Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,61

you?” I threaten him. “That might count for something. Stop being such an instigator. We’re trying to help you, you jerk.”

“Fuck that, I’m already having second thoughts,” Dex says.

“Looks like the gang’s all back together,” Max remarks with a smile.

“Shut the fuck up,” Dex and I both say to him in unison.

The sound of the floor creaking above us steals our attention. All three of us look up, sucking in our breath. Well, Dex and I do—I don’t even know if Max breathes or not.

There’s someone walking across the hall on the main floor. I want to think it’s Atlas paying us a visit, but I know that’s probably not the case.

“Are you sure we’re safe down here?” I ask Max, trying to keep the panic from my voice.

“I reckon so. She’s never come down here. None of them do.”

“None of them?” Dex practically spits out. “Who are the rest of them? And are any of them missing a leg?”

“Ah, I see you’ve met Victor, then.”

“I think I met Victor’s leg…”

“What is this place, Max?” I ask him. “It’s not just a house. Jacob said as much. He said it exists on another plane.”

He sighs and sits down on the leather armchair, dust flying up from his weight. “I don’t really know. I’ve got no answers at all.”

“Well, what did Jacob say when he brought you here?” Dex asks. “You didn’t ask him where you were? You just thanked him for the ride and that was it? No tip?”

“No.” Max gives him a steady look. “If you could understand my frame of, well, mind at the time, then you’d know. Look, the two of you have no idea what Hell is like.” Dex opens his mouth and Max quickly waves at him dismissively. “You don’t, okay? You gotta trust me on that. The Veil has layers, Hell has layers too. The deepest ones…well, I’m thankful I guess I wasn’t there. I doubt anyone would have been able to get me out, and if they had, I’m pretty sure my brain would be scrambled eggs by now.”

“Delightful,” Dex mutters.

“So no, despite not having scrambled eggs for brains, I wasn’t really aware of where Jacob had brought me. Heck, I have no idea when that even was. What is time here? It might have been last week. I mean, how much time has even passed since I died?”

“Three and a half years,” I tell him solemnly. “Give or take.”

“Huh,” he says, placing his hands on the armrests and tapping his fingers on the leather, deep in thought. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Okay,” Dex says after a moment, and I can see he’s trying to give him space. “So you’re here in this house, which may be a giant portal or a waiting room or who knows what. You’ve obviously had to interact with everyone else in here.”

“Not everyone,” he says slowly, still staring straight ahead at the fireplace. “And not everything. There are things in here I don’t want to meet. Things that might take me back to Hell.”

“What things?” I ask, uneasiness building in my stomach.

“I reckon you didn’t see it with the witch?”

I blink and look over at Dex. He’s staring at me with the same befuddled expression. “Witch?” I repeat.

“Samantha Poe. She’s a witch. Or was a witch. Same difference, I guess.”

“How do you know that?” I ask him.

“I know a witch when I see one,” he says simply. “I’m sure if you investigated things a little further, you’d figure out more.”

“That Edgar Allan Fuck is a literal son of a witch,” Dex says, shaking his head. “I knew he was hiding something.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know,” I point out.

“Oh, he knows.”

Meanwhile, Maximus is staring at us in confusion. “Edgar Allan Fuck?”

“Atlas Poe,” I tell him. “Samantha’s son.”

“Ah yes, the son. I’ve seen him around in here. Talking to her.”

“Hold on, before things get weirder, you said that we didn’t see it with the witch. What is it?” I ask.

“The demon,” he says. “At least I think it’s a demon. I’m not about to tussle with it to find out. As long as I’m in this place, any demon can bring me back, I reckon.”

“Would this demon, uh, happen to walk on all fours and crawl on the ceiling, have black, dense fur with white eyes, and a long leathery tail?”

I can feel Dex frowning at me and I know I’m close to admitting the truth. I just hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass later. I’m so afraid that