Page 74 of An Inheritance of Monsters

Unless she was planning to extort me for money, the way she’d done to all her victims.

But then Sierra walked into the kitchen, still yawning, and saw everyone gathered. “What’s happening?”

As Carson filled her in, I focused on my crewmate.

Despite our differences, I hadn’t considered ifshewould take my notebook.

She had, after all, been angling for my job as host for a while. What better way than to be seen with the Black Book, which had basically become the logo forSpirit Squad?

Accusations welled up behind my lips, but I kept them shut. I was enemies with most of these people.

Flinging out accusations would only end up with them ganging up on me.

It was a test of willpower to keep my mouth closed as they filtered out following Rosalie’s exit.

I rubbed my temples, squeezing my eyes shut, and knew Mrs. Marsh had approached me just from the smell of her expensive perfume wafting towards me.

“Have a cup of tea, love,” she said, herding me to the kitchen table.

I almost took Eloise’s empty chair, then moved over one out of sheer pettiness. Mrs. Marsh put a steaming cup in front of me and took her seat.

“You look like you had a late night.” Her smile was kind, and in my mind’s eye I saw that picture in her hallway, with her glittering dress and rolled stockings.

And her smeared face.

I wanted so badly to ask about the monsters… and if she had ever seen them… but the words wouldn’t come.

After a lifetime of distrust and hiding, it was hard to come right out and say things that had gotten you shunned before.

“You could say that.” She’d given me black rose tea, and I stirred in a lump of sugar. “The longer I’m here, the more there is to see.”

She nodded, gazing out the window pensively, then brightened up. “Oh! Then I have just the thing for you.”

I raised an eyebrow over my tea cup.

“You haven’t been to the lighthouse yet,” she confided, leaning over to me.

Lighthouse?

I had seen no such thing on the island, not even during my lone exploration. “What lighthouse?”

Mrs. Marsh leaned back in her, a satisfied look on her face. “It’s one of our little secrets—the lighthouse has been decommissioned for use, but it still stands on the northernmost point of the island. You can see for miles, and we’ll just say there may be a good bit of history about it, as well.”

There was no mention of a lighthouse in any record of Duskwood Island. I stared at her, utterly mystified, before the crestfallen realization set in. “I guess I’ll have to wait if more storms are coming through, or I’ll end up like Crispy.”

“I doubt that, dear.” She said it so quickly and casually I almost wondered if I’d imagined it. “But you don’t have to wait at all. Let me show you.”

I drained my tea in about two seconds flat, burning my tongue, just to scramble after her.

She passed the staircase leading down to the bricked-off cellar and took me down the long hallway that led to the greenhouse.

As we passed that, I glanced in at the hothouse orchids and wondered if Ruby’s doorway to the Void had been in there, historically claimed to be her favorite part of the manor.

But Mrs. Marsh led me to a nondescript wooden door near the greenhouse.

She rapped it with her knuckles.

“You’ll want to bring a flashlight or you’ll likely break your neck, but you can reach the lighthouse from belowground. The tunnel was dug out in the early 1910s, before the lighthouse was decommissioned, so it was accessible during particularly bad storms. Nobody wanted to risk their own necks out on that shale!” She let out a tinkling laugh. “The gallery is made of reinforced glass, so no need to fear getting wet. I’d recommend visiting during the storm—it’s quite a sight.”

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