Eire slid a hand between the drivers and passenger's seat and cranked the music higher. Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky. Lexine rolled his eyes, curling around slightly to flick the ashes off his cigarette in the front passenger's seat and snickered, sneaking glances of the driver.

Xander snicker with his hands cover his mouth, before leaning forward to drag back a singing Eire, who flopped against him, and Xander wrapped his arms around his shoulcers. "Never been a sinner, ne'er sinned..." Eire sang along, lighting his cigarette.

Nate rolled his eyes, leaning up against the driver's side door and glad they were parked off road for this. They were parked in the country across from an old country house on a stake out, to see if the nasty they were after showed up. So far, so good.

The disc changed songs and now Eire was trying croon like Frankie Valley.Nate snickered silently, folding down a little further in his seat. Lexine watched him, from his corner He grinned wickedly, glanced over the seat to see what Xander and Eire were doing, which involved Eire singing to his cigarette and Xander looking at the car roof snickering. Then he looked back at Nate still grinning.

"Wha?" Nate mouthed, giving him a look. Lexine just grinned more then flicked his spent cigarette out of the window and undid his seat belt. He climbed off his seat and slid into Nate's, between his legs, turning to snuggle against him. Nate snickered and wrapped his arms around Lexine, enjoying his extra warmth.

"Hey! Free seat!" Eire cried, diving for the seat Lexine had vacated and turned facing Lexine and Nate while Xander settled down in the spot between seats. "Man, stake outs are boring." He complained, opening a soda and staring out the windowshield.

"Quiet yer bitchin', ye've been back there makin' out with Xander." Nate replied with a look.

"We HAVE not been back there making out!" Eire kicked at Nate's leg. Nate kicked him back. Eire retorted with another and Nate went to kick back when Lexine slapped his thigh, but gave Eire a look to knock it off.

Xander eloquently failed to hide his snigger from his spot, and his snicker sent Lexine into a giggle.

"Yet." Eire added with a grin.

Nate snorted, tightening his arms around Lexine. Lexine cuddled against him and turned his eyes out the windshield watching the creepy house. Eire was going through Nate's cds, and found a very interesting looking one. "Oh, looky what we have here...Temptations..." Eire grinned and popped the current playing disc for the soul music.

'Everyone loves the Temptations, and if they don't something is SERIOUSLY wrong with them..." Xander put in his from spot.
"Actually, it's mine." Lexine put in from his spot, looking smug.

Eire sighed dramatically. "Damn it, Lex, ya take all the fun out of it..." He reached to remove the disc, but Nate's knee blocked the cd player from him. Eire shrugged and sat back, taking out three cigarettes and lighting them, then passing one to Xander and Lex. Nate cracked the window behind him and Lexine turned as not to blow smoke in Nate's face, his petite legs extended over one of Nate's knees.

Xander opened a bag of chips and sat them next to him, Eire already grabbing a handfull, and crambing them in his mouth.

"I hope this doesn't turn into one of those Bloody Mary cases." Eire said from between crisp bites.

Lexine glanced at him from taking a drag. "Bloody Mary cases?" He asked. He felt Nate slid a hand around his chest under his arms.

"Yeah man, you know, female boogy monster. Ready to leap at you from no where..."

"Ignore him, Lexine, Eire's jus' tryin' to scare ya'" Nate said softly from his spot, but grinning wickedly while watching Lexine squirm.

"He's not scaring me...just don't think I've ever run into one of those before."

"Lucky you." Eire snorted softly. "One track minds, usually to kill ya those things have...Meanin' ya have to kill IT first before it gets you."

"And typically, it's easier said then done." Xander put in.

Lexine kicked Xander for adding onto Eire's little explanation. He took a drag, flipped the ashes out the window and leaned his cheek on Nate's shoulder, his ear close to the window crack, while wrapped his free arm around Nate's.

Eire and Xander were discusing methods for killing bloody mary problems when Lexine's eyes opened and his hand was reaching for the music, turning it down. Nate picked up on what Lexine wasn't hearing and raised his head, looking out the windows. Eire perked his head up and slid a hand over Xander's mouth, hushing him.

