Gone: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 3) by Nellie Steele (best books for 20 year olds txt) 📕

Gray sprung from his seat, leaving his half-eaten lunch behind. He paced the floor. “What if it’s a trap?”

“Celine wouldn’t do that!” Damien argued.

“You miscalculated how Duchess Northcott would react last evening. You can’t be sure,” Gray countered.

“If it was a trap, to what end?” Alexander asked.

“To our end,” Gray answered. “Her husband will finish us.”

“Duke Northcott would not require nor use his wife’s assistance to lure us into a trap,” Alexander surmised.

“I’m with Damien, I vote we meet her,” Michael replied.

“How sure are you gentlemen about your story?” Alexander queried.

“Very sure,” Damien assured him. “It was the Duke who ordered her father killed. I’d bet my life on it.”

“You already have,” Gray informed him.

They finished their lunch, discussing arrangements for their midnight jaunt. With any luck, Celine would learn the truth about her husband and trust them. Damien and Michael spent the afternoon and evening filled with nervous energy, awaiting their excursion. Damien spent much of the time pacing the floors, anxiety and anticipation building.

As the midnight hour approached, the four men prepared themselves for the trip. Gray elected to join despite his suspicion of a setup. They left the house, traveling on foot to The White Horse pub. It was located in a less-than-desirable area of town. They milled around outside the pub, hoping the sketchy characters that loitered near the entrance kept their distance.

At the stroke of midnight, a hooded, cloaked figure approached them. “Mr. Buckley, thank you for joining me,” Celine greeted them. “We shall now get to the root of this issue. I shall prefer to remain anonymous as we enter the pub for obvious reasons.”

“Yes, of course,” Alexander answered.

“Shall we?” she replied.

“Just a moment,” Gray interjected. “What is your plan?”

“It shall be revealed as necessary. We shall begin by entering the pub. If I am not mistaken, the man who murdered my father should be inside. I assume you both should recognize him if you should see him?” Celine asked of Michael and Damien.

“Yes. We would recognize him,” Damien responded, hoping it was true.

“Point him out when you spy him,” she replied, pulling on the pub door. She entered the pub, her hood still covering her. They followed her into the pub. Loud laughter and muddled conversations abounded as they entered. Michael and Damien scanned the crowd. Damien’s pulse quickened as he worried about recognizing the man again. They had been in a cave lit only by candlelight. Suppose they could not distinguish his features. His certainty of moments ago began to fade. “Do you see him?” Celine shouted over the din.

Damien shook his head, panic building in him as he glanced over the various faces. “Wait, there!” he pointed toward a man against the right wall.

“Yes,” Michael confirmed. “That’s him.”

“Indeed, it is,” Celine confirmed. She passed a few coins to Alexander. “Tell the barkeep you require use of his storeroom and that we shall not like to be disturbed for the course of the next hour. Bring the man with you.”

Celine stalked across the room to a door in the back, disappearing through it. Alexander raised his eyebrows at Gray. “You heard the lady,” Gray responded. “You talk to the barkeep. I’ll retrieve him.”

Michael and Damien followed Gray, who requested a few moments of the man’s time. He revealed a few coins, assuring the man it would be worth his while. They met Alexander in the middle of the bar. He secured use of the backroom from the barkeep. They proceeded through the door Celine disappeared through moments ago, finding a hallway. A small room located on the left held barrels. They assumed this was the storeroom. They ushered the man inside. Celine stood in the back corner of the room; her hood pushed back. She removed her gloves, setting them aside.

The man spotted her and tried to run from the room. Gray and Alexander reached for him, but Celine stretched her hand in front of her, drawing him back like a magnet draws metal. She released him into a chair placed in the middle of the room. Shackles closed automatically around his feet and hands.

Damien gulped. This version of Celine took no prisoners. A sudden wave of uneasiness crept over him. If they were incorrect, she would turn her obvious displeasure to them next. He glanced to Michael, whose forehead glistened with beads of sweat. Michael made a face at him and Damien mirrored his expression. Both of them realized if this gamble did not pay off, they were in serious trouble.

Celine removed a glowing vial of liquid from her cloak. “What is that?” Damien inquired.

“A simple yet effective truth serum,” Celine answered him. “Once he drinks this, he will have no choice but to confide in us the truth about anything we ask.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Damien questioned further.

“It will work.”

“But how…”

“Mr. Carlyle,” Celine interrupted, cutting Damien off. “I am not an amateur. I do not appreciate your doubt concerning my ability to obtain the truth from a simple criminal.”

Damien gulped. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just really important.”

“Is it? It is my husband that has been accused. Do you imagine it is of little importance to me that I should be so cavalier as to use a questionable method?”

“No,” he squeaked out. “Sorry.”

Celine sighed. “Let us proceed. Gentlemen, tilt his head back so I may pour the liquid into his mouth.”

Alexander and Gray obliged her, holding the man’s head back while Celine emptied the vial’s contents into his mouth. They shoved his mouth shut, holding his nose until he swallowed.

“The concoction should take a few moments to take effect,” Celine indicated.

“Going to tell your husband about this, missus!” the man threatened as he coughed, choking on the liquid forced into him.

Damien glanced to Celine, wide-eyed at the man’s admission. Celine rolled her eyes at him, raising her eyebrow. “Never fear, he will not convey any part of this incident to my husband nor anyone else,” Celine assured him. “Now, Mr. Ward, shall we begin?” Celine placed herself in