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“We don’t need any other mythological creatures to join this shit show,” Topher adds with a laugh.
The faint smell of sulfur hits me the instant I step out of the SUV. “Does anyone else smell that?”
“That depends on what you’re talking about. I smell a plethora of odors.” Amelia holds her head high in the air.
“It smells like Kragen,” I answer.
“Or Marnie,” Thorne adds.
We follow Topher to the back of the ranch-style home. What was once a screened-in porch is nothing more than framing and torn screen blowing in the breeze. A broken sliding glass door sits on its rails, leaving a three-foot gap to enter. “Look. Someone left it unlocked for us,” he says, leading us inside.
The smell of sulfur grows as we enter the dark home. Remnants of what was once nice furniture are scattered around the living room, and a large stone fireplace covers the back wall. Dark blood splatters the floors, and from the smell of it, it’s human.
“This looks like a Halloween attraction, only it’s real,” Micah says, staring at the bloodstains.
“We should split up,” Amelia announces, looking around the room. “We’ll cover more ground that way. I’ll take this level.”
“Elsie and I will go to the basement.” Thorne moves to my side.
“I’ll go to the second floor,” Micah says, moving toward the base of the stairwell. “Unlessanyone else would care to take it.” Seeing the future Alpha of Charleston anxious about exploring a murder house strikes me as funny.
“I’ll check the yard and outlying buildings,” Topher adds.
We split, going our separate ways. I follow Thorne down the squeaky stairs that lead from the kitchen to the basement below. The smell of sulfur is replaced with rotting blood, making my stomach gurgle with memories.
Lining the cinderblock walls are chains. The scene reminds me of my time on Kragen’s ship. The ends of the chains have heavy latches made to be attached to a person’s arms and legs. “This is a torture chamber for something that wasn’t human,” I whisper. Why am I whispering?
“Aye.”
The faint sounds of animals scurrying through the room bring back memories of the rats I ate to stay alive while on Kragen’s ship. “Do you think this was where they found the bodies?” I ask questions, hoping to thwart the memories.
“From the look of the main floor, I think they found the bodies everywhere.” Thorne moves past me toward a door on the opposite wall. A heavy logging chain is wrapped several times through the handles and secured with a matching lock.
“Why is this door still locked?” he asks, rattling the metal.
“Maybe the police locked it before they left?” Scuffling from the other side of the door makes the hairs on my arm stand at attention. “Did you hear that?” The sound of something sliding across gritty concrete rings through my ears again.
“Aye. It came from behind the door.”
I don’t hesitate. Pulling the chain with my hands, I break the lock open easily, letting the metal clatter to the ground.
“Wait.” Thorne places his hand protectively over my chest. “We don’t know what’s in there.”
“It could be nothing,” I answer.
“Or it could be something.”
“Amelia!” I call through the house. She’s by our side seconds later.
“It stinks down here,” she says, looking around the room.
“I think we found something.” The scraping sound echoes once more.
Amelia grabs the handle without hesitation, pulling the heavy door off its rusty hinges. “Hello?” she says into the room.
“Help me,” a young voice whispers.
The three of us rush into the room, finding what looks like a child chained to the back wall. Her clothes remind me of a time long ago. Blood covers her face and hands, and tiny fangs protrude from her mouth. “Oh, my God,” Amelia says, stepping away from the girl. “An immortal child.”