There was no sound outside. No window, no crickets, no night sounds. Lexine's finger shut off the radio. Eire was sitting up a little straighter in his seat. Then out of the left his sight on Nate's side, Eire saw a soft ball of light. He hissed, and nodded. Lexine moved, letting Nate get a better look.

The ball of light bobbed up and down for a moment, before moving off into the surround woods trees. Nate weighted the chances, wiggling his head along wih the unspoken arguments. "I'm going to check it out." He hissed, starting to open the door.

"I'm coming with you." Lexine replied.

"Lexi, just stay in the car..." Nate started to object.

"I'm COMING with you." Lexine replied back with a hiss and pointed look. Nate sighed, then gestured for him to get out.

"You two stay here and watched the house." Nate hissed at Eire and Xander.

"What does he take me for, an idiot, of course I'm staying in the car." Eire said as the door was shut. Xander smacked him in the leg, before climbing up into the driver's seat. They watched Nate and Lexine slip into the dark shadows around the woods and then Xander shivered. Eire looked at him.

"Just kinda creepy man." Xander answered with a sheepish look and Eire snickered, but reached over, touching Xander's thigh.

***
Lexine turned his jacket collar upward and followed close to Nate who crept slowly through the woods, following the soft ball of light. They followed it into a break. The light revealed to be a lantern, carryed by a hunched figure, it's light reflecting off the grante markers. Nate leaned against the large tree watching, with Lexine pressed beside him.

The figure stopped a gravestone and paused, sitting the lantern down. Nate strained to get a better look at what the figure was doing, but a stone obscured the view. What ever the figure did, it did it in just a couple moments, then picked up the lantern again, moving toward the gate to the little graveyard.

Nate and Lexine watched the figure leave the graveyard, the light starting to disappear. Nate glanced back at the graveyard and was pretty good he could tell which one the specter had stopped at. "Wait here." He hissed at Lexine, before creeping forward.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Lexine hissed back irritably.

Nate waved him off and crept toward the gravemarker that the figure had been hunched over. Lexine crouched against the tree, trying to watch the gate and Nate's back. He was getting a little anxious with the silence of the woods. There was still no noise at all.

He thought he spotted something to his left and he crained his neck, trying to get a better risk, least he risk striking a flame, but the shadows were so dense in the trees Lexine could see nothing. He glanced back at Nate who was nearing the gravemarker, but a rustling in the trees to his left made Lexine snap his head back around in that direction. He drew one hand back with the flap of his white trench coat and he brandished a chakrum, resting it against his knee as he scanned the tree edges.

Nate made it to the gravemarker and crouched, glancing over his shoulder as he heard the trees tremble, noting Lexine was watching something like a cat. He turned back to the grave marker and pulled out a penlight, lighting the marker. A woman's name stared back at him, with a date that said the woman had died forty years ago in the fifties.

Nate sat back on his heels, his head tilted to the side, tipping back his hat as he studied the gravestone, calculating what it all meant into the scheme of their theory.

Then he heard an ungodly roar of wind. Or what he mistook for wind, until he dropped rolling over and saw something very ugly and very much nasty pass through the air over head. He saw another shape and reached up, pulling the petite redhead down on top of him.

"There's yer bloody M'ry." Nate told Lexine with a cocky grin, before kissing his surprised wided eyed lover. Rolling over, he put a hand on Lexine's mouth as he got to his hands and knees. "Keep low and stay with me." Nate told Lexine before letting the fire elemental up. Then Nate started forward, toward the exit, with Lexine following him on his hands and knees.

They heard the thing glid around then land and what sounded like the thing taking off on all four appendages through the gate. Nate lept to his feet, pulling Lexine up, they saw the thing vanish into the darkness.

"Back to the truck." Nate ordered, taking Lexine's hand and starting for the exit. When they left tomb stones behind, Nate let go of Lexine's hand and they took off running. Lexine felt the ripple behind him and skidded to a halt, to see a shadow portal blossom and something viciously ugly on four legs appear behind them, baring down fast on them.

"Nate!" Lexine grabbed Nate's arm and Nate swung around, gun already in hand and opened fire on the thing. It would pick it's self up and keep charging at them, Nate fired six shots into the creature and was starting to hit his last three when the creature opened up another shadow portal right infront of them and dove in, vanishing.

