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“What was that?” Mandy asked.
“It was all of them,” Talia whispered. “All the souls trapped inside.”
“Adrik wasn’t the first, then,” Miles said.
Horror filled Talia’s eyes. “They showed me visions that were so different from the box’s own memories. These memories were… bloody and horrible.”
“Who were these people?” Chloe wondered. “They said the demon did this. Could the box be trapping all the demon’s victims?”
“If it was, why isn’t the Lady of the Tower trapped?” Miles pointed out.
Talia shuddered. “They were victims of the Pinewood Manor Massacre.”
The room went dead silent as we took it all in. We’d been to Pinewood Manor before, the night we fought the witches who’d killed two young boys. That place was creepy as hell, on account of the mass murder that took place there years ago. The owner, Leroy Pinewood, had gone insane and murdered all the guests at his dinner party. No witch or warlock wanted anything to do with that haunting.
“Monica mentioned the box came from Pinewood Manor when I bought it,” Talia said. “I thought it was just an antique, you know? I never thought there were other spirits trapped inside.”
“Does anyone know exactly when the Pinewood Manor Massacre took place?” Lucas asked.
Grant’s features paled. “Around forty years ago… the same time Angelica and Adrik died. The same time the demon was here…”
Mandy bit her lower lip. “Grant and I passed it in our research, but we never thought it was connected. The reports said he was a troubled man; the police didn’t even suspect demon activity. I just don’t get what would possess Leroy to work with the demon.”
It hit me like a battle orb to the chest. “A literal possession!” I realized. We’d been looking at this all wrong. “The demon’s spell doesn’t mark you for death. The demon is possessing people! Leroy must’ve been one of his victims. He was under the influence of the demon’s spell. Angelica said the demon used a spell to poison her. He could’ve possessed an Alchemist to do his dirty work. And Adrik must’ve been possessed when he killed himself.”
“Leto has an alibi for every murder that happened this semester,” Chloe said. “How does this possession work?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But figuring it out might help us stop it.”
“What if it wasn’t Adrik who banished the demon like we assumed, but Leroy Pinewood?” Lucas wondered.
“You think he sent a demon to the Abyss after he killed twenty-six dinner guests and then himself?” Miles sounded skeptical.
“Maybe he won in the end,” I pointed out. “We have to at least investigate. If we know how the demon was banished before, we can banish him again.”
“You’re suggesting we go to Pinewood Manor?” Grant asked, his voice squeaking a little.
I didn’t blame him for being nervous. It was the most haunted place in all the coven. We were lucky we hadn’t seen a ghost the night we were there, but we’d been in the east wing, and the murders had happened in the west wing. I shuddered to think what we might find there.
“Where else are we going to find answers?” I asked.
Talia pushed herself upright. Color had returned to her face, and she was looking much better. “The spirits in my music box are too traumatized to talk. I say we go to Pinewood Manor and see if we can figure out what happened that night.”
We all agreed, and soon we were pulling up in front of Pinewood Manor. A shiver ran down my spine as the dilapidated mansion came into view. Half the mansion had collapsed the night we’d faced the three evil witches and confronted Professor Carlisle about the missing kids. A spell had exploded half the mansion, and we’d barely gotten out in time. The remaining half looked like it might blow over once the storm rolled in.
I slowed my car behind Talia’s. We climbed out of our vehicles and approached the front doors. My hands curled tighter around the drawstring bag I held, which contained salt to ward off ghosts. Lucas lifted one of the iron fireplace pokers we’d borrowed from a Seer classroom. Iron was another weapon we could use against evil spirits. We weren’t the only ones armed with weapons, either. All the girls carried salt bags, and the guys had iron. No one made a move to open the doors first. We all hesitated, waiting for someone else to go first. Talia shivered, and Grant wrapped an arm around her.
“I can hear their screams,” Talia said. “The memories are very intense, very brutal.”
“Should we open the music box?” Miles wondered. “Maybe the ghosts will remember something.”
“And traumatize them more?” Grant asked skeptically. “That’s dangerous. They could attack.”
“There have to be other clues here,” I said. “Let’s see what we can find inside before we unleash two dozen vengeful spirits on ourselves.”
I turned toward the double doors. When I touched the handle, a feeling of horror grew in my veins. Although the victims were trapped inside Talia’s music box, the terror from that night had permeated these walls. My heart hammered, and my knees trembled. Every instinct told me to turn back—to run as far away from this property as I possibly could.
But the thought of Leto taking any more victims scared me even more. So I twisted the handle and stepped inside. I entered a large foyer, which was cast in dark shadows as the storm clouds darkened overhead. Wind howled from somewhere upstairs—at least, I thought it was the wind. It almost sounded like screaming. A shiver traveled down my spine, and my breath turned to vapor in the air. Lucas followed me inside and wrapped a warm arm around me.
