A Drop Of Haunted Blood

Chapter Eighteen: Cold Creek, Colder Pool

Friday came faster than Felix expected. He, Arisa, and Mason waited at the front of the castle with their bags. Sebastian showed up five minutes after them with a suitcase, two duffel bags, and a backpack.

"That looks like a lot," Mason said.

"It's mostly weapons," Sebastian said. "Oh, and board games."

"Won't we be busy with the wolves?" Felix asked.

Sebastian kicked the back of his car. The trunk popped open. "We'll have some time to kill during the day."

The group loaded up their bags and climbed in. Felix half expected Archer to pop out of nowhere again, but he didn't show.

Felix and Arisa passed time by looking for Volkswagen Beetles and punching Mason when they spotted them. Mason took it well, not looking up once from the spellbook he found in the library a few days earlier. He'd finally picked out a uniform, and today he wore it with a shirt the same shade of dark purple as the horns hidden under his beanie.

When they arrived at Cold Creek Motel, Sebastian left the three of them to unload the luggage while he checked in. He returned a couple of minutes later with three room keys.

Sebastian held out the key cards. "Here's Arisa's, this one's for Felix and Mason—"

Mason grabbed the key before Felix could.

"—and this one's mine," Sebastian finished.

"You really paid for three rooms?" Felix asked.

"It's an extremely cheap motel. Which reminds me, keep an eye out for bed bugs. I won't hesitate to set everything on fire to stop them from coming home with us." Sebastian plucked a stray hair off his jacket. "I have some very nice pillowcases, and I'd hate to have to throw them out."

"Is there at least a pool?" Arisa asked. "I brought my swimsuit."

"You did?" Felix asked.

"You didn't?"

"There is a pool." Sebastian gathered up his bags. "You can check it out now, if you'd like. We won't leave to search for the wolves until after a late dinner. In the meantime, I have some Guardian business to deal with, so you three are on your own."

"What kind of Guardian business?" Arisa asked as Sebastian led them to their rooms.

"Boring stuff. Guardian emails, Guardian phone calls, possibly a trip to get some Guardian snacks."

Felix adjusted the bag hanging off his shoulder. "You're really leaving us alone after we walked into a demon-infested building on our last field trip?"

"As far as I'm aware, there are no demon-infested buildings around here. Just don't summon anything, okay?" Sebastian opened the door to his room. "I'll come get you kids at seven."

After they dropped their bags in their rooms, Arisa pestered Felix and Mason until they agreed to accompany her to the indoor pool. Mason brought along a stack of books, while Felix brought a silver sword to practice with.

The sword's weight was different from Helena's, making Felix's already subpar sword wielding skills even worse. He tried to work through his frustration and be patient with himself, as Hana constantly reminded him during training, but patience wasn't one of his strong suits.

"Good thing this place is empty," Arisa commented as Felix paced along the edge of the pool, swinging the sword back and forth.

"Pretty sure it's because that water is freezing," Mason said. He sat on a pool chair pushed into a corner as far from the water as possible.