, which is the largest city in the province,” Asal replied. “It’s where the owner of the manor lives and headquarters his business. She was shaken and has been pleading with the owner to send more people to find her father, but the owner has refused and doesn’t want to continue sending people if it could be dangerous. He is leaving it up to the Magic Tower...which has passed it on to the Guild.”

  “The request that we picked up.” Ash took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Prem is a bit further east of here,” Henry said. “It’s about a day’s travel by carriage.” According to the map of the region, the small river that ran through the town was a tributary river to the large one that cut through Prem.

  “Should we go and question her?” Ash asked, looking at Soraya.

  The older woman nodded. “I want to investigate the manor itself.”

  “Madam, I think that may be too dangerous,” Nima said, his face serious. “We’ve been asking around for a month and everyone is telling us to stay away from it. We tried to look into the manor, but it’s gated and locked.”

  “Gated and locked?” Ash raised a brow. “Would that really stop you?”

  Nima gave him a lopsided smile and shrugged. “Well...no,” he said with a slight helpless chuckle. “But we couldn’t get inside. At least, not without breaking down a door or window.”

  “We tried looking through the windows, but it’s dark.” Farin shuddered in her seat. “To be honest, something does feel unsettling about the manor.”

  “It may just be the location.” Asal sounded much more rational. “The hill it’s on is within the shadow of the taller mountains around it most of the time. There are perhaps an hour or so at midday when that location gets direct sunlight. As a result, it feels cooler there than down here in the valley, where we’re exposed to the sun most of the day.”

  Henry frowned. “Who builds a manor in such a spot? I’m sure the view is magnificent from that height, but if it’s dark all the time because of the mountain shadows...isn’t that kind of depressing?”

  Soraya let out a small chuckle as she smirked. “Now I’m curious as to what the background of the owner was. The original one.”

  “We can answer that,” Asal replied, sitting up straight. “The town actually has many rumors surrounding the manor and its original owner.”

  “I don’t need you to say any more,” Ash said, giving them a wave of his hand. “I can already feel that it’s haunted.”

  Henry rolled his eyes. “Just listen first.”

  “Yes, Ash. Take in all the information you can and then bring it together to formulate a conclusion.” Soraya gave him a pat on the back. She looked at Asal. “Please tell us what you know.”

  Asal nodded. “The current owner is a merchant in Prem. His family is from Prem and as far as the townsfolk know, there is no connection between his family and this town or farmland. It’s fairly common in some places for those who made significant wealth in cities to build grand homes or buy property in their hometowns. Sometimes, it’s for retirement. Sometimes, it is simply a vacation property.”

  Everyone nodded at this. This was common in Ashtar and for transplanted citizens of the Federation of Merchant cities to build homes or purchase property in or near their hometowns or kingdoms of origin, if allowed.

  Even their family had property in West Wind Valley. Of course, the plan was to turn it into an elaborate luxury inn where they, as the owners, could vacation in a top tier suite when visiting.

  “The current owner’s grandfather built his wealth in Prem, and they wanted to build a summer home. Property in the countryside is cheaper. The demas goes further in rural areas than they do in the city. What can be built here can be much more luxurious for cheaper than in the city,” Asal continued. “He came here and saw the hill that overlooked this quaint town and lush farms and purchased the hill.”

  “We checked with the town records,” Farin told them. “The story is correct. Mr. Bratcholak bought property fifty-two years ago. Construction started shortly after with some townsfolk assisting with the construction, but most workers came from Prem, including the architect and surveyors, as well as supervisor.”

  Soraya nodded. “And how did the townsfolk take this?”

  “It was an appreciated source of employment for those who had time and wanted to take on a second job,” Farin replied.

  “Do you know if there were any deaths or injuries?” Soraya asked.

  “I knew that was important,” Nima said. He gave the two women on his side of the table a proud look. “If Miss Beatrice says it's haunted, that means someone might’ve died.”

  Farin rolled her eyes. “Yes, but no one died,” she replied in a sharp voice, making Nima deflate beside her. She looked back at Soraya. “There were a few typical injuries associated with a construction site, but there were no fatalities during the entire construction.”

  Soraya pursed her lips and nodded, understanding. “That’s good.”

  “Then if no one died onsite, what could cause the haunting?” Henry asked.

  “No one died onsite during the construction,” Soraya told him. She looked at the adventurers. “What about afterwards?”

