Now, you all know it would not be the Haunted Mansion without a ride through a graveyard.
The Ghost Host led the group along the side of the ballroom and into a narrow hallway where light spells flickered dimly from the noticeably lower ceiling. Even the Ghost Host had to hunch forward to allow room for its tall stature and curling horns. From behind, Luz did her best to not crowd the shadow's wings and watched the pointed tip of its tail, morbid curiosity making her wonder what would happen if she got too close.
Spectral servants flitted about the hallway back and forth from the ballroom and the many different doors lining the wall. Of course, they were not bothering with leaving the doors opened or closed, they passed right through them. One servant darted by Luz and their arm went through her shoulder. Instantly, she felt her muscles lock up from the intense cold and she shivered, tightening her grip on Rex. Whenever her time came, she really hoped she wouldn't be trapped as a ghost.
Eventually, the Ghost Host stopped at a door and turned the handle, holding it open for the group. "Living first,"
Luz chuckled nervously at the glowing eyes fixed on her and scurried through. The smell of musty hay and damp wood instantly assaulted her senses and Luz found herself standing at the end of a very large, and vacant, stable house. The doors leading to the outside were opened, revealing the still-falling boiling rain, but what caught Luz's eye was what was sitting in the middle of the room. A tall, elongated carriage with a set of doors at the back and glass windows set into the sides, showing an interior of worn red velvet, and a low roof. The moment it clicked for Luz what they were going to ride in, her jaw dropped. Their ride was a hearse.
"Before any of you object," the Ghost Host said, seeing the expressions directed at the vehicle of choice. "This was the only one still in decent shape that would offer protection from the boiling rain, and would be large enough to accomodate all of you. I can assure you it is perfectly safe."
"What about you?" Luz looked at the boiling rain outside. "Won't the rain...you know…?"
The shadow blinked and it chuckled. "No, my dear. Remember, I'm dead. Nothing but shadow for the rain to pass through." It placed a heavy clawed hand on her shoulder, which was surprisingly warm after the brush from the last ghost. "I am touched by your concern. Now, hop on in. We have much to do and very little time to do it in."
"Why the rush?" Willow asked as they followed the Ghost Host to the carriage.
"Because, my dear witchling, once the Bewitching Hour has passed, I will lose my corporeal shape and revert back to my shadow form, which will prevent me from transporting you to the manor. Unless any of you would be willing to provide a few drops of blood of the living to maintain my form?" It grunted at the uneasy expressions the group shared. "And I would not force you to do so. Now, there are other ways leading between the crypt and the manor, but I would strongly advise against choosing them."
Boscha rested the blade of the hatchet on the floor and leaned against the handle. "What, don't think we can take it?" Her smug smirk faltered at the warning growl from the Ghost Host when it turned to her.
"The Pandor family, though prestigious and powerful, have a great many skeletons in their closet, hidden deep within the catacombs of their crypt. I'm fairly certain an accomplished witchling such as yourself could face a challenge of that caliber, but believe when I tell you this: you really don't want to do that. Now," the shadow held open the door. "Who would like to get in first?"
Carefully tossing Rex into the hearse, Luz let King clamber in off her shoulder before heaving herself inside. There was just enough room for her to sit on her knees without her head hitting the roof, and she quickly turned around, holding a hand out for Amity.
The green-haired witch stared at the hearse, looking from Luz to the Ghost Host and back. Groaning, she took Luz's hand and hoisted herself in. Luz scooted backwards to make room as the rest of their friends climbed into the hearse. Once everyone was safely inside, the Ghost Host closed the doors and walked around to the driver's seat and climbed on.
"Make yourselves comfortable and keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the ride at all times. And, watch your demon, please." Despite the fact there was no creature hooked to the carriage to pull, the Ghost Host scooped up the reins and gave them a sharp snap. A loud whinney filled the air and the hearse jolted forward, throwing its passengers together into a heap as the carriage rumbled out into the rain.
"There has got to be a better way to do this!" Boscha growled, shoving King off her face.
