Page 19 (1/2)

I feel like I’ht into Hell

Chapter 11

WE MAKE OUR WAY doelve concrete steps and stand inside a vast basement, which is alh, there are no elephants down here, but what I do see before ht out of movie, every wall of this enor with shelves of old books and dusty jars and bottles and shiny miniature trinket chests which I’ are dozens of weird-looking necklaces that look to be made of bird skulls and aniling froh on the wall over an old furnace is some kind of enormous headpiece made of bones and feathers and deer antlers But what disturbsis what’s inside some of those jars I peer farther across the rooht to see so various ani’s foot, a hu still wrapped around its lower half--My skin is crawling all over and I just want to leave this place Minna was bad enough by herself, but seeing all of this crazy, voodoo, serial killer stuff is over my tolerance threshold

Minna catches her breath first and then ain where she leads us to the far corner of the rooh for two people to stand in, sitting against the wall Her house shoes shuffle across the concrete floor eerily, like a zo aimlessly across a desolate roo from us the secret numbered keypad set in the reinforced steel door We watch her fro a five-foot distance Then a loud click resounds as the safe is opened

We inch our way closer now, curious but leery about what’s inside

"She probably keeps her family members in there," I say to Isaac telepathically

He squeezes

When the door opens with absolutely no sound, the glint of glass reflecting off the overhead light above us flits acrossvery different about what’s inside than those scattered about the shelves of the base ular Mason jars with golden and silver lids twisted tightly at the top to keep the strange bluish-gray s A few contain reddish s up her hand

"Stay on the other side of the line," she de, raspy voice

I look down and the only ‘line’ I see is where there is a perfectly straight break running through the concrete floor I step back once to put that line in front ofher already wrinkled nose attohis way closer now, too "Are those…Praverian souls?"

"You keep them in jars?" Nathan says with an air of disbelief

"Well, if I could drink the down for so on the floor of the safe "But all I can do is keep theine therow evenwo another jar This one is huge, a giant pickle jar full of what looks like nothing but dirt

"This safe is protected," Minna says, "so if you get any trite ideas, like breaking theet one nasty surprise" She lowers her eyes forebodingly and purses her lips

Me, Isaac and Nathan glance briefly at one another

Minna holds out the pickle jar and I, being closest, reach for it and take it into , unable to hold the heavy weight of it any longer I stand here holding the jar of dirt and just look at her like the lunatic she is, waiting for her to tell us e’re supposed to do with it

She points to a sainst the wall that looks like an examination table from a veterinarian clinic I think that’s exactly what it is

"Set it down over there," she says and shuffles toward it

I walk over and place the jar there while Minna flips another light switch and a beam shines down on the table from above

Nathan and Isaac step up next to

"Just so you know, if you tell us there’s a heart inside that jar and that it belongs to Davy Jones or soo ahead and put you out of your htest bit I think he’s looking for any reason to ‘put her out of her misery’ after what she’s done to his brother

Minna doesn’t answer She just rolls her eyes, coughs a few tioes to twist off the lid "This is earth fro the lid on the table She reaches over to a small shelf beside her and takes an old, faded purple Crown Royal bag into her hand and loosens the drawstring "One of few sites in this world where the earth can be collected--not just any dirt ork"

"Want to elaborate?" Isaac says

"Not really," she says, reaching her hand into the jar "Information wasn’t part of the deal and since you three are fraternizing with my enemy, I’ll die without the blood upstairs before I tell you anything"

"Whatever," Nathan says, slashing his hand in the space in front of hiet on with it already"

Minna takes out several handfuls of the dirt and carefully places it inside the Crown Royal bag until it’s nearly full Then she twists the lid back on the pickle jar and pulls the string on the bag to close it tight