Page 70 of Kin of the Wolf

Numerous other vehicles were parked in the large driveway in front of a four-car garage, the wooden carriage doors designed to make it look like an old-fashioned stable attached to the rest of the castle. At least there wasn’t a moat filled with alligators.

“There’s a cleaning service that comes every morning—Augustus can’t be expected to make his own bed, you know. As far as I’ve seen, it’s just the family that’s here most of the time. That was Orazio, I think. He has an app on his phone so he doesn’t have to get up to answer the gate buzzer.”

“It would be tragic if he had to leave a computer game in progress.”

“Tell me about it,” Jasmine said. “They’re all intoDestiny Wields a Sword. I’m surprised they find the time to terrorize anyone, though Augustus doesn’t play. He’s the mastermind.”

“That bodes well for the future of the pack.”

I parked next to a Camaro with the top down. The license plateread GUSTUS. I hoped the dampness from the fog made the leather on the seats pucker.

After tucking the potions into my pockets, tissues wrapped around them to keep them from clinking, I grabbed a ski glove to wear on my left hand, gripped the case, and got out. It tingled painfully through the material, but the glove was slightly more effective than the oven mitt.

“Ready to record?” I murmured as we headed toward double wooden doors with wrought-iron bars over small windows in the tops.

As with the stone wall bordering the property, ivy crept up the sides of the castle, curling around the archway of the covered porch on its way up to the towers.

“Yup.” Jasmine patted her pocket. “Is that the real artifact? I can sense magic in it.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” I was well aware that I risked losing it tonight. “I’ve tried making fake artifacts before, but they weren’t that convincing. Technically,Bolinmade my fake artifact, but I directed him.”

“He has some power, doesn’t he? That of a druid?”

“Yeah, but he used a 3D printer.”

“I have an idea about why your artifact wasn’t that convincing.”

“Yup.”

I lifted a finger toward the doorbell but paused, movement in the shadows of the yard catching my eye. I looked in time to spot two glowing red eyes pointed in our direction. The animal—a wolf or mongrel dog?—darted into bushes near one of the walls and disappeared from view.

“What kind of werewolf keeps guard dogs?” I muttered.

Though if Augustus had them for security, that might explain why I hadn’t sensed other magical defenses.

Jasmine looked but didn’t catch the eyes. I couldn’t sense the animal, not the way I did most magical beings. The special waterfrom the cave, if that was what Augustus had used, might not convey power beyond glowing eyes and an openness to obeying commands.

Another bush stirred near the side of the castle. I had a feeling there was a whole pack on the grounds. I thought about calling to warn Duncan, but there were probably cameras nestled among the ivy, and someone might be listening to us.

After bracing myself, I rang the doorbell. It sounded like a gong being struck. “That’s more monastery than castle, isn’t it?”

Jasmine shrugged.

The door swung open, inviting us into a stone-walled, marble-tiled foyer, with an elaborate candelabra hanging from the high ceiling.

“Does Orazio have an app for opening the door too?” I could sense werewolves deeper in the castle but none nearby.

“I think so. You can’t interrupt the gaming.”

“If Augustus were an organized evil overlord,” I said, stepping warily inside, “we could skulk around and look for filing cabinets full of condemning paperwork, but I kind of doubt we’d find that.”

“Sounds pretty old-school. People keep filing cabinets on their phones these days.”

“True.” Maybe I just needed to steal Augustus’sphoneto condemn him. Was Jasmine’s dad enough of a computer expert to hack someone’s password? I seemed to recall he programmed games, so maybe not.

We walked through the foyer and into a wide hallway, passing decorative vases and full-body suits of armor holding swords. Open doors revealed gaming rooms with the giant screens that Jasmine had promised, but nobody was lounging on the furniture. Maybe it wasn’t as much of a den of laze as I’d imagined, though a hint of marijuana smoke lingered in the air, along with something that reminded me of my old alchemist’s apartment. Herbs and dried flowers and magic.

After we passed a set of wide marble stairs that led upward, the hall ended in a high-ceilinged living area. It was filled with white leather couches and chairs, and arcade machines lined one wall. Toward the far end lay an open dining room and sprawling kitchen with marble countertops and fancy hanging pot racks.

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