A Job From Hell (17 page)

Of course someone had to spot me. Trust my crappy luck. My heart skipped a beat. If he didn't go back inside soon, the Shadows might kil Aidan after al . I regarded Kieran. I'd do anything to get rid of him, even knocking a vase over his head. "No, you just keep polishing your fangs or whatever you guys do in there."

"Vampire jokes. Cute. Didn't see that one coming." He hesitated in the doorway.

Oh, come on. I didn't have time for his nonsense. "Listen, I know I'm great company, but I need to get a sandwich and then cal my parents.

Shouldn't you be working on a plan to rescue Aidan anyway?"

He nodded. "You know where I am if you need me."

I waited until he closed the door, and then bolted through the front entrance because it was the fastest way to the gate. As soon as I stepped out a gust of wind blew my hair in my face, whipping it against my skin. The air smel ed damp. The night was pitch black, the moon hiding behind a veil of heavy clouds. My mind was on ful alert, my ears strained to hear any sound that might break the deep silence. The house remained as quiet as the night.

For one moment, I considered flipping my phone open to see where I stepped, but I didn't dare in case someone saw the light. Throwing a last glance over my shoulder, I dashed for the gate. Several times I stumbled when the heels of my boots dug into the gravel. The moment I squeezed through the gate I knew the Shadows were waiting though they didn't show themselves until I walked several feet down the road.

A girl, tal with long dark hair, stepped in the way and clutched my arm as though to guide me toward the headlights in the distance. I didn't miss that fleeting look to the side that told me the girl was afraid of what might happen if her mission failed. Whatever the Shadows wanted with someone who could see ghosts, it probably went beyond a mortal's interest in the afterlife.

As soon as we reached the black SUV, someone held the door open, then shone a flashlight in my face. I squinted against the glaring brightness mumbling, "Yes, you're kidnapping the right person."

I jumped onto the backseat. The girl sat next to me, smiling as if relieved that I was cooperating. Did I have a choice? I grimaced and turned away, my heart racing in my chest as the car sped off. The driver—al curly hair and thick eyebrows overshadowing black eyes—peered at me through the rear-view mirror. Should I keep quiet and obliging for my own sake? Nah, that wasn't my style. Besides, if they wanted to kil me they'd have done so already.

"Hi there. You probably don't know me yet. I'm Amber, in the flesh. Proud winner of the coveted prize and a big bag of worthless jewels. I see I've won a free trip to Shadow World." I paused, my heart drumming in my ears. "Given my worth, I hope you're accommodating me in a five star hotel."

"Congratulations on winning the gift. You outsmarted everyone," the girl said.

I smiled. "No applause, please. But I'm glad to see you're not a sore loser."

"It's so nice of you to share," the girl said. She sounded as though she believed every word. Was she serious?

"Like I have a choice. But yeah, I'l play nice." The race was played out every five hundred years. Clearly, I was born in the wrong century. "So, what happened to the limo, caviar and wine? I like to travel in style when I win a trip. This vacation blows already."

"Shut up," the driver said. The girl shot me an apologetic look. Who did the idiot think he was? No one told me to shut up.

"So, guys, do you want me to try and summon up a spirit, or something?" I waved my shaking hands in the air. "Who shal I conjure? Elvis?

Marilyn Monroe? You just name it."

"No," the driver said.

A scaredy cat? I smiled. "If there is any spirit from the light who wishes to communicate, please make yourself known." No one answered. I touched my forehead. "Wait. I can sense a presence. Yes, it's strong. Something with P." I peered at the driver. "Anyone having an aunt going by the name of Petunia or Prudence?"

"Angel, shut her up now, or else I wil ," the driver hissed toward the girl.

"Do it and I'l summon Bruce Lee," I said.

"Just keep quiet for a change," the driver said.

"See what you did?" I snapped. "You broke my concentration and now the link has been severed. Now your aunty wil never know that you're okay."

The girl leaned into me whispering, "I'm Angel, by the way. My mother had a very strange sense of humour."

Whoa, they sent someone cal ed Angel to help me feel comfortable? Angel—as in a winged white being greeting one in the afterlife? Now I was scared.

"This isn't the place for this," Angel continued.

"You're right. We lack the right ambiance. Just rol down the windows so we get the wind effect. Maybe one of you has a lighter that could replace the candles. And I'l start cal ing our friends." I held up a hand. "Wait. The spirits are talking again. I need what?"

Angel cocked her head and whispered, "Are they talking to you now?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Shush. They're asking very clearly for specific items." I started to rock back and forth, barely able to suppress my laughter. "Sorry spirits, go on. This ritual can't be performed without what? Ghastly jewel ery? That's an easy fix. The driver's wearing the most hideous ring I've ever seen in my life. Very Asian meets gangsta rap. And what else? Talk to me, spirits." I rocked harder. "You need the medium to wear a bright scarf, big hoop earrings and gypsy clothes. Wel , okay then. I'l be in touch soon. Thanks for joining us and go in peace." I opened my eyes and regarded Angel. "They want a crystal bal , too."

