The house wasn’t exactly a state-of-the-art headquarters with the latest magical technology, which is what one would expect. A skilled team wouldn’t be caught dead in here.
“This is a complete waste of time,” I muttered, backtracking the way I came. But my feet slowed when I heard something rustling on the second floor. Maybe I wasn’t alone after all.
My gaze dropped to the dust prints in the hall. Most of them were mine, a size seven-and-a-half boot with a low heel I’d picked up off the clearance rack.But not that one . . .It was a twelve men’s at least.
Someone had been here recently. My blood chilled. Maybe he hadn’t left. If he wasn’t answering my calls, it meant he didn’t want to be found.
I crept cautiously into an adjoining room, wincing with each creak of the floorboards. The ceiling had caved in, leaving a gaping hole above my head. Something skittered near the opening like claws against tile. I hurried to the center of the room, peering up through the hole to see if I could spot what it was. It had better not be a blasted squirrel.
Beneath my feet, the floorboards bowed, groaning in a way that made my stomach lurch. Dark water stains had turned the wood nearly black with rot.
It all happened so fast. The boards snapped, giving way. Terror tightened my throat as the floor buckled, sucking me down with it.
Chapter 5
My scream seized in my throat along with my next breath. Upon impact, the air whooshed out of me, and my shell-shocked limbs barely had a chance to cover my face from the debris raining from above.
I’d landed on something padded enough to break my fall and keep me from shattering all the bones in my body. Still, everything hurt, and darkness filled the edges of my vision. I wavered in and out of consciousness until the throbbing in my leg finally forced the blackness away.
A chunk of the ceiling had fallen and trapped my leg from the knee down. With the way my ankle was twisted, trying to dislodge it meant a screaming, fiery pain, and I went still, gasping, on the basement floor.
Way to go, Elle! You’re stuck in an abandoned basement and didn’t tell anyone where you were going. Have you learned nothing from true crime podcasts?
Evidently not.
I sucked in a sharp breath and tried moving my leg again. I made about an inch of progress before swallowing a whimper in defeat. The same scratching sound I’d heard before drew closer, and I tensed, summoning a ball of light in my palm.
There it was again. Light clicks on the floor like nails . . . or maybe claws.
The light in my palm caught the edge of something scurrying across the floor. It was small and covered in fur, running—no, wobbling—on short legs straight toward me. Less than a foot away it sat, stubby tail wagging, looking at me with its huge, pointy ears and pleading eyes.
“Good boy,” I murmured, lowering my hand until the light in my palm faded. The dog stayed illuminated, giving off a translucent glow, exactly like the man I’d encountered on the road. It seemed the two of them didn’t just haunt the woods around the estate, but the house as well.
The dog barked, and I grimaced, shifting my weight slightly.
“I appreciate the effort, but no one can hear you. I hate to break it to you, but you're a ghost.”
The dog cocked his head as if trying to understand my words. Apparently, he wasn’t convinced. He gave up and continued barking, certain he could play the hero.
Oddly enough, it worked. Somewhere in the dark, a door creaked open, and footsteps pounded down a set of stairs. A flash of light appeared, similar to the one I’d held in my palm. The dog barked louder, waddling in a circle with barely contained excitement for the newcomer.
Me? Not so much. I wanted to be rescued, but I wasn’t convinced anyone coming to my aid in a haunted house would be of the knight-in-shining-armor variety. Try axe murderer coming to add more ghosts to his collection.
“Is she dead? That would really make a muck of things, wouldn’t it?” The mustached ghost from the night before popped his head over the opening in the ceiling and surveyed the damage. He spotted me on the floor beneath him and gave me a thumbs-up. “Oh, good for you! Not dead. We can work with that.” Clapping his hands together, he turned his attention to the dog. “Loki, settle down. You’re probably frightening the poor girl. No. No . . . don’t sniff her!”
Loki ignored his owner and poked his snout into my shoulder. Everywhere he sniffed, a cold spot appeared on my skin. It would have been funny to be tickled by a ghost dog if I weren’t still trapped beneath a beam.
Footsteps approached, and I turned my head, squinting from the bright light in the man’s palm. He kneeled beside me and closed his fist to dim the glow. It was enough for me to make out his features.
I groaned in irritation. “Seriously? You again?”
The side of his mouth tipped into a grin. “Well, that’s not exactly the hero worship I was aiming for, but I’ll take it.”
“What are you doing here, Caden?”
“I stopped by for brunch,” he deadpanned. “What do you think I’m doing here?” His brows pinched together as he moved toward the debris covering my leg. “I’m going to lift this piece, and I want you to try to move your leg. Can you do that?”
I nodded, bracing for the imminent pain. Loki must have sensed my tension because the pup whined and tried nudging his nose into my side again.
