Dirty Deeds (The Salt Mine Book 23) by Yee Suzi & Browning Joseph

Author:Yee, Suzi & Browning, Joseph
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Expeditious Retreat Press
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Buttercrambe Hall, Yorkshire, UK

8th of March, 6:20 p.m. (GMT)

Marmaduke Leek reluctantly led Wilson into Cordelia’s room for a second time—not to reexamine anything inside, but to access the Leek family vault. Constructed in 1589, it was a secret basement nestled in the middle of the house, unconnected to any of the other basements. The only entrance was through a locked door in the largest bedroom in the Hall: Cordelia’s. Under normal circumstances, he would never have allowed a stranger entry, but these were unusual times and Wilson’s argument for why he needed access had been persuasive.

The vault contained the Leek’s servant roster which included supernatural creatures, the bulk of which were bound into service by John Leek, one of the family’s greatest practitioners who’d died over a hundred years ago. These faeries had been at the Hall for generations of Leeks and many a Dawn Club meeting. They would know the faces of family, staff, and repeat visitors. Wilson hoped that one of them saw something unusual.

Unfortunately, the faeries were no longer bound to Buttercrambe Hall. The MEMP would have broken the binding that kept them and banished them back to their native realms. Lucky for the Leeks, Wilson was a master summoner. If he knew their true names, he could summon them for questioning. According to family lore, each and every one of their true names was somewhere in the Leek family ledger.

Removing it from the vault was out of the question and he didn’t feel comfortable taking digital pictures of the required pages. Those could be circulated with far too much ease. That only left him one course of action: bring Wilson to it. He told the disapproving voice in his head—which sounded remarkably like his mother’s—that this was necessary. Plus, he really should check to make sure nothing had been stolen. The items in the vault were still antiques and held some value, albeit a fraction of what it used to be when they were enchanted.

He said nothing as he retrieved an eight-inch wrought iron key from a false-bottomed drawer of his late mother’s writing desk and approached a large tapestry of a woman standing in a paddock holding a black flag on a pole. Around her pranced three golden unicorns. It looked medieval in style, but Wilson suspected it was significantly more modern than that and merely emulated the aesthetic. Marmaduke pulled the tapestry to one side and revealed a locked door. With a turn of the key, it opened to a stone spiral staircase going down.

The passage was barely big enough for a single person. Marmaduke, who was tall like his mother had been, had to crouch down to avoid hitting his head. Wilson had no difficulties at 5’5”. They went in single file, with Marmaduke in the lead holding a large flashlight in hand. The way had previously been magically lit but now they had to rely on technology for illumination. Wilson closed the door behind them and recognized the runes and sigils

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