Grunting, Amity pulled her legs out from under Gus and shimmied onto her stomach so she was looking out one side of the hearse and her feet were facing the other side. After some more shifting and grunts, the party members made themselves as comfortable as they could. Which, considering the fact they were in a hearse headed towards the Pandor family crypt, did not really help. Outside, the boiling rain pelted the enchanted glass and drummed on the carriage roof as thunder rumbled in the distance. Amity glanced over at Luz to see the human had summoned a light glyph and was currently flipping through Chiaro's journal. While she could not understand the strange human language the words were written in, Amity was amazed at their luck that Luz could read it and intrigued by what was documented on the pages. She must have been leaning in because Luz shifted closer for her to see better.
"He was from San Francisco, that's a city in the human world." Luz explained when Amiry gave her a blank look. "He couldn't have been much older than us when the summoning ritual pulled him here."
"What makes you say that?"
Luz flipped to one of the earlier pages and tapped a sentence. "It says here he had his fifteenth birthday, that's when Mezzanotte gave him the ax, for protection against the demons. He talks about her a lot, and of course Emilia. Guy was over the moon for her."
Amity bit her tongue, she knew the feeling. "Is there anything that could help us with the curse?"
Shaking her head, Luz pushed through the pages. "Haven't found anything yet. Here he mentions Damien and Mezzanotte working with Astor on combining necromancy and demons, but it's a little tricky to translate Italian to Spanish."
"But, I thought you said they were the same language?"
"Sort of," Luz made a so-so motion with her hand. "They're both Latin-based languages and sound similar, but there are still differences. I'm just glad we're not having to deal with a person who spoke French. That one is a pain."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, but I'll take your word for it." Settling on her arms, Amity looked out the window as their carriage continued on down the path. There was a sudden jolt from the front followed by a muffled cry and a large, dead, tree branch crashed to the ground to the side of the hearse.
Everyone shared a look and Luz sat back on her heels to tap the wall of the hearse facing the driver's seat. "Everything okay out there?"
"Yes," Came the reply. "It's been quite sometime since I last took shape. I almost forgot how much a tree branch to the head can hurt."
Amity instantly had the mental image of the demonic shadow rubbing its head like a child and she bit back a giggle. Luz probably had the same idea in mind because she was chuckling as well and laid back onto her stomach. To forget what it was like to have a body? A sympathetic tug pulled at Amity's heart and she wondered again just who the Ghost Host had been before the curse. Maybe it wasn't a member of the household staff, but one of the demons that had been summoned? That did make some sense, it had admitted to serving the Pandor family and had a lot of knowledge of them. But, something did not add up even to that theory. If a demon had been summoned and bound to the family's will, surely it would have been far more bitter towards its masters and possibly would have relished their suffering in the curse. So, if the Ghost Host was not a demon or a member of the household, then who was it?
"Guys!"
Everyone looked up to see Skara pointing out of the window on the other side of the hearse. They must have entered a cemetery because headstones were popping up on both sides of the carriage. In fact, the longer they stared out the windows, the more headstones they could see. Spirits casually wandered about the cemetery as if it were a bright and sunny day, completely ignoring the drops of boiling rain that slipped through their translucent forms, partaking in activities that made the team gape in open wonder.
"Luz?" Gus whisper-shouted.
"Yeah?"
"I see dead people."
Luz chuckled in her throat, but the noise sounded forced to Amity, as she looked just as fascinated as everyone else.
Just like in the ballroom, witches and demons mingled about the grounds in fine dressware, but this time, their outfits ranged not just in cut and material, but also by different eras. Witches of the Savage Ages, dressed in ragged skins and rags, walked beside members of the early days of the main Nine Covens in uniformed cloaks. Lords and ladies in decadent refinery watched phantom knights duel, their magics flying from ghostly palismans and clashing swords. Two lady witches sat on a pair of headstones enjoying a tea party as the teapot drifted between them to pour a smoky liquid from its spout. The hearse rolled past a broken archway where the spectral forms of an old undertaker and a hound of some sorts hunkered, watching the party as they passed by.
