Dog - 2. Tempted by money

Chapter 2

The door creaked as I closed it behind me, and the first thing I noticed about the room I was in was the smell. It reminded me of the forest, with notes of evergreen needles mixed with wood. It was actually quite pleasant, and when I turned around I could do nothing but stare for a few moments, slack-jawed.

You know those interior design magazines that show houses of impossibly rich people just to tease you with how your own house could look if only had a couple million dollars to spare? This room looked like that, except better. The floor was polished wood interspersed with rugs that looked really expensive, all of them the same light gray tone that looked almost like wolf's fur. There was a fireplace to the left with roaring flames in it, and their dancing light played with shadows on several all the animal trophies that adorned the walls, just like in the movies. The walls themselves were exposed brick, though, and the ceiling was a flawless white. The effect was confusing, cozy and at the same time utilitarian, especially when coupled with the furniture. All of it was made of wood, and all of it looked as if it had been carved by hand. There was a table to the right that was essentially a cunningly carved bit of driftwood topped by a flawless glass pane. On it rested tiny figurines which sparkled and which were either really tacky and made of fake gold and emeralds, or else insanely valuable.

The space had been furnished with plants in clever corners, which kept it from being stuffy and provided a nice balance to the many bookshelves that flanked the walls from floor to ceiling, which was saying a lot was the ceiling was at least six feet taller than I was used to. A collection of medieval weapons rested right above the door, and I nervously moved out of the way before the dented morningstar decided to fall on top of me and crush my skull.

Then there was the desk, of course. Like everything else, it was made out of wood and appeared to have been carved by hand, but it was breathtaking. It was much larger than any other desk I had ever seen and on its front a carved wolf's head was displayed prominently, its two eyes made out of red jewels that seemed to drink in the firelight. On the desk, a collection of monitors, consoles and something that looked like one of those hologram things you see in science fiction movies was a strange but welcome contrast to how ancient everything else looked.

Sitting behind all of that, watching me, was my employer.

"Welcome, Ryan," he said to me, his voice polite and kind. "Please, come closer."

"Uh, sure," I answered, realizing that I had been staring at the room like an idiot. As soon as I took a couple of steps forward, my employer stood up, though, and I actually did a double take.

He was hot.

His face was sharp and aristocratic, his eyes blue like those of people in the paintings I had seen one coming in. They were cold, but the smile on his face looked genuine and it made for a strange contrast. His teeth were white and perfect, and his skin was incredibly pale, flawless. His platinum blonde hair was almost white, but instead of making him look old it actually did the opposite. The guy was older than me, sure, but not by much. And man, was he handsome. It was like a medieval prince had decided to work out in earnest and then put on a suit and tie.

His shoulders were wide but his waist was narrow, and even under the suit I could tell that this guy was strong. When he walked around his desk and offered me his hand to shake I wasn't even surprised that the strength I felt in that. I had been expecting soft, delicate hands. Instead, I realized that his hands were rough, hinting at the power under that immaculate white shirt and that blazer that I was certain cost more money than I would ever be able to have in my life.

"Please, take a seat," he told me, and I wouldn't have even dreamed of disobeying. I sat down on a surprisingly comfortable chair and he did the same right next to me, instead of going back to sit on the other side of the desk.

"Nice place," I blurted.

He smiled graciously. "Thank you. I do believe an apology is in order, though."

I frowned. Apology from me? What the hell?

But my employer raised his hands, palms up, and grinned like a model. "Don't misunderstand me. It is I who should apologize. Here you are, ready to begin, and you don't even know my name. Secrecy was necessary, I'm afraid, but now that you are here, things change. I am Maxwell Wordsworth, the Fifth."

"I'm Ryan," I said.

He smiled. "You may call me Max, if you wish."

"Yeah. Okay, Max."

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions regarding the terms of your employment, but I'll have Terrence walk you through your duties tomorrow. For today, I merely wanted to get to know you a little better."

He kind of edged closer to me, and I backed away. Was he hitting on me? I had zero experience with actual romance of any kind. I mean, sure, I'd blown a few guys at gas stations for money, but nothing else.

Max looked at me with that icy stare and I started to feel uncomfortable.

When I was about to say something, though, he broke eye contact and leaned back in his chair, nodding to himself as if he had just found something out.

"Tell me, Ryan, if 'it's not too personal a question. How did you come to be out on the streets?"

"What?" I blurted.

Max said nothing, merely looked at me expectantly.

"Bad luck, I guess," I said, hedging. I didn't want to go into details.

"Is that so?"

Damn, it felt as if he could see into my soul. Images flashed by in my mind, unbidden. My stepfather, pawning everything in the house so he could buy one last hit of whatever his dealer would sell him. My mother, letting him. Me, coming back to the house after school to find the two of them zoned out of their minds, the welfare check for the month already gone.