  “Only the death that you would expect,” Asal replied. “By the time the manor was completed, Mr. Bratcholak was ready to retire and did so. He seemed to have left the family business to his children and came here to live out the rest of his life.”

  “He lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two, living a full twenty years at that manor before dying in his sleep,” Farin said. “And aside from the natural deaths of older servants who accompanied him, no other deaths have been reported.”

  “What happened to the servants after he died?” Henry asked.

  “The majority were there to serve Mr. Bratcholak. His wife died before him, so he was a widower when he moved here,” Nima replied. “The servants from Prem returned to work in Prem under the current owner’s father, who at the time was the head of the family. The servants who had been hired locally returned home.”

  “And they’re fine?” Soraya asked.

  Asal reached into her pocket and took out a small leather soft cover book. She slid it across the table to Soraya. “All the local servants who returned were listed in the town hall’s employment archives. We tracked all of those who were living and remained local to ask them about it. They say there was nothing strange about the manor, and they’ve heard the rumors. They think that something might have happened there after it was put into disuse.”

  “That’s also a big possibility,” Soraya acknowledged as she took the book and brought it towards her. She flipped through some of the pages, nodding to herself every so often as her green eyes went up and down the pages. “Surprising that for such a nice estate and the wealth of the family, they didn’t have servants keep it up after the original owner died.”

  “Perhaps they didn’t have the funds to do so at the time,” Henry said. Every merchant family had to prioritize where to allocate resources, and a retirement home for someone who had already passed while everyone else lived in another city was a waste of resources that could be used where it was more needed.

  Soraya nodded. “That’s true.”

  “What about the rest of the townsfolk?” Ash asked. “What are they saying about the manor?”

  “No one paid too much attention to it. Everyone recalls that about two dozen people, including gardeners and maintenance workers were sent with the servants from Prem to repair and clean the manor. A few of them even stayed in town while the head servants inspected the manor to see what needs to be done.” Farin leaned forward. “Now, for all the strange ‘they came but didn’t come out’ rumors, these servants did come in and out, arranging for supplies to be brought up while they began. Once repairs were in full swing, food was supplied every other day to the manor. This is where it gets strange.

  “Usually, the wooden crates from the deliveries would be left outside the gate for pick up and crates with new food would be left in their place. Deliveries are always made early in the morning, so they don’t really see people. A few times, in the beginning, they’d see a servant clearing the overgrown plants in the front garden, but about a month in, it was just deliveries and pick up.”

  “If you look at the manor, you’ll notice that the shutters and any broken windows have been repaired. You can tell which ones are new,” Nima said. “And the townsfolk say that the main roof has been repaired. They assumed that major restoration was happening inside to prepare for the owner's visit, so there was hardly anyone outside.”

  “But one day, the food that had been delivered hadn’t been touched. The crates remained where they had left, still full of food,” Farin said. “The delivery man went to knock on the doors, but no one answered. He went around the back and there was no one. He tried knocking on several entrances, including the kitchen, and no one answered. He couldn’t get in either.”

  “And so, they just left it at that?” Ash asked.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  “He said he left two more deliveries, thinking that they had to rush back to Prem, but no one saw anyone leaving, and the deliveries remained untouched. Then, a servant from the current owner came. Apparently, they sent a messenger bird to ask about building supplies needed and the bird came back with no answer, prompting the owner to send someone. That person went in...and a week later, another servant came,” Farin told them. “Neither came out.”

  Ash and Henry exchanged looks as Soraya knit her brows. “Then he hired the Magic Tower and two of their mages disappeared, so the Magic Tower posted the request themselves.”

  “Why didn’t they send more of their own mages?” Nima asked with a slight frown.

  Henry shook his head. “The Magic Tower won’t risk its own when it can hire outside mages to do the dirty work for them.”

  Nima let out an annoyed click of his tongue.

  For many adventurers, taking accountability was important, but for the Magic Tower not to continue to search for their own people wasn’t a shock.

  “All right,” Soraya said. She lifted up the book. “Can I borrow this?”

  “Of course.” Asal gave her a nod.

  “Thank you.” Soraya then looked at her nephews. “I’m going to continue asking questions here and then do a survey of the exterior of the manor. While I’m doing that, I want you two to go and interview Miss Beatrice about what she saw inside. Aside from asking her for what she remembers of the interior layout, I’ll write out questions for you to ask her. If she’s shaken, then there is something that has caused it.”

