A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

the door, Angel
motioned me to follow.
    The wind whirled the fallen leaves on the
ground. The taillights threw a soft glow on high stonewalls that seemed to melt
with the mountain behind. Angel seemed to know her way around as she brushed
her hand over the weathered walls as though looking for a bolt or catch that
might open a door.
    I sighed, irritated. “You know when I think
of prizes I imagine lying on the beach, not hiking through the woods at night.
That’s Clare’s thing.” Angel laughed, but didn’t reply.
    I rubbed my hands to fight the cold slowly
creeping into my bones. Peering into the impenetrable shadows of the trees and
thickets made me uneasy. Whatever this place was, it didn’t look like anyone
would ever find me. Or my body. Unwilling to go on, I peeled my eyes off the
wall and focused on Angel. She was a few inches taller than me, and dressed in
skinny jeans and a thin jacket. Her jet-black hair was tied in a ponytail; her
features were hidden in the dark.
    The sound of a rusty bolt scraping on metal
echoed from somewhere inside. A moment later, an opening appeared in the stone.
    “You sure took your time,” Angel said as she
gestured me to follow her inside the mountain. A male voice snorted from behind
the door.
    I peered at his obscured face, trying to
make out his features. “You know I could conjure up your uncle Jack or Grandpa
Henry.”
    The guard snorted again.
    “Okay then. Your loss.” I shrugged. If I
could only engage them in some small talk, I might be able to persuade them to
let me go. But these people had no sense of humor at all. “Anyone up for a good
ghost story?”
    “Come on. We need to get going,” Angel
whispered, tugging at my sleeve.
    The narrow opening stretched into a tunnel
leading deep inside the mountain. Angel guided me forward, warning me before every
turn. Low whispers and chants echoed through the corridors. As soon as my eyes
adjusted, I could make out details: a low ceiling, what looked like light bulbs
on the walls that no one bothered to switch on, and other narrow passages that
crossed ours. Realizing we were in a maze, created to make escape impossible, I
shuddered. Even if I managed to get rid of Angel, I’d never find my way out.
    We took a few more turns until we reached a
corridor with several doors. Angel opened one and showed me into a candlelit
room.
    “Candles are nice. We could have a séance
right here, right now,” I said, my heart beating a million miles an hour. “I
can summon some buddies for a big party.”
    “Honestly, all this talk about dead people’s
creeping me out,” Angel said.
    I glared at her. “You kidnapped me because
of this ability.”
    “Not me. The elders.” Angel regarded me
curiously. I had a hunch she wanted to ask something but didn’t dare. Maybe
befriending her wasn’t such a bad idea because I sure could do with an ally.
    “What am I doing here?” I asked.
    “The elders plan on using you as a medium.”
    “What?” I laughed. “I’m no Whoopi Goldberg.
I was just playing around in the car when actually I’ve no idea how this gift works.
I never thought of myself as the wacky person leading a séance to communicate
with spirits in a dark room, candles flickering and all.” How could I explain
to her that I didn’t even believe in ghosts until I saw the lady with the buggy
crossing the street? The idea of talking to dead people freaked me out big
time. What if they possessed me and I started to do unholy things? I watched The Exorcist on more than one occasion.
A spinning head, a creepy voice, and green vomit just weren’t my thing. Aidan wouldn’t
find that particularly attractive.
    “You can rest here before the meeting
tomorrow morning,” Angel said.
    A meeting, or raising some zombies? An
uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I laughed, trying to hide my
fear. “Oh, goodie! Muffins and coffee, I hope.”
    Angel threw me an apologetic look and pointed
at the narrow bed near a tiny window. “These are the guest quarters. You’ll
probably get a nicer room once the elders find you worthy of it.”
    I shivered. “Don’t know what good my gift’s
going to be when you find me turned into a big ice cube in the morning.”
    Angel smiled. “We have chisels.”
    “Any chance of getting a complementary hot
cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate?” I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess, once I’m
worthy. What a rip-off.”
    “There’s a pitcher of water on the table. I’ll
see you