The group had not known what to expect in searching for whatever next room they had unlocked. Indeed, none of them were even sure of where to start. "Are you sure you know where the next room could be, Leota?" Sabrina asked for approximately the ninth time.

Leota scowled at the Spirit Detective. "I'm positive. I'm picking up an aura that's lingering on the grounds. Therefore, we need to still stay here, as we must have unfinished work."

Salem nuzzled Sabrina's neck, squirming slightly in her embrace. "What about checking out the bare spot? You know, that unused patch of grass that we saw earlier. It's as good a place to start as any."

Agreeing with the cat (as she and Leota rarely did), Sabrina switched to the path that had led the group to the small clearing.

Interestingly enough, it was no longer a small clearing.

A small, almost circular, stone building now stood in its center. A set of broad stone steps led to the door, which was guarded on either side by enormous bronze figures, darkened with age. The shrouded figures held unlit torches; one figure's arm was outstretched, as if to emphasize the massive metal door.

"The Mausoleum," Leota whispered, in a tone of near reverence. "I can't believe I almost forgot about it."

Salem blinked. "Why would they have a mausoleum when they also have a graveyard?"

"The Mausoleum was reserved for members of the Gracey family only," Leota informed him.

"Then why not just bury them in the yard with everybody else?" Salem persisted.

"Because it was better protection," Sabrina explained. "In some parts of Louisiana-and New Orleans especially-the water level is so high, and there's such a propensity for flooding, that most people aren't buried underground; they're buried in mausoleums aboveground. The water in the soil causes bodies to decay faster. Given that there's so many rivers so close to the house, I'm not sure how high the water table is here. The fact that there are so many people buried out here shows that either this is an old graveyard; or that the people buried there couldn't afford a better tomb; or that they were buried in such a hurry, there was no time for a better resting place."

"Oh." Salem blinked.

Sabrina eyed the building with a mixture of admiration and distaste. "The building's beautiful…in that Southern Gothic way…but I'd still rather not go in. I'm getting creepy vibes from looking at it."

"Maybe," Salem offered, "you'd prefer to skip the rest of this and be buried here; I'm sure Thorne would love to arrange it."

"Salem, this is not the time for any such talk," Leota admonished. The last thing we need is for her to get cold feet, especially when we're this far involved in the game. But then again, if she'd wanted to leave, she could have done so already. She might have gotten in trouble with her boss, but they could have arranged for a more powerful witch or warlock to come. Maybe she will see this through…

Sabrina sighed, glancing at the cat, and then set her jaw and took a step forward.

The torches in the statues' hands immediately leaped to life. The blazing flames threw flickering light onto the Mausoleum, and the inscription on the door. The blond witch climbed the stairs, and carefully brushed some dust off of the inscription. "Non Omnis Moriar," she carefully read. "It's Latin...but that was never my best subject."

"It's the Gracey family's motto. It means, 'I will not completely die'," Leota helpfully explained.

"Cheerful," Salem noted. He paused, considering. "Does that mean there are zombies?" he asked with an eager note in his voice.

"Let's hope not, for all our sakes," Sabrina muttered. "I suppose we don't really have a choice, but to go in." She eyed the shrouded figures with apprehension. I wonder if these are going to move, like the marble busts in the graveyard.

The door was closed with a heavy deadbolt. Very close to having rusted together, the bolt and lock had obviously not been touched in decades. Sabrina strained and pulled, even having to prop one booted foot against the doorjamb for leverage. Salem and Leota—who obviously could offer no assistance—sat on the steps and watched, like they were viewers at a movie.

Finally, she managed to twist the bolt sideways and sort of 'unscrew' it from its position. The heavy bronze door swung forward slowly, the torchlight sending malevolent shadows to dance on the etched surface.

The doorway had concealed a stone passageway leading downward into darkness, like a shaft into the bowels of the earth. Sabrina noted the contrast between the decorative etchings of the arch supporting the ceiling, and the primitive stone slabs serving as the staircase itself.

Sighing and picking up her companions, Sabrina carefully began her descent into darkness. Salem gently padded behind the Detective, as she held up the Beacon to try and provide sufficient light. The last thing I want is to slip and pitch down these stairs. I don't have the patience or time to deal with a broken neck right now.

