Page 114 of An Inheritance of Monsters

I gagged to myself as I crept in further, checking under the bed, sliding out drawers, and then—

“Looking for something?”

I stood up so fast I almost smashed my head on the underside of the dresser drawer.

Carson leaned against the door, his arms crossed as he watched me rifle through his belongings.

Caught red-handed. There was no lying my way out of this.

“You know exactly what I’m looking for.” I tried not to sound like I was out of breath from sheer fright.

“Oh, you thinkIstole your notebook.” He raised an eyebrow, and with the flashlight’s stark light casting half of his face into deep shadows and crags, he looked… almost frightening.

Now my heart was beating rapidly from rising anger instead of fright, and one of my fists curled. “You stole my paper on the Storm Grove churchyard hauntings in college. In fact, you’re lucky I waited to come looking inyourthings last.”

Carson shook his head,tsking through his teeth. “I didn’t steal anything. You don’t own a monopoly on covering local hauntings. I spent months on that project.”

“Mm-hmm. Your film just happened to have lines in it lifted directly from my paper.”

My hand was shaking with anger, sending the flashlight beam jittering wildly over his face.

“Look, Junes. We’re not the antagonists in each other’s stories.” Carson slipped from the doorframe, taking a step into the room. “We just didn’t get along when it came to dating. I think if we put the past aside, we could accomplish a lot together.”

I shuddered at the mention of the old pet name. I’d alwaysdespisedwhen he called me Junes.

“Like what?” My breath had grown shallow. “Not killing each other on set? That’s a low bar.”

“Like puttingDeadspaceandSpirit Squadtogether. Cutting the chaff. Creating a show so fucking amazing, the Sci-Fi Network will have no choice but to give us the slot.” He gave me the crooked grin I’d once found mildly appealing, and now turned my stomach. “We’re both good at what we do. A failed fling in college is no reason to turn down the opportunity to make our careers.”

“And what would you consider chaff?” I was amazed that my voice was still even with the rage bubbling in my veins.

Carson flicked a hand dismissively. “Get rid of your anal-retentive cameraman. Jack is better with framing and keeping an eye on the action. Sierra is… well, she’s cute, but she’s vapid as hell, and she’s boring. Your past is one of the reasons you’re intriguing as the host. Lots of excitement.”

“Excuse me?” I breathed, chest constricting.

“Do you not check the online message boards?” Carson asked, in a tone that made it clear he thought I was stupid. “People have dug up the dirt on you, Junes. A poor little girl, the sole survivor of a family mass suicide, now hunting ghosts. They eat that shit up. Half of them want to see you go back to your childhood house and look for your brother’s ghost.”

My lungs seemed to have frozen entirely. A slow, creeping horror slithered alongside the rage in me.

“After the Duskwood Manor episode secures our Sci-Fi Network slot, we can head to Essex. Do a whole special on you and your history. It’ll make the viewers feel closer than ever.” Carson held out a hand. “Come on, Junes. We can both make it out of this as stars. We could be rich as hell.”

I simultaneously wanted to scream and throw up.

The idea of using my own house and history… to make money? To be a star? It felt blasphemous and terrible.

Lincoln deserved better than to be turned into a character for my fame.

I avoided the message boards like the plague, but if what Carson said was true… nobody would give a damn about Lincoln’s death.

The viewers would only care that a dead teenage boy would make them feel better about themselves. They wanted to sit in the comfort of their homes and eat popcorn while they watched my family’s vile closet of skeletons be unearthed.

“No,” I whispered.

Carson’s smile was thin and sharp. “You really should think about it. Don’t let them hold you back when you could be so much more.”

I couldn’t think about it all. All I wanted was to be out of this room, as far from Carson as I could possibly get without plunging into the sea.

He stepped aside, letting me move past him. The door shut behind me, my search efforts in vain as I thought about what awaited me when I left the island.

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