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I pressed my lips together as I gathered my thoughts. “I saw your psychotic smiling face returning with a head. I was fine. Go.”
He smirked. “Alright then. Watch out anyway.”
“I will. Hurry.”
As he disappeared into the shadows, leaving me alone with the malevolent poltergeist, a sense of isolation tugged at me. The air crackled with an electric energy, the faint scent of sulfur lingering as the poltergeist’s malevolent presence lingered.
Every nerve in my body screamed in protest as I stood alone in the suffocating quiet, the emptiness of my insane companion’s absence leaving me breathless.
With a trembling hand, I waited, bracing for the horrors that awaited me, if not now, when he returned. Knowing my survival depended on my own ability to confront the evil that lurked within the haunted house’s twisted corridors.
While he was gone, I held a dagger in my hand, its cold weight anchoring me in the moment. My fingers trembled as I curled them around the blade, the metal biting into my flesh with a sharp sting.Blood welled up, warm and slick, trickling down my hand and pooling on the floor beneath me.
I whispered the words to a defensive spell, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart. Each syllable felt heavy on my tongue, resonating with ancient power. The air around me shimmered and hummed, charged with an electric energy that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Green sparks crackled in the air, sputtering like tiny, supernatural fireflies.
The specter hung in the shadows, its translucent form becoming more defined. The space seemed to darken around us, the darkness deepening and closing in, as if drawn to the magical energy I was summoning.
The scent of my blood mingled with the musty, decaying odor of the hallway, creating a heady cocktail that made my stomach churn. Each green spark illuminated the dirt and blood-speckled wallpaper with a sickly green glow.
My pulse beat strong in my hand, the enchantment flowing through the blade, filling me with a strange, buzzing warmth. The magic took hold, wrapping around me like an invisible shield. The air grew thicker, charged with tension and anticipation, as if the building itself was holding its breath.
As the final words of the spell left my lips, the green sparks flared brighter, surrounding me in a protective aura. The specter’s eyes shone with admiration, seeming to brighten in recognition of the power I summoned. I felt alive with energy, my hand bleeding, but my spirit fortified by the magic coursing through me.
But the tension settled like a suffocating fog as I waited anxiously for Reaper’s return, every passing second like an eternity. The minutes stretched on endlessly, each heartbeat echoing hollowly in thecavernous depths of the corridor as I tried to cope with the incessantly gnawing anxiety in my gut.
Finally, just when I feared I could bear the suspense no longer, Reaper emerged from the dark, his swaggering gait just as I had seen. In his hand, a severed head, its lifeless eyes staring blankly, a silent witness to the horrors of the haunted mansion.
The head dripped slow, even drops of blood, the metallic scent hanging heavy in the air and clawing at my senses. I recoiled instinctively, the sight threatening to overwhelm me as I struggled to suppress the rising tide of revulsion from deep in my gut.
“Very good,” the poltergeist chimed with a sinister grin, its sharp teeth like the glint of polished steel. Its gaze fixed upon me with an intensity that sent a shiver racing down my spine, the realization of its expectation pressing down upon me like a crushing curse. “Your turn.”
“Here,” said Reaper. “Use this.” He shoved a hard but warm object into my hand and closed my fingers around it. I glanced down to see a dagger, much larger than either of mine, the blade carved with strange sigils. I must have appeared as panicked as I felt because he raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, take it.”
Despite the terror making my blood run cold through my veins, there was also a warm glow growing inside me at his offering. It wasn’t enough, I was still going to piss myself, but it was remarkable. “Thank you.”
“Move quietly and hide if you hear anyone. When you find someone you think you can take, if they’re alone, ambush them.”
It was a good plan. “Alright.”
He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he snapped his jaw shut and gave a curt nod.
With trembling hands, I steeled myself for the ordeal that awaited me. This task would test me like nothing had before. With a silent prayer on my lips, I stepped forward to face my own depravity. I had to push all the goodness in me aside and let it flow freely. Heart pounding in my chest, I stalked down the corridor into my greatest challenge yet.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Witch’s Gamble
Tess
As I crept throughthe dark passageway, a faint murmuring reached my ears. Quickly, I slipped behind a set of floor-to-ceiling curtains, rough and brittle under my fingers. The fabric released a cloud of dust, and I stifled a cough, my eyes watering as I peered through a small gap in the drapes.
Three men dressed in denim and black walked past, their conversation a low murmur. The faint odor of tobacco and leather lingered in the air. My heart thundered in my ears, each beat a drumroll of anxiety. It seemed impossible that they couldn’t hear it as their hushed voices and steady steps continued. I pressed myself against the wall and held my breath, praying theywouldn’t notice me.
When they were a few feet past me, one of the men halted. The others turned, grunting like cavemen. “What’s up?” one of them asked.
The first guy sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring slightly. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face as he turned and locked eyes with me, piercing through the gap in the curtains. His sharp gaze seemed to freeze time. Panic surged through me, knowing if they all came after me, I was done for.
I bolted, and the curtains swung wildly as I burst into the corridor, shoes pounding against the floorboards, echoing through the hallway like a frantic heartbeat. Behind me, I heard them shouting and the rapid thud of footsteps as they chased behind.
“Hey! Come back here!” one of them shouted.