The steps seemed to go on forever, as Salem complained. He finally leapt onto Sabrina's backpack for a free ride, the girl complaining under his weight. "I swear, Salem, you're just so incredibly—EWW!"

Salem flinched. "I'm not that gross, am I? I mean, all cats do that-"

"No, no! The floor! It's…"

"Water," Leota explained. "It's a combination, I suppose, of swamp water, mud, and maybe a little sewage."

"Whatever it is, it's disgusting," Sabrina frowned. "And rather unhygienic. This can't be good for my boots."

The water was calf-deep and smelled foul. After a few minutes of groaning about the smell, she pinched her nose and calmed down enough to raise the Beacon to view her surroundings.

She was in some sort of crypt, or, rather, a combination of a sewer and a crypt. The room was made of antiqued marble, with moss and other forms of plant life hanging down the walls and ceiling. The lighting would have been more or less nonexistent, but for the Beacon.

Sabrina blew a stray wisp of hair out of her face. "Beautiful."

"This is the Mausoleum's sub-level. There used to be a raised walkway to the interior, but so many things have been broken and destroyed…" Leota continued at the slightly disgusted look on Sabrina face. "Normally, the water level's not so high," she apologized. "But it's flooded so much over the past few years…"

Sabrina snorted as she raised a boot to see how much damage had been done. Not too much, but they'll need a good wipe-down with a damp cloth. Then again, the smell will probably seep into them.

She carefully sloshed forward, trying to peer into the corners of the room with the Beacon's light. The only thing in the room was the large set of double doors across from the staircase. Trying to even out her breathing, the witch waded across the water, and tried to determine how dirty the handles were. Sabrina dropped her fingers, and tried not to breathe through her nose. She reached out a hesitant finger, and gently touched the door handle.

Mocking laughter filled the air. Sabrina whirled around, desperately trying to discern the source. Where is it coming from? We're the only ones here! Or…are we?

"Foolish child," Thorne's voice laughed, mockery and malice dripping from its tone, "do you think you can withstand these horrors until the bell tolls?"

"I don't like the sound of that," Salem muttered, as he burrowed into the backpack. The laughter faded away as the ceiling rumbled briefly.

Sabrina, back to the door, scanned the room desperately. What horrors? What's going on?

In the corner of the room, a large…thing…dropped from the ceiling to the ground. Sabrina's eyes widened to the size of saucers as it lumbered forward briefly.

A dull shade of blue, it was squat and scaly, leaning on its 'forelegs', or arms, or whatever one would consider them. To Sabrina, it looked like an overgrown gargoyle. It rocked back on its hind feet, beating its chest and howling like a gorilla. It stopped and grunted, pounding a fist into the floor. A small bunch of bones flipped up from the bottom of the floor, and quickly assembled themselves into a skeleton monkey. Screeching, it skittered across the floor towards the girl in black.

Her eyes focused on the huge monstrosity in the corner of the room, Sabrina realized that it could only be one thing:

"BALROG!"

Screaming, she began blasting the Beacon in its direction. "Uh, Sabrina," Salem quipped, "evil monkey at twelve o'clock."

Not listening, Sabrina fired a powerful blast of soul energy in the balrog's direction. What does it take to kill this thing? She bit her lip as she fired a second blast at it. When nothing happened, she angrily fired a third. Wide-eyed, Sabrina watched as the balrog gave a groan, swayed, and fell on the floor with a mighty crash.

Panting, she leaned against the door. A sudden screeching caught her attention, and she looked down. A skeleton monkey stood before her, head cocked to the side. It 'smiled,' baring sharp-looking fangs.

Sabrina raised her boot, and crushed it with one swift stomp. "At least that's done now," she murmured.

"Not quite…" Salem hazarded.

Looking up, Sabrina saw various monsters creeping towards her: banshees drifting in from the room's corners, giant spiders dropping from the ceiling, and animated skeletons slowly creeping forward, cackling as they did so. All-too familiar squeaking sounds meant that the infamous poisonous spiders were slowly crawling down the walls.