Lexine stood breathing hard, looking at the spot the creature vanished when Nate holstering his gun brought him out of his reserve and he'd just turned to say something, his hand still on Nate's arm, when they heard gun fire in the distance. Both knew it was Eire and Xander and they took off running back they way they'd come, crashing through trees.

Eire and Xander were pressed against the truck, firing at something that was slithering past the house they were watching into the darkness. And as lightening from the threatening storm broke, something on the hill behind the house was illuminated. An even bigger house. Nate and Lex skidded to a halt beside Eire and Xander and exchanged looks with the two.

"Weelll." Eire remarked. "I know where, we're headed..."

"Quiet yer bitchin'." Nate warned him, going to the back of the SUV. He opened the doors and took out two canvas bags. "We prepared fer this, remember?"

"How soon I do forget..." Eire replied sarcastically. Nate thrust a bag in his hands and Eire swung the strap over his shoulder,digging it in it, handing Xander a two way.

Lexine was checking the frequency of his while Nate took out a high powered flash light, turning it on and shinning it in Eire's face. Eire batted away with a look as Xander found their own flash light.

"We get separated, everyone stay on one frequency, got it?" Nate asked, looking at the three.

"Read ya loud and clear." Eire said, slipping his radio in his ear.

"I don't wanna us separated, got it Eir'." Nate said with a serious look.

"Got ya." Eire replied back with a look of his own.

"Lets hoof it..." Lexine remarked, nodding toward the mansion on the hill.

They trekked through the woods, up the hill toward the house. Half way there, Lexine paused, looking to their left and saw a path leading down toward a gate. "Wait a tick, I wanna take a look at this..." He said, starting down that path.

The other three turned, Nate and Eire frowning, but leaned up against a tree. Lexine stayed right on the path in front of them to their left, where they could see him. Xander bit his lip, then sprinted after the fire elemental.

"Ya shouldn't be running off like this on your own, ya know..." Xander breathed, catching up with Lexine. Over head, thunder rumbled, warning of the impeding storm.

Lexine moved down the rocky trail carefully, toward the gate. "Why?" He asked simply in reply as Xander followed.

"Well, it's just...you know! Look at you!" Xander retorted with a gesture and a look.

Lexine stopped right in front of the tall wroth iron gate and turned giving him a look. "I'm short, petit, and look like a girl, yes, I know. But don't mistake me for a girl, or at least your typical girl. I can watch my ass, Xander."

"Yeah, well, I'm still under obligation from your..."

"My mother, I know. Some mother, doesn't even want anything to do with me..." Lexine turned back to the gate and flicked his wrist, conjuring a small flame which he kept cupped in a hand as he investigated the gate.

"She obviously cares enough about you to keep you alive, or I wouldn't be here in the first place..." Xander retorted.

"You know damn well, the others have my back and are, as you so well put it, keeping me alive. What are you still doing here, Xander?" Lexine asked, picking up the combination lock that was on the gate.

"Eire." Xander answered simply, and with out hesitation.

Lexine wisely said nothing to that, to caught up in the combination lock. Instead of numbers, the dials were covered in strange arcane symbols. Xander peered over Lexine's shoulder at the symbols. "Think Nate would know any of those."

"I don't know." Lexine let go of the combination lock to squeeze his arm through a gap in the bar, holding his hand aloft. He heard a faint sound, that shouldn't have been. Then the light illuminated what he thought he'd heard and he pulled back his arm, Xander gaping behind him. They were staring through the bars of the gate over a bridge and beyond the stone bridge, they could see the ocean...

"Oh...we're not where we started out at..." Lexine whispered.

"Bloody hell. Come on." Xander plucked at Lexine's sleeve, to head back to Nate and Eire, whom Xander could still see waiting for them.

Lexine turned from the gate. And as he did, lightening illuminated the trek in front of them and for a moment, Lexine was pretty sure he'd seen the body standing in front of them. He stumbled over a protruding rock and Xander caught his arm. "You didn't by chance see that, did you?" Lexine asked as he righted himself, as he and Xander made their way back to the others.

"See what?" Xander asked with a look.

