Songs featured in this chapter: Shut Up and Dance, by Walk the Moon; Into the Night, by Santana; World on Fire, by Daughtry.
You'll find out why...
Standing in front of a large metal door with the symbol of a lidless eye in the center of a triangle was unnerving. Knowing that beyond the door waited an ancient crypt housing an innumerable amount of dead bodies sent chills down the spine and settled into the stomach like a ball of ice. Welded onto the surface of the door beneath the eye was a warning to all who entered; here lay the passage to the dead. It should have sent the members of the recently named Team Owlet running as far away from the Pandor family crypt as possible. If not for the singing head bust barbershop quartet. Luz had already held off Amity twice from summoning her abomination to bash their stone heads in when she demanded they be quiet and they responded with one liting tune after another that did nothing to solve their inevitable doom.
"Don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me.
I said you're holding back, she said 'shut up and dance with me.'
This woman is my destiny. She said 'ooooh, shut up and dance with me!'"
Before Amity could take another swing, Willow looped her arm under her's and yanked her back to the door. "Just ignore them, they're a bunch of singing heads! They don't have anything else to do!"
"Well, they're getting really annoying!" Amity hissed, jerking around to stare daggers at the door as if it were somehow responsible for the melodic torture. "I don't want to be stuck listening to this when we don't have much of the night left!"
"And we danced on into the night…"
"I actually kinda like them," Skara winced at the glared response. "They've got nice vocals for a bunch of heads!"
"Maybe next time you tell them to be quiet."
Luz, who had been standing in front of the door, snickered, and turned to her team, setting the end of Rex's staff on the stone floor. "Alrighty, is everyone ready?" She was answered with six resounding nos, one being from King who had reclaimed her hoodie. "Good enough!" She reached up for the long thick metal brace and pulled, though it was more of a lot of groaning and grunting as she tried to pull the rusted handle from its lock. Gasping, Luz stopped and looked at her friends. "Um, help please?"
Sighing, Amity stepped forward and drew a spell. "Abomination, rise!" She gestured for Luz to move away as the large gollum lumbered to the door and grasped the handle, shoving it out of its lock and pulling the door open. Cobwebs hung in a thick curtain over the door frame and beyond it, a set of stone steps spiraled down into darkness. A low moan rose up from the steps in a gust of wind that swirled around the team.
Willow squeaked. "I'm scared!"
"Hold me!" Boscha sprang into the witchling's unsuspecting arms, dropping her hatchet. It took a split second for Willow to register who she was holding and dumped Boscha on the ground.
Clenching her hand in a fist, Luz pulled out a light glyph and ignited it, sending the glowing orb in front of her and tightened her hold on Rex. Ever since they had parted ways with the Ghost Host, she had felt a tiny heartbeat pulse from the dormant staff, but it still refused to show a sign of life. Lifting her free hand, Luz pulled at the cobwebs, holding the staff before her like a shield. "Okay guys, let's do this."
There was a brief bit of shuffling and some quips about who would stand where, but soon, Team Owlet stepped through the door of the crypt and onto the staircase to descend into the gloom. Just like before, Luz led the group with King perched on her shoulders and Amity close behind. This time, Willow, Gus, and Skara made up the middle of the group while Boscha brought up the rear, the hatchet clasped tightly in both her hands as her three eyes darted about the surrounding darkness. Each witchling, and human, had their own respective orb of light floating about their heads to illuminate the space around them.
The staircase they were descending was wide, offering more than enough space for them to walk side by side or even three by three, but after Luz had explained to them the nuances of human horror stories and what happened to those who were not careful, no one felt the urge to risk it. Without the reassuring presence of the Ghost Host, Luz did not want to entertain the thought of something going wrong. She remembered what happened the last time she acted on pure impulse without a solid plan in mind, and that had led to Eda losing her magic forever and being trapped by Lilith in Owl Beast form. Shivering at the memory, Luz continued down the staircase, testing each stone step as she descended. Though they were well out of the boiling rain, water still managed to drip through the cracks of the stones, taking away any possible traction for those who dared to enter. Which was probably why when they passed what was most likely the halfway point that Luz's heel hit a slick patch that sent her sliding down like she was on the log jam ride at Mall of America.
