Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,138

Firstly, I didn’t want anyone on campus knowing where we were hiding our stash. And secondly, I absolutely refused to allow anyone inside The Temple aside from me and the other Night Keepers and Rebecca the maid (who I didn’t count because I was still pretending she was just a ghost who cleaned shit as I never saw any sign of her)…and Barbie now too. Although I had to admit that I didn’t hate the addition of her presence as much as I would have expected to.

I carried a crate of tinned beans inside and she followed me with a box of dried pasta in her arms. Kyan and Blake were already heading back out to grab more and a smirk caught on the corner of my lips as I decided to let our little pet help me out with storing the food.

“Follow me,” I snapped at her, not bothering to check that she was as I headed for the door to the crypt and made my way straight down the stairs.

Tatum’s footsteps followed me as we descended into the cold space beneath the old church and I crossed through the gym as I strode straight towards the archway which led into the catacombs.

A few of the other students had asked me from time to time if I found it creepy to be sleeping above all of these dead people down here and my answer had been simple. I’m not afraid of the dead, I bet my heart is colder than theirs.

I led Tatum through the stone archway and the light from the room behind us gave us just enough to see by as I drew her further into the echoing space.

There were old prayer chambers located here before the catacombs began and I led the way into one of them before placing my box down. The space was big and cold, like an old school refrigeration system. And best of all, it was completely out of sight so no one would ever know about the food we hid down here.

I stepped back as Barbie placed her box down beside mine, my gaze lingering on the curve of her ass as she bent over. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but every move that girl made just screamed sex to me. I swear she could have been clipping her toenails and she still would have been able to make me hard.

“I want to show you something,” I said in a low voice as she straightened and turned back to me.

Her face was in shadow now and I liked the way the darkness kissed her golden skin.

“Okay,” she replied like she didn’t give a shit either way and I smiled menacingly as I turned and led her further into the darkness of the catacombs.

She didn’t voice any complaint, but I could feel the heat of her body almost touching mine as she moved closer to me. Didn’t she know that demons only thrived in the dark?

We continued along the short stone passage which housed the prayer chambers and came to a recess carved into the wall where the wax of old candles still clung to the brickwork and a hook held a set of heavy metal keys.

I picked up a flashlight which sat in the bottom of the recess and flicked it on, illuminating the wrought iron gate which blocked the way on.

“Legend has it, that before the catholics came and stole this land to bury their dead, the Kotari tribe used to use it as a burial ground too,” I said in a low voice as I stepped forward to unlock the gate and motioned for her to go ahead of me.

“The settlers did a lot of fucked up things like that when they came here,” she murmured, her chin held high as she fought the urge to be afraid of this place.

“They say that that’s why the ghosts down here are so restless. They’re caught in an eternal war for the place they were laid to rest in. This is holy ground and sacred land, but being both makes it its own special kind of hell. That’s why you can hear them wailing down here, begging for the torment to end.” As if on cue, the wind whisked through the passages, creating that soft, haunting whistle which plagued this place. During a storm it sounded like the catacombs were screaming sometimes, if the wind hit the caves at the far end of this labyrinth just right.

“I