  The brothers nodded while across them, Asal shook her head, as if at a loss. “If it was so dangerous, I don’t know why Cyrus would’ve continued.” She looked at Ash and the others. “If we deem the situation too dangerous, we will return the request to the Guild.”

  Such a thing was allowed, and there was a procedure for it, but it rarely happened. Most adventuring parties were determined. Once they got a quest, they wanted to complete it.

  “If the magic item was created by a powerful mage, it is an easy matter to seal the item to prevent the power of the item from being revealed to less powerful mages,” Ash said. “Similar to how powerful mages who aren’t actively using their power cannot be sensed by lower-level mages.”

  Nima suddenly sat up, as if realizing something. “Ash, now that you’ve brought it up, wasn’t the Guild request for a mage?”

  Ash nodded, unperturbed. “It was.”

  Beside Nima, Farin and Asal exchanged confused looks. Asal then looked back at Ash. “Then...is your brother our aunt a mage?”

  Ash shook his head. “No, I’m the mage.”

  The three adventurers had different reactions. Asal was surprised, Farin was in disbelief, and Nima was confused. “You’re a mage?”

  “Yes.”

  “But your Guild transcript says you are a beast tamer,” Asal said.

  “I am.” Ash nodded once more. “I am both a beast tamer and a mage, it’s just that I don’t advertise that I’m a mage when I’m taking part time jobs. Most parties already have a mage, so aren’t looking for one.” Any adventure group with more than three people usually had a mage. Usually someone young and out for experience, or had decided to do magic work outside the Magic Tower, but there was usually a mage in an adventure party. Knowing this, Ash was realistic when applying. “Beast tamers are more in demand.”

  Cyrus was the mage in Asal’s party and was about the same age as the rest of the party. He was considered a mid-level mage as of his assessment when Ash joined their party for a quest several years earlier.

  “Then, you took this request as a mage?” Asal asked.

  Ash took a deep breath and looked at his aunt. “Not just me, actually,” he said. “My local quest coordinator brought it to my attention, but the more we looked into it, there was a possibility that it wasn’t magic, but supernatural in nature, so technically, my Aunt Soraya and I are investigating together.”

  Soraya nodded.

  “Oh...what does Miss Soraya do? Paladin perhaps?” Nima asked.

  “Holy Warrior Maiden. It’s common to get the two confused,” Soraya said. “Paladins are knights of the holy order. Their main task is to guard, protect, do escort work, and assist with any demon or monster culls. They also usually have some light cleric healing powers. Holy Warriors are members of the holy order as priests, monks, and nuns who while have similar physical training as paladins, do not work as one entity and focus on supernatural...offense rather than defense.”

  Though they nodded, there was some confusion on their faces and Ash sighed. “My aunt is an exorcist.”

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  Henry checked the address once more. “This is it.”

  Ash knocked on the wooden door on the third floor of a narrow Prem apartment building. They’d just returned from the Bratcholak home on the west side of the city. There, the current owner of the estate and his son told them everything they knew and insisted that the original owner of the estate, their grandfather and great-grandfather respectively, did not dabble in any sort of magic or supernatural that could’ve caused the missing people.

  From the looks in their eyes and the correlating story, Henry believed them more than he suspected them. It was always possible that the descendants did not know what their ancestors actually did, especially if it was particularly brutal or illegal.

  The information gathered from the Bratcholaks wasn’t much different from what Asal and the Guild had provided them with.

  They hoped to find out more about the house and the alleged haunted painting itself from Miss Beatrice.

  The initial knocks didn’t receive an answer. Ash looked at his brother and then knocked once more. After waiting a few counts, Ash frowned.

  “Do you think she may be out?” It was the middle of the day, so it was a possibility that the woman had to go to work.

  “It’s possible,” Henry said. “It was only her and her father. If her father is gone, than she is the sole provider of the household, so she must’ve gone to work.”

  The Bratcholaks gave her severance pay when they let her go, as she had been unstable after her father disappeared, but it wasn’t enough to last her a lifetime. Eventually, she would have to return to work.

  “There is a cafe across the street. We should wait for her to come home,” Ash said in Lunapsar. Henry nodded.

  They walked down the narrow stairs, but halfway down, Ash stopped his brother. He looked up, back towards the hallway where they’d just come from. Henry followed his gaze. Ash gave him a nod and Henry rushed up.

