Chapter 248 - Home invasion (1/2)

Russ looked around the room they had zapped into, arching his brows. ”What are we doing in here? I thought Jos said mom's old room was on the left side of the hall. This is my room...”

Poseidon rolled his eyes. ”If you haven't figured it out yet, kid, I only 'zap', as you like to call it, to places I've been to before. It saves a lot of headache in the long run, trust me.” When Russ only stared at him blankly, he elaborated. ”Aright, imagine if I were to look at that blueprint on your phone and zap into the room, we think is your mom's but there is furniture or heaven forbid more boxes, then we could easily end up busting through a box or dresser. It will be more inconspicuous if we just walk out of here and go looking. Hell, what's the worst that can happen someone asks why you're walking around the halls of your own palace? Fern's probably too busy still trying to smooth over things with his guests to even notice we're here.” He shrugged. ”With that in mind, if we do find the tunnel entrance, we should be on guard once inside.”

Ry opened the door with caution, looking around as he stepped out into the hallway. ”Well, don't look like anyone's around. He stepped to the side as he waited for Russ and his father to follow. He pointed down the hallway to the left. ”If Jos was right, it should either be that door or the next... meaning...” He turned slightly and pointed to a door two down from where they just emerged from. ”That one or that one should be your dad's old room.”

”We should really thank Fern for the accommodations later...” Poseidon said as he made his way toward one of the doors Ry had pointed to on the left. He turned the knob and stepped inside. ”Well, it could have been a girl's room at one point...” He wiped his finger across a dusty dresser as he walked through the room. ”Doesn't look like it's been used in a while.”

Ry shrugged. ”I assume if the old king and queen were killed in the early 1820s then Cam and Ales would have been married shortly after. It's likely no one has been in it since then...”

”Guys, try this one.” Russ called from the hallway.

Ry sent his dad a skeptical look as they walked back out of the room. He nodded toward the door. ”Well? Are you going to open it?”

Russ rolled his eyes. ”Really? You don't think I had thought to already? It's locked.” He turned back to the door and sniffed it. ”It has the same faint scent as the diaries... I'm pretty sure this was her room.”

Poseidon patted Russ's shoulder as he walked past him and pressed his hand to the knob. The door popped open, and Poseidon stepped aside, crossing his arms in c.o.c.ky success.

Russ didn't waste any time walking into the room. Much like the other had been, there was a thick layer of dust on all the furniture. He walked over to the dresser. There were a few childish knickknacks arranged on the top. Russ lifted each studying them as he went. ”Just looks like things a young girl had outgrown or something...” Russ murmured as he opened a tiny jewelry box and a ballerina popped up and began spinning to a soft tune.

Ry nodded in agreement as he closed the armoire and began filling around on top and behind it. ”There were only a few old dresses left inside there.” His eyes moved to Poseidon who was knocking lightly across the walls. ”What are you doing?”

”Checking for false walls. If there are secret passages leading into this room, it should sound hollow...” He narrowed his eyes at the dresser Russ was standing by. ”That first diary we read mentioned something about the dresser being moved, didn't it?”

Russ nodded. ”Mom said it was her first night in the palace... her first night with dad...” He turned his attention to the wall behind the dresser. Pulling it out he began pressing the panels behind it. His eyes widened as something gave beneath his touch. His eyes moved to Poseidon and Ry's. ”Something opened behind the wallpaper.”

Ry pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and handed it down to Russ. ”Make the cut as clean as you can so we can cover it when we leave.”

Russ nodded as he turned his attention to the wallpaper. Once it was out of the way, he bent and poked his head through the short opening. He fumbled around in his back pocket pulling out his phone and turning on the flashlight. ”I mean once inside a man could probably make his way through... but it would be a tight fit...” He set back on his heels and pointed the light at the hole. ”It's not much more than a narrow crawl space. If Fern was using this then he must have been pretty determined to spy...”

Poseidon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ”What if he wasn't spying... what if he was obsessed with her? She did start out his intended... it would explain why he had one of her diaries. Besides, he would have been fairly young as well when she first moved here.” Poseidon bent and looked around inside. ”A kid could have easily moved around in here.”

Ry leaned over to look inside. ”Well, you two may be able to squeeze into that tiny hole, but I doubt my d.i.c.k would even fit inside...”

Russ rolled his eyes. ”Bullshit... but it would be hard as f.u.c.k for the three of us to fit in there, that's for sure...”

A sudden smile spread across Poseidon's face causing Ry to hold up his hands and start backing up. ”Oh, hell no!”

Poseidon nodded. ”Why not it would work... tell me it wouldn't work...”

”What wouldn't work?” Russ looked back and forth between father and son.

Ry pointed in irritation. ”Turn his a.s.s into something weird all you want... turn yourself into whatever you want, but I refuse to be trapped as a damn animal for another second of my life!”

”Wait what?” Russ asked as he furrowed his brows. He turned back to Poseidon in time to see the man's smile widen as he lifted his hand.

”Suit yourself.” With a flick of the wrist, Ry had shifted to a small girl in the cutest pale pink dress and matching ribbons holding up double pigtails.

The girl crossed her arms over her c.h.e.s.t and stomped her tiny foot. ”You can be a real son of a bitch sometimes... has anyone ever told you that?”