Dangerous Deception (Dangerous Creatures 2)

This time, Link was the one who pulled the door off the hinges. Though it did take him a little more effort than the gate had taken Sampson.

Whatever. I’m only a quarter Incubus, not a seven-foot Caster version of Hellboy.

As they stepped into a gleaming foyer, Necro coughed and buried her nose in the crook of her elbow, as if the stench had gotten worse. She crossed the foyer, making a wide circle to avoid something on the floor that no one else could see.

“More blood?” John asked.

Necro averted her eyes. “It’s everywhere. There was a huge pool of it just inside the door.”

Link checked the bottoms of his shoes. Even if it was invisible ghost blood, he didn’t want it on him.

Liv followed Angelique, staying close to the peeling wallpaper covering the walls at the perimeter of the room, which led into a huge parlor. An enormous crystal chandelier hung above the threadbare velvet couches and floor pillows scattered around the room.

Link walked up to what looked like a long-necked glass vase with a weird pipe thingy attached to it. “What the hell is that?”

“A hookah,” Liv said. “People fill it with leaves called shisha, like a pipe. But a hundred and fifty years ago, they probably weren’t smoking anything nearly as tame.”

“Huh?” As usual, Link felt like he was failing a test he didn’t even know he was taking until a second ago.

“Opium,” she explained. “At least, that’s what people generally smoked in hookahs back then.”

Sampson and Lucille rushed ahead, following Angelique and dodging the ropes that sectioned off the house like an exhibition in the Fallen Soldiers Museum back home.

Angelique gestured down the hall. “The Outer Door is in the basement.”

“Let’s get it open,” Sam said.

“John, look at the dials.” Liv tapped her selenometer. “This is not good.”

Link rushed over in time to see the hands on the dials spinning in opposite directions. “What does it mean?” he asked. Liv was always worried about the why, but all Link cared about was the what. If some kind of supernatural hurricane was about to hit this place, Link didn’t want to be the last to know.

Liv shook her head. “Honestly, I have no idea.”

“I think I do,” Floyd said.

The air shifted again, the same way it had in the courtyard.

Within seconds, the bodies began to appear—girls, around his age if Link had to guess. Most of them had dark hair and golden skin, and they were all dressed in flowing silk and gold jewelry like the ones in the courtyard. Except their beautiful faces were covered in blood. A few of them had knife wounds or jagged lacerations that turned Link’s stomach.

“Down here,” Sampson called from somewhere far away, most likely the basement.

“Let’s get out of here.” John moved in front of Necro and Floyd.

Necro didn’t respond. Floyd gave her a gentle push, and Necro shuffled forward, almost as if she was in a trance.

Link reached the front of the parlor and saw the long hallway leading to the open basement door. Lucille sat in the doorway, as if she was waiting for them. Link grabbed Necro’s hand, practically dragging her. One of the harem girls rushed toward them, and Link yanked Necro’s arm harder, but it was too late.

The hazy harem girl stepped right into the Necromancer’s body.

Necro’s body jerked back so hard that she took Link along with her.

It felt like someone hit Fast-Forward….

Necro’s body slammed against the wall—

Her hand slipped from Link’s—

Floyd called out to her—

Necro’s mouth opened in a scream that never came—

She scrambled away from Link, her posture more formal than he’d ever seen it. As Necro’s eyes darted between her friends, it was clear she didn’t recognize any of them. “You have to help me,” Necro said in a frantic voice, softer and more innocent than her own. She rushed toward Liv, clutching at her arm. “There are men upstairs, and they are hacking everyone to pieces.”

Before Liv had a chance to respond—or anyone could explain that the men weren’t there anymore and the Sheer was just remembering the crime—the Sheer turned toward the doorway as if she heard a noise. Link knew the sound had to be in her head, because he didn’t hear anything.

Necro’s eyes widened, and she dropped Liv’s arm and bolted toward the back door—and away from whoever she’d seen in the doorway.

But someone else appeared under the archway.

Sampson.

“What’s wrong?” he called out, looking panicked.

