It was long past midnight in a sleepy English village when the phone rang in a quiet bedroom, the room was sparse the owner having spent so long moving from hotel to hotel, he had never really cultivated the clutter of a normal person. The only visible expression of its owner's personality a small hand carved wooden chest at the foot of the bed. The sleeper stirred reluctantly at the screeching sound of the phone intruding into his dreams.
A dark skinned hand appeared from under the heavy covers and groped around until it found the phone.
"Hello, who is this?" The voice was sleepy but still melodic the words touched with a faint foreign accent.
"It's me, Eddy. Anjou something has happened... I'm going away for a while can you call the servants and have them come back in the morning and clean up the place... I've had a party and the place is quite messed up I'll leave the repairs in your hands." The voice on the other end of the line couldn't have sounded more different, the words were strained and worried the talker seemed to be very worried about something.
"Is everything all right sir? You sound quite distressed." Anjou's voice sharpened as the last vestiges of sleep fell away his tone losing its singsong tone and developing a strong British accent.
"I'm fine Anjou, just fine I just have the urge to travel for awhile I will contact you in due time until then look after the mansion and keep it prepared in case I return without warning."
"You will not be requiring me to travel with you, sir?"
"No Anjou I'm... I'm going on my own this time, I'll keep in touch by email."
Anjou was about to reply when the line clicked and went dead. He knew that his employer was often given to such flights of hedonism but he had never sounded so disturbed before. Shrugging off his nagging worried Anjou rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, after all, there was plenty of time to worry in the morning...
The Mansion turned out to be a total disaster area, half of the rooms had been reduced to total chaos, expensive sculptures smashed, pictures shredded and everything overturned, most of the upper floor was untouched but someone had gone through every closet in the place and thrown clothing everywhere. Anjou toured the disaster before the staff arrived picking his way from room to room surveying the wreckage. Edward Black super rich playboy and devoted hedonist had thrown some wild parties over the years but this one did not make even the slighted bit of sense. Eddy, as he insisted on everyone calling him, would never throw a party without at least a dozen of his well paid private staff to ensure his guests every need was fulfilled, and he certainly would have informed Anjou who's job it was to provide transport, entertainment and occasionally alibi's. No Anjou mused, this... chaos had been done systematically. Someone had gone from room to room destroying and wrecking everything they touched.
Anjou was wandering through the ruins of Eddy's largest art gallery picking his way over smashed statues and mounds of shredded clothing when he heard the distant sound of the main doors opening and the murmured conversation of the staff as they filed into the hall. Turning back to meet them he saw one of Eddies larger modern art pieces a gigantic metal snake made out of scrap iron, he had missed it before because the imposing statue had been reduced to a pile of shredded metal half covered with clothing. What caught his attention now was the head, its neck buried into the wall above the doorway... seven feet up.
Lauri stood in the entrance of the mansion and took in the devastation with a sinking feeling.
"It's going to take forever to clean this mess up."
Her friend Angelique shot her a sympathising smile. Lauri was one of the two full-time Maids responsible for keeping the place tidy all year round, Angelique was the other and over the years she had cleaned up after some seriously destructive parties but this was something else. At 22 Lauri was the older of the two, hired straight out of the local high school at 16 and trained to be a professional maid at Eddy's expense. Beautiful dark eyes, long curly black hair, smooth fair skin and an impressive bust at DD she knew full well like the rest of the staff Eddy had hired her for her looks rather than any ability. Eddie usually went for slim bug breasted bimbo's but her rich full figure had been too much for the Billionaire playboy to pass up. However, as she had long since discovered it was a passing interest that usually stopped shortly after he took them to bed. The job paid triple what it should and if she had to put up with his wandering hands so be it. Angelique, on the other hand, was recently employed and still had that starry-eyed expression that told Eddy hadn't tired of his new toy yet.
"The sooner you get started the sooner you will be finished girl, at least you have Angelique here to help you." Miss Parker a thin waspish woman with a short temper ruled the kitchens and the maids with an iron hand, currently she stood hands on hips glaring at Lauri for daring to speak. Unlike the two maids in their traditional black and white uniforms, Miss Parker wore a severe white dress that emphasised her slim frame.
"We will all be working together to clean the house." Lauri started as Anjou appeared at the top of the stairs. "That includes you, Miss Parker. The entire house is much the same as this so I have called in the entire staff, they will be here in another hour."
Lauri hid a smile at her superior's furious expression at being corrected in front of the two maids, Anjou Eddy's butler was the only member of staff who could order the head cook around and he would not stand for her bullying. Usually, when Mr Black was away Anjou was always with him which left just the three of them to look after the house and a couple of gardeners to keep the grounds, If Anjou had called back the entire staff there would soon be a dozen more hands to help. Of course, if the entire building was like this they would need them all.
"Will Mr Black be back soon Anjou?" Angelique's voice was soft and dreamy much like her personality.
"He will be back in due time he did not leave an exact date for his return just instructions to keep the place ready for him."
"Like we don't do that already" Lauri muttered under her breath drawing another of Miss Parker's glares.
"Ladies if you would start in the kitchens I will send the rest of the staff to join you as they arrive."
Anjou watched as the three women headed for the wreckage of the kitchens, as soon as they were out of sight he headed for the elevator.
Even if Eddy's party had happened no human being could have torn apart that statue, let alone hammered its head into the wall above the door. Anjou hurried to the secret hiding place of the one creature on earth likely to possess such strength.
The wine cellar was a mess, bottles smashed and racks turned to splintered kindling, Anjou stepped out of the lift into a sea of expensive wine staining the floor red as blood. The Vivarium door stood open the flickering lights revealing a mass of broken glass and bent metal of the snakes that inhabited it there was no sign. Anjou picked his way across the floor to the concealed lever that opened the door to Eddies most secret pet but found it gone. The whole mechanism had been torn out of the wall and lay in twisted pieces. Lillith's lair was locked and nothing short of a team of workmen with heavy equipment would open the door again.
Lauri lifted the remains of a splintered door and wiped her forehead on her sleeve. It looked like whoever had trashed the place has simply broken down any door that was locked and then trashed whatever they found beyond. The rest of the temporary staff that were usually called in when Eddy was at home had turned up some time ago relieving Lauri and Angelique of Miss Parker's ever watchful gaze, now the kitchen was in rough order and the work was spreading out to the surrounding rooms.
"Why did he break down the doors, Eddy has a key that unlocks every room in the place." Angelique wondered aloud, the petulant tone of her voice had been getting worse for the past hour and Lauri was getting increasingly frustrated with her.
"I don't know what happened here Ange but this wasn't a party looks more like a war zone, I think Mr Black pissed off someone and this is a warning."
Angelique looked shocked.
"Do you think Eddy might be hurt?"
"It's Mr Black to us Ange, don't let Miss Parker hear you call him by his first name again or she will have your guts on a plate." Lauri sighed at her friend's stubborn expression, it wasn't her fault she was still new to this and still Eddy's favourite she would eventually realise her place and then she would probably quit like the rest but until then Lauri had a chance to turn her around.
"I don't give a crap what that old bitch Sandra says Eddy told me to call him by his first name and I shall."
Angelique stood there with her hands on her hips glaring at Lauri, if she hadn't been five foot tall the diminutive blond would have looked stern but the skinny girl just managed to make herself look comical.