I tried everything before leaving. Talking to them. Threatening them. I contacted the school but they only ever sent one guy to check on me, and never came back. I had to call 911 twice after they nearly OD'd. I started working after school wherever they would let me, but there was never enough money to go around.

Then my stepfather had made a friend. A rich friend, who did him favors and bought him things. His name was Duane, and he'd started hanging around the house. A lot. At first they would only do whatever weird stuff they were into only the three of them, but soon Duane took an interest in me. And then one day he offered my folks a lot of my in exchange for…

I quickly shook my head, focusing back on the moment. "Yeah. Bad luck, had to run out, made my way since then. That's all there is."

Max nodded slowly, almost as if he could hear everything I was not telling.

"Does anybody know where you are now?"

"Nobody cares," I confessed. "I'm on my own.”

Max let the silence stretch out long enough that I started to consider telling him some of the things I was holding back, but I kept my mouth shut. In the end, he only sighed.

"Thank you, Ryan. That will be all for now. Terrence will show you to your room, and he will take care of any request you have. Get some rest."

"What about my job?" I asked. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Don't worry about that now. You'll be briefed soon enough."

“Okay."

Max nodded dismissively and I stood up, looking around awkwardly, unsure if I was supposed to leave already after the lighting interview or what. Then the butler opened the door after a discreet knock, and gestured for me to follow.

"Uh, goodbye, Max"

"Goodbye for now," he replied. "Oh, just one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Scratch that magnificent dog you brought behind the ears for me, won't you? I love dogs. What's his name?”

“Rex,” I answered.

“Rex. It fits. See you tomorrow, Ryan.”

I nodded jerkily and stepped out of the room.

"This way, please, sir," the butler said.

I wasn't used to being called sir, so it took me a couple seconds to react. By then, the butler had already made his way across the hall and I hurried to keep up with him.

He said nothing, but led me across the carpeted hall towards a smaller staircase that led up. The sky outside was already darkening, and when we passed by a set of huge windows with a view of the neglected gardens below, I looked around to see if I could spot Rex anywhere, but did not see him.

I climbed the carpeted steps leading up to the third floor and could not shake off the feeling that I had somehow snuck into some kind of a mixture between a medieval castle and a five-star hotel. The light fixtures overhead gave off a warm glow that contrasted nicely with the ancient-looking artwork on the walls. Aside from the paintings, this new level had medieval weapons set on displays at regular intervals, but the hallway itself looked very modern, and the doors that flanked it on either side were made of some kind of opaque glass that turned transparent as soon as we approached.

Terrence led me to the left, to the second door. Light sensors overhead turned on when we stopped at the threshold, and the door itself turned transparent.

"Cool," I said, reaching out to touch the glass. It felt solid underneath my fingertips.

"This will be your room," my guide told me, handing something that looked like a credit card. "I took the liberty of asking the chef to prepare something, since you must be hungry after your journey. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to call me using the intercom button. Goodbye for now."

He did not wait for an answer. Instead, he turned around and walked away without looking back. I heard his footsteps receding as he descended the stairs, until I could hear nothing all.

I looked around me. Saying I was getting freaked out was putting it mildly. These people were acting very strangely, and yet…

They were trusting me. I mean, they had just left me alone in a mansion with stuff that must be worth thousands of dollars. Sure, most of it would be hard to pawn, but I could find a way.

I shook off the thought and opened the door to my room instead. There was a tiny input panel for the card I had been given, which clicked satisfyingly and flashed a green light, indicating that the door was unlocked. I stepped into the space, and automatic lighting turned on.

"No way," I said under my breath. "Wow."

I had seen rooms like this, but only on TV. The furniture was luxurious yet modern, with the immense bed dominating the space, facing a gigantic screen set on the opposite wall. A small fireplace underneath that was dark at the moment, but there was wood nearby just in case I wanted to light it, I guessed. The room was big enough for a couple of comfortable-looking sofas which flanked a low table made of glass and wood. Resting on the table there was the biggest assortment of food that had ever been at my disposal, complete with a bucket of ice for the champagne.

I took a couple of cautious steps forward. This was simply too good to be true, but there was no one else in the room with me and I was hungry. A quick check of the bathroom revealed a tub a big enough to swim in, and a shower that looked as if it had been designed by rocket scientists.

I sat down at one of the sofas and reached for some of the sushi that was neatly stacked on one of the plates. I hesitated, but after my stomach grumbled I simply popped the piece into my mouth and chewed. It was delicious, and after that I couldn't stop myself from eating. I stuffed myself with delicious stuff, half of which I didn't know the name of, and washed it down with ice cold wine. It was glorious.

I felt like a shower then, so I took off my clothes and headed to the bathroom, where discovered that a shower can also be a massage. I set the water as hot as I could take it and simply stood under the spray for minutes on end. Outside, I could hear faint rolls of thunder heralding what looked like an approaching storm, and the sky had already gone black. Rain pattered against the windows while I tested out every setting the showerhead had to offer, and ended up settling for a slow pulse that felt incredibly good on my back.