"Oh, there is something I forgot to mention," the Ghost Host's voice whispered in the compartment, instantly putting the witchlings on edge. "Beware of hitchhiking ghosts. They can be a tad...annoying."
Luz raised an eyebrow and turned to Amity. "What're hitchhiking...ghosts…?" Her eyes widened at something over Amity's shoulder, making her frown.
"Luz? What're you looking-?" Her words ended in a squeak as her eyes caught their reflections in the window.
Nestled between the two girls was a skeletal-looking witch wearing a top hat and suit, his eyes rolling in their sockets as he grinned widely at them. "Evenin' ladies, mind if we drop in?"
"We?" Amity choked and spun on her side.
Standing just behind a wide-eyed Skara was a dwarfish-looking witch with an exceptionally long beard and hunkered between Willow and Gus was a rotund demon with four eyes and wearing a ridiculously large bowtie and too-small bowler hat. Boscha, who had been flipping through her scroll, glanced up when Amity cleared her throat and looked at their reflections.
"Holy Titan!" She scrambled to pull the hatchet out from beneath her, but the small space only made her stumble and flop back onto her stomach. The hearse came to a halt and the dark shape of the Ghost Host passed by the window, opening the carriage doors. Its gold and red eyes took in the hitchhiking ghosts and it sighed.
"Gentlemen," The three ghosts instantly vanished in puffs of smoke. A low chuckle shook the Ghost Host's shoulders and it offered a clawed hand to the closest witch, who happened to be Skara. "We've arrived."
"What about the rain?" Skara chanced a look out to see if it was safe, then, to everyone's surprise, took the Ghost Host's hand and jumped out of the carriage. "It's okay guys, we've got cover.."
Amity watched as Willow and Gus both accepted the shadow's help down from the hearse, but Boscha waved away the clawed offer, choosing to jump out herself. When it was her turn, she glanced back at Luz as the Ghost Host held out its hand. The human nodded at her encouragingly and she turned around, sliding her hand into the shadowy palm. She was surprised at the unexpected warmth radiating from a hand that felt like nothing but fog, yet its long fingers delicately closed over her own and she jumped down from the carriage in its careful grip. For a brief moment, Amity stared up at the tall creature as it released its hold on her.
"Who are you?"
A low growl rumbled in its throat and it straightened its back. "I am your Ghost Host." Facing the carriage, it held out a hand to King, but the demon elected to leap from the narrow step onto Amity's shoulder, propelling her forward a couple feet from the unexpected weight.
"And last but not least, our human Luz."
Grunting as she shuffled forward, Luz pulled Rex from the back and held the staff and journal out. "Hey, Amity, hold these for me?" Amity nodded, taking the polished wood and leather book from Luz to allow the human to accept the Ghost Host's hand and jump down. Of course, that was when the flat stone they had all stepped down on chose that moment to dip into the soft earth and Luz lunged forward, forcing Amity to drop the staff and catch her to avoid tumbling head-first into the boiling rain. "Thanks, Amity." She looked up at her with a grin, but it quickly dropped as she realized just how close their faces were when their noses brushed. Luz saw the bright red blush flare in Amity's cheeks and felt her own face warm in response as a tremor slid down her spine and into her stomach. Did Amity always have those flecks of gold in her amber eyes? Had her eyelashes always been that long? Luz's gaze fell to her soft pink lips that were currently parted just enough to reveal a hint of fangs and her breath lodged in her throat. "Hermosa."
"What was that?"
The girls sprang back from each other like they'd been electrocuted and Luz grinned widely at the Ghost Host. "N-nothing! I-I was just saying...um…" She looked at the stunned Amity and confused group waiting behind them. She was not about to admit what she had really said! "Um...Mim...osa? Yeah! Mimosa! It's a drink from the human world, but Mami never let me have one cuz it's an adult-only drink. I...saw a bunch of drinks that looked like them back in the ballroom! But I didn't have one! Thought about it, but didn't! So!" She whipped around, clapping her hands together in an attempt to compose herself. It was not working. "Who's ready to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first? I know I am!" Reaching down to pick up Rex, she set the tip on the ground in an attempt to look brave. "Ready when you are, Ghost Host!"
