Page 128 of House of Pain
Val said nothing as she stared at the dark basement for a long moment. She jerked her chin at Jolene.
“Have the tracker, Frone?”
Jolene lifted a long, thick needle hung on a red thread.
Val nodded and her attention shifted to Rogue. “Why don’t you make your way downstairs and check if there are any traps?”
Rogue smirked, something flashing in his eyes so quickly Alecto couldn’t catch the meaning of it. But he didn’t argue and descended the stairs into the basement. They waited in silence. For a few long moments there was nothing, not even the sound of his boots on the floor.
But then, the light illuminated the dark basement and Rogue called, “Safe. There’s nothing there.”
Alecto didn’t think he meant it literally.
When the Inner Circle reached the bottom of the stairs, they were met with a blank room. No furniture, no boxes. Not even a single web beneath the stairs leading up to the inside of the House or a crack in the polished concrete walls.
Alecto couldn’t smell or feel the magic around them, yet the needle Jolene was holding was swinging in circles like crazy.
“The Book is here.” Val’s grin grew as she stared at the needle. “It’s probably hidden somewhere in the walls or the floor.”
Jolene didn’t waste any time. With the tracker in hand, she hurried to the far end of the room, holding the needle close to the walls, near the stairs. It spun and spun but didn’t stop at any location.
“Nothing,” Jolene said, her shoulders slumping.
“It has to be here,” Val said, a weird edge to her voice. “Come here. Give it to me.”
As Jolene crossed the floor between them, the needle finally stopped. Alecto drew a breath as they all stared at the straight needle pointing at the floor beneath Jolene’s feet.
Right at the center of the basement.
“Rogue, draw a circle,” Val commanded. “Jolene, set up the candles. Blaze, light the incense and you two.” Val glared at Alecto and Andro. “Prepare the bowl.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. The group prepared the circle for the ritual. Alecto got on her knees as she took out the bronze bowl out of cloth tote. Andro placed the blood moss, tears of Sea Monster, and a bunch of other herbs Alecto didn’t remember into the bowl.
Once Rogue was done with the chalk, Andro brought the bowl into the middle of the circle. Val didn’t need to command them to get into the formation for the spell.
When Alecto’s fingers linked with Jolene’s and Blaze’s, her heart skipped a beat. They were so close to victory.
“Obliteus sangioni,” Val recited, and they all joined in.
Rogue stood on the outside of their circle, his face unreadable. There was a small frown between his eyebrows, eyes intently watching the bowl in the middle.
Alecto closed her eyes and imagined a massive knot of the red string in her mind. Soon the air around them was vibrating with their power, chants gliding over their skin with a gentle caress.
Carefully, Alecto untied the knot in her mind, the strings moving together fluidly until there was nothing left but one long piece of the red string. Electric currents zipped through their hands, and when she opened her eyes, the bowl was vibrating.
“Hidden safe,” Val said, smiling. “Smart.”
Alecto flinched when the bowl flew into the air and smashed into the wall next to them. Their circle wavered as they all took a step back away from the hole opening in the floor.
What appeared out of the hole was not the Tigers’ Book.
A scream tore out of Jolene’s throat when a swarm of spirits wrenched free from the vault in the floor. The temperature around them dropped; Alecto could see her breath. She wanted to scream, but nothing came from her parted lips.
“Get outside!” Val screamed. Before Alecto knew it, someone was dragging her away by her forearm.
Now that they were out, Alecto could count that there were three spirits. From their outfits, it was clear they were not freshly passed, and from the halfway melted flesh of their faces, it was clear that they hadn’t been buried right after their passing.
They all scurried up the stairs, Rogue leading the way. But when they reached the top of the stairs, the door to the outside had slammed shut. They stopped abruptly, and Alecto realized that Blaze was the one who carried her all this way.