Sabrina snarled. "Okay. Now I'm pissed off."

"What're we gonna do?" Salem quivered, amber eyes darting in all directions.

"You're going to stay down until this is over," Sabrina mumbled, and shoved Salem down into the backpack.

Salem yowled; he had been thrust under a pile of Bravery Tonics, and he couldn't right himself. Which way is up? I could be suffocating, for all she cares!

He could hear Sabrina screaming defiantly, and occasionally hurling an obscenity. Salem managed to wriggle his way a little further up, and found himself smack dab in front of Leota's crystal ball. Her head turned around to face him, worry written on her features.

"It's a complete melee out there," she whispered, in a slightly horrified voice.

"She has the Beacon," Salem stated, clinging to a shred of hope, trying to ignore the fact that Sabrina was severely outnumbered.

"But even the Beacon may not be enough," Leota hissed, "not when she's facing against Thorne. I don't know the limits of Thorne's power. That's the problem. I know the Beacon's limits, but not Thorne's. I'm afraid that we're out powered. Even the fact that she's half-witch doesn't solve the problem; he's a full warlock, and centuries older than she is. He's simply much too powerful."

"Then why did you lead us on this escapade, if you say Sabrina's not powerful enough?" Salem growled. "Why were we dragged from our nice, non-normal lives to deal with a living nightmare like this?"

"I thought…I hoped…" Leota's voice trailed off. They don't know how long we've waited. We were desperate…blindly desperate… I hoped that she would be able to help, in some way…any way.

Then the most beautiful sound in the world rang out: the clear, pure ringing of a bell. The floor shook, and Salem yelped. "What's going on?" he wailed.

As soon as the rumbling subsided, he clambered up, and popped his head out of the backpack. The water level had lowered noticeably, and…

"Where did all the monsters go?"

Sabrina flashed him a weary grin. "Vaporized. Those that weren't got sucked down a whirlpool when the bell rang."

Relief washed over him. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls," Salem quipped, "it tolls for thee."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sabrina waved a dismissive hand. She sighed again, leaning against the door. Her knees were shaking, and her hands were convulsively clenching her skirt. "Wow…I really thought, for a minute, that I was going to die there."

Salem rubbed against her neck. "I knew all along that you could take them on."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she murmured, absent-mindedly reaching up and stroking his fur. "But there were so many…and they kept coming…" She shook her head. "But the two of you are okay, right?" After receiving their affirmations, she made a sound of relief, turned around, and ran a hand over the door.

Made of marble, it sported a handle made of intricately arched brass, with designs etched deeply into the door itself. It's a lot like this mansion—beautiful, but creepy. It's elegant, just eerily so.

Tensing her muscles, she pushed open the door. With a slight protesting groan, the doors swung inward. Water flowed from the floor of the next room in a quiet rushing.

As far as Sabrina could tell, she was standing in the bottom of a large room. The water level was higher than the last room, and broken columns and pieces of statuary were half-submerged in the murky water. Walls rose high around her on every side and a platform with a staircase leading upwards lay a few precious feet away.

Sabrina attempted to stride forward, but she sank into water nearly past her boot. Grimacing, she pulled her leg back. Disgusting. First the house, which hasn't been cleaned in decades, and then the muddy, rainy Graveyard, and now this. Drell is going to be paying one hefty spa and dry cleaning bill when I get back…

Desperate for dry land, she blindly groped at the pile of broken stone before her. She managed to catch hold of a broken arch, and pull herself onto the pile of wrecked statuary. "This place is an honest-to-God mess," she muttered, brushing at the hem of her dress and her boots.

"Where else would you put broken stone things?" shrugged Leota. "Besides, no one ever goes down here…" she broke off sheepishly.

Salem climbed out of the backpack, and in one fluid motion, jumped to the platform, which he carefully examined. "It's dry here," he called out.

Coughing, Sabrina scrambled over the stone mound, and sat gratefully on the floor. The stone was cold, to be sure, but it was dry and firm, a definite improvement over the past few places they'd been.