The Ghost Host tilted its head and crossed its arms. "While I admire your enthusiasm Miss Noceda, I fear you and your friends will have to enter the crypt without me."
Luz's over-eager smile droppe. "Say what now?"
"As I said before, there are limitations created by this curse that even I cannot break, and entering the Pandor mausoleum is one. This is the closest I can get to it. You and your friends will have to find the familiar that must be found yourselves. I wish it could be different, but I would not bring you here if I did not believe in you and your friends."
Swallowing, Luz looked over her shoulder at the group of witchlings all glancing at each other with uncertainty and to Amity. What had first sounded like an easy task now suddenly felt impossible. To enter what was no doubt a haunted tomb belonging to a family of demonic summoners and find something none of them even had a clue of what to look for? Clutching Rex tightly, Luz turned and stared up at the Ghost Host's featureless face.
"But, what if something bad happens? In all the movies I watched back home, it's always the graveyard, or mausoleum, or tomb, where the bad guy hides. What if one of us gets hurt? What if we...don't come back?" She felt Amity's hand rest on her shoulder and squeeze.
"We'll be okay Luz, I'm sure of it. As long as we stay together."
Luz met her eyes worriedly. "Yeah, but, what if we're not?" Hearing the Ghost Host chuckling, she felt her gaze drawn up to meet red and gold and the shadow leaned forward.
"Do not spend all your time worrying of 'what will' or 'what could'," it placed its hand on Luz's free shoulder. "Only think of what is happening at the moment. What Will will come when it comes, and I trust you will be ready. Especially when you have friends as impressive and powerful as yours," it nodded to Amity and to the rest of the group, then tapped Rex's head with a long clawed finger. "And don't forget about Rex. He will be there to protect you too. Now, enough talk, go find that familiar. Help us break this curse once and for all." The Ghost Host released Luz's shoulder and pulled back, pointing behind her. "Follow this hall until it splits and take the path to the left. There will be a few stray haunts, but pay no heed to them and they will leave you be. When you find the Quartet, you'll have found the mausoleum."
Tempted as she was to ask what that meant, Luz nodded and turned around to face her team. "Alright, Team Owlet, let's go!"
King scaled Amity's shoulders to perch on Luz's and looked at her. "Team Owlet?"
Luz shrugged. "It sounds cool!"
"No, it doesn't."
She rolled her eyes and, taking out a light glyph and activating it, held the ball of light in her hand and walked down the stone hallway, feeling Amity close to her side. Footsteps echoed as her friends quickly grouped around them and they followed the long path, leaving the tall shape of the Ghost Host behind. The structure they were in was a single hall of stone columns supporting the roof that shielded from the boiling rain. After the activity of the ballroom and graveyard, the lack of ghosts set an eerie silence about the group that settled over them like a haze. Luz held tightly to Rex, every so often checking the closed lids for any sign of life, but the cobra stayed asleep. King wriggled his way into her hoodie, keeping his head turned to watch for anything that could ambush them from behind. Amity hugged Chiaro's journal to her chest and Boscha kept the silver hatchet on her shoulder as if anticipating the sudden need to use it. Skara's eyes darted about the stone structure, wringing her hands anxiously, and Willow and Gus kept their own light spells close.
When they finally came to the split in the hall, Luz started to turn right, but Amity caught her wrist and corrected her.
"Right, we go left...my bad." Luz let Amity pull her back to the front of the group as they continued on down the corridors. Now, instead of columns on both sides, a solid wall of light grey stone stretched out, tiny copper vases marking the smooth surface. Squares checkered the stone, each bearing a name and date carved into the center.
"This must have been where they contained the ashes of the dead," Skara ran a hand along the wall, her finger tracing a name. "Why are there so many?"
Brow furrowed, Amity took a step back to better take in the wide expanse of names, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luz walk up to her and stare up at the wall. "Something's not right," the green-haired witch murmured.
