Wicked(109)

David gave me his typical angry face stare as we eyeballed each other, and then he said, "You make sure you walk back down those stairs, Ivy."

Surprised, I stuttered out, "Y-You too."

I watched the sect leader stroll into a room catty-corner to the stairwell. "I think he likes me. Deep down, I think he really does."

"He does." Ren touched the curve of my back lightly. "Because who doesn't?"

"A lot of people."

"I don't believe that," he replied. "You're just too damn likeable."

I smiled at him when all I really wanted to do was stand on my tiptoes and lay one on him. Funny how a month ago, laying one on Ren equaled punching him in the face and not kissing him. I grinned. My how times had changed.

He stepped closer. "What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing." My grin spread into a smile.

His gaze drifted over my face. "God, you're beautiful when you're not smiling, but when you are? Fucking breathtaking."

I flushed at the compliment and was aware that the Order members roaming around on the second floor were giving us the side eye, but I wanted to say something to Ren just in case . . . in case we didn't get the chance later. Looking up, I met the brilliant hue of his green eyes. "Thank you for today. It was . . . wonderful."

"You don't need to thank me," he said in a hushed voice.

"No, I do. It was probably my favorite day in, well, forever." The heat had moved from the tips of my ears to my face. "I just wanted you to know that." He smiled, showing off both dimples, and I decided it was way past time to change the topic of conversation before I was lost to that smile and ended up acting like a goober. "So, the gateway? Where is it?"

Ren glanced at the doorway across the room. "It's in the master bedroom. Want to check it out?"

Nodding, I followed him across the hall and into a large room that was empty. I imagined that at one time, back in its heyday, it probably contained a four-poster bed and beautiful, handcrafted furniture, but now its bare floors were dusty, its fireplace cold.

I started to ask where the gateway was when Miles turned sideways, responding to something Rachel Adams said, and that's when I saw it with my own eyes.

I assumed it was the door to a closet or maybe another room, I wasn't sure, but there was no mistaking that it was not a normal doorway.

The shimmering blue light shining through the cracks all around the door might've given it away. Or it could be the numerous locks on the outside, because seriously, who had deadbolts on doors inside a house. And if none of that was glaringly obvious, it could be the fact that the door was shaking and rattling, as if something on the other side was trying to get through.

That was because something was trying to get through.

Holy crap. That was a legit doorway to the Otherworld. Part of me couldn't believe I was actually seeing one. As terrible as what the gateway represented, I was still awed being in the presence of one.

I stepped forward. "Is it . . . is it always like that?"

Miles answered. "Normally, it's quiet, but as it gets closer to either the equinox or the solstice, it starts to act up."

"And it was always here?" I glanced at him. "This doorway, even before the house was built?"

"I imagine so," he explained. "Before the house, I have no idea how it appeared, but it would've been on these grounds somehow. Once the house was built, our records indicate that the doorway appeared in this room. People never lived long in this house."

Obviously.

Before the Order discovered the door and closed it, the fae had used it to move back and forth between the realms. Coming through the door with humans living in the house had to have been mighty convenient for the fae.

I saw Val walk into the room, her red shirt standing out so brightly amongst the darker tones everyone else was wearing. She headed in my direction, but like me, she was staring at the door.

"That is crazy," she said, stopping between Ren and me. "It's like an episode of Ghost Adventures or something. I mean, can you imagine moving into this lovely two-story home and it comes with a door that glows blue and shakes just four times a year?"

I snorted, but Ren appeared largely unamused as he glanced down at Val, but she seemed unaware of the coolness radiating from him. I frowned, having no idea what the deal was with that, but this wasn't the time to question it.

Downstairs, Order members were forming a first line of defense, so to speak. Their job was to block the stairs, and our job was to keep the door protected. I assumed the same thing was happening at the church, as needless as that was.

Something struck me then, and I turned to Miles. "How active is the door at the church? Is it like this one?"