She sat, shivering, back against the wall of the staircase. I hate this. I'm cold, I'm wet, and I'm hungry. Why is it in video games or action movies, the heroes never get hungry, or have to go to the bathroom? I don't get it. It's like they're not even real people. They never get tired or anything, either…

Sabrina was running through the halls of the Mansion. Her pace was not quickened out of fear, but rather out of gaiety. She was so happy! Gracey Manor was so beautiful! This was surely the best place in the world.

As she ran by a large mirror mounted on the Hallway wall, she stopped to admire herself. She twirled once, the skirt of the dark green velvet dress billowing softly. She giggled again, and then kept on running.

But slowly, the smile on her face died, as the hallways grew. Something was wrong…deadly wrong…

Eyes grew on the wallpaper, eyes that watched her, staring. She ran faster, trying to escape the eyes. But she couldn't! They were everywhere, on every inch of the wallpaper.

Doors flashed by, doors with rattling knobs, doors that banged in an effort to open, and doors that slowly moved in and out, as if they were breathing.

Her sense of urgency grew. She had to find something, something important; but to find it, she had to escape the hallway.

The hallway stretched on, forever and ever. She stopped, eyes widening.

The Endless Hallway!

She was trapped.

Slowly, she crumpled into a heap on the floor, sobbing. She had to get out, but she couldn't. She didn't know how. She was trapped.

Slowly, from the farthest reaches of the hallway, a small ball of light grew and moved towards her. If Sabrina had been watching, she would have seen that it was a candelabrum, floating in mid-air, as if someone was carrying it.

It came to a rest before the sobbing girl. Something light and gentle touched Sabrina's face. Gently, whatever it was guided her face upwards. Sabrina realized it was a hand, and the hand belonged to a woman. She was very pretty—beautiful, really. Dark curls framed a gentle, oval-shaped face. Luminous dark brown eyes regarded the girl with utmost sympathy. She was clothed in white; a bridal gown, the girl realized.

Recognition dawned on the blonde girl's face. "Elizabeth."

Elizabeth quietly smiled, her fingers tenderly stroking the terrified girl's cheek, wiping the traces of tears away. Her other hand held the candelabrum, the candles glowing with an unearthly light that could not have been born of mortal flame.

She stopped touching Sabrina's face, and gently helped the girl up. Putting her arm around the girl's shoulders, and smiling kindly, she led the teenage witch down the hallway.

The eyes stopped glaring and the doors stopped moving as Elizabeth's light drew nearer. All traces of the fear Sabrina had held earlier were bathed away in the warm glow of that light.

Was it her imagination, or was the hallway drawing to a close? Yes…there was an end!

The end of the hallway was a vortex of swirling light and color, and in the middle of the vortex was a door. Sabrina stared at it, and then looked up at Elizabeth. The older woman gently nudged her towards the door.

Sabrina cautiously touched the handle. An image flashed through her mind. She saw a room—no doors or windows, simply a closed-in room. The walls began stretching upward, revealing…a corpse? A corpse hanging from a noose? She trembled, seeing it slowly wither and decay into a skeleton dressed in tattered rags. The candles in the room dimmed and darkened; the vision flew away.

Sabrina turned back, beseechingly, to Elizabeth. The bride had placed her veil over her face, and she, too, was slowly withering. The lights of the candelabrum seemed to flicker in time to the steady throbbing of her bright, blood-red heart,

"Go now. Remember…you are the one who will open the door."

Elizabeth's bony hand now pointed at the door, the throbbing of her heart reaching a crescendo.

Sabrina put her hand on the door handle, gathering her will, and pushed it open…

"The door!" Sabrina gasped as the world flooded back. Her heart pounded painfully, almost paralleling Elizabeth's. It subtly reminded her of both her promise to the bride, and of her own fragile, living body.

Salem climbed onto her lap. "What door?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know. The door." She paused, as an idea hovered at the edge of her consciousness. "What just happened here?"

"You fell asleep," Salem explained.

Sabrina groaned. "Why didn't you wake me up? I have so much work to do!"

"You looked so peaceful," Leota said. "And besides, you need some rest. You can't fight these spirits much longer in a tired, hungry body."

Sabrina rubbed her thigh. Everything felt cramped from her unusual sleeping position. "So it was all just a dream," she murmured.

