“No,” Vic said. “There we go.”
“Alright, then. Please do be safe. In an emergency, as if a fire or a physical disaster or some other such nonsense. Most of the windows on the second floor are capable of being opened and closed. You could hop out of the ledge and jump into the bushes here.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” I said.
“Let us pray together, separately, in whatever our personal beliefs are, for the best of outcomes,” the Curator said.
He hobbled to the front double doors, knees buckling and limbs moving erratically, and then unlocked it with a golden key. The locks shrieked, and the hinges rattled as the oaken doors opened slowly.
“Shall we?” Vic asked.
I stared into the darkness for what felt like forever. Spending a whole night locked in an allegedly haunted mansion, with a vampire that detested me. I couldn’t help but think this was all going to be some terrible mistake in the end…
“Let’s do it,” I said, against my every instinct.
I grabbed Vic’s arm and we entered, our backpacks hanging heavy on our backs…
Chapter 3
The doors slammed shut behind us, almost immediately. I jumped, and Vic turned, staring at it.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“You’re a vampire, though,” I said. “You should be okay.”
“Vampires are great against people, but ghosts are a totally different ballpark,” he said. “And I hope when the old man says he’s here in the morning, he means before dawn. Otherwise, I’m not sure how great my complexion will get…”
“I wonder if the electricity works,” I said.
We were in the foyer. A great marble floor clicked underfoot, in an off-teal color. A stuffed moose head stared down from one wall, and an iron coat stand was nestled in one corner. Past a second set of doors, there was a more expansive space, but it was covered in darkness.
Vic and I both stared at the next room.
“Well,” he said. “Ladies first.”
“Umm. I think in potentially dangerous situations, it’s usually menfolk first. Or at least. The least fragile first.”
“Ugh,” he said.
He trudged forward, disappearing into the gloom, and then I heard a scream and saw shadows moving. I rushed forward, slapping around for a light switch, and then found something in my hand that moved. There was a clicking noise, and a long halogen halo flashed down from a chandelier in the ceiling.
Vic stared up from where he’d tripped over a futon and over onto a couch. He looked so ridiculously terrified in the face of the light, and with his hands in choke position over a sofa cushion, I could not help but laugh hysterically.
Soon, he started laughing as well, and I helped him up.
“Maybe I’m a little more scared than I’m letting on,” he said.
“We both have the creeps,” I said. “Let’s just take this one step at a time.”
Vic got to his feet and paced the breadth of the living room we were in. There was an elegant set of oaken furniture with plush green seats everywhere. The floors were hardwood. On every wall seemed a picture or an oil painting. Silver candelabras sat atop a brick fireplace at one end of the room, near a picturesque patio window.
“I wish Gabe was here if only so someone else could be as terrified of this color scheme,” I said.
Vic blinked at me.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with it.”
“Seriously?”