"You didn't see that thing standing there, when the lightening struck?" Lexine asked with a look of his own as they neared Eire and Nate.

"No, Lex, I didn't see ANYTHING standing there..." Xander replied with a suspicious expression.

"Right, neither did I than." Lexine answered with a nod, straightening up. He told Nate quickly about the combination lock on the gate and sight of the ocean beyond the cliff.

"You had to be hallucingating that..." Eire said...
"Hallucinating..." Xander corrected softly in Eire's ear.

"Yeah, that, cause there's no way we could be near the ocean..." Eire added.

"You sure 'bout that...I wasn't the only one who saw it..." Lexine answered, looking at Xander.

Xander nodded. "We both saw and heard the ocean..." Xander added in defense of Lexine.

Nate swore, looking at Lexine. Lexine looked back at him steady, standing firm by his words. Nate shook his head, and glanced at the way they were going. "Lets jus' poke 'round some more then we'll figure out somethin'. If nothin' else, Xander can open a shadow portal."

Lexine seemed to pout slightly at this, but resigned himself to the fact that Nate would probably never let him open a shadow portal, due to the curse.

"Until something officially tries to eat us." Eire put in with a nod.

"That too" Nate agreed with a nod and slight smirk, before turning and setting off into the garden. Lexine was right behind him, with Xander and Eire bringing up the rear.The deeper they moved into the garden, the stronger the feeling of being watched.

Xander unconsciously kept looking over his shoulder and Eire kept giving hin a look.Xander smirked at him sheepishly. Lexine kept turning his head from side to side, listening intently to the surrounding walls and garden paths. There were dogs barking fiercely at something. Eire's nose kept twitching with an unusual scent and he began to growl.

Nate stopped, turning partly to Eire, reloading his guns. Eire moved forward past the other two, still growling, eyes scanning. They were at a T way, one path leading toward a closed off area, the other path going around a corner. Then there was the sound of breaking chains and two rotty dogs came running past them, chasing after something. They just ran right past the four as if not even seeing them.

Eire itched to chase after them and find out what it was that had their attentions, but Lexine snatched at his arm as Eire snarled, about to change. Eire paused, and met the other three's eyes, Nate shook his head and Eire nodded.

Together they moved off around the corner and came to a long stone stair case. At the bottom lay a mutilated dog. Eire growled, baring his teeth. "We may have to barrow your leash..." Lexine whispered to Xander.

Xander reached in to his pocket and removed the long leather leash. Lexine took it, holding it at his side, while watching Eire as Nate examined the body of the dog. Eire snapped his jaws at something invisible and lunged forward, changing into the silver wolf and attempting to bound up the stairs.

Lexine lunged and tackled the wolf about the neck, rolling with it. The wolf got the upper hand and began clawing at Lexine's chest to get away and after it's prey. Nate appeared, pulling the wolf back from Lexine as he managed to get the leash worked around, using the clasp to collar the leash around the wolf's neck. Xander took the leash and pulled Eire off of Lexine, sitting on the steps with the wolf between his legs, holding the leash.

He talked softly to it, while petting it, calming it down. The wolf pawed restless at the ground, but sat between Xander's knees, paying attention to Xander. Nate pulled Lexine to his feet, his shirt was cut in several places and his chest was scratched. "Alright?" Nate asked him, running his hands up Lexine's side, pushing his shirt up to inspect the scraps. Lexine hissed as the cotton ran over a couple of them, but nodded his head.

"Yeah...but what ever he smelt he's crazy to get it..." Lexine answered.

Nate lowered Lexine's shirt and nodded. They glanced back at Xander, who now had Eire kneeling between his knees, his hands on Eire's face.

"Thank god for small miracles." Nate said softly. Lexine nodded.

Xander and Eire got up and Xander unhooked the leash from around Eire's neck, shoving it in his coat pocket. "There's something really not good here." Eire told the others, running his hands through his hair.

"All the more reason fer us t' stick t' gether." Nate said pointedly. Eire nodded.

Slowly they made their way up the stair case and started around the corner, when there was a sharp bark and a demented looking dog came charging around the corner at them. Xander was pretty sure he could see the dog's ribs on one side, sticking out.