"Luz!" Amity made a grab for the human, but only managed to lose her footing in the process, leading to Willow trying to catch her, then Gus, then Skara, who grabbed Boscha by the ankle for a lifeline, and instantly regretted it.
"Back!"
"Elbow!"
"Shoulder!"
"Head!"
From the bottom of the pile, Luz moaned, feeling like a literal human crash mat. "Son of a bench...is everyone okay?"
"No…" That was King.
Having lost her light glyph in the tumble, Luz tried to wriggle her arm out from whomever was currently squishing it into the ground to pull another out of her pocket. Feeling paper against her fingers, she yanked it out onto the floor and tapped it, hoping she had not pulled out a plant or ice glyph by mistake. Thankfully, a soft golden glow sprang up from the crumpling sheet of paper and she sighed with relief. At least now they were done with descending the stairs. Scooting out from beneath the warm body pressed against hers, Luz sent the ball of light out to the side as everyone attempted to unravel from the tangle they had fallen in. Seeing Amity sprawled just off to the side, Luz helped the witch to her feet.
"You okay?" Her eyes scanned her face for any sign of injury, but Amity shook her off.
"I'm fine, just was not expecting that." She pulled her hair-tie out of her ponytail to redo it and looked around. "Exactly how far down are we?"
"Um…" A pinch on her shoulder from King's claws snapped Luz out of watching those green strands slip through pale fingers, and she turned her head. "I'm not sure...it's pretty dark in here. We'd better get some more light." Luz quickly set about placing light glyph sheets on the stone floor every few feet, activating them as she passed, until a large expanse of the area was full of the comforting glow. Which, after she was able to take in their surroundings, Luz was instantly grateful for.
The room they were in was immense, not nearly as big as the ballroom, but significant enough in size to once again demonstrate the mystery of the Pandor family's power. Droplets of water slipped through the cracks of the domed ceiling that sported a faded mural of what was most likely the demons summoned over the years and the witches controlling them. Luz could see the floor she was standing on was actually a platform that jutted out by a few feet before circling the room to serve as a walkway linked to thick shelves tucked into the stone. And on each shelf was a coffin.
Smooth lacquered wood painted with dark colors that easily accented the macabre setting of the mausoleum, each coffin held the bone-chilling echo of the sleep of death. Luz clutched Rex to her chest as she looked around the grim space.
"Hey, Gus? What was it that oracle told you guys to look for?"
Skara and Gus looked at each other and he cleared his throat. "'Enter the tomb under the great dead oak, and travel down deep under the ground, and there you will find the familiar that must be found. Find the black crypt that bears no name or soon your fate shall be the hearts for two souls, love given new life, the willing shall dance by the end of the night.'"
Luz turned on her heel to the center of the room. The platform they were on not only led off to the circular walkway, but also dipped down to form a staircase going further into the bowels of the mausoleum. Walking to the top step to look down, she saw the bottom of the mausoleum was not actually as deep as she expected, roughly no more than twenty feet. The entire floor was covered with water, the stairs forming another walkway that looped around a dais in the center. More coffins dotted the floor, but these were all black stone, giving the illusion they had been carved where they sat. Archways set into the round wall hinted at the likely case there were even more caskets tucked away from the living world. On the dais crouched the large stone figure of a demon with its hands holding a stone casket with long clawed fingers, its horned head bowed in reverence. It was not hard for Luz to recognize the carving as the Nowhere Demon and she struggled to repress the shuddering thought that the Ghost Host could be the same thing.
No, we don't know for sure. We just have to find that familiar! "Guys? I think we have to go down there..."
Boacha leaned over the edge to look at the caskets surrounding the statue. "Ten snails it's a trap."
"Twenty." Chimed King.
Rolling her eyes, Luz descended the stairs, scanning for any tricky puddles. "You guys coming?" She called over her shoulder.
"Nah," Boscha rested the blade of the hatchet on the floor and leaned her shoulder against a wall. "I'll stay up here where I'm outta the way if that thing comes to life."
Willow and Gus shot her a look. "We'll go with you."
