Liv and Floyd exchanged one of those weird girl looks that always went right over Link’s head.
Girls. They’re like aliens.
When they crossed the threshold and stepped into the paved courtyard, Necro stopped and inhaled sharply.
“What is it?” Sampson sounded concerned.
“Just what I said before. Some real bad stuff went down here.”
Link swallowed. “Like, how bad? Slasher movie bad?”
“The dials on my selenometer are going crazy,” Liv said, studying her weird watch.
“If I can go through the house a second time, the rest of you will survive,” Angelique said impatiently.
“Will the ghosts give us any trouble?” Link asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Angelique waved a dismissive hand. “They’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of theirs.”
“That’s kinda hard to do if we can’t see them,” Link said.
Necro looked at Angelique. “The Sheers didn’t bother you because you aren’t a Necromancer. They can sense when one of us is around. It wakes them, for lack of a better word.”
Sampson stepped in front of her. “Then you shouldn’t go in.”
Necro seemed confused for a moment. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Or save your life,” Sampson said. “Depending on how you look at it.”
“He’s just watching out for you, Nec.” Floyd put her hand on Necro’s arm gently.
Necro’s expression softened. “Sorry, Sam.”
Sampson gave her a rare smile. “It’s all good.”
“But I’m still going inside,” Necro said, taking another step into the courtyard. “Stay together and don’t touch anything.” She paused in front of Link. “Got that?”
“Yes, ma’am. I won’t touch a thing.” Link raised his hands and clasped them behind his head.
The last thing I wanna do is piss off a whole buncha ghosts.
As they followed Angelique, moving into the center of the courtyard, Sampson sniffed the air. “Smell that?”
Necro nodded. “Yeah. It’s strong.”
Link inhaled deeply and snorted a few times for good measure. “What? I don’t smell anythin’.”
“Then you’re lucky.” Sampson took another step and winced, like he couldn’t bear the stench. “This whole place reeks of blood.”
John bent down next to where Necro was standing and inspected the ground.
Suddenly, Link felt like the emperor in his new clothes. “Dude, can you sense it, too?”
John shook his head. “No. I just wanted to see if I could pick up anything. Sampson’s and Necro’s powers are a lot stronger than mine when it comes to this kind of thing.”
Necro stopped a few feet shy of the back porch. Her eyes traced a path up the steps to the back door. “The blood is coming from underneath the door.”
Link craned his neck to get a better look. He’d never seen ghost blood before—not that he could really see it now. But he didn’t like the idea of it either way.
“I don’t mean to be morbid, but is the blood hazy or opaque?” Liv asked, flipping open her journal.
Floyd shot her a disgusted look. “You aren’t seriously asking her that.”
“This isn’t a diary.” Liv tapped a pen on a fresh page. “I’m a Keeper-in-Training, and it’s my responsibility to record anything of note. As far as I’m concerned, this is scientific data. The average Necromancer can’t see apparitional residue.” Liv scribbled something in the little book. “This is quite remarkable.”
Angelique leaned against the door that led into the house. “Are you guys always this much fun, or did I just catch you on a bad day?”
Floyd ignored her and grabbed Necro’s arm, pulling her away from Liv and the blood no one else could see. But within the space of a few feet, Necro froze, the color draining from her face.
Lucille leaped onto the edge of the fountain with her ears pulled back and hissed like she was ready to tear someone—or something—to shreds.
Link caught up to the girls. “Why are you stoppin’?”
Necro’s eyes widened, and she stumbled back a few steps, reaching for something to grab on to. “The bodies,” she whispered. “I can see them.”
A chill ran up the back of Link’s neck as he looked around, but he didn’t see anything.
Sampson, John, Liv, and Floyd glanced around the courtyard, too.
“How many bodies are we talkin’ about?” Link asked, feeling jumpy.
“Dozens,” Necro said, growing paler.
The air shifted subtly, like waves of heat coming off hot asphalt. At first, Link thought his eyes were playing tricks on him in the dark.
Until the bodies began to materialize.
One by one—bare feet peeking out from beneath billowing silk harem pants; thin arms covered in gold bracelets from wrist to elbow; long, dark hair. They were hazy, but Link and the others could still see the blood all over them. These were the girls Liv told them about—the ones who were slaughtered along with the Turk who kept them locked up. Even though the murdered girls’ Sheers were still a little hazy, they looked terrified.
Liv gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth.
John pushed her behind him, and the pencil tucked behind Liv’s ear dropped in a puddle of blood at their feet.
Don’t freak out. They’re just ghosts, Link reminded himself.