The Secrets of Lore Seymour

25. Searching For Proof

My heart pounds in my chest, itching to break free, which I will claim has to do with the footsteps rather than how close Lore is. Or how his hands rest on my waist to keep me from toppling over. Or how his thigh moves a smidge, forcing our hips to press even closer. I bite my lip to hold back any noise that would dare escape my lips. Lore's smirk falls. His grip tightens. I feel his sharp intake of breath.

Then the footsteps fade. The door shuts.

I sigh in relief, lowering my head until I realize that means resting my forehead against Lore's chest.

"I do believe you have the ability to have knocked her out or even make us disappear. Therefore, I must assume you took this route because you are deprived of physical contact or simply infatuated with me enough to take the risk," Lore teases. His fingers tighten at my waist as if to remind me of the position we're in.

"Your ego could drown a nation," I hiss, meeting his teasing stare with a glare that's totally pointless. "First off, what would we have done if she ran off before I finished the cast? Second, I'm not knocking an innocent woman out because she stumbled in on an idiot who broke in here without a plan."

"What does that make you; the one who followed the so-called idiot?"

"Apparently, the biggest idiot of all. I can't believe I had to be like this with you," I growl while attempting to pull away, but Lore locks an arm around my waist. I grunt when falling back onto his chest hard. The only thing that kept us from kissing were my hands catching myself on his broad and muscular shoulders. Like, wow, they're... they're firm.

"What's wrong with being like this with me?" he whispers. "Based on your heart rate, you're more than happy about some close proximity."

I shove away from Lore before I do something stupid or he does something stupid. I'm learning more and more that he doesn't have the most brilliant track record. Unfortunately, I'm falling down that rabbit hole myself.

"If you honestly think that I--hey," I hiss at Lore, who has already moved from the sofa to the door. He opens said door, peeking into the hallway.

"Lore, wait," I growl, then rush after him while also tiptoeing, which is far more of a hassle than one could ever predict. The two simply do not go together and I haven't had the training because who the hell thought I'd try to run on my tiptoes?

Lore and I move quietly through the hallway, apparently completely forgetting about what transpired. That's fine. I'd rather forget too. We manage to reach the foyer without being noticed, but when I head towards the next hall, Lore goes the opposite way. Once more, I'm hurrying after him and completely clueless of his plans, or rather, lack thereof.

"Where are you going now?" I inquire, slipping into a room behind him when we hear a worker growing close.

I grasp Lore's arm to pull him closer to me because his dumbass was about to knock into a table. Lore looks between my eyes and our connection in a very telling way; he's about to say something to annoy me. I release him then hold up a finger to silently shush him. He only complies because of the footsteps nearby.

Once the steps pass, Lore replies, "I think the servant quarters are back this way."

"And why are we heading there, possibly the busiest place here and the least likely to have answers?"

Lore shakes his head as if he's disappointed. "You have much to learn."

"About what?"

"The best place to look for something of importance is in the least likely place for it to be," Lore explains. "It makes sense for there to be a safe or money in Ikehn's office, which is the first place a robber or someone like us will look. That means, if he's smart, which we're assuming he is, he'd hide this mysterious cash somewhere we wouldn't expect."

"Well... um, I guess that makes sense," I grumble while wishing it didn't. Agreeing with Lore makes me feel icky and adds to his already inflated ego.

"Considering Ikehn's status accompanied by the few tattered workers we've seen--"

How did he notice they were tattered? I barely had time to get a glimpse of any of them. Oh, he's proving more and more that he would make a very good serial killer.

"He likely sees his workers as lesser, so I figured he would hide something of importance around those of no importance to him," Lore finishes, then looks at me either for approval or to show off. Maybe both.

"I don't like when you make sense."

"You mean to say that you're jealous when I make sense." Lore swings open the door so I can't respond.

We continue through the halls that grow dingier and dingier, which further proves Lore's point. Ikehn doesn't put much care into his workers. Their quarters are nothing in comparison to the grandeur of his home. The plain walls match the equally as plain bedrooms that have the bare minimum and occasional water damage or broken window. Apparently, guests don't see this side of the manor at all. This has me second guessing Lore's assumption though. Would he risk his workers discovering what he may be hiding?

After searching a few rooms and halls, we finally come upon the empty kitchen.

"Is there some sort of spell you can do to search for anything hidden?" Lore inquires while attempting to move a countertop. "If Ikehn is the killer, he's a mage, so he could easily hide something that others won't find."

"Right, I'll try, but this cast isn't exactly the best to use when we're breaking and entering. Once I cast, I can't move without breaking it, so keep your eyes out for anyone."

Lore nods. He paces between two doors; the one that leads outside and the other that leads into the hall. I stand at the center of the room and inhale deeply. The kitchen smells like freshly baked bread and warm stew. That warmth fills me as I cast. This one takes a bit longer. It's a more complicated cast for a complex problem. But by the end, I open my eyes to peer through the walls and even a bit into the floor.

"There," I say, pointing at a hidden door in the wall.

Lore hurries over to said wall, but doesn't find a door or anything to signal it can be opened. There's more like it too; three in a lounge down the hall, one in a bedroom, four more in the ceiling, and who knows how many more throughout the house.

"This at least proves where he's hiding some of this extra wealth," Lore states while I rub my tired eyes. Everything's blurry afterwards. Lore is basically a black blob with two blue dots for eyes.

"Yeah, his home says enough, that he has another income and it's vast. The fact that he has hidden things in his home that we can't find proves he's a mage. One cast and he could open up a wall without leaving any trace," I mumble, continuing to rub my eyes.

Lore takes hold of my hand, dragging me quickly out of the kitchen in time for a worker to enter. He throws us into another room while we wait for them to walk away. By the time they're gone, my vision has returned to normal.

"This doesn't prove he's connected to Ayden's death, though," I whisper.

Lore nods. "I'll have Draven do a stakeout. If he finds anything, he'll let us know."

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Lore and Seren have got some cuddling time in! If only Seren could actually enjoy it. And they believe to have uncovered something at Ikehn's home. Do you think he's the killer or does he just happen to be a mage with lots of questionable income?