by Lauren James
Rufus climbed to his feet, brushing off his hands. He walked through the door, passing to the other side without challenge. Triumph clear on his features, Vini followed him.
There was a pause, then every other ghost in the basement rushed for the exit in a huge wave, surging up the stairs into Mulcture Hall.
Chapter 23
FELIX
They were still discussing what to do about Harriet when Felix heard a scream from the floor below.
“What was that?” Rima sat up, disturbing Claudia, who had been sleeping against her shoulder.
There was a distant roar. The building shook, and three ghosts ran past. Felix’s heart jumped. What was Harriet doing this time?
“Oi!” Kasper yelled at them, “What’s going on?”
“They’ve broken out of the basement!” a girl shouted over her shoulder.
“What?” Kasper roared after her. “Who?”
“EVERYONE!”
Felix didn’t process what this meant at first, and then he saw the horror on Leah’s face. The Tricksters, and their loyal army of criminals and murderers, were roaming free. This was worse than anything he could have thought possible.
“I have to get out of here. Now.” Leah grabbed Claudia and stepped right through the wall of the building.
“Where is she—” Rima began, but Felix said, “Go, follow her! Quickly!”
He grabbed Kasper’s hand, tugging him into the empty space between the plasterboard of the hallway and the concrete breeze-blocks of the external wall. It was filled with pipes and cables, supported by metal girders. Leah was striding down the length of the space, walking purposefully through plaster and concrete.
Felix stepped inside, walking after her. It didn’t hurt, but the sensation of things being pushed through his eyes made him shiver.
He could hear Rima huffing behind them. Cody darted ahead, excited that they were on the move. He had no idea where Leah was going, but they all had to stick together. That was the only way they’d survive this.
Leah said, shortly, “Down, now.”
She sank through the floor at a steady pace, controlling her descent. Claudia giggled, blowing a raspberry when her head passed through a pipe.
Kasper started sinking, too.
“How are you doing that?” Felix asked, panicked. He couldn’t even begin to focus enough to do the same.
Rima dropped in a sudden rush that was nothing like Leah’s elegant, stately descent.
“Relax,” Kasper said, and tugged Felix down after him. Felix’s stomach flipped over itself as he fell. After a long fall, Leah brought him and Kasper to a stop. Rima was clinging to her other arm.
“Here,” Leah whispered. She carefully bent forward, pushing her forehead through the wall. Felix did the same. Rima had a hand hooked around Cody’s chest, stopping her from leaping out of the wall.
They were inside the wall of the foyer, high up near the ceiling. Below them, hordes of ghosts were surging out from the basement stairwell into the main building. They were attacking anyone in their way, tearing apart ghost after ghost. A few even transformed into giant beasts, using their individual powers to make themselves as terrifying as possible.
Felix swallowed back a gasp of horror. There was nothing he could do to help them – not against such a huge mass. All he could do was watch while their building was taken over and everyone inside was destroyed.
The army rampaged through each floor, with Rufus and Vini striding ahead of their monsters. They weren’t destroying ghosts – instead, they seemed to be searching for something.
“They’re looking for Claudia and me. They want revenge.” Leah tugged them back inside the wall. “Come on. We’re not safe here.”
She pivoted and stepped out through the wall into a narrow hallway that Felix didn’t recognize. It was some sort of supply corridor, hidden behind the bedrooms on the ground floor. There were hatches in the walls, which were raw and unpainted. It must have been designed as an access route for caretakers to fix the heating systems, but now it was a breeding ground for spiders.
“Come on, keep up. There’s a chance Rufus knows about this place.” Leah strode down the corridor.
Wincing, Felix stepped through the cobwebs as he followed her. He hoped that any spiders inside were very, very alive. He would rather not find a spider’s spirit down the back of his shirt, sucking away at his energy. It had happened before, and it wasn’t pleasant.
When they reached the external wall of the building, Leah stepped through a breeze-block wall and sank down again. They passed through the basement, then into the hard-packed soil beyond the building’s foundations. Leah kept sinking.
