Angelique nodded at Liv. “Sarafine Duchannes? I’m impressed.”
“We killed her twice,” Link said proudly. “Once here and once in the Otherworld.”
“We?” John looked at Link pointedly.
“Well, our boy Ethan handled it the second time. But that’s a long story, seein’ as he had sorta kicked the bucket, too.”
“You done?” Floyd tugged on the bottom of her Dark Side of the Moon T-shirt, shifting uncomfortably. “We know you’ve seen your share of action, and you’re a real badass, Oxford. But the Sultan’s Palace isn’t just any house. It’s haunted, and we all know how brave you Mortals are when it comes to Sheers.”
Goose bumps pricked Link’s arms at the mention of the Caster term for what he considered plain old ghosts. But he wasn’t about to act like a big chicken in front of his friends. “Let’s not go throwin’ names around. I’m still half Mortal. Or is it three-quarters?” He tried to do the math in his head. “If John was half, and I got half a his half—”
John grinned. “Some days you really make me proud I bit you.”
“I try.” Link held his fist up in front of John. “Pound it.”
Sampson was still watching the house. Even in his leather lead-singer pants, ripped T-shirt, and bike-chain collar, he reminded Link of a wolf watching the woods. It was almost as if Sampson knew there was something in there. It wouldn’t have spooked Link half as much if Lucille wasn’t standing right next to him with her ears perked up and her tail waving back and forth like a snake about to strike.
“What’s the deal, Sammy Boy? Do those Darkborn eyes a yours see somethin’ we don’t?” Link asked. “Somethin’ we probably don’t wanna know about?”
Sam kept his gaze fixed on the house. “It’s not what I can see. It’s what I can sense.”
Link should’ve taken the hint and stopped asking questions, but Rid’s life was on the line. If there was anything inside the Sultan’s Palace that might keep them from getting to the door in the basement that led to the labs, he needed to know. Plus, all that talk about Sarafine reminded him that no matter what was goin’ on in this Sheer Shack, he’d seen worse. “What’s your Darkborn radar pickin’ up? Lay it on us.” He sucked in a breath, ready for anything.
“Something bad happened in there, that’s for sure,” Sampson said.
Necro walked up beside Sampson. “I feel it, too. It’s like one big after-party for the dead in there.”
“A graveyard rave? Great.” Floyd shook her head.
“Yeah. I never really wanted to party in a graveyard.” Link was less excited.
Angelique sauntered past them. “Just the spirits of more than a dozen murdered girls and a Turk who was buried alive. I’ve already been through here once, when I broke out of the labs.”
“So there are definitely ghosts in there?” Link asked, wishing she hadn’t told him. In his experience, knowing nothing was a hundred times better than knowing the wrong thing.
Necro flinched, as if something had startled her. “That’s an understatement.”
I knew this was gonna suck.
Link took a deep breath. “Ghosts or no ghosts, I’m still goin’ in.”
“Of course you are. We all are.” Liv checked her selenometer, then glanced at Floyd. “Unless any of us are having second thoughts.”
Floyd stepped off the curb. “Nice try. I’ve never met a Mortal girl who didn’t freak out at the sight of a Sheer.”
Liv headed toward the back of the house. “Well, you have now. Like I said before, I’ve gone head to head with Vexes.” She waited for John to catch up as Sampson and Necro followed Angelique to the gate ahead of them.
Lucille trotted along next to Sampson like she was his personal Seeing Eye cat.
When they reached the back of the property, they saw that the iron gate was secured by a padlock. They probably weren’t the first people who had tried to break in. Partying in haunted houses was practically a rite of passage in a city like New Orleans.
Link peered through the gate and into the overgrown courtyard. Magnolia trees lined the walkway, with a huge stone fountain in the center. Tangles of sweet jasmine and bougainvillea snaked their way through the garden and up the back porch. Just like every other courtyard in New Orleans, Link thought. Ghosts included.
Necro yanked on the padlock and glanced at Link and John. “Are you two gonna Rip us inside?”
John laughed and walked over to the gate. “That would be a waste of a trip.” He closed his hand around the lock and pulled, breaking it off effortlessly.
“Nice one, dude.” Link held up his fist and John bumped it.
Necro looked impressed. Not to be outdone, Sampson grabbed one of the gates and jerked his arm up. The heavy hinges ripped right off and clattered onto the sidewalk. He stood there for a moment, holding the gate in the air.
“Shh,” Necro whispered. “You want to wake up every Sheer in there?”
“Seriously, Sampson,” Floyd said. “Put that thing down.”
Angelique patted his arm as she strode by. “We could’ve just climbed over the gate like I did last time.”
Sam looked embarrassed and propped the gate against the side of the house. “Just trying to help,” he said sheepishly.
“Show-off.” John winked as he walked past Sampson.