"Same here." Said Amity.
Luz nodded to them and glanced at Skara, who was eyeing the demonic statue warily. "Why don't you stay up here as well? Just in case anything happens."
Skara nodded her thanks and Luz followed the steps down with her friends pressed close around her. They stared at the surrounding caskets, all matching Madame Leota's words. Exactly how were they going to know which one was it?
"We're going to have to spread out," Luz nodded to one side. "King and I will go this way." Willow, Gus, and Amity nodded and chose their own direction, footsteps echoing around them as they crossed the stone path. Leaning over the first one she passed, Luz eyed the name carved over the top. Nope, she had to find one with no name.
"Hey, King?"
"Weh?"
"Do you know anything about the Nowhere Demon? Other than what Gus read from that book?"
The furry demon cocked his head to the side, looking over at the looming statue. "That book was pretty spot on as far as what I've heard about it. D'ya think Gus would mind if I 'borrowed' it to add to my demon book?"
"King!"
"That's a yes," Sighing, he shuffled onto her shoulder. "Look, I get you don't like what you heard, but the Nowhere Demon is a very powerful creature. Heck, even I'd be happy if it joined my army of terror!" King struck a dramatic pose, but slipped and plopped back onto Luz's shoulder. Seeing her downcast eyes, he placed a paw on the side of her head. "Hey, don't worry about it. Remember how we showed Aterghast what happens when someone tries to mess with us? And who knows? Maybe the Ghost Host is the Nowhere Demon, but is actually good?"
Luz blinked at him. "Is that even possible?"
"Do you forget who you're talking to? I am the King of Demons! I chose you and Eda for my subjects without force!"
Giggling, Luz smiled and gave the demon a scratch on his head, continuing on past the named caskets.
From across the room, Amity glanced up when she heard the human laugh and couldn't help but smile to herself. Though, it was a small one and there was a touch of melancholy to it. How could she ever think Luz would see her as anything more than a friend? She had hoped that this adventure, spooky and bizarre as it was, would give Luz enough insight to see just how much Amity truly felt for her. Or maybe give Amity the courage she needed to confess her feelings. But no, just like all the times before, Luz simply laughed it off as being a good friend and Amity found her voice trapped in her throat. Passing two caskets, Amity wandered in a different direction she did not even bother checking. Maybe it was inevitable that a human and a witch would never be together, just like Emilia and Chiaro. Ironic, Amity thought, that the curse they were asked to solve somehow mirrored her own personal hell. The toe of her shoe hit stone and Amity looked up to see the dais before her, the black casket cupped in the Nowhere statue's hands.
Glancing around to check where everyone else was, Amity climbed the short set of shallow steps and crossed to the casket, feeling the petrified eyes of the demon watching her movements. She crouched down and looked at the smooth stone, running a hand over the cool surface, studying the white veins cutting through the black marble. Interesting that there was nothing carved on the sides depicting who was resting here. Tradition dictated the middle of the room went to the highest valued members of a family with the greatest of all in the center. Standing up, Amity leaned over to look at the lid and saw nothing but flawless stone. A black crypt with no name.
"Luz! Gus! Willow!"
Everyone turned to look at her.
"I found it!"
They ran to the dais and stared at the smooth surface. "What next?" Willow asked.
Setting Rex down, Luz rolled her already short sleeves back and placed her hands on the lid. "Time to see what's behind door number three. Hey, Amity, lend me a hand?"
Amity nodded. "Abomination, rise!" Even with the added strength of the gollum, it still took Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus to slowly push the casket top from its place. The stone lid teetered over the edge and fell, crashing to the dais. Panting, Luz turned over her shoulder.
"Boscha! Skara! We found it!"
"Good job!" Came Skara's reply.
"Now find that stupid familiar and let's get out of here!" Boscha yelled. "This place is giving me the creeps!"