Kasper was whooping for joy, clearly thrilled. Felix just tried to ignore his terror as they left the building far above them. Finally, they fell through the ceiling of a brick-lined tunnel.
“EPIC!” Kasper said, spinning on his heels to take it in. “I had no idea this was even here!”
“Keep it to yourselves.” Leah brushed invisible dirt off her shoulders. “We don’t want it getting around.”
“Is this where you come? When you disappear sometimes?” Rima looked like she was having an epiphany. Felix had been witness to many rants about Leah’s mystic hiding skills.
“Occasionally,” Leah admitted. “This is where I used to live. It was here long before the university was founded. Judging by the state of the halls, I think it’ll be here long afterwards, too.”
Felix inspected the solid red brick arch of the tunnel’s ceiling. “I don’t doubt it.”
“We’ll be safe here for a while. Rufus and Vini won’t come down here until they’ve exhausted all other options.”
HARRIET
Harriet woke up to the sound of screaming. She stirred, forcing her eyes open even though she felt like she could sleep for a hundred years. A ghost jumped back. He had been hovering over her body, but he backed off slightly when he saw that she was awake.
It was one of the ghosts from the basement, she realized with a jolt of shock. She’d seen him playing pool down there. What was he doing in the foyer? Qi’s lightning barrier was supposed to keep them all trapped inside. But Qi was gone now.
This was why the Tricksters had been so desperate to get hold of Qi – why they’d been willing to grant a favour to anyone who managed it. They’d been searching for freedom, and Harriet had foolishly given it to them.
The ghost licked his lips, looking her up and down as he prepared to eat her. Around them, dozens of imprisoned ghosts were fighting and killing and laughing viciously.
“Back off,” Harriet croaked.
The sound was so pathetic that he laughed, right in her face. “What happened to you?” he asked, looking at her wounds and broken neck. “The fight has only just started!”
“Stay back unless you want to find out,” she said, with entirely false bravado.
He smirked. “Uh-huh.”
Harriet stared him down, knowing there was nothing she could do to defend herself. This was it. After all her efforts, this was how she would finally die.
Behind his shoulder, she caught sight of Rufus. He was strolling alongside Vini, his arms held behind his back in the picture of relaxation.
Harriet jolted. “Rufus!” she shouted at the top of her voice. The words twisted into something grotesque as jagged shards of bone ground together, where Norma had snapped them. “Wait!”
He beamed when he noticed Harriet sprawled on the floor at his feet. “Oh, hello! I’ve just been hearing about the exciting time you’ve had today. Your grandmother sounds absolutely fascinating, darling.”
“Please,” she begged, ignoring his teasing. Her eyes bulged in their sockets as her head dropped to the side. “Don’t let him eat me. You owe me a favour!”
Rufus cast a look at the boy, who shrank back slightly. “I don’t recall owing you any favours.” He rolled up his sleeve to inspect the spreadsheet tattoo on his arm. “It doesn’t say anything here about a debt.”
>
“I was the one who brought Qi to you,” she said. Why should Norma get the credit for that, when Harriet had done the dirty work?
Rufus raised his eyebrows. “I was wondering which secret admirer had left me that little gift. How did you manage it?”
“I … pretended to be Rima. She followed me straight downstairs.”
Rufus laughed. “Brilliant! Congratulations on such a useful power. Well, I suppose I can help you out. Just this once. You’re practically family now, aren’t you?”
Harriet frowned at him. He gestured to his white hair, and hers, a secret smile lighting up his eyes. “Matching features! It’s as if we’re related.”
Beside him, Vini snorted.
“Right,” she agreed. She’d agree to anything, if it would help save her.
Rufus turned to the pool-playing ghost. “Sorry. This one’s off the menu for now.”
The boy nodded and turned to leave, but Rufus grabbed him by the back of the collar. He thrust him towards Harriet.