"What?"
Exhaling through her nose, Amity pointed to the wall. "The practice of preserving the dead's ashes did not come about until ten years after Emperor Belos came into power. If what the Ghost Host told us is true, the curse on the Pandor family was enacted at least fifty or so years before Belos. That means this wall, and all the ashes preserved in it, was created after the curse."
"But, why would anyone want to do that? And, how?"
"I think I know," Gus turned away from the wall and spun a spell circle. A large book fell from the circle into his hand and he walked it over to Luz and Amity, Willow, Boscha, and Skara gathering around. A couple light spells popped up to illuminate the cover; Friends on the Other Side and You: the Art of Demonic Summoning. "I found this in the library when Ghost Host separated us. It's a walkthrough on the basics of summoning a demon, but also has a complete encyclopedia of the different demons to summon, including," flipping through the pages, Gus caught one with his thumb and held the book open for everyone to read.
"There are many Greater Demons crawling through the realms," read Gus. "But none as mysterious as the Nowhere Demon. A creature born of shadow and starlight, it holds the power to be everywhere and nowhere, thriving off the life energy of the souls it snares in its darkness. Silent as the shadows it lurks within, this creature feeds off the warmth of the living by drawing out their life essence. It has been known to steal the essence of those who have yet to cross over, making this one of the few creatures able to bring death to the dead. No weaknesses have been found of this Greater Demon, only that it enjoys playing with the minds of its victims until their will is broken. Even once their body has turned to ash, the Nowhere Demon will feed off their essence until nothing remains." On the neighboring page was a sketch of a demon with long limbs, two horns growing from its head, wide-spread wings, a narrow tail curling around cloven feet, and a pair of red-gold eyes staring out at the reader. "Guys, I don't think we're the first who were asked to break this curse."
The only sound that filled the space was that of the boiling rain still pelting the ground and the occasional whisper of a ghost that passed by, hardly sparing the group of living withclings a glance. Luz slowly shook her head, her face pinched in a frown.
"No, no, that can't be right. How could the Ghost Host be a Greater Demon? Why would it ask us to break the curse if it had the chance to get us at the beginning? That can't be true!"
Gus swallowed. "I'm sorry Luz, but, it's all right here." He closed the book, tucking it under his arm. "I know you've spent more time with the Ghost Host, but, the book says the Nowhere Demon likes to play mind games with its prey. What if this whole curse thing is just a ploy for it to feed off of us?"
Like the puppeteer.
"No!" Luz yelled, making everyone jump back and King spring out of her hoodie. "You're wrong! I don't believe you!" She turned away and ran down the corridor, wanting to put as much distance between herself and that book as possible, not caring how far she got from her friends or which turns she took. Finally, Luz came to a stop and dropped down on a marble bench, feeling the cold from the stone seep through her clothes into her skin as she lowered her face into her hands.
The Ghost Host couldn't be an awful monster like the Nowhere Demon, it just couldn't! Not after everything it had done for them, after what it had told her and Amity about Chiaro and Emilia. The Ghost Host cared too much about them, about the trapped souls in the manor. Still, it wouldn't be the first time a demon had fooled her with a fake quest. Rubbing her eyes, Luz looked down at the staff she had dropped on the floor and picked it up, running a thumb over the cobra's face.
"Why give me Mezzanotte's staff if all you'd want to do is take my soul?"
"Luz?"
She looked up to see Amity appear around a column, a ball of magenta flames sitting in her palm. When the witch spotted her, her eyes widened and she raced to the human.
"Luz!"
Slowly, Luz got to her feet, preferring to look at the floor than meet Amity's gaze. "I-I'm sorry Amity, but that book -" Her words were cut off by Amity throwing her arms around her neck and holding her in a tight hug.
"Don't you ever run off like that again! What if something happened to you?"