Wiping her brow, Luz looked down at the occupant of the casket and shivered. Just like in the movies she had seen, a grinning skeleton gazed up at the group through lidless sockets. Bits of skin and flesh clung to the nameless corpse, the tattered remains of a ceremonial funeral dress settled about its frame. There was no way to tell if the corpse was male or female, any piece of evidence had rotted away in its centuries of sleep. All Luz could see that hinted that this must have been a witch was the sharp canines gleaming from its jaws. Everything else had decomposed. Next to her, Gus made a retching sound and turned away from the grisly sight. Willow's face had taken on a slightly greenish hue, and Amity had the look of someone in a desperate game of mind over matter. The smell alone was enough to make Luz's stomach flip, but she had spent more than enough time scrounging through trash slugs with Eda to not be so overwhelmed. What exactly did that say about her? Probably nothing good.
"Okay," she leaned over the side and grimaced. "Now, where is that familiar?"
The corpse had been positioned in the familiar pose of its hands crossed over its chest, its body ramrod straight in the coffin. A large sheet covered most of the body from the shoulders down, making Luz wonder if it was a death shroud. She then noticed there was something odd about the corpse's chest, a small lump just beneath its hands. Gingerly, and with a shaking hand, Luz pinched the shroud covering the lump and, very carefully, peeled it back. Curled up in a tight ball, eyes shut as if in slumber, was a small white fox.
The small group stared at the small creature in open puzzlement and looked at each other.
"Is that a pailsman?" Luz gently prodded at the fox clasped in the corpse's hands. The tips of the furry creature's ears were a jet black, as well as the end of its tail and its paws. Luz tried to nudge the fox out of the dead fingers wrapped around it, but they held firm. Realizing there was only one way to pull the fox out of the corpse's grasp, Luz swallowed hard and slipped her fingers around the thin finger bones. The crunch that followed almost made her lose those sandwiches she had eaten in the ballroom as did the cold clamminess of the tightly clenched hands. Unfortunately, it was becoming very clear just one hand was not enough to free the palizman. Biting her lip, Luz reached in with her other hand and pushed at the boney fingers.
"Dios mio, esto es asqueroso." Feeling her fingers finally close around the fox, Luz tugged with all her might and felt the hands fall away, but not without a stomach-churning crunch. Doing her best to not crush the palisman while fighting to breathe, Luz turned around to face her friends. "Well, that wasn't so bad." She was met with four deadpanned stares.
"So, this is the familiar that must be found?" Willow looked at the fox curiously. "What would a palisman be doing all the way out here? And without its staff?"
Amity, who had also been studying the fox, gasped.
"Emilia's palisman," she met Luz's eyes. "Remember the incomplete staff we saw back in Emilia's bedroom? I think this is it! This must be Artemis!"
The palisman's eyes popped open, startling Luz as it shook its head, ears flapping about and it looked around at the human and witchlings curiously with a glowing silver gaze. Until it stopped on Amity. Chirping, the fox squirmed out of Luz's grip and leapt onto Amity's arm to climb up and settle onto her shoulder. Amity yelped in surprise as the suddenly living palisman stared at her intently, its tail tickling the back of her neck.
"Um, hello. Are you Artemis?"
The fox, Artemis, tilted its head and blinked. Wide-eyed, Amity glanced at Luz, her brain lagging with no notion of what to do. "Do you know the Ghost Host?" She asked the fox. It blinked again and its tail swished the air. "Okay...what about Madame Leota? She told us we had to find you, to help break the curse?"
A soft trill came from the fox's throat and it looked around the room as if now suddenly realizing where it was, stopping when it's eyes fell on the staff in Luz's hands. The trill faded into a growl as its hackles stood up from its back, making Amity wince when she felt tiny claws prick her skin through her shirt. Luz took a careful step back.
"What? What'd I do?"
Amity reached up and lifted Artemis from her shoulder. Instantly, the fox stopped growling and stared at her as its expression morphed from hostile to realization and then, to everyone's surprise, sadness. "Artemis?" Amity held the palisman up to her face. "Do you know what happened here?"
The fox lifted its eyes to her and slowly nodded.
"Okay, then let's get you out of here and back onto your staff." Amity set the fox back on her shoulder where it immediately tucked its body around her neck. "Ready?"
"Yup!" Luz wiped the cobwebs from her fingers and shook them over the open coffin. "I'm done with dead people."
