A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

The house was mostly empty with only a couple of shifters in the living room dozing off to a college football game. One of them opened his eyes at me in passing.

I faked a yawn. “I’m tired. I guess I’ll stay the night.”

He nodded and returned his glossy gaze to the television.

I slipped into the kitchen and made a show of pretending to get something to eat. There were several rooms in the mansion where members could crash at any time. Most of us, however, had our own places, except for Dominic, Silas, Ryder, and a few others that didn't feel safe enough to sleep beyond the property.

When I was finished, I headed upstairs to search the spare bedrooms. I called out a few times to see if anyone was there, but so far the rooms appeared empty. Moving silently as a resident mouse, I snuck into the east wing where Dominic and Silas lived, taking up the entire top floor.

It was a small maze to get there, past a large great room filled with pool tables and another smaller and, rarely used, living room. After making sure this side was empty, I crept to Silas’ door and tried the knob. Locked.

No problem. I reached into my back pocket and removed my lock picks. When I was thirteen, picking locks was one of the first skills I learned at the halfway house they put me in.

I worked at the mechanism for only seconds before it popped open, the sound softer than my heart beating against my ribcage. After making sure I was alone, I snuck inside and closed the door quietly behind me. I puffed out a shaking breath and wiped my sweaty hands across my jeans.

The space was dark even with my night vision. I lit up the screen on my cell phone, and still, there seemed to be a darkness permeating every corner of the large room. Maybe that’s just how demons lived, with light unable to tolerate a monster’s presence. My throat tightened along with my stomach. I needed to hurry.

The entry way was covered in shiny tiles, more silver than white. I could practically see my reflection against its polished surface. Careful to not leave any footprints, I moved further into the suite. The walls were bare, not a single picture hanging. The furniture was also plain. Just a black sofa contrasting against a white wall. I walked through the kitchen. Spotless. No knickknacks or any personal objects to give away his personality. A few dishes had been placed in the dishwasher. I opened the refrigerator. At least a dozen packages of steak and four gallons of milk. That's it. Not even a condiment packet. The freezer was empty.

I explored the rest of the suite until I found what had to be his bedroom. It was also locked, but in seconds, I was inside. His bedroom was like the rest of his suite, white walls with wooden floors and only filled with the bare necessities. The biggest difference was, one wall was lined with bookcases full of books.

The only item in the entire suite he seemed to have splurged on was his bed. Large and overbearing with four wooden spindles nearly reaching the ceiling, it sat in the middle of his room covered by a black comforter and a few golden pillows. The sight of it made me shiver. I had a feeling he wouldn’t mind showing it to me one day. The thought made me heave.

I quickly moved away, scouring the rest of the room, but nothing was out of place. Hell, I couldn’t even find a speck of dust.

I approached the long bookcase, eyeing it up and down. Because Ryder wasn't sure how to access the secret entrance, I searched for anything out of place. I caught a few of the book’s titles in passing. Hamlet, The Odyssey and even The Shining was thrown into the mix. Most of the other titles also had dark undertones. I didn't find one that spoke of light or whispered happy endings.

When I couldn't find an obvious entrance, I pulled the books back palming five at a time, hoping to trigger some kind of mechanism to open a door. I sped up my pace but was careful to make sure the books returned in their rightful place. Something told me Silas would notice if anything were out of order by even a fraction of an inch.

I stepped back and surveyed the bookshelves again. What was I missing? I expanded my vision. That's when I saw it. Not on the bookcases but on the floor. The wooden planks, dark in color, were all perfectly smooth, except for one small section directly under the bookcase in front of me. I couldn't be sure it was anything other than a crappy flooring job, though, unless I tried it. I walked forward and pressed my foot on top of it. A faint clicking sound had me stepping back.

The bookcase in front of me sunk in and slowly moved to the left on an electronic rail system until it was sucked into the wall behind it. A gust of air breathed through the dark opening, smelling of old waste and formaldehyde. I coughed and covered my nose as I took a tentative step inside, pocketing my cell phone. I reached up and pulled a string hanging from the ceiling, illuminating a small room, maybe ten feet by twenty.

It took just a few seconds to orient myself to what I was seeing. As soon as I understood, my stomach twisted, sending bile up my esophagus. I pressed my hand to my mouth harder.

Where the other rooms were void of anything personal, this one told me everything I needed to know about Silas. No wonder he kept it locked behind a wall, where eyes couldn’t see the depth of his evil.

Silas wasn't just a monster.

He was a monster that dissected other monsters and kept their body parts as trophies.

Dozens of glass jars lay stacked on an old wooden table in an uneven pattern. There was no order to them and some jars balanced precariously on top of each other.

Inside their murky contents floated ears, eyes, and other internal organs. Each of them had been labeled in sloppy handwriting and haphazardly taped to the glass. Ray, Olivia, Tom, Lawrence, and so many more names. Did Dominic know the level of craziness Silas had climbed to?

My stomach flipped again and a wave of nausea hit my stomach like a tornado. It pressed up my throat, until it geysered past my lips and to the floor. I spewed two more times, until there was nothing left in my stomach.

I wiped my mouth and searched frantically for the briefcase. It had to be here.

I spotted another door on the far wall and strode toward it. Something stopped me. A box on the floor and leaning next to it was a briefcase. My heart skipped a beat. It had the Nocturnas’ emblem on the handle.

I snatched it and peeked inside, making sure the drugs were still there. There were almost three dozen small vials, but eight were empty. Most likely used on the human.

Snapping it shut, I tucked it under my arm and moved back into Silas’ room, taking in a deep breath. This was it. There wasn’t a more perfect opportunity. I dialed Ryder’s number.

He answered right away. “Do you have it?”

“I found it. And other stuff you wouldn’t believe. We need to do this tonight. Dominic and Silas are gone, as is most of the pack. I don’t think we’ll have another shot at this.”

His breath caught but when he answered, his voice was firm. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Just wait about ten minutes. I have to steal some other things so it doesn’t seem like I came just for the briefcase.”

“You got it. Be careful.” The line went dead.

I checked the time on my phone. I had to do this quick. I wished I could bring my uncle in on this, but he had been given an assignment he couldn’t refuse. If he did it well, he would be allowed back into the pack with full privileges. It was a big step toward getting in with Dominic.

As quietly as possible, I slipped back into the hall and looked around until I found a laundry room. Grabbing a couple of baskets, I returned to Silas’ room and worked quickly, filling them with everything from his secret room. I took all the jars and the box, in case it contained any information I could use later against him, should it come to that.

After hiding the baskets in one of the extra bedrooms down the hall, I scribbled a quick note and dropped it onto the now empty table. I left the door to the secret room slightly ajar and returned to the baskets. This would be the tricky part—sneaking them out of here without being seen.

I opened the window in the spare bedroom, grateful there wasn’t a screen. There was a patio right below me. I could lower the baskets to the ground, but if anyone decided to go outside, they would easily see them. Not worth the risk. I searched the room. It was pretty sparse, but I got lucky and found a large duffel bag. Perfect.

After grabbing a few towels from the bathroom, I wrapped the jars, then stuffed them into the bag, careful not to break them. I felt guilty hiding all this stuff. It made me feel as if I was somehow a part to his atrocity. I should be exposing his sins, not hiding them. But ultimately, this was the better plan.

I opened the door and carefully slid the heavy duffel bag over my shoulder and walked down the hall. At