Nate was the quickest armed and he pulled the trigger, shooting the dog, after four or five hits, the dog dropped to the stone walkway, ceasing to breath. Xander hesitated, the moved over to it, toeing it over to it's other side. He was right, several ribs, nay, the rib cage its self was protruding through it's side. He looked at he others to see if they saw what he did, and saw that they did.

"I told you..." Eire snarled.

Nate waved him off and started forward again, they reached the end with out any more appearances and slid around to find another stair case before them. Nate started up, but had to turn sharply to his left as another dog appeared. When his bullets were spent, he ducked, turning and Eire took his place, opening fire on the dog, dropping it.

Nate finished reloading and stood. "E'ery one still with us?" He checked.

"Barely," Xander answered.

"So far." Lexine replied simply.

Nate nodded. "Lets jus' get inside this place, then we'll go from there."

They moved up the stairs and proceeded down a statue lined walkway, with ghastly looking marble figures. It wasn't so much as ugly, as it seemed like each and everyone of them was mental disturbed in a frightening way, from the expressions on the faces.

They'd reached a turn, when the shadow portal appeared, the four legged creature leaping out at them. This time it was Lexine who was prepared and he threw a flame covered chakrum at the creature. The moment the fire touched it, it shrieked and vanished in another shadow portal, the chakrum coming back to Lexine.

"Well, they don't like fire..." Nate said in the quietness.

"That can play well, especially since we'll have to find another way in." Xander said from checking a side gate leading into the house. It was locked.

"Lets try around the corner..." Eire started to descend the stairs. As he did, there came a woman's scream from inside the house, followed by the sound of gun fire. "There's some one IN THERE?!" Eire hissed in disbelief.

"I wouldn't think so...but apparently..." Nate replied with a frown, then swore. "Fuck!" He looked over the drained pool before them at the bottom of the small stair case. Xander moved around the sides, then saw the tunnell at the bottom of the pool, in the wall.

"I think this goes somewhere..." He remarked, pointing.

Nate came around to Xander's side and looked at the hole, turning on the flash light and shining it in. "I think yer right..."

Xander started descending the stairs into the pool. Nate followed with the flash light. The pool was only filled up to the thighs, but the water was cold. Even to the ice elemental, it was cold. Xander's teeth chattered as he entered the pool. He hugged himself, rubbing his arms as he moved closer to the hole. Nate followed, shivering himself. He shined the light inside the tunnel.

"Looks like it leads int' the basement area..." Nate observed. He looked back up at Lexine and Eire who were on the upper steps.

Lexine shrugged. "Can't hurt to try it, especially if there are people in that house..." He said in reply. Eire nodded his agreement.

Nate nodded and turned into the tunnel as Lexine and Eire came down the stairs to join them. Lexine's teeth chattered and he hugged himself, but followed Xander and Nate into the tunnel. The water level in here rose to waist height and the water around Xander was ripping with shivers. They turned the corner and Lexine stopped. Something brushed past his leg, the water bubbling.

"There's something in the water..." Lexine whispered to Nate, eyeing the dark liquid.

Nate nodded, "Jus' keep followin' me..." He whispered back, moving into a large tall stone room. Diagonally across from them was another passage that slowly sloped upward. Nate made his way for it, the others following.

Half was across the room, some large and eel like came leaping up from with in the water on their left and dove, dragging Lexine under with it. Nate whipped around, Eire was already reaching into the water.

Lexine came up a moment later, a couple feet away from them and gasping for air. "Anyone see that thing?" He gasped, shoving wet red hair out of his face. "Anyone see where it go?!"

Everyone exchanged a look, and slowly looked around, standing perfectly still. They all watched the water.

But again, the creature appeared slightly to Lexine's left and dove, dragging him under. They heard two muffled gunshots and the air bubbles and a moment later, Lexine busted up from the water, gasping again. He said nothing, watching the water around him, guns trained on some invisible.

Just as Eire's ears were registering a splash, Lexine turned to his left and opened fire on something in the air. The flash bangs from the shots illuminated a long eel like creature with a narrow face, black eyes and long fangs. It also had two small clawed arms it was waving as it fall backwards into the water with a shriek.

