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“No.” He doesn’t sound rude, but he has perfected Ava’s tone of don’t argue because you won’t win. “The rules say you begin your tour apart. You may, of course, rejoin the group after completing your first task.”
My gamer brain perks up like an over-caffeinated toddler. “Like a mission? A quest?”
“Exactly that.” His smile’s warm and genuine, a sparkle in his eyes that says adventure awaits. “This way.”
I squeeze Rosemarie’s hand to send it’ll be okay vibes that I don’t feel and follow him out, jumping when he shuts the double doors behind us with a click.
“Your journey begins here.” He opens another door to the left of the entrance. I glance inside to stairs that lead downward into darkness.
Backing away, I curl my fingers around Lady Snarl until her horns poke me in the palm. “Oh, hell no. I’m not going into the basement. I saw that slasher flick. Everyone has seen it.”
He tips his head to the side, studying me as though he can read every fear screaming in my brain. “You wouldn’t let down the other players when they’re your best friends, would you?”
The appeal lands hard with my team-player self, who has hated every role-playing guild where I’ve been ditched mid-battle with the big boss. “What’s down there?”
“Only one way to find out.” He wraps his lips around the words, and my sex-starved libido almost stands at attention, except he’s not my type.
Little white lights flicker along the wall, dancing downward in a dizzying spiral. “What if I can’t?” I whisper.
“Then you’ll activate the band you’re wearing.” He taps my wrist, where the biggest sigil lines up with a trio of my freckles. “Press and hold for five seconds, and I’ll come check on you. No matter where you are.”
“In the basement?” Since that’s where he’s sending me.
“Yes,” he agrees with quick certainty, but something in his gaze wavers and makes me think he’s lying. “Leander will be your guide below.”
I edge the toes of my sneakers to the top stair. “I have to go now?”
“The sooner you go, the sooner I can check on your friend, who seems to have gotten lost in the house.”
Ava. I can’t hear water running or footsteps or anything that would clue me in to where she might be. “I should—”
He stretches his arm in front of me, not quite touching me, but definitely stopping me. “It’d be safer that you stay on your own path. I promise to find your friend.”
Talk about some cryptic shit. How much training did this guy receive in creeping out guests with words alone? So far, this house looks scary on the outside, normal on the inside, and not at all what I expected. But Theo’s solemnness sends shivers up my spine that have me damn near shaking. My heart triple-bangs like a gong being clanged as a battle rattle, and my breath catches in a panic-punch that burns like a flame charm in my favorite online game.
Gripping the miniature in my fist, I stop before I break her. What would Lady Snarl do? She would march her ass down the stairs and let Theo find Ava, since he’ll be faster. Right now, I hate my own creation.
“Okay,” I mumble and slow drudge down the first few steps. My feet feel as though they weigh a thousand pounds each. I’m more of a lumbering orc than the graceful healer I play in most games. “Wait—” I spin toward the door that slams in my face. So much for an easy exit.
The lights twinkle happily in a path that leads me down, down, down. “Hello?” I call, cringing when my voice echoes back to me. How far does this staircase go? To the seven circles of hell?
I lower my voice to a whisper-yell. “Leander?”
No one answers. I’m not sure if I’m stressed or relieved to be alone. A purr from below has me jumping. A tiny kitty with huge eyes stares up at me before winding around my legs, brushing its fur against my jeans in a swish.
I stoop to pet the sweet baby who rewards me with a head butt. “You must be Leander.”
“Mwrr.” The squeaky meow seems to be all the answer I’ll get.
A shimmering pool of color appears a few stairs below.
Let the terror begin.
Haunted houses go to the top of my “nope out” list for future fun. I debate sitting on the steps with the kitten and waiting until Theo comes back to find me. Except he mentioned a mission, and I don’t like to leave things unfinished. It would be the same as abandoning a half-carved game set. Sacrilege.
My furry new friend darts down the stairs into the rainbow abyss, stopping long enough to look back at me with a you coming? taunt, and my loyalty rushes forward. I can’t let an itty-bitty kitty tread into the unknown with grown-ass me too afraid to follow. Not when I want to level up from healer to warrior more than anything. I stumble ahead, leading with borrowed courage instead of brains. The lights flicker again in a ripple. Hurry, I can imagine them saying. Intensity and impatience thrum through me.
I rush through the colors, my head spinning and my stomach threatening to be sick on a roiling wave. Don’t pass out becomes my new goal.
