Page 45 of Broken Princess
“Yes. The tunnels were originally built to run all the way down from the original Lilith Hall to here, where most of the vineyards are,” she said. “Remember the smaller tunnels I mentioned earlier? The ones that branch off from the main one?”
“Uh-huh.”
“One of them goes right up to the old Lilith Hall. When the fire happened and they rebuilt everything down here, they sealed it off and stopped using it. We’re all banned from going anywhere near it. Apparently it’s too unsafe.”
“I see.”
Gemma frowned. “If you’re thinking of trying to sneak in… don’t. Trust me. You’ll regret it.”
“Why?”
She let out a short sigh. “You’re gonna judge me so hard when you hear this.”
“I’ll try not to,” I said, giving her an encouraging smile.
Her cheeks flushed. “Okay, well… the older tunnels and the original Lilith Hall are…” She hesitated and averted her eyes. “They’re haunted.”
“Haunted?”
“I know how dumb it sounds,” she said. “I usually don’t even believe in that sort of stuff. But there’s definitely something wrong with that place. I wouldn’t go anywhere near it, even for a million bucks.”
“Why?”
Her lips flattened. “Well, there’s been all sorts of ghost rumors about it for decades, but that’s not why I think there’s something weird about it,” she said. She moved a little closer and lowered her voice again. “I used to work with this girl called Clara. Obviously you wouldn’t know this, because you don’t know her, but she was very outgoing and bold. Pretty reckless, too. One day she decided she wanted to sneak into the old Lilith Hall to see what it was like.”
“What happened?”
“She waited until midnight, when everything was quiet, and then she sneaked into the tunnels.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, she went as deep into the main tunnels as you can go, and about a mile down, she found the old one that branches off toward Lilith Hall. She said it wasn’t really sealed off, like the managers told us. Just covered with a heavy old wooden door. She opened it and went in. That’s when it happened.”
“What?”
“She said she was about halfway down the tunnel when she heard something. Footsteps and voices. Then she saw a flame hovering in the air. Like one of those old-fashioned torches, getting closer and closer. She was really creeped out, so she hid behind some old barrels in an alcove on the tunnel wall. When the footsteps got closer, she peeked out for a few seconds.”
“What did she see?”
“I don’t really know how to describe it properly, because I wasn’t there. But she said it was the creepiest thing she ever saw. Three people dressed head to toe in black. Not regular clothes, either. Like… long flowing robes with pointy hoods. She said they looked like huge dark specters.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah. Their faces were all twisted and gross, too. Like carnival masks.”
“Right.” I nodded slowly. All of this sounded very familiar.
“I know it sounds really dumb, but if you heard Clara tell the story…” She stopped and shuddered. “Imagine being right there at midnight, in a creepy old tunnel filled with spiderwebs, and then that shuffles past you. I’d probably pee my pants.”
“What did she do?”
“She said she stayed behind the barrels until she finally felt brave enough to run back down to the main tunnel. Then she told us what happened the next day at work. Everyone thought she was just messing with us, but I knew her better than them. She wasn’t a liar, and she definitely wasn’t pretending to be scared. She was honestly petrified.” Gemma leaned forward again, eyes earnestly wide. “Trust me, Clara really saw something that night.”
“Does she still work here?”
“No. The story got around, and she got fired. They’re really strict about people trying to sneak into the old Lilith Hall.”
“I see. So apart from her, no one’s ever tried?”
“Not that I know of. Like I said, I wouldn’t dare.”
“That’s probably smart,” I said, nodding slowly. “Anyway, on another note… do you just do the tastings here in the cellar door, or do you handle bookings too?”
“I can do both.”
I smiled thinly. “Good. Go ahead and book that last suite for me,” I said, pulling out my wallet. “I’m definitely staying the night.”