Her reaction was automatic. As soon as the boy’s skin touched hers, she tugged at the edges of his soul and sucked up his energy. The boy screamed in rage, wriggling in their grip.But Rufus held firm as Harriet drank until the boy disintegrated into nothing.
Rufus drew his hand back, flexing his fingers. He nodded at Harriet in approval. Why had he done that for her? He must dislike being in someone’s debt for any longer than necessary.
The boy had filled the empty place inside, quenching her thirst a little. She was safe from becoming a Shell now, and could probably defend herself if someone else attacked her. Every muscle in her body ached, though she couldn’t even tell if that was real, or some pain-induced hallucination. Had her gran really attacked her? Surely that had been an impossible nightmare, not real life. Though, why had Norma left her with enough energy to stop her from disintegrating? Why hadn’t she gone ahead and destroyed her completely, instead of leaving her on the verge of becoming a Shell? It was like Norma didn’t actually want to get rid of her.
Harriet shivered. It was no use thinking about this. She was just going to stay as far away from her grandmother as she could. Forcing herself to sit upright, she pushed her head back up to centre. “Thank you, Rufus.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” he said. That strange glint reappeared in his eyes. “I think there’s something you’ll want to see.”
FELIX
Leah led them down the red-brick tunnel, stepping lightly over stones worn from centuries of footsteps. Claudia was more active than Felix had seen her in ages, burbling and skimming the bricks with her fingers. Cody hopped along too, stopping to do invisible little wees up the wall every few paces.
They passed a ghost dressed in a long gown, with her hair covered in a cap. There was a purple bruise on her cheek. When she smiled, Felix caught sight of sharp fangs jutting out of the corners of her mouth. He skirted past her, though Leah said a friendly hello in something like medieval English.
“Her skeleton is still sealed up in that brick wall,” Leah said to him, as they moved on. “Poor thing.”
Felix shivered.
Finally, Leah stopped walking. “This is far enough. This wall here is right up against the property edge. They won’t be able to get behind us.”
They all sat down, with Leah keeping a close eye on the hallway.
“Qi must be gone,” Rima said. “If the ghosts have escaped the basement.”
“Oh, no,” Felix said, devastated. He hadn’t thought of that. “Do you think Harriet got to her?”
“Or Norma,” Kasper said darkly. “I wouldn’t put it past them to have teamed up.”
Rima asked Leah, “Why are the Tricksters after you? You have to tell us this time, Leah. You can’t keep it a secret for ever.”
Leah sighed. “Fabian wasn’t a good man. Worse than his brothers. The three of them used to work as a team, completely in sync. Rufus and Vini would take down other ghosts like prey, feeding on their fear. Then Fabian would extract their memories and use their weaknesses against them.”
“His power let him see memories?” Rima asked.
“Fabian could visualize people’s memories and create fake ones. He was very good at playing with people’s brains. The three of them would implant fear into their servants’ minds to make them compliant. Then they could use them without damaging their bodies through torture. He put fear in me, too. Even after he disintegrated, it took centuries for my brain to stop being afraid of all the things he wanted me to fear.”
Leah swallowed. “Anyway. Fabian’s power gave him utter control of the ghosts in this building, but that wasn’t enough for my husband. He wanted more. He hated that he’d died young, before he’d achieved everything he wanted to do as a human. He had plans in the army, you see. He was always ambitious, even after his death. We spent the first few centuries as ghosts living alongside the human Roman soldiers. But eventually, the army started withdrawing from Britannia. The Roman Empire was falling apart.
“After our encampment was abandoned, Fabian became fixated on searching for a way to get more energy, more powers, more spirits. He couldn’t stand the thought of ever disintegrating. He wanted to live longer, survive and outlast everything.”
Felix was so focused on Leah’s story that he forgot to even breathe.
“The reason I can’t use my power any more is because he was always asking me to look into the future. He wanted to know everything that would happen, stretching over hundreds of years. When I started telling him things he didn’t want to hear – about a time when he was gone, and the rest of us were here without him – he started looking for a way to stop it.”
