Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

This late at night, the old Lancaster estate looked like a black hulk against the starlit sky. Merlyn hadn't asked a single question from the time she'd picked them up until she pulled into the driveway. She stopped the van and shut off the ignition. "Come on. Daddy set up motion lights for the porches," she said as they got out of the van. She lifted an arm and made a big wave. A bright light blinked on, like a Cyclops' eye. "Come on."

Joe followed her up the rickety steps with Frank trailing behind. They walked into an airy foyer that smelled strongly of old wood and pumpkin. Merlyn touched a switch and a dim chandelier came on above them. "You know, it would have been better to come before dark. I could give you a proper tour."

Frank's brown eyes rested on a tall motionless figure at the back of the foyer – whoever it was stood very still, next to the curving staircase. "Merlyn, who's that?"

"Oh, that's Goliath, don't mind him." Merlyn walked past the tall figure and Frank got his first good look. If the foyer's dimensions had been any less, the huge figure wouldn't have fit. It appeared to be made of stone, realized Frank. Featherless wings were held close to the muscular body. "What is he?"

"Oh, he's a gargoyle. He once protected my father's ancestral castle in Scotland a long, long time ago. Legend has it when the family requires protection against evil, Goliath will come alive."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Wow, neat legend."

Merlyn gave him a glance and then turned to Frank. "Most of us are either in the kitchen or the game room. Come on."

Frank found himself fascinated by the house. The hallways were crooked, sometimes switching back on themselves before reaching their destination. The ceilings had to be at least twelve feet in every room they saw. Finally, they reached the kitchen full of light and voices.

Those voices died away when Merlyn walked into the room, with Joe and Frank right behind her. There was a long moment of silence and then Archimedes looked at his daughter. "What's going on?"

Joe cleared his throat. "Orion Slade was hired by a Mafia don to kill us. Now that Slade's in jail, the don has hired someone else. That someone's already taken a potshot at me. We intend to stop him."

Archimedes Slade studied the boys for a long moment. "I'm surprised your parents let you out of their sight after what happened last month."

Frank took a deep breath. "We haven't told them."

"Pardon my rudeness," spoke up Sullivan Graves. "I rather think the two of you are fools." He glanced at the petite woman to his right. "No dear, not those."

Rowan, a pale woman with long black hair, seemed to be rummaging through a wooden box. The lid of the box appeared to be hand-carved. She held up what looked like an oversized deck of cards.

Sullivan smiled. "Yes, perfect deck for me tonight."

"Sully, stay out of it," came Willow Slade's voice. She nodded to Frank and Joe. "We were just about to pop some popcorn, maybe watch a movie. Will you join us?"

Archimedes reached for the telephone. "They're not staying, Willow, Merlyn's going to take them back wherever she found them."

"Uncle Arch," said Leigh in the sudden quiet. "They won't be safe there."

Archimedes very slowly, cautiously hung up the phone. "Damn it, I don't see why I'm still having to deal with my brother's mistakes."

Sullivan slowly shuffled the oversized deck and shot Archimedes a hard look. "Rather selfish of you, Arch. It's not like these young men put targets on their backs."

Joe jabbed his elbow into Frank's side and whispered, "Not a word."

Frank shot his brother a glare.

"Daddy, it's just for the night. Goliath always protects us. Everything will be all right," said Merlyn.

Something fluttered past Joe's cheek and he remembered a month ago. He ducked his head but the fluttering stayed close. Merlyn smiled at him. "She likes you."

Joe frowned. "Who?"

Frank watched his brother move his head as if something were attacking him. Very faintly he saw a movement and as he looked closer he saw the impossible. "No. That's not a—”

Merlyn shook her head. "Don't say it. She doesn't like being called that, says it's derogatory to her people. Rhiannon, don't pester him so."

Joe felt something touch his shoulder. It felt like a leaf, it was so light. He angled his head for a look and his blue eyes went wide. "Oh my God."

Rhiannon fluttered her wings and smiled up at him. She mimed a curtsy, then with another flutter of iridescent gold wings that were as sheer and delicate as a dragonfly's, she lifted up off his shoulder. She flew over to Frank, cocked her head at him and then flew past him and vanished into the dimness.

Joe watched her go and shook his head. "Does it really work? Clapping your hands to bring a – you know – back to life?"

"We've never had to test the theory," came a new voice from the game room. Reiden stood in the doorway, one hand holding a pool stick. "Hello."

Frank managed a nod in the man's direction. "If this is an inconvenience..."

"No, no, no, of course not," said Sullivan. He'd finally finished shuffling the cards and laid one down.

Joe peeked over his shoulder. "It's upside down."

"Yes, yes, that's portentous in its own way." Sullivan laid a card crosswise on the first one, studied it and then laid out four more cards around the first two. "Hmm." He shifted slightly and laid out four more cards in a vertical row.

Joe saw that some cards were upside down, some right side up. "What are those?"

Sullivan glanced over at him, past him to Frank and then looked at the cards. "Oh dear, this can't be good."

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.