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If soirlfriend run, I knew it had to be bad I’d seen her clion--and knock it unconscious with Lancer darts

I stopped in front of the tall black iron fence guarding the neighbor’s yard The tips ended in sharp-looking points I could see this house froreen laith little in the way of bushes The fence bordering it and the Conroys’ was just as tall, and thick cedar trees ran interference with sight froround level I took a couple of steps back, ran, and ju the top

Elyssa followed suit, adding a neat flip at the apex of her leap, hitting the ground in a roll, and stopping in a three-point stance like so out of a ue

We ran, following the fence until we reached the house, and cut across the lawn I heard growling, and a Doberrinned at it, let loose a little oftail so fast its hind legs spun out on the grass

"Meanie," Elyssa said

We cli a lower part of the roof, and hest peak From there, I saw more of the Conroys’ yard The driveway snaked beneathit The landscaping was asense in the context of hiding guardian terrors

I wondered ould happen should a hapless door-to-door sales to sell a few vacuum cleaners Would the trolls kill anyone, or simply knock them out and toss them on the street? With that kind of firepower at their disposal, why did the Conroys even need Black Robe Brotherhood thugs to stand guard?

Then again, they couldn’t exactly take trolls out shopping with them It stood to reason they needed huuard theht vision couldn’t take in all the details I needed from this distance, we used a pair of Templar binoculars to scout the best place to open a portal

Light shined from within aon the third floor I went prone on my belly and used my camera to take a picture I sent a picture of our current location to Shelton He opened the portal, and we stepped through back to thethe picture I’d just taken Through theI saw a long carpeted hallway devoid of decorations or furniture

"Doesn’t look like anyone uses that floor," Shelton said "You sure they live there?"

"Why else would they have trolls in the front yard?" I asked "This must be the place" I took a picture of the hallway, closed the portal, and reopened it inside the house Taking a deep breath, I stepped through

Nothing exploded or tried to bite h of relief

We’re in

Chapter 33

Elyssa stepped through after ns of life on the floor Sconces with a candlestick design offered di open to bare rooms Even the bathroo the size of their household, it wasn’t too surprising they’d not furnished every room unless there were a lot more Conroys than I knew about Only the last roo chair, and a sht filtered through the roundI shuddered

Creepy

For some reason, the scene reo Thankfully there wasn’t an old woman or a corpse in the chair, or I probably would have run screa

We crept down the hall to a set of hardwood stairs leading down Our nightingale arh I winced at each step, wary of the creak of hich ive us away I hoped they hadn’t warded the place yet, though with guards wandering the house, it seeht be overkill unless they had a way of separating intruders froed here

As an added bonus, we didn’t have blueprints, or any idea about the layout of the house For all we knew, huiven corner The stairs led to yet another carpeted hallway lined with doors This one showed a littleor two hanging in ornate fra me to stop She turned and mouthed, "Ivy’s bedroom is probably on this floor More secure"

I nodded It made sense The master bedroom was probably here somewhere as well It alsoin a roolass of wine if not actively plotting world domination I wondered if Daelissa called this place ho of enslaving the hu, I let her check and clear the rooe staircase dividing the house into tings A long chain hung fro above, connected to a chandelier which shined dith since it ell past bedtiht be the master bedroom Would Ivy’s room be on that side?

We cleared the rooms one-by-one until the central staircase loo in low tones from somewhere below but couldn’t make out his words He didn’t sound like Jereht be one of the Darkwater men We hadn’t checked to see if there were ned here Elyssa peeked over the balustrade Motioned me over I looked down and saell-appointed den Flae fireplace on the far side Ornate plush chairs with end tables next to the on, we crept low next to the railing Once on the opposite side of the stairs, I caught sight of ato another identically-clothed man The second’s face nize the other one It looked as though a kitchen lay through an entryway down a hallway behind the to his lips, nodding at whatever the other h

Elyssa went prone, peering through the aze flicking behind and to the sides, paranoiaup on us toyed withto ask Elyssa e’d stopped, but fought the urge She finally backed away fro on her sto She snapped a picture It turned out okay despite the low light She texted it to Shelton with ahim to be ready to open a portal in case we needed a fast escape