Leah closed her eyes. “He became convinced there was a way to come back. He was sure there must be more. That it couldn’t just end. With all his knowledge, he thought that he must be able to trick the system. He used to ramble about it constantly – how he just had to look far enough, cast the net wide enough. How, eventually, he’d get it right and then he’d survive for ever.”
Leah looked down at her daughter. “And one day, he was testing a theory. He was trying to see if he’d managed to bring himself back. He asked me to look hundreds of years into the future. I started to disintegrate.”
She stopped talking. Claudia made a noise that almost sounded like “Mama”.
Leah shook herself. “Claudia was in his arms. He was using her against me. Threatening to hurt her. When I started fading, she gave all his energy to me. To save me.”
Felix tried to imagine being a ghost like Harriet or Norma or Fabian. They all seemed obsessed with amassing power and energy and it only ever seemed to make their lives more complicated. Usually shorter, too. If Fabian hadn’t been messing around with experiments, he would have survived centuries more.
“That’s why Rufus and Vini hate you?” Rima asked. “Surely they’ve forgiven you by now. If this was – when was this?”
“Sometime in the forties.”
“They must have realized that it was an accident. They’ve had over eighty years to get over it.”
Felix tried to imagine being here eighty years ago, when Fabian was still a ghost and Leah was under his contol. What sort of changes would Fabian have made to Felix’s memory, to stop him rebelling? He shivered.
“They’re never going to get over it. I know they aren’t. He was their brother; their hero; their role model.” Leah rubbed her eye. “This can only end one way. Either they die, or we do.” She touched Claudia’s cheek. “And I’m not going to let it be her.”
There was a silence, and then Kasper said, “Go on then! What do we do?”
“Kasper,” Felix hissed. “What has got into you?”
Kasper must be in shock. Did he have a ghost’s version of PTSD?
Kasper shrugged at him. “We should plan something! The Tricksters could burst down here any second now. Listen, why don’t we go up to the foyer and yell until they come and find us? Why are we hiding here? Let’s get on with it.”
/> “You’d be destroyed instantly,” Leah said flatly.
“Right, that’s it!” Felix said, holding up his hands. “Kasper, you have to tell us what the hell the Tricksters did to you. Because this isn’t you. You’ve never been this impulsive. What did you give them, to get that eyelid?”
Rima added, “You heard Leah. They can mess with your fear and your memories. They’re dangerous, and they had you alone in the basement. They could have done anything. Tell us what happened!”
Leah gasped. “Oh, Kasper. You didn’t give them your fear, did you?”
Kasper’s expression dropped. “How did you know that?”
Felix’s stomach heaved up into his throat, as Leah said, “They’ve done it before. It’s one of their favourite tricks.”
“What do you mean, he gave them his fear?” Felix felt like he was going to faint.
“They took it,” Leah said. “The whole thing. That’s why he’s been acting so strangely. We’re all terrified, and meanwhile he can’t feel a thing.”
“At all?” Felix felt all the blood leave his head.
Kasper reluctantly nodded. “Nothing. Not even nervousness or anticipation. It’s all gone.”
Felix had known that the Tricksters fed on emotions, but he hadn’t realized that they could take them away completely.
Leah winced. “Kasper, I wish you’d spoken to me before you did this. The Tricksters always ask for fear or worry, because that sounds like no big deal. People think they can live without these emotions, so they agree, in exchange for getting whatever it is they want. And then they regret it.”
“Why?” Felix asked, terrified. “What happens to them?”
“Well, you know how strange Greg was. Humans need fear. All our instincts revolve around it. Once ghosts lose that, it’s like they’ve lost the last of their humanity.”
Felix imagined Kasper acting like Greg. He would lose everything that made him Kasper. Everything Felix loved about him.
“This can’t be happening.” Felix ran his hands through his hair. “We didn’t even need the eyelid in the end. Kasper, that trade wasn’t worth losing your humanity over!”