A skeletal hand shot up from the casket and locked on her wrist in an iron-clad grip. Luz screamed and lunged back as the dead witch sat up from its resting position, its mouth gaping open to release a long snarl. Magenta flames slammed into the corpse's head, sending its skull off its shoulders and tumbling into the water below. Its hand still clung to Luz's arm and she shook it desperately to dislodge the appendage.
"Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"
"Hold still!" Amity grabbed the panicking human by her collar and yanked the dead arm from her wrist, throwing it over her shoulder. "We'd better go before anything else happens."
Luz nodded, rubbing at the bruise forming from the boney grasp. They had taken not more than three steps off the dais before the sound of cracking stone reverberated around the room and an earthy growl shook the floor. Whimpering, Luz clenched her staff.
"King, please tell me that was your stomach?"
A rock hit the floor next to her foot and she slowly turned around, then looked up.
The Nowhere Demon statue loomed over them, its body stretched to its full carved height, horns scraping against the ceiling. Stone lids cracked open and a pair of burning crimson eyes slid down and focused on the group.
"What the Titan did you do?!" Boscha screamed from above. The sound of more stone cracking made them look around to see the solid walls of the mausoleum fissuring as the dead bodies kept behind fought to break out. Along the shelves, coffins began to shake and roll about, boney fingers slithering out from beneath their lids. Down in the center of the room, Luz and her friends watched in horror as the stone caskets trembled from the effort of their dead occupants struggling to escape. Overhead, the Nowhere Demon lifted the now-empty crypt and, with a thunderous roar, hurled the stone box to the coffin shelves above the platform.
"Boscha! Skara!" Luz yelled out as the stonework exploded where the two witches stood. Her heart plummeted to her stomach, but seeing their silhouettes running through the cloud of dust sent it racing back into her chest. Taking the steps two at a time, Luz lifted Rex and swung the staff with all her might at a zombie that had managed to claw its way out of its coffin, popping the head into the air like a soft ball.
Now might be a really good time for you to wake up! She thought, ramming the cobra head into another corpse's chest. Pulling out her packet of glyphs, Luz slapped an ice glyph to the floor and speared three zombies in a row. Meanwhile, Boscha swung the hatchet at everything that approached her, the silver blade singing through the air as it cut down the undead enemies. The ground shook as Willow summoned her plant monster and instantly began mowing through the corpses that dared to leave their coffins. Gus drew spell circles that fired bright blue flames at the zombies, burning their bones and imploding their bodies. A spell circle around each wrist, Skara thrust her palms out and a deafening sound wave blasted the frail skeletons to bits. King clung to Luz's shoulders as she darted beneath a zombie's grasping fingers and hurled a burning fire glyph into its face. A cry from the side made her turn her head, panic stabbing her heart when she realized she did not know where Amity was inside the fray.
The gurgling roar of an abomination was all she had as a warning before the purple ooze monster barreled into the wake of zombies, swinging its arms wildly. Amity held onto the abomination's back, her brow furrowed deep in concentration as they bashed through their skeletal foes. Any zombie that was not taken down by the gollum's fists were swallowed up in its sludgy mass. Luz caught sight on one decayed arm sticking out of the lower back that was creeping up towards Amity, and tightened her grip on the staff.
"Amity! Behind you!" Instincts taking over, Luz thrust the staff at the hand just as Amity turned around. A beam of starry, violet light flew through the air and hit the hand point blank, incinerating it on the spot. The two girls stared at each other, mouths hanging open, and looked down at the smoke trailing from the staff in Luz's hands. Slowly, Luz rotated the stave to see the smoke pouring from the gaping mouth of the cobra palisman and its glowing violet eyes. A thin black tongue darted out to run along its fangs and scaly lips, and it hissed.
"Luz!"
She looked up to see the abomination pull its arm back and, taking her cue, dropped to the floor just as a zombie grappled the air where she had just been. The abomination's arm lashed out, grabbing the corpse by its head, and chucked it across the room to shatter against the Nowhere Demon's chest. Glowing red eyes turned to fix on Amity and she gulped.
"Oops."