  “Miss Beatrice Iturralde?” Henry called up as he reached the top of the stairs. The woman who’d stuck her head out of the door they’d been standing in front of a few moments earlier froze. Taking advantage of her pause, he quickly introduced himself. “I’m Henry from the Adventurer’s Guild. We’re hoping to ask you some questions about the Bratcholak’s country estate.”

  Ash appeared behind him, moving slowly as if to avoid startling her. “We’re here to help,” he said. “We’re trying to find the missing workers.”

  Henry watched as Ash purposely made himself appear harmless, speaking in calm tones and keeping his distance as he moved slowly. He produced his Guild identification papers, as well as the approved Guild request. This prompted Miss Beatrice’s pale, sunken face to light up. Her attitude went from weary to earnest in an instant.

  It was as if a gust of life had been thrown at her. “Come in! Come in!” She nearly flung her door open all the way as she stepped outside to encourage them to enter. “I’ll tell you all I know!”

  If they weren’t the ones coming to her for information, Henry would think it seemed as if she were trying to trap them.

  Ash graciously thanked her and stepped inside. Henry gave her a slight nod of his head in greeting before entering her apartment.

  The inside of the apartment was sparse with basic furniture and a potbellied stove next to the cooking counter and a small square table with two chairs. It was the first room they stepped into and from there, a hallway entrance and some shelves against the wall with just a few boxes and half-empty jars.

  Miss Beatrice was a bit older than Henry in her late twenties. She ushered them to take a seat at the small dining table, as it had the only seats available. The apartment was small and there was no living room. The cramped dining and cooking area was as good as it got.

  “We’re sorry for coming so abruptly, but we’re trying to gather as much information as we can on the manor and the missing persons to better prepare ourselves,” Ash told her.

  Miss Beatrice nodded. “Are you mages?”

  “I’m a mage,” Ash replied truthfully. At that, Miss Beatrice’s face fell. She shook her head, distressed.

  “No, no that won’t do. There is a haunted painting inside the house! What is needed isn’t a mage, but a holy warrior or a paladin!” Her thin, work-worn hands clenched at her sides. She took a deep breath and gave them a determined look. “Return the Guild request. Tell them that you need to send someone from the holy order.”

  Ash and Henry didn’t show any sign of concern. Henry leaned forward; his brows knit. “Miss Beatrice, are you sure that the painting you speak if is haunted.”

  She nodded her head. “Yes, I’m certain!”

  “And why is that?” Ash asked gently.

  Henry stood up and offered the woman his stool. “This is a sensitive topic for you. Please take a seat. Tell us what you know at your own pace. If we have any questions, we’ll tell you,” he said.

  “Yes, just start at the beginning,” Ash told her. With both young men motioning for her to take a seat, Miss Beatrice bit her lips and sat down on the creaking wooden chair. “Tell us what led you to the manor. Everything you saw - sensed since you arrived and up to the moment you left.”

  The woman looked down and seemed to collect her thoughts.

  “My father and I were sent after communication to the servants at the manor ended,” she began. “Master Bratcholak only sent us to check the site, as workers were not responding to messages. We were given a spare key and sent. The day we arrived, we asked the villagers, and they confirmed that no one was seen leaving and that food deliveries were not being picked up, so those ended. Many thought the project was abandoned.

  “Father and I went to the manor the next day. We surveyed the exterior grounds, but found nothing amiss. Tools for groundskeeping were still in the shed in the back and they belonged to the servants. It looked normal, as if they’d just been put away for the night. Father had me stay back as he checked the entrances and windows. There were no signs of forced entry.”

  It was like Asal and the others had said. The missing people weren’t forcibly taken and there didn’t seem to be signs of a struggle.

  “Your father decided to go inside? Did you go with him?” Ash asked.

  Miss Beatrice shook her head. “Not at first. He entered through the front doors. They’re a set of double doors and he made sure to keep them both open so I could see. I don’t know if you’ve been to the manor, but it’s almost always in the shadows of the surrounding mountains. As a result, even the light that comes through the windows doesn’t do much.

  “My father walked around the foyer, and I remained outside, making sure I could see him. We kept talking to each other. He made observations on the condition of the interior. Everything looks as if it had been cleaned well. A layer of dust had barely formed. The floors were swept clean and there were patches where the floor or tile work had been recently replaced by the servants that came before us. He said nothing seemed out of place...but it still felt strange.”