"What was a dream? The door?" Salem watched her with knowing, unblinking amber eyes.

"Sort of. There was a hallway, and I couldn't get out…I mean, I had to find something really important, but I didn't know what it was," she attempted to explain. "And then Elizabeth showed up and pulled me out, and I was in this vortex, looking at a room with no doors…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Leota interrupted. "Elizabeth? You saw Elizabeth?"

"Yes." In her mind's eye, Sabrina could see the young bride's gentle features and soft smile. "She rescued me from the hallway. And then I saw this room…there were no windows, and no doors." She paused, considering. "But there were lit candles…and a body." She shivered at the memory. "A dead body. Hanging from a noose at the top of the ceiling."

"But if there was no way in to the room, how were the candles lit, and how did the person get in to hang himself?" Salem pointed out.

Sabrina chewed on the end of a braid absent-mindedly. "I don't know. It wasn't like I was there, but I could see the room." She fingered the collar of her dress nervously. "And then, Elizabeth told me to go through the door. She told me…something that sounded like it was from a book or whatever…I was 'the one.' That's it, I think. That I was supposed to open a door."

"A door…" Leota pondered aloud. "I can't think of any special door that Elizabeth would talk of. Although, there are doors aplenty in the Mansion…"

"Maybe she means the last door," Salem offered. "You know, since we break the seals on the doors to get in and restore the light, she may be talking about the final door."

"You may be right," Leota mused. "Although it seems rather obvious."

Sabrina shrugged again. "Who knows? But one thing's for sure; we can't stay here forever." She slowly stood up, brushing dust and traces of dirt off of her dress.

The Spirit Detective scooped the cat into her arms, pulled her knapsack on, and began her ascent of the staircase. The staircase, unfortunately, had no railing, and the vertigo made Sabrina more than slightly dizzy.

Her eyes widened as she stepped onto the main platform. The Mausoleum's interior was designed in the winding, multi-tiered style of a Roman amphitheater, or coliseum. Instead of seats for spectators, however, holes had been chiseled into the walls of the levels, and coffins had been inserted. Small holes had also been dug in the natural rock wall of the room, and small urns containing the ashes of other Gracey members had been placed inside.

A large, wide, high stone pedestal rose from the floor, connected to the walkways by three small bridges. The bridges' guardrails were arches of wrought iron, and the same material was used in constructing the pillars and archways that supported the ceiling of the pedestal. In the center was a large black coffin, on a slightly raised dais, and…

"The Tome of Shadows!" Sabrina gasped, seeing the all-too-familiar lectern and book. It had been carefully left in what looked like a "place of honor," as Salem sarcastically noted.

Each successive version of Atticus Thorne's diary-of-sorts had provided her with clues as to the full story behind this case. Of course, she wouldn't find the answers presented before her, saying 'This is why I'm taking over Gracey Manor,' but there might be a clue…

Carefully, she made her way to the nearest bridge, Salem contentedly padding by her side. Her foot unexpectedly struck something that clattered and rolled away. Frowning, the Spirit Detective bent over to examine it.

A skull lay innocently on its side, the eyeless sockets staring into space.

Salem hissed, stepping back. Sabrina blanched. "Oh, my…" Leota murmured. "I had no…no idea…"

Sabrina gulped at the sight. I just touched a skull. I just touched somebody's head. Oh, God…

Still faintly trembling, she made her way across the stone platform. Salem stopped to admire the floor; inlay work had been done in the shape of a perfectly symmetrical rosette, in stones of slightly varying colors. "Pretty," he remarked. As pretty as something in a house of dead people can get, anyway…

Sabrina had ignored Salem, picking her way across the (skull-free) platform. Her fingers reached out and grazed the book's cover, whereupon it flipped open, facing her. The blonde licked her lips, and began to read.

Tome of Shadows

Volume III

Page 561

My pursuit of the Beacon continues. In the meantime, I've taken steps to make the Order more efficient, given the inconvenience of the inquisition. Those who did not share my vision for the future are no longer with us. But with the wisdom contained in our ancient texts, I will replenish our numbers with a legion like nothing mortal men have ever seen.