The giant statue roared and swung its clawed hands at the platform, crushing zombies and slicing through the stone holding it together. Luz yelped as the floor beneath her wavered and she scrambled to her feet. "We need to go, now!" She ran to the stairs that led to the exit, but the mass of zombies stumbling down brought her to a halt. There were too many of them to fight. They were trapped. "Ghost Host!" She yelled, but the Nowhere Demon's roar drowned out her words. Surely there would be a way the Ghost Host could sense if they were in trouble? How could they get out of here if their only exit was...blocked? Eyes growing wide, Luz spun around and looked down at the archways in the lower center of the room. The water filling the space had to come from somewhere, and the Ghost Host did say there were other ways back to the manor.
"Guys! We have to take the tunnels!" The floor beneath started to crumble and Luz felt Rex tug her forward out of the grasping fingers of a corpse. Stones fell from the ceiling and speared the floor, splitting it into a chasm that grew alarmingly wide, separating Luz from her friends. She heard Amity cry her name, but there was too much dust and rock for her to see. Behind her, the mass of zombies moaned and reached out for her.
"Luz!" King yelled.
The cobra's hood flared open as it hissed loudly and Luz felt the staff tug her arm again, but this time up. Taking a deep breath, Luz charged at the chasm and, with King screaming in her ear, leapt up and wrapped her legs around Rex's staff. There was a rush of wind and dust around her as the staff rocketed over the chasm and through the cloud blocking her friends from view. As well as the three zombies lifting their arms to attack. Luz plowed into them and sent the zombies tumbling down just in time for the Nowhere Demon to crush them with a cloven hoof. Her grip slipped from the staff and Luz collapsed on the floor, skidding to a halt on her stomach. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders as Amity pulled her to her feet.
"Luz! Are you okay?"
If it was not for the giant demon statue and multitude of zombies around them, Luz would have been flattered that Amity was checking her over for any major injuries. She still felt her face heat up, but stopped the witch by catching her wrist. "Amity, I'm fine! We've got a problem though, the way back is blocked. We're going to have to take the tunnels!"
"What?" Amity's eyes widened. "But, the Ghost Host told us to not go that way!"
A zombie lunged for them and Boscha lobbed it away with the ax. "We don't have much of a choice!"
"But, which way do we go?"
The ground beneath them shuddered and the stones fell away as the Nowhere Demon slammed its fists against the wall.
"Run!" Luz yelled, shoving Amity ahead of her as they raced down the stairs to the water-filled center. The black stone caskets had since been opened, but the occupants lay crushed on the floor, no doubt by the towering statue's feet.
"Okay human," Boscha hissed as they watched the stomping hooves, ducking to avoid the demon's sight. "Now what?"
Panting, Luz looked down at the water. "If we can figure out which direction the water is coming from, that should lead us to the sewers beneath the mansion. Unless," she glanced at Artemis, who was still wrapped around Amity's shoulders. "You know the way?"
Artemis glanced up at Amity and looked around the archways before nodding towards the one across the space, the Nowhere Demon their only obstacle.
"Alright Team Owlet," Luz clenched tightly to Rex. "Run!"
"Stop calling us that!" Boscha yelled at her as they bolted for the archway, ducking under the Nowhere Demon's stone claws. Corpses fell down on them from above and they pushed them back with any spell they could throw, until the smooth stone walls of the tunnel surrounded them on all sides. The zombies tried to shove through the archway as a mass, but the Nowhere Demon's claws scooped them away as it let out a bellowing roar.
"Go! Go! Go!" Luz yelled and they tore off down the tunnel, their feet splashing in the shallow water. She could still hear the surviving zombies hot on their heels. Seeing the space ahead open up, Luz shot from the opening, and slid to a halt.
The tunnel led out to a large space with multiple doors leading off to anybody's guess where. Turning around to see the zombies, Luz looked at her friends.
"Hide!"
