This was his secret place. This was his sacred place. This was what he was told to build, and this was where he was told to go. It spoke to him and told him to build the house this way. This strange narrow room in the middle of the house had no door in which to enter or exit, save the one behind him. He sealed himself inside, putting wood putty over the seams in the knobless door. He will wait now. His wife and son were supposed to accompany him, but they escaped. His dear wife could not understand why this was so important. She'd called him mad and fled with their child in a horse carriage and boarded a steamboat south to return to her family's plantation. He was not concerned. He had the amulet which blessed him with wealth, incredible luck, and a beautiful estate. It was better than owning slaves. He owned souls.

XxXxXxXxX

"Sold! To the handsome young man in front for $545,000!" The auctioneer yelled. Loki smiled as the men around him glared and sneered at his victory. Mr. Gotz, the auctioneer fished out a large old key ring to hand to the young man.

"You are to have outbid all these real estate flippers," Mr. Gotz said. Loki fished through his man purse to find the stack of cashier's checks he needed to pay the man. This was a cash only auction. "So….would you like a tour of your new home?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you," Loki said proudly.

"You aren't from around here," He said.

"No, no. I'm definitely not," He chuckled as they climbed the steps up to the porch of the large Victorian mansion. Loki gazed at the painted details of the spindle railings. Every inch of this home was either carved, painted, or stained to exacting standards.

"Are you going to be living in this big house all alone?" Mr. Gotz asked.

"Just at first. I'm going to turn this place into a bed and breakfast,"

"That is an ambitious endeavor for someone your age," Mr. Gotz said as he looked over the tall twenty-something with black hair, milky skin, and green eyes.

"Yes this is an ambitious endeavor for me. I just graduated from college; I majored in business management,"

"So why a bed and breakfast?" he asked as he unlocked the front door. The heavy wrought iron keys were original to the house and clanked as he twisted them.

"Several reasons. I wanted to get away from the city; to meet new friends, and to have a job that doesn't require me to sit twelve hours a day in a gray cubicle,"

"Yes, but you must be wealthy to afford this place? Surely you do not need to work?" He pressed.

"I need purpose Mr. Gotz. Most young men in my position would drink their money away, or snort it up their noses. I didn't have to go to college. I wanted to," He said as the front door opened.

The house was an old Victorian mansion built in the late 1800's. It had eight upstairs bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a large kitchen, and both a finished basement and attic space that could be used for any number of purposes. "Wow!" He gasped.

"The house is in pristine condition. We don't know what happened to the previous owner. This place has been sitting vacant for the last 5 years and we had to confiscate it for unpaid property taxes. The police got involved at one point as we attempted to contact the man, but we were unsuccessful in locating him. Everyone fears something bad happened to him. He dropped a lot of money into fixing this place up and then vanished," Mr. Gotz explained.

"Well, if I find a dried mummy curled up in a closet I'll call you," Loki said with a touch of morbid humor. "Your cleaning crew did a great job of removing all the dust and cobwebs. This place is spotless," He said as he admired his surroundings.

"You're welcome," Mr. Gotz frowned. He never sent a cleaning crew.

"I'm surprised this estate was never vandalized. You said it sat empty for decades before it was bought five years ago?"

"The previous owner did not buy this property so much as he used old ordinance to sue the county for the rights. There is an old slum lord law on the books that allows squatters that make improvements to a derelict property to sue for ownership." He explained.

"Did you grow up in Maywood, Mr. Gotz?"

"Born and bred my entire life," He smiled with pride.

"Why didn't anyone in town ever notice this place before he came along?" He quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Well…um….eh….You know I have no idea. I used to walk by this place every day when I was a kid. I just never paid any attention to it. This place might as well have been a great big boulder or a void. It was part of the landscape of our little town. No one ever thought it was very interesting," He said as his face flushed with either embarrassment or anger. Loki could not tell which.

"The details are beautiful," Loki said as he admired his new home. He looked at the bannister of the grand curving staircase which was stained a deep cherry brown. Even the risers on the staircase had little embellishments that showcased the value of the property. The mansion was easily worth quadruple what he paid for it. The hardwood floors looked sturdy and expensive and the furniture had a rich layer of patina. "I think I'll set up a registration desk here in the parlor," He stated as he mentally inventoried all the items in the room. They moved on to the kitchen which was decorated in a classic black and white color scheme. The appliances were only 5 years old. They looked like they were barely used before the previous owner disappeared. Loki saw no need to replace them.

Next they entered the library. The cavernous room was filled floor to ceiling with shelves full of books, trinkets, and artifacts. He scrutinized the carved mantle of the fireplace. It was the perfect spot to place his parent's ashes. He spied an old painting of a family portrait and wondered if this was the original family that built this place. Loki grinned at the sight of all the animal trophies, mostly from Africa. There were several stuffed gazelle heads, zebra heads, a warthog, and even an entire stuffed lion.

"Excellent," He beamed.

"This is my favorite room too," Mr. Gotz said.

"I couldn't have imagined a better man cave myself. My patrons will enjoy this room immensely," A chiming sound filled the quiet as Mr. Gotz received a text on his phone.

"Ah. Sorry to cut the tour short, but I am needed back at the office,"

"Thank you for sticking around. You didn't have to,"

"It was my pleasure young man. I wanted to get one last good look around this beautiful place. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call me,"

"I will," He said as Mr. Gotz turned to take his leave. Loki continued exploring the rest of the first floor. The dining room was large and the chandelier; while a touch too granny for Loki's taste did fit in with the rest of the home. The table was long enough to seat 12 people and was the same shade of dark cherry stain as the floor and trim. He left this room and walked down the narrow hall into a bright ballroom with marble floors.

