Page 295 of The Valiant Knight
Heading up, they went into the room where the door had been closed, and they heard the squeaking of the hinges.
“They definitely came in here,” Tony said. “We heard that.”
Inside the room, Gabby came to a dead stop, and Finn walked into the back of her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
That’s when they saw it.
Tony gasped.
“That’s the painting we put away, and that appeared next to my table, and we put away again. How did it get up here?” he asked.
Oh, boy.
No one could answer that, and for good reason. They didn’t bring it up.
Walking over to it, Tony picked it up.
“Be careful,” Finn warned.
Only, the room felt fine. It was calm, the windows were locked and closed, and there was nothing off about the area.
Tony inspected the painting.
“Someone must want us to look at this,” he said. “And that’s why they tried to lead us up here.”
When he saw some paint chipping off the picture, he used his nail.
“Who is this?” Graham asked, focused on the painting. He’d seen it in the storage room, but he never thought twice about it.
Gabby knew.
“It’s Ciarán. I saw a painting online of him in his tartan and war gear.”
Tony stopped them.
“There’s something under it. I need to bring this to a brighter light,” he said.
“I’ll get something to scrape it,” Graham offered, following him down the stairs.
Finn stayed close, when they left to make sure Gabby was safe.
“It does feel better in here,” she said, pulling a sheet off of a mirror that was there. “I thought this might be a painting too.”
He checked it out.
“Yeah, it doesn’t feel as oppressive,” he admitted.
Because she was curious, Gabby went to a chest. When she opened it, there were books in it.
“We should go through these,” she suggested.
Before he could say anything, he heard his name being shouted from downstairs.
Shit.
Gabby glanced over her shoulder.