Shocked by the unexpected physical contact, Luz wrapped her arms around Amity and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry Amity, it's just, what Gus read from that book I-" she sighed, resting her face on Amity's shoulder. "When I first arrived here, a demon tricked me with a fake quest just to get to Eda. I just don't want to believe the Ghost Host could be something so awful. Not after everything it's done for us, after everything it's told us! None of it makes sense!"
Sighing, Amity slowly pulled away so she could meet Luz's eyes. Never mind the fact her heart was racing or her face and ears felt like they were on fire when she stared into those deep chocolate-brown eyes. She could see the conflicted emotions darting about the human's easy-to-read features and knew the facts Gus had dropped on her, though well-meaning, had hit a sensitive mark. Spotting some stray bangs sticking out from Luz's head, she reached up and combed the cowlick back, biting her lip when she heard Luz's breath hitch.
"I know, Luz, but you have to remember nothing here is what it seems. Gus was just trying to help. That book may be right, but we still don't know for sure if the Ghost Host is a friend or foe. You and I have spent the most time with it and I want to believe it's on our side as well, but we can't let our guard down. No matter what." Dropping her hand to Luz's shoulder, Amity steeled herself as she locked her gaze with Luz. "All we can do right now is keep on solving this curse and freeing the souls trapped here, just like you said. Whatever else happens between us and the Ghost Host, we'll figure it out." She frowned when Luz looked down and tightened her grip on her shoulders so the human returned her gaze. "Here, repeat after me: we can fix this together."
A small smile tugged at Luz's lips. "We can...fix this together." Lifting Rex so the end rested on the stone floor, Luz's smile grew into her signature grin. "Thanks Amity...I don't know what I'd do without you." She had not pulled out of Amity's hold just yet, still staying close to the witch, her eyes slowly taking in her face. When her gaze slipped down to Amity's lips and she visibly swallowed, the witch felt her heart slam against her ribcage. When Luz spoke again, her voice sounded breathless. "Amity…?"
"Y-yes Luz…?" She felt Luz lean in close, causing her whole body to freeze up and she shut her eyes. Bloody Titan, was this happening? She heard Luz inhale deeply, pause, then inhale again. Wait, she was...sniffing her?
"Listen, you smell something?"
Amity's eyes snapped open and she stared at Luz blankly. "I beg your pardon?" A finger pressed to her lips and she squeaked.
"Ssshhh!" Hissed Luz, tensing as she cocked her head to the side to listen.
Confused beyond belief, Amity strained to listen for whatever it was that had caught the human's attention. At first, all she could hear was rain. Or, was that the blood roaring in her ears at the embarrassing thought she had hoped Luz was actually going to kiss her? Then, she heard it. Voices floated out of the silence, seemingly coming from around the corner they were stood by. Cautiously, the two girls tiptoed to the edge of the stone wall and peeked around.
A small alcove settled at the end of the squat corridor overtaken by a curtain of ivy, and behind it, a large metal door. Just off to the side stood four short columns and, sitting on each one, was a stone head bust, singing at the top of their nonexistent lungs like a barbershop quartet.
"When the crypt goes creak and the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide
Or a silly spook may sit by your side
Shrouded in a daft disguise, they pretend to terrorize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize."
Mouths hanging open, Luz and Amity stared at the odd spectacle and looked at each other in an attempt to process just what they were watching. Finally, Luz broke the silence when she tried to stop herself from laughing and let out a snort. "Hey, Amity? I'd say we're headed in the right direction."
Rolling her eyes, Amity gave the human a shove. "Shut up. Let's go find everyone and tell them we found the entrance to the crypt." She still had to hold back a giggle when Luz smiled widely at her and they jogged down the hall, the busts voices echoing behind them.
"Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize…"
Will they or won't they...yes, I keep writing Lumity moments, but they'e just too adorable! And, like the Ghost Host, I like to mess with Amity. Speaking of the Ghost Host, do you think it is the Nowhere Demon? Or something else?
There has been a lot of talking and not much action, but don't worry. Team Owlet is about to enter the Pandor family mausoleum, shenanigans are bound to happen. But what kind, you ask? Find out in the next chapter!
*insert Disney villain laugh*