Necro turned when she heard his voice and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The harem girl’s Sheer stepped out of Necro’s body and took off running again. The girl’s form faded just before she crossed the threshold to the courtyard.

Necro swayed, looking dizzy and confused.

Floyd caught her arm for only a second before the Sheer of another harem girl appeared. The Sheer ran toward Necro, glancing behind her as if she was being chased, and Necro jerked back the moment the injured girl stepped inside her body. Just like the first time, Necro looked confused for a second, then terrified, as she took on the expression and even the crooked posture of the dead girl.

She turned and tried to run for the back door, just like the first girl had, but her injured leg slowed her down long enough for Sampson to catch up with her. He grabbed Necro by the shoulders and shook—not too hard but hard enough. “Get the hell out of her!”

“No! Please!” Necro covered her eyes, screaming.

Sampson scooped her up, tucking one arm under her legs. Necro cowered, her screams growing more intense.

“We have to get her out of here,” Sampson said.

“The Outer Door is at the bottom of the stairs,” Angelique called out, pointing.

Sam turned to Link. “Rip her out of here. We’ll meet you on the other side.”

John charged forward and took Necro’s quivering body from Sampson. “I’ve got her. I’ve been Traveling a lot longer than Link has.” John turned to Liv. “Stay with Link. I’ll meet you there.”

She nodded, and Link waited for John to dematerialize.

But a moment later, he was still standing in the exact same spot with Necro screaming in his arms. John looked confused and closed his eyes like he was concentrating. The air around him shifted, and light pricked through his form as if he was beginning to disappear … but he was still standing there.

“It’s not working,” John said. “It must have something to do with the Sheer. I can’t Rip with the Sheer inside Necro.”

“How do we get it out of her?” Floyd asked.

John looked down at Necro, who was hysterical now, and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Necro’s head snapped to attention, her eyes darting wildly around the room as if she’d heard another sound no one else had.

John turned toward the arched doorway, following her gaze, and Necro wiggled out of his grasp.

“No!” Sampson shouted.

Necro took off toward the back door, dragging her injured leg behind her. The Darkborn ran after her, but even if she could have outrun him, it wouldn’t have mattered. The moment she reached the door, the Sheer stepped out of Necro’s body and kept running down the porch steps and into the courtyard.

Another Sheer—a man wielding a curved sword—darted out of the bushes. He swung the weapon and caught her in the back, slicing right through her body. The Sheer let out a raspy cry as she vanished into thin air.

The murderous Sheer rested the bloody knife against his shoulder, already scanning the area for another victim.

Sampson caught Necro just as she collapsed and, carrying her, bolted out of the room and toward the basement. Link was right behind him. Even though the Incubus in Link was fast, the Darkborn was faster, not to mention the fact that it took Link three strides to match every one of Sampson’s.

“Follow Link

,” John called out.

The basement door was open, and Lucille stood in the glow of the doorway. When she saw Sampson coming at her, she pulled her ears back and hissed.

It only took Link a second to realize that Sampson wasn’t the one she was hissing at.

Another harem girl turned the corner and collided with Sam. He pivoted like a linebacker, trying to throw her off, but the Sheer glided right through him and into Necro.

The Necromancer inhaled sharply, like a drowning person who had finally come up for air. She stared past Sampson’s shoulder and pointed a trembling finger. “They’re coming.”

Sampson ignored her and bounded down the stairs.

Link slipped and slid down the first few on his butt. And for once, no one had time to make fun of him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Angelique standing in front of the Outer Door—and it was already open.

“Take your time,” Angelique said. “It’s not like I have places to go or people to kill.”

Sampson ignored her and skidded to a halt when he reached the door. The Darkborn shifted his weight, like he was trying to decide whether or not to take the next step. He turned to face the others. “What should I do? Can I take her out of the house?”

Link looked to Liv automatically, realizing everyone else was looking at her, too.

Necro lifted her chin, raising her eyes to the top of the stairs. “No!” she shrieked, trying to claw her way out of Sampson’s arms.

Liv flipped through the pages of her journal frantically.