Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon (6 page)

Avoiding eye contact, I smiled in his
general
direction.

“What
do the words say
on the alt
a
r, Detective
?
” I said, straining
to
read the
cryptic crimson
letters
on
the
side of the
slab
.

He
shook his head in angst.

“Don’t know
,
but we’ve photographe
d it from every angle
—we’ll analyze the pictures
back at the lab
with a comparative internet search
.
It
appears to be
another language.”

He
ambled
over to a large evidence bag
, slipped on a pair of gloves,
and pulled out
a
long
sword.
Maddie gas
ped for air as he unveiled
the daunting weapon
, the
artificial
light catching the golden
blade
.

“
Oh my gosh
, that’s the murder we
apon
?
”
she
choked out.

“Yes, we believe this was the murder weapon.
This is very interesting
,
we’ll
research
the etiology and meaning behind it at the lab.
For now, all I can say is it’s unique.
Never seen one like this
before
.”

The
weapon
had
a massive pirate-style handle
with engravings and molded dragons on it.
The base of the blade had an open mouth skull with vampire teeth and horns sticking out to the side.
The blade was
colossal with a sharp
tip
covered by a dark substance
—
dried blood
.
I winced, knowing it
had stolen the
victim’s life only hours before.

“That is an unbelievably
huge
blade
.
You
’d t
hink
a simple
kitchen knife
would’ve done the trick
,
but whoever
used that
wanted to mean it,” Wolfe uttered in a somber tone.

After
the detective
had
slipped the weapon back into the evidence bag, he
approached, detailing
the
rest of the
evidence
which had
been collected during the investigation.

T
hey
had
collected
samples of
limestone fr
om the cave walls of every room
,
floor sludge
,
stalagmite and stalactite
s
,
water from the Open Council Room,
f
ingerprints
from
the weapon, hairs on
the
altar
, and a bloody
foo
t
print
in the
tunnel
.

The clock hands twirled
as
we
kept our position
in the corner, studying the meticulous techniques of
the crime lab.

Once the scene was cleared,
we
commenced
our investigation
, taking our time as
we collected
samples from the walls and
sludge
from the ground
. We searched
every niche of Dracul’s Den in a grid pattern as we had been taught
. We cringed as
Wolfe found a
live
scorpion
—w
e collected it as evidence.

After a couple of hours in
Dracul’s Den
, w
e made our way into the
Open Council
Room
to collect more samples. I was wary of where I stepped.
After a bit of time passed,
Detective Chase’s radio
beeped
with a high pitched tone
, followed by static.

“Excuse m
e,
”
he
said before
s
currying
down the corridor towards the mouth of the
cave
—headed for better reception.

“
Fiona
.
”

M
y
heart
paused
at the sound of his voice
.
I turned around to face him.

“C
an I talk to you for a minute
?
”
he asked, pointing
his eyes
towa
rd
s
the other side of the room
,
a tender smile on his
face
.

I glanced over at
Maddie
—
she
was
busy collecting water and sediment samples from the river
. I
nodded,
agree
ing to his request.

My heart
picked
up the pace
with each step
as I
trailed his steps, our previous
encounter
flash
ing
in my mind
like a neon sign on a
souvenir shop in China Town
. My c
heeks flushed
as I
pictured
myself
back in his arms
. It
felt amazing.

He stopped. I turned towards Maddie
and s
he was
still
hyper-focusing
on river
samples
. She’d
be too occupied with what she was doing to notice us
.
I didn’t know how close to stand. Awkward. I shrugged my shoulders because
my arms became foreign objects
, hanging by my sides like swinging sausages
.

Unless it was a conversation about science, I had the social skills of a newborn flamingo.
H
e wasn’t going to
talk about
science since he would have
spoken
in front of Maddie
.
My hands
trembled
ever so slightly
, so I pressed
them
against my
hips
to steady them
, admiring his
handsome features,
and
biting the corner of
my lip to hide the effect he had on me.
He explored
me with his eyes
for what seemed like an eternity before he turned his head to the side
,
a crooked smile
lighting up
his face.

“I apologize for my inappropriate behavior earlier.
I
might have taken advantage of the situation
.”

A
tsunami
of blood rushed to my face.
H
umiliat
ion riddled my
spirit
for reading too much
in
to
our interaction
.
He’s about to warn me about my flirtin
g.
But d
id he know I was flirting?
How could he tell how I
feel
?
A
m I
obvious?
Embarrassment elevated my core body temperature and I started to sweat—first on my upper lip and
soon after,
everywhere
.
He asked me to the prom.  But now I know
he was only joking
.
It’s
February
,
prom
’s not until
May
,
h
e couldn’t have been serious.
I’m such an idiot. Someone like him would never be interested in me.
I stared at him with no idea what kind of expression was on my face.

“Don’t say another word
,” I
said, holding an
outstretched hand
towards his
face, “
I know you were only trying to calm me
,
and I appreciate you
coming to my rescue
.
I wasn’t looking where I was going.
You might have even saved my life
,
and I should thank you again,” I
babbled incoherently
.

He placed his
index finger
to
quiet
my lips
.
With a
mischievous
grin, h
e
spun
me to his other side,
push
ing
me
backward
towards the wall
.
S
preading his arms protectively around me
,
my
back
rested
against the
spongy limestone.

“That’s not what I was going to
say,
Fiona,”
he whispered
, his
gaze
burn
ing
into mine with an intensity
I had never experienced
before
.
T
he scattered
light rays
from the
ceiling
turned his eyes into
liquid metal.
C
aught
in a
mental
whirlwind,
confusion
plagued me
,
my
emotions
frightened me. I had lost control, mind numbed, h
is eyes
weakened
me
and
my
deadened
legs
threatened to
give way.

He
caressed
my face
with
his iron
hands;
my lungs restricting me to
s
hallow breaths.
W
e shared an intense gaze,
neither of us daring to blink. He
drew closer,
entering the shadows between us, breathing in the
scent of my hair
as his lips neared my ear
.

“I was going
to say I couldn’t help
myself
,
”
he
said with a smooth voice.

My heart dropped to the bottom of its cage,
eye
lid
s
slamming shut
without permission
to hide my excitement.
I
replayed his words,
bask
ing in my euphoria
.
He
held
my
shoulders
,
pushing closer
.
I
trembled.

“Sorry
about that
,” a familiar voice resonated
from
down
the corridor.

M
y trance
broke. Our eyes widened
in a panic
,
and he
released
his grip
, taking
quick
giant steps backward.
W
e
scrambled,
pretend
ing
to
search
the ground for evidence.
I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of
unfounded
resentment
toward
s the detective. I glanced
across the room
at Maddie and she raised an eyebrow, pushing her lips into a straight line. She knew.

“I have some
terrible
news, Fiona.
I have to get you home immediately.
Let’s go
,
”
the detective said as he rounded the corner.