Page 104 of Ghosts of the Dead

Lucy shakes her head again and backs up half a step, not wanting to believe what’s right in front of her eyes. “There must be a mistake. You’ve got the wrong guys.”

“Then come with us and see for yourself, but know this. There’s nothing stopping us. Not you. Not your brothers. Not anything that comes between me and the people who hurt those I care about.”

She swallows hard, staring at my hand, then her gaze flicks toward the building again. When she looks back at me,her green eyes blaze with fire. “Fine. I’ll come with you, and you’ll see there’s been a mistake.”

I give her a final nod and walk past her, unwilling to waste any more precious minutes on this nonsense.

Lucy walks by my side with her chin raised, and the five of us walk into the lion’s den.

The building groansaround us as we walk through. It’s an old large house that seemed to have lacked in upkeep since long before the dead rose. Crumbling walls tower around us, mottled with dark water stains that crawl along the plaster. Boarded windows let in thin blades of light that cut across the dust-thick air. Rusted pipes are visible through gaping holes in the ceiling and the walls, like veins that have long since bled dry, occasionally dripping condensation onto the warped floorboards that buckle and protest with every step we take.

This isn’t only another abandoned building. It’s a fortress disguised as a ruin. “I can’t believe you’ve been living in here,” I say, scrunching my nose at a mysterious smell that isn’t from a rotter.

Lucy shrugs. “Most of my time is spent scavenging. There are many worse places than this. At least we have walls, a ceiling, and it’s rotter-free.”

Every inch of it feels wrong. It’s too quiet. Too still. The chill of death hangs in the air, heavier than the dust and more pervasive than the smell of mildew and decay.

This is the place. I know it is.

Luna stalks beside me. Her nose works overtime with all the near smells in a confined space, but her ears flatten against her head. She doesn’t like it here any more than I do.

My hand tightens around my blade when I push another door open. The creaking hinges echo through the quiet,reverberating off the walls and making my skin crawl. Dust swirls in the stale air, catching the faint light that spills through the cracks in the outer walls, creating ghostly patterns that shift and dance with our movement.

I look over my shoulder to Lucy, who’s slowed down to walk behind me. She looks as uncomfortable as I feel. “You were meeting them here. Well, where are they?”

Her eyes search out the shadows, and her chin lifts in defiance. “I don’t know. I got here at the same time as you, so you tell me. I didn’t realize I was on such a strict schedule of yours.” There’s an edge to her voice now, a hardness that wasn’t there before.

Mars falls in behind her with his hand on his knife and his eyes narrowing at every corner. The black fabric of his shirt makes him almost blend into the shadows, his movements predatory and silent. Caspian lingers at my side. He’s silent with a comforting presence, and I can feel the tension rolling off him. His eyes are sharp but his hands tremble and flex at his sides. The gray of his t-shirt is the only color in this monochrome nightmare. Jace brings up the rear with his gun tight in his grip, scanning the shadows and watching our backs. The white of his t-shirt almost glows in the dim light.

I imagine Summer being dragged in through the same front door I glided through. Was she in this place for very long before she was forced elsewhere? The air feels heavy, like the walls are pressing in on us. I focus on keeping my breathing even. Now is not the time for me to freak out.

We move through the main hall, which is nothing more than broken furniture, shattered glass, and peeling yellow wallpaper in strips that hang like flayed skin. Ew, that’s an awful image. I swallow back the bile from my own thoughts and continue forward.

The floor is covered in a layer of dust and debris made up of fallen ceiling tiles, broken light fixtures, and whatmight once have been office equipment. Nothing that screams danger, but nothing that whispers safety, either.

A heavy metal door appears to our right, set into what was once a decorative archway. It stands out with how out of place it is. Plus, the lack of dust on the floor surrounding the door. I reach out to try the handle, but it’s locked. What’s even more strange, is the lock looks to be newer than the door. “What’s in here?”

“That one’s always been locked since we started staying here,” Lucy says, crossing her arms like she’s proven something. “We don’t have a key.”

Mars raises an eyebrow and exchanges a glance with Jace. “Why is it locked?”

Lucy’s jaw sets and stubborn wafts off of her. “Don’t know. We never go in there.”

I share a look with Caspian, and his expression tells me he’s thinking the same thing. Mars steps forward. All it takes is two hard kicks from him before the lock snaps and the knob clatters to the floor. The sound is like a gunshot in the oppressive silence.

Lucy gasps. “You shouldn’t?—”

“We’re done withshouldn’t,” I cut in.

Mars pushes the door open. Stale air spills out, carrying a cold dampness that settles on my skin and brings forth goosebumps. It’s thick and the smell of rust and something darker, something that makes Luna whine low in her throat. A steep and narrow staircase leads down with concrete steps worn from years of use, but still looks to be in better shape than what we’ve seen of the house.

Lucy’s expression hardens, but there’s tension in her shoulders. “I didn’t know this was here. They probably didn’t know, either.” Her voice doesn’t tremble, but it’s tight.

“Bullshit,” Mars mutters.

“I didn’t,” she insists, her eyes flashing. “My brothers never bothered to try getting through the door. They said itwasn’t safe. Structural issues or something.” She stares down into the darkness, and for the first time, I see genuine doubt flicker across her face before being masked by her stubbornness.

I move to the top of the stairs and peer down. The light doesn’t travel far, and shadows swallow the bottom. A dark, subterranean smell wafts upward, carrying hints of chemicals and something metallic. “Let’s go.”

---