Page 79 of Power of Shadow

The next day, Ash comes back to me with the address of the house by the lake. She wouldn’t be herself if she revealed where she got this detail. She doesn’t say a word, and I have no choice but to accept what she throws at my feet. After all, it’s our only lead.

We take three hours to reach the place Ash entered into the navigation system.

“Autumn Camp?” I ask as we pass a wooden sign that is barely hanging on. “What is this place?”

“It’s a resort that used to be very popular. People booked their visits here a year in advance. When the owner died and his son took over, he didn’t know what a treasure he had in his hands. With a gambling problem, he neglected to make any improvements and thought that this source of revenue would never dry up. But over time, people started looking for something more modern, more comfortable, more luxurious. This place died out.”

We drive between the trees for a while until we pass abandoned summer houses. Broken windows, graffiti-covered walls, and smashed doors are the new standard here.

“It looks like a graveyard of good times,” I mutter under my breath.

“Something like that. Keep going.”

The road leads us to the very shore of the lake, but I stop the car a little earlier.

Without turning off the engine, I scan the area and say, “It doesn’t look like we’ll find what we’re looking for here.”

Ash, however, gets out without a word. Through the window, I watch her examine everything closely. She roams left and right, stepping between overgrown piles of rubble and scattered trash. Either she’s looking for something or she’s just crazy. Who knows?

At some point, however, she stops near the shore. Her gaze is fixed ahead, as if something has pulled her out of reality.

What is she seeing?

I turn off the engine and get out too. When I’m beside her, she looks deathly pale, like she’s seen a ghost.

Ash still doesn’t even notice my presence.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing here,” I say and grab her hand, intertwining our fingers.

“Not here. But there,” she whispers, pointing to the other side of the lake.

At first, all I can see is a fairly large platform on the water, accessed by a wooden pier. Only after a while do I spot something between the trees.

On the other side, there’s no shore like the one on this side, flat with a sandy area similar to a beach. That shore is steep and completely overgrown with trees. That’s why I didn’t immediately notice the gray roof rising between the treetops.

I have to admit, it must be an amazing place to hide if Ash has a good feeling about it.

“Do you think he’s there?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” I shrug.

“We can’t drive there. We’ll have to walk,” she adds.

“Then we’ll walk.”

Pulling Ash back to the car, I don’t know what’s wrong with her because she suddenly becomes quiet and distant. Something is bothering her, but until she tells me what it is, there’s nothing I can do.

I can be patient.

We drive around the lake as far as we can. We have to cover the remaining twenty percent of the way on foot.

Before we set off, I take an extra gun from the trunk. I pull on a black jacket and put the mask in my pocket. When I come out with an extra jacket for my girl, it turns out she’s already prepared. Dressed in black as usual, with her mask in her hand, she hides a dagger in her pocket.

A moment later, we’re hiking through the trees. My woman is like a ghost, remaining completely silent. Even the branches don’t make a sound under her feet.

Am I the only one who notices such things about her? I never pay much attention to how other women walk, but Ash seems to draw my attention with her whole being. It’s beyond my control. Everything about her attracts me.

Even the way she holds the compass in her hand and controls the direction we’re going.