A. Thorne.

Grand Master

The Order of Shadows

March 21st, 1642 A.D.

Sabrina stared at the book, frozen in place. Leota's eyes widened.

"So this explains his connections to the Netherworld," Leota gasped. "The 'ancient texts of wisdom' he talked about must have been books of demonology. A textbook for dark sorcerers—a 'Necromancy for Dummies,' if you will."

"If he's been studying the Dark Arts," Sabrina stated in a horrified tone, "then he could virtually summon any demon from the pits of the Netherworld that he wants." It felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach, and her hand trembled where it lay on the lectern.

"Which would explain our little 'guests' before: the giant spiders, the banshees, the skeleton warriors, the balrog…" Leota nodded.

"I really don't want to think about the possibilities," Sabrina paled. This is bad. This is very bad. A warlock, studying the Dark Arts, and unleashing his summons in the Mortal Realm? This has the potential to become disastrous.

Salem pawed at the black coffin. "Whose is this?"

"Salem, don't touch that!" Sabrina yelped, dashing over and scooping him up. "That's…desecrating the dead, or something!"

"That's Ambrose Gracey," offered Leota. "And I don't think he'd particularly mind."

Salem peered at the crypt. "So, he builds this place, and gets the cushiest spot in the whole stiff shack. Not a bad deal."

"Salem, don't call it a 'stiff shack'!" Sabrina hissed, darting a glance at Leota. The psychic had either not heard, or was choosing to pretend she hadn't been listening.

'Oh…how do you solve a problem like Salem?'

She sighed, tightened her grip on the feline, and marched off to explore the rest of the Mausoleum.

The Mausoleum was cold, drafty, and slightly damp on the upper levels, Sabrina soon discovered. The floor also happened to be littered with skulls, although whether human or demon, neither the Spirit Detective nor the psychic could say.

Salem enjoyed playing with the skulls, batting them around as if they were catnip mice. Sabrina sharply kicked him in the side a few times, warning him to leave them alone. The cat, however, simply darted off in search of new toys.

Sabrina was bending over to examine another coffin when she heard the smash. Salem looked at her guiltily from a few feet away, shards of some broken white substance surrounding him.

"Kicked it into the pillar, huh?" asked Leota, shaking her head as if to say, 'Boys will be boys.'

"Salem, I can't believe you," Sabrina snapped. "That's a skull you've just destroyed. A skull that belonged to a living, breathing being, just like you and me. How heartless can you be, to destroy their earthly remains?"

Salem quivered, before offering, "They won't need it."

Sabrina rolled her eyes at the excuse, and stormed off, inspecting the coffins more delicately than before. As she hiked to the upper levels, Salem neatly whisked the shattered pieces of the skull over the edge of the walkway. He listened as they made a neat, tidy splash in the sewer below.

She takes everything so seriously…I hope she's not like this when we get home, or I'll never be able to do anything! It's like she's turned into a mini-Zelda…

He huffed as he looked around. Suddenly, torches mounted in brackets on the platform's pillars burst into life, along with some unnoticed ones on the Mausoleum's walls. Startled, he backed into a wall, and bumped into a coffin.

"Er…sorry, uh…Mona May Gracey." He wrinkled his nose at the Gracey relative's name. "How very Southern."

"Salem! We're done!" Sabrina called out in a singsong voice.

"I could have guessed that," Salem mumbled under his breath, as the girl came climbing down to his level. She proudly brandished a scrap of paper. "We finished Sir Bertram's Death Certificate."

She stooped down so Salem could see the picture. The Knight, kneeling, had his head down on a wooden block, but was slightly turned backward, glaring. A helmeted man stood behind him, a hefty broadax raised high.

"Well, I never would have guessed his cause of death," Salem remarked sarcastically.

"If this is about the skull thing," Sabrina started, eyes narrowed.

Leota sighed. "The two of you, stop it. I'm much too old for this."

"I suppose you are," Salem purred slyly. "By the way, exactly how old are you, Leota?"

The aura inside the ball flared magenta as Leota's eyes widened, and then set in a baleful stare. "A lady," she informed Salem coldly, "should not be asked such things, nor should impertinent cats ask them."