  Ash tilted his head to the side. “How so?”

  “It was as if everything was too calm. Considering what had happened, the disappearance of the other servants, nothing looked out of place. The tools had been put away and piled to one corner to be kept out of the pathway, as what would usually happen in work sites. Aside from once more confirming that there hadn’t been any signs of violence, it was so quiet.”

  Ash narrowed his eyes. “Did you hear any birds?”

  Miss Beatrice tensed a bit. She squinted and slowly shook her head. “No...no, there were no birds...I couldn’t hear the wind, actually. It was just so quiet...I could hear my breathing.”

  “Even from outside the manor or once you stepped inside?” Henry asked. “Did you step inside?”

  She nodded. “Father said I could come in. He didn’t see anything wrong. I don’t recall the silence outside, but I know once we were inside, we couldn’t hear anything. We walked together to survey each room, one by one, calling out for the servants we knew. There was no answer.

  “We went wing by wing, working our way up the floors. We couldn’t find anyone. The manor’s furniture had been consolidated to a few rooms, as they were being cleaned and repaired, so most of the rooms were empty. From what we saw, the servants had slept in the rooms where beds were being repaired across multiple floors. There were bags of personal belongings as well as recently used bedding.”

  “And is that where you spent the night, as well?” Ash asked.

  Miss Beatrice took in a sharp breath and shook her head, lifting her hand to her chest. “Of course, not! My father and I were too suspicious. We didn’t dare to stay the night. We spent the second night in town and returned to continue searching. When we returned to the manor the next day, that’s when I noticed that the sheet covering a large painting above the grand staircase had fallen overnight. The painting is a landscape of the manor and town below when it was built. I remember it clearly, as unlike most of the time, the manor was painted in the sunlight. Father and I agreed that’s when it looks the most inviting. It was covered the day before.

  “Father was excited and thought that someone might have come, so we checked all the windows and doors again. No forced entry. He thought that it was one of the workers who had the key who was hiding somewhere. We checked all the rooms once more. There was no one there. Eventually, he said it was probably the wind coming through the cracks and blew the sheet off the painting. After all, we had the doors open all day before while we were looking. A gust must’ve come in when we left and closed them.”

  “I suppose that’s possible....” But unlikely. Henry looked at his brother who had an uncharacteristic look of concentration on his face.

  “Did you stay the night then?” Ash asked.

  The color from her face drained a bit and she lowered her head. “No. We weren’t supposed to. We were planning to leave around midday, while the sun was still out so we could be in the sun when we walked down to the town. The manor hilltop is cold because of the shadows. I told my father I’d go re-check the back entrances and he was going to close all the doors upstairs.

  “While in the kitchen, I also cleaned up the remains of our earlier meal, but knocked over some crates. There was spoiled food inside, so I took it upon myself to throw it out so as not to spread a rotting smell in the house. I don’t know how long it took, as I had to go in and our multiple times. By the time the spoiled food was gone, and the kitchen was clean, my father was gone.”

  “He disappeared?” Henry asked as he listened to her shaking breath.

  “I called out to him multiple times. My father is a stern man, and he doesn’t joke often. I feared something might’ve happened to him. Perhaps he fell or injured himself,” she said, looking at them with intense eyes. “I ran through every room in that manor. Thirty-six rooms, including the kitchen where I had been the entire time.” She shook her head as her eyes glazed over. “I couldn’t find him.”

  “Perhaps he stepped outside?” Henry asked.

  Ash shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have stepped out for as long as it took for Miss Beatrice to run through several floors and thirty-six rooms. He also sounds like he would tell her if he was leaving.”

  “Yes!” The woman nodded. “You understand. My father would’ve told me! Just in case, I was going to run out to see him, but just as I reached the top of the grand staircase, right below that painting, something made me turn towards it. When we arrived at the manor just before midday, the painting was showing the manor in the sun...in the daytime. When I looked again, the manor in the painting was shrouded in shadows. And all the windows were lit.”

  Henry narrowed his eyes. “Were the windows lit before? Perhaps the lighting-”

  “They were lit because you could see the silhouettes of people against yellow light in the windows and in the open doorway. Those weren’t there before. The doors were closed.

  There was no light,” Miss Beatrice said. “I...I counted. Twenty-seven.”

  Henry swallowed hard and heard Ash catch his breath.

  “How many people did Mr. Bratcholak send?”