I would have stayed in there for hours, but the trip had been long, and after the food and the shower I was dead tired. I toweled dry and slipped on a bathrobe that I discovered had been set out for me. It was softer than anything I'd ever worn, and warm too. I wrapped it around myself and headed straight for the bed, planning to jump in and sleep for as long as I could. I lifted the thick, soft comforter and climbed in.

That's when I saw the money.

I had missed it earlier because one of the pillows had hidden it from view, but now I saw the sheafs of bills lying there in neat little bundles. I looked around suspiciously, but I was still alone. Then I reached out and started checking the money. It looked real, and a quick count showed me it was exactly three thousand dollars.

My entire salary. Right there.

Several alarm bells rang in my head at that moment. If there's one thing I've learned so far, it's that nothing's for free. These guys were treating me like a king for a reason, and I wasn't sure I would like it one bit. I mean, who hires a teenager with no references out of nowhere, offers to pay for everything, sets him up in a goddamned mansion and refuses to tell him what he's supposed to work on?

Nope. No way. I discarded my plan to sleep and put on my clothes quickly. If I hurried, maybe I could make it back to town before the storm hit, and from there…

I looked at the money and stuffed it in my pockets without hesitation. Hey, they were giving it to me, right? No harm in taking it, especially not from someone as filthy rich as Max appeared to be. Three grand wasn't a lot, but it would help me get far away from here and then I'd decide what else to do.

Good plan. Now I only had to leave.

I considered going out the same way I had come in, but I didn't want to run into anyone and so I headed for the windows. They swung out, and after some tugging I got them both wide open.

Frigid wind assaulted me, and the light drizzle that was falling blinded me momentarily. Shielding my eyes from the water, I looked down and realized there was a stunted tree growing conveniently right next to my window. One of its gnarled branches was close enough to reach if I stretched out, and it looked thick enough to hold my weight. I peered out, hoping to see if there was anyone out in the gardens might spot me, but the place was dark and empty except for a small light glowing in what I supposed was some kind of shed further away.

I looked back at the plush, comfortable room with momentary regret. But anyone who would spend so much money on a complete stranger definitely wanted nothing good from me. I had to leave.

The branch did not break when I jumped on top of it, and from there climbing the rest of the way down was easy. The tree's branches reached almost all the way down, and although my grip slipped once or twice on the slippery wood, I made it to the ground in one piece. I looked back up, to see if there was anyone at my window, but it was empty.

It was dark, but the light coming from the mansion was enough for me to see the way out. I went forward, crouched and trying to make as little noise as possible.

Something moved in the bushes next to me. A dark figure snarled and jumped at me, fangs bared.

I screamed. Then the figure collided with me, knocking me to the ground, and began to lick my face enthusiastically.

"Get off me, Rex," I grumbled, recovering from the heart attack. "It's time to go, okay?"

Rex jumped away obediently and then approached again, wagging his tail. He was almost invisible in the dark, but I could see his little hops as he tried to coax me to play.

"Play later. Now we have to get out of here.”

Rex stiffened, almost as if he had understood what I had said. I rolled my eyes and continued making my way forward. As long as he didn't make too much noise, I should be able to get out of the mansion before anyone realized I was missing.

I moved like a shadow as the rain began to fall harder around me and Rex. I was an old hand at sneaking around dark places, and I kept a low profile as I weaved through the overgrown garden. The mansion was to my right, and the small shed to my left. Lights burned bright in many windows, but I saw no one looking out. Soon the heavy iron gate loomed before me, looking rickety and old. A sudden flash of lightning revealed that it had been closed again, but I already knew how to open it. And, just in case I couldn't, I could simply climb. It wasn't even that tall to begin with.

I stopped just a couple of inches away from the gate and reached out.

Rex growled.

"Quiet, Rex," I said to him. “We're almost out."

He growled louder, and another flash of lightning showed me that his ears were laid back, his lips curled up to show his wicked fangs.

"What's the matter, boy?" I asked, putting a hand on his head. He shook it off and turned left, growling at something in the darkness.

I looked, but I saw nothing but shadows.

"We're wasting time," I said to Rex. "Let's just go."

I grabbed the gate, planning to yank it forward.

A million volts of electricity surged through my body in a shocking explosion of pure, unadultered pain. I couldn't even cry out in horrified surprise as the electric shock paralyzed me. My muscles spasmed in iron-cast agony and fire flowed through my burning veins.

Something hit me on the side, throwing me back. Away from the gate. I fell down hard and couldn't get up. Raindrops fell on my face as I gasped for breath, fighting off the lingering paralysis. The pain was a white-hot memory in my brain and I couldn't understand what was happening.

Lightning flickered in the sky, followed all to soon by booming thunder. In the afterimages, I realized someone was standing over me. He was holding something that looked like a shovel.

"You shouldn't have taken that money," a deep voice said. It was tinged with regret.

Then the shovel came down and I knew no more.