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
