“Oh. Okay, then. Let’s go silver hunting.”
She moved around the house, opening closets and drawers, picking up every object and inspecting it carefully, laying the ones in the center of the room that were pure silver.
He liked that she didn’t ask a lot of questions or expect a ton of explanation. And she pitched in right away.
“There’s a locked cellar out back, by the way,” she added, throwing a pitcher into the pile on the floor.
“There is?”
“Yeah. It’s behind all those bushes at the far end of the property. I noticed it when I was wandering around the yard. That’s what I came in to tell you.”
He nodded. “Let’s go check it out.”
Okay, so this wasn’t their house, and he would be destroying someone else’s things, but they had to survive. The Realm of Light would take care of reimbursing the owner for the loss of anything they used, and Ryder and Angelique would be long gone before the missing objects were noticed anyway.
Angelique led him to the cellar, completely unnoticeable unless you were searching for it. Leave it to Angie to unearth it. They cleared the brush and Ryder knelt down to inspect the rather sturdy padlock. Not too sturdy, though, because Ryder had it picked within minutes.
“You’re pretty good at breaking and entering,” Angelique said with a wry grin.
“I’ve had some experience getting into places.”
“I’ll just bet you have.”
He discarded the lock and pulled the lid off, wrinkling his nose at the musty smell that wafted up at them from down below.
He turned on his flashlight and led the way down the thick stone steps. “Be careful.”
It was much cooler down here, and roomier than Ryder would have thought at first glance.
“Oooh, antiques!” Angelique said, her voice tinged with excitement. She hurried past him and knelt on the ground, inspecting what looked to be old pottery stacked up and wrapped in nearly transparent, yellowed linen.
Ryder zeroed in on the table at the back of the cellar. Just what he needed. Old swords and daggers, sheathed in ancient scabbards and leather holders.
“Let me see those,” Angie said, coming up next to him.
He handed one to her and she carefully pulled a sword from its scabbard. She held it in her hands like a woman would a newborn. Lovingly, gingerly, and with tender care. Then she put it down, her eyes lit up, and she sifted through the others.
“These are phenomenal. Cutlass, rapiers, daggers, even battle-axes. Some newer, some as old as medieval times.”
Angelique gazed in lust at the objects in front of her. Ryder laughed. “Gives you a thrill, huh?”
She didn’t turn from the weaponry in front of her. “You have no idea. These must be worth a fortune. I wonder if the current owner of this property is even aware of the treasures in here. Who would leave this stuff locked up in a cellar? They belong in a museum.”
“Not sure. Either way, they’re ours now. Gather these up.”
She finally swiveled and faced him. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to use these weapons. Now help me carry them out of here.”
“Ryder, these are antiques.”
“No, they’re weapons.” He scooped up an armful and waited for Angelique.
“We can’t take them.”
Ignoring her, he pivoted and walked out of the cellar, knowing she’d follow. He made his way back into the house and laid his stash on the kitchen table. Angelique put those she had carried alongside the ones he’d brought.
“I don’t like this,” she said.
“Duly noted. Now I need a blowtorch.”
Angelique whimpered.
He smiled at her misery as he walked out of the house and down the stone walkway. He didn’t think he’d be lucky enough to find a torch in this place, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to search the garage anyway.
Damned if the owner didn’t have a blowtorch in the garage. Actually, the garage was fairly well stocked with tools.
“It’s got to be my lucky day.” Not much had gone right the past few months. It was good that at least something had. They’d found plenty of silver, and now he had a torch hot enough to melt it down.
He grabbed all the silver and brought it to the garage, then found a pot sturdy enough to hold it all and set to work.
It was a tedious, painstaking task that took the better part of the day. And Angelique stayed right there with him, her goggles on to protect her eyes from the blinding light of the torch. He burned, she watched. And brought him drinks and food during breaks. She was silent the entire time, though from the sour expression on her face he was more than aware of her displeasure at what he was doing.