The driver shook his head. "Out of al people, how did you end up with the prize?"

I leaned back and smiled at the impressed girl, proud of my performance. It might not be worth an Oscar, but one day I'd give Whoopi a run for her money. "Talking to the dead drains a girl. Anyone got a sandwich?"

"What's it like talking to the dead as wel as dating them?" the driver asked, sarcastical y.

A low blow from a snarky little man. He just had to drive the point home that Aidan was dead. I shrugged and glared back at him. "Aidan's cuter in death than you'l ever be in life." He pressed his mouth tight. Angel giggled.

We drove in silence for a while, before I asked, "Where're we going?" The driver's glare hardened. Angel gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

It would've been more comforting to know where we were headed.

The moon had risen to a large crescent in the sky. I leaned my head against the window and peered out at the passing trees. We seemed to travel north along the shoreline. Every few minutes, we passed a house or two, barely larger a cottage with whitewashed wal s. After a while, al I could see was vegetation stretching on forever.

The car took a sharp right onto unpaved terrain, then halted in front of high gates. The driver signal ed with the headlights and the gates opened to let us through. The street wound several times before the driver stopped and kil ed the engine. Opening the door, Angel motioned me to fol ow.

The wind whirled the fal en leaves on the ground. The tail ights threw a soft glow on high stonewal s that seemed to melt with the mountain behind. Angel seemed to know her way around as she brushed her hand over the weathered wal s 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. Unwil ing to go on, I peeled my eyes off the wal and focused on Angel. She was a few inches tal er 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 fol ow 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 smal talk, I might be able to persuade them to let me go. But these people had no sense of humour at al . "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 wal s that no one bothered to switch on, and other narrow passages that crossed ours. Realising 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 mil ion miles an hour. "I can summon some buddies for a big party."

"Honestly, al 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 al y.

"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 actual y 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 al ." 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'l 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 rol ed my eyes. "Let me guess, once I'm worthy. What a rip-off."

"There's a pitcher of water on the table. I'l see you in the morning." Angel left, locking up behind her.

A musty smel hung in the air. I scanned the room. This sure wasn't the Four Seasons. Heck, it wasn't even a youth hostel. No mints on the pil ows. No flowers to spruce up the place. No fancy wal paper to give it a homey feeling. And worst of al —it was tiny, not to mention freezing.

"Couldn't spring for heat?" I mumbled as I wrapped my coat tighter around me.

And where was the bathroom? Even jail cel s have toilets. Guest quarters? More like the cel on a mental ward. The only things missing were the metal bars on the window. I hoped on the bed to inspect the window. It was too smal to squeeze through, but I could see the woods stretching in the distance. We must've trekked inside the mountain. Even if I had a flashlight I doubted I'd find my way out of this place, not least because my sense of orientation sucked. Back in London I stil got on the wrong train half of the time, even with a map.

In spite of the cold, I shrugged out of my coat and kicked my boots off, then jumped under the covers, ready to act against my better judgement and get some sleep. Aidan's image appeared before my eyes. He looked worried but safe. That surely made my current predicament worth it.

Eager to get some sleep, I closed my eyes, but I couldn't stop fretting for a long time, tossing and turning as I kept asking myself the same question: how would Aidan be able to find me here?

***

Dim light seeped through the muddy window. The sun stood high on the horizon, but the morning rays were almost as chil y as the wind. The heavy blanket felt like cold iron, squeezing the air out of my lungs. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear I was in Antarctica, and penguins and polar bears would be peeking through the door any minute now. The memories of my giant, fancy room, lavender sheets and warm bedspread hit me ful force. Talk about going from riches to rags. Okay, technical y it was Aidan's riches, but stil . I wished he were here to snuggle up and keep me warm. But he wasn't. Taking a deep breath, I kicked the sheets aside.

A narrow strip of light fel on my black coat, which I had draped over the back of a chair after my arrival. I squeezed into it, buttoning it up at the front, and tried the door. It was unlocked. The girl from last night—Angel—dressed in tight jeans and a thick, cream cardigan, black hair slicked back in a ponytail, leaned against the wal . As soon as she noticed me, she smiled. "Slept wel ?" In the glaring brightness, I realised she looked barely older than fifteen.

I nodded and examined the corridor to both sides. My spirits dropped. The air smel ed stale. The passages looked al the same: grey, smooth stone everywhere with naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Nothing stood out. Even if Aidan managed to find this place, he'd never find his way out once he entered.