Knight's Curse Read Online Free PDF

edgier than ever, I huffed and pushed the man aside, forcing my way into the house. “Hey, Gavin!”
    Mr. New Guy went ashen, his mouth falling open as he glanced frantically up the spiral staircase. “Ms., you can’t barge in here—”
    “The hell I can’t,” I said softly, my silken tone having a dangerous edge. Minutes ticked by like a time bomb and I needed my fix. I needed Shui. “Where’s John, the other butler?”
    New Guy blinked. “Who?”
    I snorted and wiped sweat off my upper lip. “Probably dead. Gavin goes through at least two of you guys a year.” That was a warning, and I only hoped he picked up the hint. Hey, I was trying to save the guy’s life.
    If New Guy was pale before, he was chalk-white now.
    “Chalice, my dear.” Gavin Heinrich descended the stairs, his smile charming and his eyes cold as a snake’s. He wore a black silk smoking jacket over black trousers, his thick silver hair combed into a style better suited for a younger man. But Gavin didn’t look anywhere near his seventy-plus years. He had his own methods for staying young, none of which involved plastic surgery. “I’m so glad to see you made it home safely.”
    “This isn’t my home,” I said stiffly. But no matter where I lived, I would always be his prisoner. “I have my own home, thank you very much.”
    “My mistake.” He reached the landing and sauntered toward me, Mr. New Guy gazing at him with new respect and something akin to horror. Gavin ignored him. “I keep forgetting you prefer that little cement-blocked apartment of yours to this architectural marvel with every comfort you could want.”
    I shuddered. Yeah, I knew the kind of “comforts” he was into. It made my skin crawl. Folding my arms, I glared into his ice-blue eyes. “That was one hell of a job you sent me on. You owe me.”
    He arched his brows. “No, dear. You owe me.” He held out his open palm. “Give me Saint Geraldine’s hand.”
    An icy flush covered me from head to toe. I backed up and spun around, a prickle of fear nipping at the base of my spine. I couldn’t deal with his anger right now, not with the change so close. Remembering past punishments, I could almost feel the sting of his leather whip on the backs of my legs.
    Taking a deep breath, I pretended to study the decor of the foyer that was so different from the Grandville mansion. Gavin’s was tastefully creepy, like the set for The Addams Family but without the dust and cobwebs.
    “I’m waiting, Chalice,” Gavin said, his tone frosty. “Where is it?”
    “I don’t have it.” I turned to face him again, but from a safer distance. “It got eaten. I think.”
    Gavin’s eyes widened and his jaw muscle twitched. He furrowed his brows. “Eaten?”
    “There was a hellhound you didn’t warn me about, and the hand…” Damn, I should have figured out how to get it away from that stupid beast. I couldn’t let Gavin see my concern—signs of weakness were like catnip to him—so I shrugged my shoulders and leaned against the wall, feigning boredom. “I accidentally dropped it, and when I tried picking it up, the beast attacked me. Not my fault.”
    Gavin gave me a long, searching stare, but he didn’t look angry. Just…pensive. “Yesterday I checked the voice mail I’d set up for our phony appraisal business. There was a long message from Douglas Grandville.”
    “Yeah?” I tried to smile in spite of my worries. Pretense. Oh, yes, I was very good at pretense. I couldn’t survive without it. “What did he say?”
    Gavin began to pace. “He said nothing about the hand of Saint Geraldine, but he was none too pleased with the condition of his uncle’s den.”
    He stopped pacing to glower at me. “Grandville told me the pedestal where a cookie jar once sat is now empty. And there were six spots on the wall where paintings used to hang, but he counted only five stacked on the floor. Oh, and his butler is missing. Would you happen to know where any of these things