It was a ten-hour flight from Paris to Naples, Florida and the residence of the only man to explore Castle deWinter and live to tell about it. Vince paid the extra expense to secure a seat in first class so he could grab some shut eye. He grabbed breakfast at the airport before renting a car and heading to his meeting.

The house was easy to locate, and soon he pulled up to ornate gates that separated the driveway of this beautiful mansion from the street. He noticed multiple cameras pointed at the gates and his rented vehicle as he pressed the intercom button, it was answered by a female voice.

Vince gave his name and the massive gates slowly swung open. When he pulled up to the front doors, he was greeted by the most stunning blond he had ever seen wearing a blue bikini.She escorted him to the pool and patio area where a male sat at a table sipping on an ice tea.
"Vince Carter? I'm Ben Masters, welcome to Florida," he said as he rose with some difficulty to shake his hand.

Vince observed that Ben was in great shape, his chest and arms bulged with muscle, and he sported a deep tan, his legs, however, looked frail. From the way he shook when he stood up they were barely able to support his own weight.

The stunning blond dropped off a pitcher of ice tea before she stretched on a chaise lounge poolside, she would occasionally glance over at them. Ben poured them both tall glasses of tea and then lit up a cigarette.

"A very beautiful girl," Vince commented, "your wife?"

"Fiancée, chauffeur, pilot, and bodyguard," Ben answered.

"Bodyguard?"

"Yes, if you became a threat she could drop you with one shot. But don't worry, the Baroness vouched for you and I trust her."

"I'm glad," Vince responded feeling relief.

"The Baroness instructed me to assist you in any way I could. I don't suppose my telling you to have your head examined would have any effect on you and your plans?"

"Not really," Vince responded.

"That place almost killed me. If I had not managed to crawl my way to the throne room and activate my emergency alarm, I would have died there. The town folk will not venture past the entrance to the dungeon, even if they see you," Ben stated in a solemn tone.

"I've been in crumbling places before and got out OK."

"This is more than decay. There are booby traps down there of the most ingenious designs, all are armed with blades, spears and arrows. I even managed to avoid a trap that would have dropped me down to a bed of spikes," Ben continued.

"But you found treasure?"

"Yes. What I managed to pull out of there purchased all this and gave me financial security for life, and I only made it half way down. The Baroness told you that I had found the master mason's journal in some antique shop in Germany?"

"Yes."

"Now despite the faded text written in Latin and the crude drawings I used it to find all the triggers and marked them on my way down with orange spray paint. There were numerous skeletons of other treasure seekers along the corridors, and I used the damage to the bones to figure out where the attacks came from, but I must have missed one. I was about halfway up when I took a step and an arrow flew from some hidden repository and lodged itself in my spine."

"The pain was minimal, but my legs would no longer support my body. I managed to crawl forward using my elbows to pull myself up and my knapsack filled with treasure with me. When I reached the throne room, I placed plunder in a specially built rolling vault before I hit the emergency alarm and summoned the townsfolk."

"An air ambulance flew me to the nearest trauma center where I was stabilized. I was then strapped to a backboard and flown back to the US, where I spent almost a year in Walter Reed hospital undergoing dozens of surgery's to restore my legs. I consider myself lucky as the arrow had only nicked the spine and they were able to repair most of the damage."

"Upon my release, I recovered my stash and took some items to auction where they fetched some of the highest prices they could remember. I then paid all my medical bills and purchased this house."

Vince had been so engrossed in the story that he had forgotten the cigarette burning between his fingers and it had burned down to the filter, he quickly stubbed it out.

"I wrote a book about my experiences, but it didn't do that well. It did bring a lot of weirdo's to my door, and I decided to hire a bodyguard. That's how Miss Vel, that stunning creature you see over there came to me. She was a former FBI agent that had been wounded in the line of duty and was going to ride a desk for the rest of her life, I offered her something better."

Ben pushed himself away from the table and asked Vince to follow him. He was seated in a custom made wheelchair and propelled himself inside the house into a study. The lights were flicked on and there in a large glass sided display cabinet was the masons journal along with some of the treasure he had removed.

Vince's eyes grew wide as he saw the large diamonds as large as eggs along with rubies and emeralds. There were dozens of gold pieces and jewel encrusted goblets.While Vince admired the glittering collection, Ben went to a wall safe behind a massive desk and removed a binder that he handed to Vince as he motioned for him to have a seat in the leather chair in front of the desk.

"This is an exact copy of the same journal you see there. I have had the Latin text translated to English and marked the traps and triggers that I discovered. If you are determined to go through with your plans, then please use this as a guide."

Ben took a seat behind the desk as Vince leafed through the pages. The stunning blond appeared with a tray holding a bottle of brandy and two snifters. She poured them both small portion before leaving. Vince noticed that she had slipped on a cover to hide her skimpy bathing suit.

"This is a 1904 Marquis de Montesquiou Vintage Armagnac. It retails for about seven thousand dollars a bottle," Ben stated as he slid a glass to Vince.

"Now I have warned you about the traps, but there is one more warning I need to give you. There is an evil force down there. I didn't see it, but I felt it," Ben said quietly.

"I've been in alleged places before," Vince answered.

"Yes, you have. Maybe your instincts, experience, and gadgets will keep you safe, but be on guard." Ben responded as he drained his glass and pressed a hidden button on his desk to summon Miss Vel.

"Miss Vel will show you out," Ben said standing again and offering his hand to Vince.

"Thank you for everything," Vince responded taking the offered hand.

"I would like to see you when you return. Miss Vel will give you a card with our private phone numbers. When you get back, please call."