Xander started to move forward, but Lexine held out a hand, still watching the water. Again, when the creature jumped out on his left, Lexine turned, this time joined with Nate and both opened fire on the creature as it fell back in pain.

Eire stopped Xander from moving, catching onto the creature's game. This time, when it came out of the water, it lept up on Eire's left side. One hand on Xander's arm, Eire turned a half step to the left with Nate and Lexine and opened fire on the creature. It gave a louder shriek then before and vanished in a shadow portal.

When it was gone, Nate turned and started for the way out of the pool, climbing onto the ledge and helping the others. Lexine leaned up against the wall, catching his breath, and trying to warm himself up. "Why do they always come after me?" He grumbled.

"They like red heads." Nate answered back with a wink as he helped Eire out of the pool. Lexine gave him a look and Nate just grinned.

Xander was investigating the ladder as the other three came over to him. "Steady enough." He remarked, before climbing on and climbing up the ladder. He came out into a dry aqueduct and pulled out to sat on it's edge, outside a rusty door, waiting for the others.

He was kicking his legs off the stone and looking smug as Eire and Nate pulled over the top. Eire gave Xander a dark look, stalking toward him as Nate waited for Lexine to pull up. Eire snatched at Xander, giving him a look and pinched him hard in the side. Xander stifled a yelp very well and drown out the giggle as Nate and Lexine reached them.

"No time t' stop now..." Nate remarked, climbing up on to the side along with Lexine. Lexine wondered over to the door, trying his luck and found the door opened. He drew his gun and stepped cautiously through the way, up the short stair case with the other three following him.

They came out in a stone dungeon like basement room. In one corner lay a coffin on saw horses, as if about to be displayed. Eire moved toward it slowly, his berretta out and the others stopped near by. Eire moved to open the coffin and tipped back the lid slowly.

He let out of a curse stepping away, Lexine turned away with a whimper. Xander shuddered and Nate grimaced. Then Eire blinked again and leaned forward. The mutilated corpse was gone and in it's place a key. Eire picked up the key as the other three looked back at the coffin. "Holographic illusion." Xander said after a minute with a shrug.

Lexine just looked him. Eire was busy trying the key on the door next to the coffin, which worked. He opened the wroth iron door and led the way down the passage by flashlight, Nate and Lexine behind him with Xander bringing up the rear. They climbed the narrow passage and before them saw an opening with a slight blurred window over it, showing a grand greeting hall beyond.

Eire came to the stop at the door and looked out the full length mirror, before realized with a chuckle that it was actually a two way mirror. "Interesting." He remarked, pushing on the panel. The door swung open effortlessly and Eire stepped out, the other three behind him. The door closed shut again with a click as Xander let go of it. He grimaced, knowing there was no way to go back that way.

Nate looked about the greeting hall and noticed another mutilated dog corpse near by. He moved to have a closer look at it, Lexine following. Lexine leaned up against the wall, his hands in his pockets, waiting for Nate and Eire. He leaned to far against it and heard a click, then the panel rotated on him, putting him in another hall.

Nate sprang up, having heard the wall rotate, his hand immediately went to his radio. "Lexi..."

"I'm alright..."Came Lexine's reply. "Just surprised..."

"Where are you?" Eire asked.

"In a hallway... hold on." They heard Lexine move on the other side of the wall. He investigated his surroundings further. Turning the short corner, he stopped. At the other end lay a pair of legs. The floor and wall were bathed in blood. "Right, okay...that I don't need to see." he muttered over the radio.

"What..." Eire asked.

"There's a pair of legs and a lot of blood." Lexine replied, moving forward slowly, both chakrums brandished. As he got closer, the legs were suddenly pulled into the shadows and Lexine jumped backward, back around the corner. "There's somethin' in this hall with me!" He breathed over the radio.

"Hold up, we'll try and find a way 'round." Nate replied calmly. He moved over to a door and opened it, finding a small hallway. Eire and Xander followed and as they did, the power died in the grandhall. Apparently through out the house.

"Fuck..." Lexine whimpered. He pressed himself into a statue nitch and could hear something searching. He held his breath, hearing talons scratch on the tiled floor, creeping closer.

