Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
A part of him itched to check for himself whether it was yet another feature of the strange house, but he didn’t dare dip his finger into the glass, the same way he wasn’t complaining that he hadn’t met the demonic ‘master of the house’ despite occasionally sensing his presence.
Sometimes, Elliot felt eyes following him, or heard a gentle scratching against a smooth surface that had his back crawling with ants. Fortunately, Knight was always there to keep Elliot sane with distracting touch, silly games, and Mercier family trivia.
It was slowly getting dark when, with Knight’s arm resting on Elliot’s shoulders like a shield, Elliot visited several places around the clubhouse, chatting to Nao, Rev and his son, and briefly visiting a very frustrated Fox in the office. It was almost like making rounds, and instead of talking to his friends and leaving him be, Knight stubbornly kept trying to pull Elliot into the conversations.
It was new, but not exactly unwanted. Elliot wasn’t sure if it was some form of keeping him distracted, or if for some reason Knight… wanted them to like Elliot? He couldn’t deny that it felt good when he managed to make Rev laugh with his story about how he once tried to boil beans in a can.
But regardless of all the positive attention he was getting, Elliot couldn’t help the feeling that something was up when Knight casually passed him a third beer. Thinking of himself as Elliot’s keeper, he usually capped him at two after an infamous incident in the first week of Elliot’s stay when he almost broke his neck falling down the staircase after drinking too much.
The two of them eventually made their way out of the main building and walked through the snowy courtyard that could have easily housed two football fields. After Fane’s death, subsequent owners of the property added various extensions, with the last major development having transformed the country mansion into a horseshoe-shaped behemoth of a building with two long wings extending from what used to be Fane’s home and encompassing the empty space in the middle. The owners of the former asylum even added a little train station, which used to process staff and visitors coming in from Brecon.
The shuttle used to enter through a tunnel built into the east wing. Now disused, the empty gateway had been fenced off, but the barbed wire did nothing to stop cold wind from blowing through the passage. It was so cold Elliot needed to wrap an additional layer of the scarf Knight had gotten him around his neck to withstand the freezing gusts.
With Knight’s arm keeping Elliot’s shoulders warm, the short walk to the former station building, located in the courtyard and connected to a skybridge that provided easy communication between both wings of the building, wasn’t even that bad.
“I cannot believe human beings have stooped so low. This building is grotesque. Have we returned to more primitive times in terms of architecture?” Fane complained from behind Elliot’s back.
Elliot burst out laughing. “Primitive? You didn’t even know what a train was.” When Knight raised his eyebrows, he explained. “Fane’s complaining about the architecture agai—”
He slipped on a snow-covered step and his jaw would have hit the ground if Knight weren’t there to save him. He was always there to help. Elliot didn’t even care anymore that Knight wasn’t his and his alone if he could have him at his side. Or rather, he did care but wouldn’t do anything about it, because having even a chunk of Knight’s attention was better than nothing.
“Careful. Without you I won’t be able to hear any more of his inspiring comments,” Knight said, leading Elliot by the arm toward the gray building. The Kings of Hell had reused the former waiting rooms as a gym, and upon their approach Elliot spotted punch bags through the window.
“I cannot believe you would rather keep this brute’s company than mine. He would have been banished from proper society with those kinds of manners,” hissed Fane.
“I bet he wouldn’t have been banished from people’s beds.” Elliot laughed, holding on to Knight’s steady arm.
“So crude.” Fane shook his head.
Elliot looked up at Knight. “The man who raped over thirty young men is telling me I’m crude for saying you’re good in bed.”
“Well, we know who sucked in bed then,” Knight said and opened the steel door at the front.
Dull thuds reached their ears the moment they entered. The gym didn’t feature any fancy equipment, so it was mostly free weights, mats, and punch bags, with a treadmill and a stationary bicycle, but Elliot suspected the tiny cardio station was meant for the use of the female hangarounds. They closed the door behind them, and Knight led Elliot farther, past a room with lockers and benches.
Warmth hit his cheeks as soon as they left the cold outside, and he instantly started unwrapping the scarf.