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"You s wherever you wish on the second floor," Gabriel says, his eyes sweeping over all of us "There are several chambers to choose fro We’llin fifteen minutes," he says, then nods at Jake "Andorra?"

They both exit the roo blond ponytail brushes the e with the shadows "All right, guys This way," she says, taking the lead up the ooden steps

Eli’s hand rests on h not warer, and Lucian follow behind us The wood creaks and groans beneath our feet as we climb to the second floor Sydney stops just a few feet past the landing "These apartments were for the teachers of the Crescent School for Unruly Children," she says, wiggling her arched blond brows "Two shared bathroo to the e linen closet at the end" She points in that direction, too "Okay, I’ll leave you to it Meet you in the library in fifteen" Sydney disappears down the steps and recedes into the darkness

"You two," Noah says, looking at me and Eli "For the sake of all of us, take the roorin and shoulder uments there" Noah shakes his head as I pass

With Eli’s hand still athallway to the last apartment The corridor is dark, like the rest of the Crescent, and a long strip of faded green carpet stretches straight down the middle The walls are of stained wood, so dark they appear black Several old photographs in oval fraht line Stone-faced woht buns, and men just as stony stare back No sht out of a horror er and Lucian take the first apartment at the opposite end of the corridor from us Vic is across the hall from them, Noah is one door down Darius is next to us

I drop my duffel on the floor and take quick stock of our rooht filtering in through theto flip on a lamp perched on an old desk in the corner The room is cast in a muted blond haze and illureen curtains; a nightstand on either side of the bed, each with a lamp; and a tall armoire in the corner A wooden chest is situated at the foot of the bed I walk to theand look out It’s gray and bleak, and el in the center of the fountain I stare at his face, chiseled in stone and chipped with age His eyes are squeezed tightly shut as he cups his hands to hisdistorted, and I blink Whendirectly at hel’s face returns to its original stony state

What the hell?

"Ri?" Eli says, then turns ?" Instant concern flares in his cerulean eyes The muscles in his jaw flinch Like I said, he can be overprotective

I suess" Not a lie "Let’s go before Jake gets his knickers in a wad"

Eli stares a few secondsif he believes ood reason I’ht, Poe Let’s go"

A fa fills my insides as we leave the room and step back into the shadows of the corridor It’s a feeling that’s becouess I have to just get used to it

Dread

Part Two

THE TEAM

I believe a ine that he’s anything

--Dr Lloyd, The Wolf Man, 1941

Already, this place is eating at h the seeh I don’t know exactly e face, but I know it’s going towith Barbie dolls The Black Fallen? They’re bad Really, really bad