The group scattered, bouncing off each other as they ran for the nearest door to yank it open and slam it shut. Before finding her own hiding spot, Luz stopped to set glyphs along the walls and floor, slapping them as she ran by. Finding a door, she pulled it open and darted inside, just as the zombies entered the space. A resounding boom echoed through the door and bits of dirt and rock rained on her head. Luz stayed perfectly still, straining to listen through the door for any sign of activity. Not hearing anything, she cracked the door open and peered out to see chunks of quickly melting ice and scorched stones scattered about the area as well as the remains of the pursuing zombies. Sighing, Luz leaned her shoulder against the door.
"Glad that's over."
A deep growl rose up from behind her and she turned to see a pair of glowing red eyes.
Amity was not sure if she heard the scream first, but she was definitely the first to open her door and watch Luz tear out from her hiding spot like a bat out of the Skull with the biggest hound she had ever seen chasing after her. The human ran across the wide room and yanked open the first door she could find, dashing through it. Snarling, the grey-furred hound bounded to the closed door and, to Amity's shock, phased through it. Seconds later, Luz shoved open the door and ran to another one, not bothering to close it behind her. Doors opened behind Amity as the rest of the group peered out from their hiding spots.
"What the heck is going on?" Gus asked.
All Amity could do was point as Luz shot through another door, still screaming, the hound behind her. Yanking open another door, Luz and the hound were gone for no more than a few seconds before the door was flung off its hinges and the hound barreled out. Behind it, Boscha screamed a battle cry as she held the hatchet over her head. The door behind Amity opened and Luz poked her head out, scaring the green-haired witch to the ceiling.
"Is it gone?"
"Gangway!" Boscha hollered, racing down the hall, the hound and two exact duplicates chasing her. Flames hissed from their nostrils and smoke puffed out from their jaws. These were no ghost hounds, they were hellhounds.
Everyone let out a collective scream and zizzaged about the doors, opening and closing them as they attempted to lose the phantasmic beasts. Amity felt Artemis clench her shoulder and she looked to see the fox pointing with its nose down another hall.
"Everyone! This way!" Amity's feet pounded on the floor as she ran, grabbing a confused Luz's wrist to tow her behind. The hellhounds bayed after the racing group as they rounded a corner. A lever jutted out of the wall and, when Amity glanced up, she saw the teeth of a gate sticking out of the ceiling.
"But," she looked at Artemis. "They'll run through the bars!" The fox stared at her and growled, and she grasped the lever, pulling it down with all her might. The bars dropped down just as the hounds turned the corner, and they crashed into the gate. Silver light shimmered through the bars like a barrier and the hounds snarled, turning around and running back the direction they came, howling their frustration. Amity's hand went limp and slipped from the lever as she collapsed onto the floor, exhaustion getting the better of her. Luz sat down beside her and the rest of the group followed suit, the adrenaline from the fight draining from their bodies.
For a few minutes, they leaned against the walls as they struggled to catch their breath, the reality of their situation sinking in. The way out was blocked, they had no way of getting to the Ghost Host, and the Bewitching Hour was coming to an end.
"Now what?" Skara whispered.
Luz looked at Amity and, using Rex for support, slowly got to her feet. Taking out a light glyph, she tapped the paper and held the golden orb up. "Now, we follow these tunnels back to the mansion and hope the Ghost Host knows what happened."
Back in the mausoleum, the glowing eyes of the Nowhere Demon statue went blank and shadows fell down the cheeks like tears, climbing along its body to reach the ceiling, then crawled up through the cracks. Outside the closed metal door, the darkness spilled out from beneath the doorframe and melded into the tall, featureless shadow of the Ghost Host. Crossing its arms, the phantom turned its head in the direction of the singing busts and sighed.
"Well gents, looks like there's been a change of plans. Any ideas?"
"Going down like a dead man walking
One step from a body in the coffin.
Just one, one of the fallen…"
The Ghost Host hummed thoughtfully. "Indeed. There is not much time left." The shadow darted off down the halls and past the carriage, weaving through the active graveyard like a serpent towards the manor. If the Ghost Host had a face, it would have smiled a wide, fanged grin and slipped into the windows of the manor. After centuries of waiting, everything was finally coming together and it was not about to let a certain little witch brat get in its way. Why else would it have friends on the other side for such a problem?
Phew! This was a long one! But, this was a blast to write. Did someone order a hallway gag?