"Yes! I can host weddings in here!" Loki chuckled as visions of large lavish parties filled his imagination. Jackpot! The large glass French doors opened up to the garden outside and Loki got a full view of the back breaking labor he would get to enjoy the following day.

"Dandelions and crab grass. Awesome," He muttered sarcastically. He turned and headed back to the sweeping staircase to continue his exploration.

The configuration of the top floor was odd. The first four bedrooms were easy to get to, but he had to go down a long corridor to get to the bedrooms on the other side. He put his hand on the door knob of the first room to find it was locked. The heavy key ring in his hand clanked as he went through each key until he found the right one and unlocked the door. He entered the room and reached for the light switch. He flipped it up and down a few times before he remembered that he still needed to get the power turned on. He walked over to the large window on the left and yanked the heavy drapes open to let in the light. The room was stunning. The bed was massive with tall bedposts and sheer white curtains. The wallpaper was a deep blue color and the wood trim was painted white. He felt like he was in Queen Antoinette's bedroom. Driving home this feeling, on the far wall, was a very large mirror. It was three people wide and reached almost floor to ceiling. He loved it. The furniture in this room must have been original to the property. Buying any of this new would cost a fortune. Loki knew that if the rest of the rooms in the mansion were this beautiful, he'd be able to open up for business within weeks instead of months.

He opened up the large wardrobe. It was not a walk in closet, but it would do. He noticed the door to the right. He opened it to find a bathroom. The light pouring in from the window was not enough to illuminate the bathroom properly. He decided it was time to fish his flashlight out of his satchel. Like the kitchen the bathroom was done in a classic black and white motif with subway tiles and a claw foot tub. It was timeless. He also found something unexpected; another large mirror identical to the bedroom mirror, and also another door which connected to the next bedroom.

He wanted to explore more, but put his flashlight away. The next room was an interior space and would not have a window in it. The window of the Antoinette room (he decided to call it that from then on) looked out onto the dead neglected garden. He headed back downstairs and out of the house to take care of the basics. Water, sewage, electricity, groceries and all the other mundane details that go with starting up a new hotel.

XxXxXxXxXx

The bed of Loki's truck was full when he returned from his shopping excursion. The Maywood General Store reminded him of a countrified Walmart Supercenter. Loki dragged the fertilizer to the rose bed and spent hours pulling weeds and digging in the dirt. It was a little late in the season but he might get some growth before winter hit. He'd at least have a head start on next year. He turned his head when he noticed the lights. Yes! The electricity had been turned on. He looked up to the second floor and noticed a stained glass window. It was situated in between the bedroom window of the Antoinette room and what must have been a bedroom on the other side.

He jaunted back into the mansion and turned his head to admire new details he could not see without electricity. He headed up the stairs and jogged down the hallway expecting to find a door leading to some middle room, but found none. He walked back and forth from end to end to approximate the middle. There should have been a door there but he only saw solid wall. She inspected the wood molding and noticed what appeared to be a poorly concealed crack in the wood filled in with wood caulking and buffed smooth. The wallpaper in that hallway looked more contemporary than the rest of the house. Loki huffed in aggravation. He didn't want to damage the wall just to satisfy his curiosity, and he would have to re-wallpaper the entire hallway if he did. He left the mystery alone at that moment. He had other priorities on which to focus.

Though the house appeared pristine he still needed to wash all the bedding and inventory each room for valuable items. An insurance appraiser would have to come out and give him an estimate. He noted that there were five more identical large mirrors on the top floor, a painting in the parlor and a grand portrait of a beautiful couple in the ballroom. The other bedrooms were just as magnificent as the Antoinette room but were different enough in their color and style to set them all apart. All of the upstairs bathrooms were set up in a Jack and Jill configuration between two bedrooms making them ideal for family rental. Loki was grateful for the modern basement apartment that the previous owner installed. The basement was large and had three industrial sized washers and dryers in a grand mud room with a large table. Closed off from the rest of the house was his personal living space complete with its own small kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms.

His first night in his new home and business was bittersweet. When he stopped moving he felt alone and isolated like a lady in Victorian era England or a princess in her private castle. If only the house had a tower. His mind drifted as the darkness took him into slumber and Loki dreamed of things he didn't understand.

Mwanawa cowered in the corner of her hut as she listened for the hushed voices and shuffled feet of the men outside. She knew these men. They were the men of her village. Her brother was among them. She tried to hide that she had birthed an albino child from the other villagers, but word spread and the local witch doctor had put up a bounty for her baby's bones. Wealthy white men came to her country to hunt the big game there. They brought with them big guns and much money which the witch doctor intended to reap from the foreigners by selling them an amulet made from rare magical ingredients. This amulet would bless the hunters with prosperity and good fortune. Mwanawa cradled her child, grabbed her knap sack and ran.

Mwanawa ducked out a hole in the back of her hut and ran down the animal trails she'd traveled since childhood to a destination beyond all she knew. She had no plan beyond running into the bush; into the wilderness in the hope her child might survive the night. She was snatched from behind mere yards away from her hut.

"No! No my baby! My baby please!" she wailed, kicked, and cried as the tears streamed down her face. Her infant was ripped from her arms. The baby screamed as it is tossed to the ground. A machete gleamed in the fire light as it was raised into the air and brought down onto the screaming bundle below.