At the rear of the house, he found a door that looked as if it might lead into the kitchen. Definitely not the type of place he’d find Damon or any of his upper-level disciples. No, here would be the underlings and the servants. Maybe some guards trying to keep a low profile or take a break. He could make this work.
Turning where he stood, he took a quick inventory of his surroundings. Off the door was a small stone patio with a couple of cheap folding chairs and a bucket. He glanced inside the bucket to find old cigarette butts and ashes. Human servants with a bad habit? Or just some stressed-out vampires? The nicotine wouldn’t affect the vampire any longer, but there could be some placebo effect going on. The old habit helped to settled nerves more than the chemicals. Bel would love to study these poor creatures.
A slow grin spread across Winter’s lips. This was just perfect. Checking once again for the placement of the video cameras, he reached inside the bucket while also creating a small opening between the worlds. He snatched up a cigarette butt that had a good length of tobacco before the pale brown filter.
Winter walked over to one of the bushes that would have been just at the edge of the security camera view but still a short distance from the patio, and he pulled off the small sling backpack he wore whenever he was on missions like this. The bag held essentials such as rope, knives, matches, cash, bandages, and even a small squeeze bottle of lighter fluid. With the bottle and matches in one hand, he reshouldered the bag and took a deep breath. He needed to work fast. An opening couldn’t be moved, and neither could the bush, which meant his hands would have to be in the realm of the living to light the fire.
Once his nerves were settled, Winter pushed the veil aside just enough to carefully place the cigarette among the branches and leaves at the top of the bush, as if someone had simply flicked it in that direction rather than putting it out in the bucket. He sprayed the leaves around the cigarette with the fluid and the lit the match. The fluid instantly caught, creating a bright light in the darkness.
Winter immediately pulled back and settled the veil closed again. He shoved the squeeze bottle and matches into his pockets as he moved over to the kitchen door. He didn’t need a large fire. Just one big enough to catch someone’s attention to send them outside. The important thing was that it needed to look like an accident. He didn’t want to tip his hand just yet that someone was trying to infiltrate the house.
To his relief, it didn’t take long for someone to notice that a bush was on fire. The door was thrown wide, and a vampire stepped partially outside. He held open the door while remaining in the doorway, casting a shaft of golden light across the patio.
“What the fuck?” the bloodsucker snarled. “Who the hell was out here last?” He turned toward the interior, shouting, “Someone get me a bucket of water or the damn fire extinguisher.” He’d slammed the door shut behind him before Winter could move.
Winter hovered near the door, cursing under his breath. The bastard had blocked his entrance into the house with his body. His plan wasn’t working quite how he’d expected, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet.
A few seconds later, the same vampire returned with a bucket in hand. He strode across the patio, toward the fire that was increasing in size and threatening to spread to another bush. A second vampire followed him out, but he stepped through the open doorway just enough to allow Winter to squeeze inside.
Releasing his breath in a rush, Winter slipped down the short hallway that ended in a large kitchen filled with polished stainless-steel appliances and a fancy tile floor. Everything was either white or silver, making the room feel oppressively bright. The only thing out of place was a pair of dirty glasses and some empty bags that had once held blood. Looked like Winter had interrupted their late-night snack.
He had barely gotten across the kitchen when the two vampires returned with the empty bucket. There was some talk about a cigarette starting the fire and why someone named Leslie couldn’t fucking put his butts out in the bucket like everyone else. Winter nearly laughed to hear that his distraction had worked so well. There was no suspicion that anyone had set the fire on purpose.
Continuing through the house, Winter took note that even more ghosts were crowded inside of Damon’s house than outside on his lawn. He would have thought most of his victims would prefer to move away from the murderer if possible, but maybe they were hoping to exact some kind of revenge on the bastard.