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A darkened hallway met her gaze. The dim light she used to glean any details disappeared as the door swung shut behind her, the lock mechanism clicking into place. Paige swallowed hard, suddenly unsure.
She dug into her tote with unseeing eyes, her fingers feeling around for the hard form of her phone. Her fingers wrapped around a set of keys. She cocked her head. What were they for? She’d used the keycard for entrance to both areas.
She dropped them back into the bag and continued her search. As she shoved items aside, her bracelet caught on the bag’s lining.
“Oh, come on,” she fumed. “Not now!”
Paige wiggled her arm, trying to free it without ripping the bag’s interior. With a curse under her breath, she dropped to a knee and set the bag on the floor. She dove into the bag with her other hand until she finally stumbled upon her phone.
She freed it and toggled on her flashlight. With the phone clenched between her teeth, its light aimed at her trapped hand, she worked to free the dragon’s tail from the lining.
“Finally,” she exclaimed as the barb popped away from the fabric, leaving only a small pinprick.
With a long exhale, she stood and shoved the straps back onto her shoulder. She aimed her flashlight down the hall. The light beam disappeared before it reached the end.
She frowned and crept forward, swinging the beam from one side to the other. Portraits filled the walls. Paige wondered who they might be. Perhaps patrons of the library. Or its original builders. She’d have plenty of time to explore later, she figured, as she aimed the beam down the hall again. An opening appeared, a black hole leading to nowhere, it seemed.
Paige reached it, shining the beam into the opening. A staircase led down to another level.
“Maybe this is where I’ll work,” she mused. With a shrug, she wandered through her logic aloud. “Archivist. Working in the basement. Makes sense.”
With a decisive nod, she took a tentative first step down, then another. She swallowed hard as she reached another keycarded door at the bottom.
“This isn’t creepy at all,” she said, trying to convince herself.
She mashed her lips together and waved the keycard in front of the pad.
The light flashed to green, and Paige tugged on the door. It didn’t budge.
She tried again, waving the card and pulling hard on the door. It didn’t move. A frown formed on her features, and she tried a third time with no luck.
“What in the world?” she questioned. She shined her light at the door, finding a small keyhole near the handle. She brushed her fingers against it before her eyebrows shot up. “Keys!”
She dug in her bag and retrieved the keys she’d dropped into the pocket moments ago. She shined her light at the keyring, finding five keys attached.
“Which one?” she asked.
She tried the first bronze key. It wiggled but did not turn, even after she waved the keycard in front of the reader.
With a sigh, Paige tried the next key, a black key with a skull on top. It did not budge.
She moved on to the third key. A worn golden key with a wing on top. She narrowed her eyes at the symbol before she shoved the key into the lock. It spun easily and, after waving the card in front of the reader, she tugged at the handle. The door creaked on its hinges as it began to swing open.
A darkened room lay beyond. She spotted the glow of a small light somewhere outside of her line of vision. Dark blobs dotted the space. She squinted at them as she eased the door back.
A growl sounded.
Paige froze with the door open a crack. Her eyes grew wide, and she fought to identify the source of the noise.
A scuffle from inside sounded.
“Hello?” she called.
As her answer, a shrieking screech bellowed from within.
CHAPTER 5
Paige let the door swing shut in front of her. It slammed with a resounding clap in the small stairway. She stumbled back several steps until she fell into the steps, sprawling on them and hitting her backside hard.
