Chapter Five
THE WHOLE PLACE IS A FRONT! my mind screamed as I tried to digest everything I had just learned.
Howell Home was a front for the clandestine Cerberus Society. My head had started spinning as soon as Travis had dropped that bombshell on me. After my initial shock, though, I closed my mouth—since it had been very unattractively hanging open—and wondered why this news would surprise me. Considering the amount of knowledge the people here at Howell Home had about the preternatural world, it only made sense there was more to this place than met the eye.
To the outside world, Howell Home was a safe house that took in unfortunate young women and provided them the skills necessary to seek gainful employment. This would keep them off the streets, keep them from begging, or worse. I shivered to think of what “worse” could mean to women of this era. While Howell Home did, in fact, help women regularly, it did so only to keep eyes from prying into its real mission—to act as a base of operations for Cerberus. At the moment, the only residents were Mrs. Howell, Dr. Blake, Travis Connely, Phoebe, and now myself. There were also a few trusted servants in the Home’s employ.
Cerberus, which evidently had been around for hundreds of years, studied, recorded, and tried to maintain a balance between the human and preternatural worlds. Its number-one mission was to keep all preternatural activities a secret from the human population. That included taking care of any problems that might threaten mortal lives or expose the preternatural community, which would no doubt cause mass panic. Imagine the Salem witch hunts multiplied by the population of the entire world and involving dozens of creatures that most humans had no idea existed, except in vague fairy tales and bedtime stories. I definitely saw the seriousness of the job these people were doing.
Travis was doing most of the talking over dinner, telling me all about Cerberus and what the society involved. He was of the opinion that a recent influx of vampire attacks was the reason I’d warped into their midst. Perhaps there was some kind of uprising going on… or something more sinister brewing. Their investigation into the attacks had not turned up anything to date, and the vampire leaders in the area kept assuring them it was the work of rogue vampires. However, Cerberus members weren’t convinced.
As he took a breath to shovel in some of his roasted turkey, I asked, “So, what exactly are you suggesting I do since you are known in the preternatural community and your society can’t come up with anything? What could I accomplish? I know I am here for a reason, but what are you getting at, exactly?”
Travis glanced over at Mrs. Howell and Dr. Blake. She gave a slight nod, and Dr. Blake scowled into his plate.
“We think perhaps some of the more powerful vampires are hiding things from us. We happen to know that a particularly powerful and influential vampire named Soren is looking to employ a young lady. We thought, after you were trained properly, and if you could secure the position, that you’d be able to find out if anything is going on that we need to know about."
Holy shit! They want me to become a spy and infiltrate a powerful vampire’s home?
I laid down my fork and glanced at Dr. Blake, who was looking at Travis like he could gladly throttle him. The feeling was mutual. I looked to Mrs. Howell and wondered why she wasn’t the one playing spy, but understanding sparked quickly in the back of my mind. She couldn’t because she was too well known in both the human and preternatural communities.
I stared down at my plate, no longer hungry. I knew this was one of the reasons I was here, but could I put myself in such a vulnerable position? Could I do it if it meant getting back to my own time and making sure it stayed the future that I remembered?
Yes; yes I could.
I looked up at Travis, who seemed to be holding his breath, awaiting my answer.
“I’ll do it.”