Xander pulled out the flashlight as he heard a growl and turned. Eire turned with him and opened fire on a four legged creature until it vanished in a shadow portal. "You two wait here. I think I know where Lex is." Nate told them, taking the other flash light and turning it on, his colt in one hand.

He slid into the small shadowed hallway. From somewhere near by he thought he heard a groan. "Lexi, is there a door in your hallway?" Nate asked over the radio. Eire and Xander stayed close to the door from the grand hall.

Lexine risked a peep around the corner of his nitch and saw a door a head of him. "Yes."

Nate reached out for the knob on his side and began turning it. "Can you see the knob turnin'?"

Lexine heard it, rather then see it. "Yes..."

Nate toed the door open and aimed his flashlight and gun through the crack, toeing the door open more.

The moment the beam hit the creature that was coming upon Lexine's nitch, it shrieked and vanished. Nate moved into the hall and Lexine pulled away from the nitch. Nate caught his elbow and pulled him the rest of the way. Lexine pulled the microphone from his ear and threw his arms around Nate's neck kissing Nate.

"Alright?" Nate asked after kissing him back.

"For the most part, but there's something...evil in this house..." Lexine said softly.

"I believe it." Nate answered, leading the way back he came. They joined Eire and Xander who looked relieved. Lexine slid his radio back in his ear and looked the greeting hall by Xander's flash light.

"Either some one's got a really cracked up sense of humor or we're in a bad place..." Xander said.

"I'm gonna vote for the later." Lexine put in, taking a smaller high powered flashlight from Nate's bag, and a couple extra clips.

"Me too." Eire put in, loading his own gun.

"Sounds reasonable enough." Nate agreed. "We'll just poke 'round upstairs...better that then leave and there had really been people here."

Everyone nodded agreement. They turned and moved up the grandstair case. Eire shined his light around the upper hall, investigating it. His beam flashed off a series of four paintings on either side of the double doors. Eire moved closer, studying the paintings. Each was a formal painting of a rather scary looking man. But Eire wasn't entirely sure they were the same man.

"Door's locked, we'll have t' go back down stairs." Nate said stepping away from the door.

Eire pulled himself away from the paintings and followed, mulling over it silently. They went to the double doors from earlier and entered. Eire moved over to another door and tried it. It too was locked, but the door Xander tried, wasn't. It opened up into a library.

They moved into the room and looked around. Lexine spotted something on a table and moved closer, looking at the little doll like figure laying on the table, in a doll sized black tuxedo. He was wise not to touch it. Xander moved his way and went to pick up the doll, but Lexine smacked his hand and shook his head, before turning to the books over the table.

"Wha?" Xander asked, glancing at the doll.

"That's Baron Samidie. Don't touch it." Lexine answered.

"Who?" Xander asked.

"Voodoo, Xander. That's a voodoo doll." Lexine pulled a book from the shelf and began leafing through it by torch. Eire turned at hearing the words voodoo and moved over, looking at the doll over Xander's shoulder.

"A little out of range for voodoo, ain't this place?" Xander asked.

Lexine shrugged. "We heard and saw the ocean, Xander, WE could be anywhere this place is..." He continued leafing through what appeared to be a handwritten book.
Eire turned toward Nate who was investigating a statue across the room. "What do you think, Nate?"

"We're naught where we started out at, this much we know..." He answered with out looking at Eire.

"I was kinda hopin' ya wouldn't say that..." Eire muttered as he heard Lexine snap the book close and put it back on the shelf.

Lexine was giving the book a dark look as he put it back. "The book insult you, Lex?" Xander asked.

"I didn't like the author." Lexine answered simply, turning from the book case. Nate was heading toward the other door and Lexine followed. Xander glanced at the voodoo doll, but followed with Eire.

They came out into a large tower foyer and Eire tried the light switch. There was a flickering, then nothing. "Worth a try." He muttered with a shrug to Xander's look. They started up the round stair case and Nate stopped on the second floor landing, trying the door. It was unlatched. He shouldered the door open into a dark hallway.

The four moved down the hall slowly, toward an intersection. They stopped as Eire's nose began twitching again and he snarled. "Blood!" He turned sharply to the left, shining his light. A door stood in the wall and blood was seeping out from under the crack.