novelraw Chapter 344: The Death of David
Chapter 344: The Death of David
Wind and rain lashed furiously against the windows. Lightning, like the branches of a gnarled tree, tore through the depths of the clouds.
A deathly pale light flooded the hallway.
The approaching dark figure was like an abyss, swallowing any light that dared to fall upon it.
“What’s happening?” the butler asked, his voice fraught with alarm.
“What do you see?” Lu Li asked, turning his head slightly.
“It’s David... He... He seems to be dead.”
“David... He’s soaked to the bone, and there’s a wound on his neck... He looks like a corpse.”
Anna’s voice and the butler’s reached Lu Li’s ears at the same time.
“How is this possible... It can’t be...” Rola stumbled back a few steps, staring in disbelief at the approaching figure of David.
“But... each of us met with her alone earlier...”Rola was shaken not because he was close to David, but because David had been a more experienced exorcist than him.
And now, that more experienced exorcist had died without any warning during the Shadow Puppeteer’s ritual, his body now being used like a marionette.
“Stay calm, Rola,” Petra said quietly, reminding him that they were still trapped inside the evil spirit’s story.
The inscrutable, ancient voice drew nearer along with “David.”
[The servants watched as David walked toward them. He looked strange, his movements stiff, as if rusted. “Are you alright, my friend?” asked the servant, Lu Li.]
“Are you alright, my friend?” Lu Li addressed the man who was clearly already dead, now just a character dragged into the story.
The gruesome scene everyone expected, where “David” might begin to speak, never came. There was only the sound of that incomprehensible, ancient voice.
[“It’s my fault. David was accidentally... injured,” said Sara, who was standing behind the servants. The servants had no reason to disbelieve their mistress, so they looked upon the silent David with sympathy.]
[“My lady, dinner is ready,” the maid Eileen said to Sara. Sara nodded and followed Eileen out of the corridor. David left as well.]
[“Something’s wrong with David...” The servant Lu Li couldn’t help but stare after the departing man. Just then, someone nudged his shoulder. He turned to see the servant Petra, who offered a mocking smile. “Well, well, what has our esteemed Viscount’s servant, Lu Li, noticed?”]
“Nothing...” the servant Lu Li replied after a short silence.
The butler left with the Baroness. One of the maids, mustering her courage, was sent to follow David. She soon returned with news: David’s body was lying in the garden, beneath a lantern near Agate Lake.
The location corresponded to the gazebo in the story.
It was difficult to say whether David had retained his consciousness or had simply become a puppet of the Shadow Puppeteer.
The latter seemed far more likely.
After six in the evening, once dinner was over, “Sara” returned to her bedroom, and the danger temporarily receded.
In the brightly lit dining room, the roar of thunder and rain outside was almost inaudible.
Steam rose from the food. The others sat in silence, unmoving.
Only Lu Li continued to eat.
“The killer is obvious... As for her motive... it’s related to resurrection. She’s using us as guinea pigs,” Petra said, rubbing his temples. “I suggest that from now on, we do our best not to be alone.”
The Shadow Puppeteer had laid its trap with far too much patience. It had spent days lulling them into a false sense of security. Each of them had, at some point, been alone with Sara, and then, at a moment of its choosing, it launched a sudden attack. And it had worked.
David had died because of that suddenness.
“What if it doesn’t want any of us to get out of here alive?” Rola whispered grimly.
“If Sara wants to do something to us, there will surely be signs. So no matter what...” Petra glanced at Lu Li, who was still eating, then swept his gaze over the others. “If any of us finds ourselves alone, we need to regroup as quickly as possible and pay close attention to the plot. We can influence it; Lu Li has already demonstrated that. Baroness...”
Petra looked at the Baroness. “If possible, I advise you to find an exorcist with experience in dealing with the Shadow Puppeteer as soon as you can.”
“I will contact someone immediately,” Lulu, the butler, answered on the Baroness’s behalf.
The Baroness was preoccupied with other matters.
Holding a wine glass in one hand and propping her chin with the other, the Baroness raised her glass in a silent toast to Lu Li. Her narrow eyes fixed on him. “Mr. Lu Li, will you be returning to your detective agency tonight? If you travel alone, that evil spirit might take notice of you. Besides, the weather outside is quite...”
“I will.”
“...unfavorable, so please allow the carriage to take you,” the Baroness finished quickly, a carefree smile playing on her lips.
“Thank you.”
Half an hour later, Lu Li left the estate in the Baroness’s carriage.
The streets were nearly deserted. The streetlights illuminated only small patches of the night. The roar of the downpour drowned out the clatter of the wheels, creating the illusion that nothing existed in the world but rain and thunder.
Sandbags at the entrance kept the water at bay, but staying completely dry in weather like this was practically impossible. As he stepped into the hallway, Lu Li was hit by a strong scent of damp wood, a smell that only intensified when he returned to the detective agency.
After all, it was just a simple wooden house. The fact that it wasn’t leaking or collapsing in the wind was already a testament to its sturdy construction.
Lu Li covered his mouth and gave a slight cough. When the tickle in his throat subsided, he went to the kitchen to start a fire.
Not to cook, but to drive out some of the dampness from the agency.
After lighting the kindling and waiting for it to catch, Lu Li tossed a few lumps of anthracite coal into the stove. The flue was mostly closed, and if he had used regular coal or wood, the smoke would have had no way to escape.
The flames illuminated Lu Li’s face, the warmth chasing away the chill and dampness in the room.
“Lu Li,” Anna called softly. Lu Li looked up and calmly met the gaze of her translucent form.
“Are you going to die during the Shadow Puppeteer’s ritual?”
David’s death had deeply unsettled Anna.
Lu Li was silent for a moment before replying, “With you by my side, probably not.”
...
[Bright moonlight spilled onto the balcony as Sara awoke.
[The servants in the estate were already asleep. Sara slipped quietly out of her bedroom and made her way toward the gazebo in the garden.
[A thick darkness enveloped her. Something seemed to be present in the gloom, exuding a foul, rotting stench. There was no fear on Sara’s face. By the dim moonlight, she lit a candle on the table.
[A faint flame flickered to life. Besides Sara at the table, another emotionless face appeared at the edge of the illuminated space.
[Sara ordered the dead David to drag Adam’s body out from under the bed and move it to the woodshed cellar. Soon after, David’s body lost its strength and became a mere corpse once more.
[Sara watched dispassionately, writing: “The ritual needs refinement. David was ‘alive’ for only a few hours, and his body continues to decompose. Perhaps this is because I am the host of the ritual, and David obeys me unconditionally. But this will not do; I need a complete resurrection...”]
[Sara thought of the servants. This time, there wasn’t a shred of compassion in her.]
[It was a just punishment for the traitors.]
[They got what they deserved.]