Page 77 of An Inheritance of Monsters

There hadn’t been a door leading outside the lighthouse at all. I was in the gallery, a large room with windows looking out in every direction, rain lashing at the glass with a fury.

Turning off the flashlight, I walked to one of the windows, peering out into the rage of the storm.

All of Duskwood Island lay below me, and I understood why we hadn’t seen it: unless we’d stood in the manor’s garden and looked up over the granite boulders and trees, only a portion of the cupola would've been visible.

But from here, I could peer down over the craggy hills and thickets and see the dark rooftops of the manor.

I walked nearly a full circle around the gallery until something on the churning sea caught my eye: pale lights bobbing in the waves.

Ghosts.

I sucked in a breath, practically pushing my face against the window as the spirits swarmed in the ocean, their muted light swirling through the dark water.

As the lightning cracked and the rumble of thunder died out, I heard something else: the faintest strains of a woman singing.

There was something else on the water, something more solid than the ghosts.

The rain sheeted down, nearly obscuring her, but a woman walked on the water. The ghosts followed her as she sang, swarming around her feet.

I followed from the gallery, cupping my hands around my eyes to block out any excess light. If I could just see more clearly…

Pale hair flooded over a pale body as the young woman walked through the waves. Beneath her feet, the water was as black as ink.

The Lady of Dark Waters beckoned to the ghosts, stepping easily through the waves that would’ve knocked over a man like he was a toddler.

Was this what the sailors and fishermen saw before they drowned?

As she walked, gathering more ghosts to her, I realized I knew where she was heading: to the stone idol on the hidden beach.

I looked around frantically, and found a glass door in the gallery leading out to the balcony.

The rain smashed into me like a fist, the wind ripping my hair back from my face. My hoodie was soaked with icy rain within seconds.

But as I skirted the edges, clinging to the balcony for dear life and squinting into the rain… I could just make her out.

She stood in the bay, that inky darkness rising around her pale legs as she sang. But instead of swarming her, the ghosts were glimmering through the waves, heading en masse for the shore.

For the idol.

They climbed it, completely covering the stone as the ghosts slipped into its gaping mouth one by one.

I was gasping, rain filling my mouth and nose, shielding my eyes as I watched them disappear.

Then the Lady’s head turned, and although she was too far away to make out her features, I knew she was looking right back at me.

The ink rose from the water, swallowing her form and dragging her below the waves.

I stumbled back into the gallery, dripping water and panting.

There was a stone idol in the Void that corresponded to the one in this world. I needed to know if they moved on… if ghosts were capable of such a thing.

If my brother was still in this world, or if he had found his way through.

My sneakers slipped as I dashed for the door, only slowing enough to ensure I wouldn’t trip down the stone stairs and break my back in the fall, and I ripped out the flashlight when I hit the tunnel.

“Voraal! Rask!” My voice echoed down the hallway, bouncing back to me in an eerie mimic.

I was running full tilt, and would’ve smashed right into Voraal if his shadows hadn’t flung themselves out to wrap around me first.

---