Sabrina sighed as Salem and Leota lapsed into a staring contest. Well, things are back to normal…for now…

The ghost of a white figure became definable, standing at the edge of the platform. Might as well talk to somebody… She risked a glance at her companions, who were still staring. Won't get anything out of them for a while.

She slowly pushed herself off the floor, and walked over. The Spirit Detective nearly guffawed when she realized the ghost was a mummy. "Good evening," she greeted him, trying her best not to giggle.

The mummy-ghost sighed. "A word of advice," he began in a surprising nasal tone, "when you get mummified, go for the linen bandages. They're more expensive, but they're so worth the comfort in the long run."

"Linen bandages," Sabrina repeated doubtfully. "Uh…okay. I'll be sure to remember that." She slowly walked back to where the cat and the psychic were still heatedly glaring at each other. She put the crystal ball into her backpack, scooped the cat into her arms, and calmly began climbing down the staircase to reach the exit.

She carefully clambered over the pile of stone refuse, eying the murky water below with distaste. "I wonder what's under the water." She winced, remembering Salem playing with the skulls he'd found. Maybe the bodies they're detached from are underwater? "Then again, maybe I don't want to know," she mused.

The water level had lowered considerably, and she was able to move towards the door without much sloshing. The door slowly creaked open, revealing that the stone antechamber was mostly devoid of water now.

"Well, that whirlpool was good for more than one thing, then." A grin quickly appeared on the girl's face. "At least I don't have to worry about getting wet." Still, she rubbed her boots in a gesture of pity. She loved these boots. She hoped they would pull through the soaking they'd been given, and that the mud from the Graveyard would wash off.

She slowly ascended the stairs. Now that her boots were rather damp, one slip could prove fatal. I don't want to become the 1,000th grim, grinning ghost here…

A ghost was waiting by the door leading outside. "Good evening, madam," he said in a slightly haughty tone upon seeing the black-clad girl. "Your hearse is waiting at any time."

"H-hearse?" Sabrina choked.

"You are leaving for the funeral, correct? Might I compliment you on your fine choice in coffins? Beechwood, I'm afraid, is so common these days…"

Sabrina pushed the door open as fast as she could and bolted.

The hearse driver stared after her. "Never saw one so eager to attend a funeral, I have."

Author's Note: Lots and lots of mini-references here. Hope you're having fun finding them!

As for references to the Haunted Mansion…let's see. "Non Omnis Moriar" is actually the Ravenswood family motto from the Haunted Mansion's sister attraction, Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor. (I decided to use it because of its meaning in Latin). I also put in a reference to PM's Endless Hallway scene—in their version, the Bride (Melanie Ravenswood) shows up in the Hallway, carrying a candelabrum, warning guests from going into it. The entrance to the Mausoleum is also from the movie. "Mona May Gracey" is a tribute to Mona May, the costume designer for the movie.

Most of the stuff in the house is correct for a wealthy estate of the period, though. Conservatories were big back then, because that's where you kept rare specimens of plants and things that you would bring back from vacation, or that people abroad sent you. Winter gardens (although I don't remember if that exact term is used) were popular for the same reason. A mausoleum is appropriate for a home in Louisiana, although I'm wondering why they have a Graveyard, as they're not supposed to be common…I guess every haunted house needs a graveyard, right?

The room in Sabrina's vision will show up later…

For anyone interested in my explanation of the Netherworld: Just like how the Mortal Realm and Other Realm coexist together, the Netherworld balances it out. It's a sort of Hell, where demons and monsters live and breed, and is like a purgatory for souls that get trapped there. If a soul of a wicked woman gets trapped there, it turns into a banshee. (For YYH fans, think of it as a combination of Makai/Meikai. Meikai being the 'Netherworld', IF you saw the second movie. YGO fans can view it as a really twisted version of the Shadow Realm.)

And…necromancy is the art of conjuring up the dead, and demonology is the study of demons. For the people who didn't know, and wished to know what I was talking about.

Next chapter:

The group has an encounter "of the Netherworld kind," and isn't too happy about it… And worst of all, there's no food in sight!