The moment I stepped inside the house, the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge.
“Something’s wrong.” I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but the entire atmosphere inside Ash House was completely different as it had been this afternoon.
It was oppressive. Ominous. As if, inside the meandering hallways, an ancient evil had awakened…
Or maybe I had awakened it, by being stupid enough to open Pandora’s box.
“I feel it too.” Rhyker moved further into the bowels of the house, towards the curiosity cabinet where Emlyn, Austin and I had found the creepy golden hand earlier today. It had only been hours ago, but it felt like ages, as if me opening that cursed box had created a rift that would forever divide the world between a time before the box was opened, and all the events that transpired after. Maybe it was a little melodramatic, but that was how it felt.
“Come on.” Rhyker gestured for me to follow him.
The floorboards creaked under my weight. The house felt like a predator, lying in wait until its prey had descended far enough into its trap, only to then eat us alive.
A door squeaked from upstairs, and I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbing Rhyker’s arm.
“There’s something up there,” I hissed.
“Don’t be silly.” Rhyker shook his arm to free himself from my grip. “There’s nothing—”
He was interrupted by another sound from upstairs, a low groan this time, like someone walking around.
Footsteps.
“Get in here.” Rhyker pushed me behind him, toward the library. “No matter what, you keep that box in there.”
“What do you mean, ‘no matter what’?” I whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible so that whoever was roaming about upstairs wouldn’t hear us.
“I’m going to check it out,” Rhyker told me.
“What? No.” I squeezed his arm. “You’re not going up there, not alone.”
“If it’s a monster, then…”
A loud groan resonated from the entrance, like someone coming down the stairs. Rhyker and I exchanged a look, my fear no doubt reflected in my gaze, before he shoved me into the library and pulled the door shut.
“Rhyker!” I half-hissed, half-shouted, slamming against the door. “Let me out! I’ll help you.”
“Show yourself!” Rhyker shouted, and it took a second before I realized he wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to whoever was creeping down the stairs, the presence lurking inside Ash House.
I stared down at the box pressed against my chest. How had I not felt the evil radiating from that stupid trinket? I wished I could burn it and pretend none of this ever happened, but that wouldn’t do anything to solve this issue.
I had opened Pandora’s box and unleashed evil on mankind.
“No…” A hint of fear crept into Rhyker’s voice. “Not you.” This was followed by a long string of curse words, each one more colorful than the other.
“Rhyker!” I shouted, throwing myself against the door. “Open up! Come on! I can help.”
Seconds later, the door opened, Rhyker moved inside the library and shut the door behind him.
“Listen up,” he said. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and he looked as panicked as if a new world war was starting. “God, I didn’t even catch your name yet.”
“Faye,” I told him. “What’s wrong?”
“I caught a glimpse of who’s in here, and it’s not good. Best we can do is hope she hadn’t noticed us yet, but…”
The words hadn’t even left his mouth before something banged against the door from the other side.
I jumped back, startled. “Who is that?”
“That’s a Gorgon,” Rhyker replied. “Listen up, Faye. This is very important. Whatever you do, don’t look into her eyes. You’ve got a mirror?”
“A mirror?” I frowned, not catching on to what he was saying. “What’s a Gorgon?”
“No time to explain,” Rhyker said just as the door slammed forward again, hitting against his back. “She’s strong enough to wreck this place apart. We need a mirror, now!”
“There’s a mirror upstairs, but it’s cracked.” I tried to think of something; Emlyn always carried one along in her purse, but I didn’t even bother with purses, only with…
My cellphone.
I quickly dug up the cellphone from my pocket and started looking for the mirror function.
“What are you doing?” Rhyker asked, a hint of urgency in his voice.
“This has a mirror app!” I shouted, furiously swiping through my phone to open up the app.
“Well, hurry up and—”
Before Rhyker could finish that sentence, the door behind him exploded out of its hinges and Rhyker tumbled forward on the floor.
A pair of legs appeared in front of me. Someone was standing in the doorway.
Someone radiating evil.
Slowly, my gaze traveled higher, but Rhyker yelled, “No, don’t look!” He scrambled to his feet, blocking my sight.
I blinked at him, surprised by how fast he had moved. “Here.” I pushed the cellphone into his hands. “That’s a mirror.”
“Good. Close your eyes. Now!”
I did as he told me to, even though I had no idea why. A gush of wind told me Rhyker had turned around, and then…
Silence.
A few seconds later, Rhyker let out a deep breath. “It’s okay. You can open your eyes now.”
I opened one eye, peeking at the scene in front of me. Rhyker was still blocking my path, holding my cellphone in front of him like a shield.
With both eyes open now, I moved to the left, glancing behind Rhyker.
My jaw dropped to the floor.
A stone statue of a woman blocked the doorway, her face pulled into a grimace, her eyes wide. The skin around her face was pulled so tight she looked like a skeleton, but even more surprising were the snakes circling around her head.
“Rhyker…” My blood froze in my veins. “What the hell is that?”
“That,” he replied while he handed me my cellphone back, “is a Gorgon. A Greek half-God that can turn people
