The Devil's Assistant (Watty Awards Finalist 2011)

Devil's Assistant [13]

Chapter 13

When we pulled to a stop a few hours later, all I could think was wow. It made my new house in Chelsea look like a crack den in the slums and to be frank, my new house was far from it. Well, that is unless you called a house that was worth just shy of the million pound mark a crack den. Before me was an honest to god castle and it looked authentic. It was not a gaudy reproduction  some billionaire with a penchant for dungeons and dragons had tried to recreate. No, it was truly incredible. It was a real medieval castle, except instead of ruins or a tourist attraction, this one was breathing light. Each of the windows shone with a light from within. It looked intimidating in the darkness with its high stone walls looming over me but it only made it that much more magnificent. I turned my head just as Lucius pulled Danny from the car and cradled him to his chest.

"Are you messing with me?" I questioned as Zeke helped me towards the large wooden doors.

They were set like a gaping mouth in the face of this great beast that Lucius called home. I was wide eyed and awed but at the same time all I could think was that he was messing with me. There was no way that he could live in a national heritage site like this but he never ceased to prove me wrong because the doors creaked open and light spilled out bathing us all in the yellow glow. And there she was, the blonde goddess who I had seen a few weeks before stood there waiting patiently. One hand was placed on her hip as she stared out at us with a look between disgust and amour, the latter directed solely at Lucius and the disgust was directed at the rest of our little party which included Danny, much to her misfortune because I was going to make her pay for that look.

"What is she doing here?" The blonde said, her voice not even covering the accusation in her tone as she set her glare upon me. Is she his girlfriend or something? Because she's totally acting like a jealous cow right now, when really, there is no need for it. I just want a bed so that I can sleep and preferably a TV with lots of DVD's to watch for the hours when I'm on bed rest. Maybe I could just watch Zeke and Lucius trying to babysit, which would be ten times better than any comedy show.

"She is my guest." Lucius' voice left no room for arguments as he strode past her into the medieval castle. Ezekiel and I followed after him, only for me to pause on the threshold as I saw into the brightly lit interior. The inside couldn't be more different to the outside. Outside was old fashioned and medieval whilst the inside looked like it was from some modern interior design magazine. Even the tapestries that I could see on the walls fit in with the way that the 'house' was decorated.

"Oh my-" I paused not knowing what else to say. Zeke however, not wanting to linger in the doorway, tugged me further into the house so that the blonde goddess could shut the door behind us. She chose to slam it just to prove how much she disliked out company which earned an eye roll from all of us.  I hope she's not going to be here the entire time that I am because she just might end up on the end of my fist, even if she is a bit scary with her perfection and ability to glow.

The floor under my feet was cushioned by a long thick rug that extended down the centre of the hallway for about thirty feet before the hallway turned to the right and disappeared from sight. I was expecting a building of stone to be cold but the place seemed warm and comfortable. It felt like a home.

Lucius padded along ahead of us and about halfway down the long corridor, he pushed open on the heavy wooden doors to reveal a suite. It was a bedroom on one half with one of those screen dividers that separated it from the lounge part of the room.  He slumped down onto the sofa, his body sinking back into the squishy cushions. Danny was now awake and was having fun chewing on the collar of Lucius shirt whilst he tried to fit his hands in his mouth at the same time. I smiled as Zeke lowered me down into the large plush armchair that was sat next to a large open fireplace. I knew I should be afraid to be this close to the flames considering that I had been burnt in the fire and yet I couldn't find the fear in me. I suppose not remembering the being burnt part is probably why.