Which only seemed about half true when the ghostly bodies began to rise.
Floyd shoved Necro toward the porch. “Keep moving. Don’t look at them.”
Link tried to follow Floyd’s advice, even though he knew it wasn’t meant for him. He jumped the stairs two at a time.
Sampson took Necro’s elbow and steered her toward the steps. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Link tried the door, but it was locked.
“I locked it on my way out,” Angelique said. “In case someone was following me.”
“At least we know Nox hasn’t been here,” Floyd said, coming up next to him.
“What do you mean?” Link asked.
She gestured at the door. “It’s still locked. Nox isn’t an Incubus. He would’ve had to break in.”
Link knew it was stupid, but secretly, he was glad Nox hadn’t made it here first. That guy had caused enough problems between Ridley and him. Link didn’t need Nox getting in the way of his big rescue.
This time, Link was the one who pulled the door off the hinges. Though it did take him a little more effort than the gate had taken Sampson.
Whatever. I’m only a quarter Incubus, not a seven-foot Caster version of Hellboy.
As they stepped into a gleaming foyer, Necro coughed and buried her nose in the crook of her elbow, as if the stench had gotten worse. She crossed the foyer, making a wide circle to avoid something on the floor that no one else could see.
“More blood?” John asked.
Necro averted her eyes. “It’s everywhere. There was a huge pool of it just inside the door.”
Link checked the bottoms of his shoes. Even if it was invisible ghost blood, he didn’t want it on him.
Liv followed Angelique, staying close to the peeling wallpaper covering the walls at the perimeter of the room, which led into a huge parlor. An enormous crystal chandelier hung above the threadbare velvet couches and floor pillows scattered around the room.
Link walked up to what looked like a long-necked glass vase with a weird pipe thingy attached to it. “What the hell is that?”
“A hookah,” Liv said. “People fill it with leaves called shisha, like a pipe. But a hundred and fifty years ago, they probably weren’t smoking anything nearly as tame.”
“Huh?” As usual, Link felt like he was failing a test he didn’t even know he was taking until a second ago.
“Opium,” she explained. “At least, that’s what people generally smoked in hookahs back then.”
Sampson and Lucille rushed ahead, following Angelique and dodging the ropes that sectioned off the house like an exhibition in the Fallen Soldiers Museum back home.
Angelique gestured down the hall. “The Outer Door is in the basement.”
“Let’s get it open,” Sam said.
“John, look at the dials.” Liv tapped her selenometer. “This is not good.”
Link rushed over in time to see the hands on the dials spinning in opposite directions. “What does it mean?” he asked. Liv was always worried about the why, but all Link cared about was the what. If some kind of supernatural hurricane was about to hit this place, Link didn’t want to be the last to know.
Liv shook her head. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
“I think I do,” Floyd said.
The air shifted again, the same way it had in the courtyard.
Within seconds, the bodies began to appear—girls, around his age if Link had to guess. Most of them had dark hair and golden skin, and they were all dressed in flowing silk and gold jewelry like the ones in the courtyard. Except their beautiful faces were covered in blood. A few of them had knife wounds or jagged lacerations that turned Link’s stomach.
“Down here,” Sampson called from somewhere far away, most likely the basement.
“Let’s get out of here.” John moved in front of Necro and Floyd.
Necro didn’t respond. Floyd gave her a gentle push, and Necro shuffled forward, almost as if she was in a trance.
Link reached the front of the parlor and saw the long hallway leading to the open basement door. Lucille sat in the doorway, as if she was waiting for them. Link grabbed Necro’s hand, practically dragging her. One of the harem girls rushed toward them, and Link yanked Necro’s arm harder, but it was too late.
The hazy harem girl stepped right into the Necromancer’s body.
Necro’s body jerked back so hard that she took Link along with her.
It felt like someone hit Fast-Forward….
Necro’s body slammed against the wall—
Her hand slipped from Link’s—
Floyd called out to her—
Necro’s mouth opened in a scream that never came—
She scrambled away from Link, her posture more formal than he’d ever seen it. As Necro’s eyes darted between her friends, it was clear she didn’t recognize any of them. “You have to help me,” Necro said in a frantic voice, softer and more innocent than her own. She rushed toward Liv, clutching at her arm. “There are men upstairs, and they are hacking everyone to pieces.”
Before Liv had a chance to respond—or anyone could explain that the men weren’t there anymore and the Sheer was just remembering the crime—the Sheer turned toward the doorway as if she heard a noise. Link knew the sound had to be in her head, because he didn’t hear anything.
Necro’s eyes widened, and she dropped Liv’s arm and bolted toward the back door—and away from whoever she’d seen in the doorway.