  “Initially, a team of twenty to clean up...then five more...and then just before us, my father’s friend was sent and went missing,” Miss Beatrice replied in an unsteady voice. “My father makes twenty-seven.”

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  They rushed back to the town on horseback to discuss with Soraya. Ash hoped that she had more information and a clearer understanding of the estate and the painting itself, as she was supposed to survey the manor the previous day.

  “We should go with Aunt Soraya when she goes the next time,” Henry said as they rode into the town at well past midnight. “If the strange feeling she felt extended outside the house, then there may be something more than just the painting.”

  Ash nodded his head. “I want to go and try to sense any magic. We don’t have any reports on that since the mages disappeared without a word.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to check,” Henry replied. “Is there anything that can block magic energy from high level mages?”

  “Yes, but they’re complicated arrays with formulas. And it isn’t so much blocking magic energy as it is containing it within certain parameters. It could be a certain distance from the energy source or within a physical object.”

  Ash glanced at his brother and saw his face growing colder. “What are the chances that there is something inside the manor that is magic?” Henry asked.

  Ash took a deep breath and thought it over. “At this rate, I don’t know. I won’t know until we get there.”

  “I just don’t want to get there and then you disappear, too.”

  Ash cracked a small smile. “I think between the two of us, I’ll have the best chance of escape.”

  Henry was quiet for a moment before he narrowed his eyes. “That’s if you’re still alive.”

  Ash lowered his eyes. No one had dared speak of it. Ash wasn’t sure if it was because it was like a jinx if spoken aloud or if everyone just wanted to avoid considering the very real possibility that the missing people didn’t disappear, but mysteriously died. His own feeling was that something captured the missing people and that they were trapped somewhere, unable to return.

  Search and rescue wasn’t as bad as body recovery. He prayed they weren’t just going in to discover bodies.

  “The world is vast,” Ash said. “Anything is possible.” They rode to the stables to put up their horses for the night. They had to wait for the stable master to come down to let them in and Henry paid him a little extra for his troubles. They’d informed the stable ahead of time that they would likely return late, but disturbing someone from their sleep was still disturbing someone from their sleep.

  The two walked down the alley way to get back to the main street and the inn. As they approached, they saw someone standing on the front patio, under the eaves of their modest inn. The woman was dressed in her nun’s habit with only her hair covered. Her face was locked in a stern expression, and she was looking directly ahead of her.

  “Aunt Soraya.” Ash bounded up the stairs to meet her.

  She blinked and drew herself out of her stupor. She lowered her hand, and the cigarette pinched between her fingers as she stood up straight and gave the two a warm look. “Don’t tell me you two have been awake since you left last night.”

  Ash shrugged. “We had a busy last few hours.”

  She snorted and shook her head. “Have you two at least eaten?”

  “Yes, Aunt.” The two replied like children responding to their teacher. She chuckled.

  “Good. Then, since you’ve been up for two days, go and rest. We can talk in the morning,” she told them.

  “Actually, Aunt, we’d like to debrief as soon as possible,” Henry said. Soraya raised a brow.

  “Did you learn something critical?”

  “We’re not sure how critical,” Ash said. “What about you, Aunt Soraya?”

  “Yes, did you sense anything inside the manor?”

  The corners of Soraya’s lips curled into a slight sneer as her eyes narrowed. “Inside? No, I didn’t set foot inside that thing.”

  The two brothers looked at each other in confusion.

  “Why didn’t you go inside?” Ash asked. “Didn’t we get the key from the Guild?”

  Soraya took a deep drag of her cigarette. She stared ahead of her and let out a low puff. “I barely got through the gate.”

  Henry frowned and Ash sat up. “Aunt Soraya, what’s wrong with the house?”

  Soraya took another drag and then closed her eyes. “Remember how the dossier from the Guild said that they suspect it was a painting?”

  “Yes,” Ash said. He nodded as he looked at his brother. “When we talked to Miss Beatrice, she said there was something strange about a large painting hanging at the top of the grand staircase, just past the foyer.”

  Soraya pursed her lips and shook her head. “The painting in the center of the house isn’t the problem.”

  “So, it’s not a haunted painting?” Ash asked. He wanted to bring up the twenty-seven silhouettes in the painting, but his aunt replied first.

  Soraya dropped her cigarette butt on the ground and snuffed it out with her boot. “It’s not the painting,” she said, lifting her head to look at her nephews. “It’s the house.”

  worse.