Chapter Thirty

Callum and Melissa waited silently and anxiously by the opening, straining their ears for Jacob’s signal. It had been at least ten minutes since he had gone into the tunnel with Doom. Callum could feel his stomach turning into knots, and his hands were burning with the sensation that told him something was definitely wrong. He glanced fretfully behind him every few seconds, worried that there might be more demons sent by the coven to guard the lair’s entrance.

‘What’s that?’ Melissa gasped, as a high, keening noise pierced the silent night. They both stopped breathing for a moment, before Callum realised it was an ambulance siren. He exhaled and swallowed hard.

‘Something’s up,’ he said. ‘It’s been way too long.’

He looked over at Melissa and she nodded, her face pale with concern.

‘What should we do?’

Callum paused for a moment, looking around into the darkness. He turned back to Melissa.

‘We’re going to go down there.’

‘We?’ Melissa looked unsure. ‘Jacob said that I should stay up here in case . . .’

‘Melissa, I don’t think it’s any more dangerous down there than it is up here. We don’t know what’s going on. I think it’s better for us to stick together,’ he said. ‘Besides, your skills could come in handy, remember?’

Melissa smiled shakily. ‘OK then – let’s do it.’

Taking a deep breath, Callum hoisted himself over the grille, then let go and dropped down into the darkness. He had no idea how far he’d fall, but thankfully it was only a couple of metres.

‘Callum?’ He heard Melissa’s voice above him.

‘It’s OK, it’s not far – I’ll help you,’ he breathed, hoping she’d hear him.

The blackness was virtually absolute, and Callum could almost hear his heart thumping through his chest. He could just about make out Melissa’s boots dangling above him, and a moment later she dropped down beside him. She jumped as Callum reached out to grab her arm.

‘Do you have your phone?’ he whispered.

‘Who are you planning to call, the Paranormal Police?’ she said through shaky breaths. Callum couldn’t help a nervous chuckle.

‘Just hand it over,’ he said, and he felt around in the darkness until his hand connected with Melissa’s and she passed him her mobile phone. Callum pressed at the buttons until the screen illuminated, and finally they could just about see each other.

‘Ah, good thinking,’ Melissa said, her tentative smile shadowed by the weak light of the phone.

‘Come on,’ Callum urged, and they began to inch their way into the dank catacombs beneath the ruins of Leicester Castle. The musty smell of the tunnel was overpowering. Other than the dull echo of their footsteps and their nervous breathing, it was almost deathly quiet. Callum shivered; it couldn’t be a good sign.

But just as the thought entered Callum’s head, he heard voices – they were very faint, some distance away, but they were definitely there. He reached out and held up his hand for Melissa to wait. They both held their breath and listened hard. Callum couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, but he could tell that none of the voices was Jacob’s. His mouth went dry as he finally made out one phrase.

‘. . . Born Dead . . .’ Then a few more muffled words and subdued laughter.

‘Do you think it’s the coven?’ Melissa whispered, but Callum held his finger up to his mouth to quiet her. He nodded silently and Melissa’s eyes widened, then her brow furrowed determinedly. She gestured that they should keep going.

Callum nodded once more and took a deep breath. Holding the phone above their heads, he began to edge forward through the tunnel again, with Melissa following close behind. They moved so slowly it seemed they’d barely gone a few steps before Callum stopped suddenly when the tunnel went dark. He felt Melissa bump into his back, and she took in a sharp, frightened breath.

‘Sorry,’ he murmured, pressing again at the buttons of the phone and holding it up. As the screen lit up once more, Callum recoiled in horror, holding out his arm to stop Melissa.

The passage ahead was littered with bones.

There was no doubt that the debris was human – more than likely the grisly remains of Black Annis’ recent kills, Callum thought. All around them, he now noticed scatterings of child-sized ribs and limbs. Two small skulls lay side by side on the floor ahead.

Melissa’s hands flew up to her mouth.

Callum swallowed hard, and his fingers suddenly went ice cold.

He froze as he was hit by a flashing vision of himself, one foot ensnared in the cage-like bones of a dead child’s ribs in the passage ahead of them.

The bones were a trap.

Callum’s foot hovered precariously in the air, but before he could stop her, Melissa kept moving, pushing into him.

‘Come on, Callum,’ she insisted. ‘It’s disgusting, but we can’t stop now, we have to find Jacob and Doom, and –’

‘Melissa!’ Callum yelled, forgetting to be quiet. ‘Don’t!’

But it was too late. His echoing voice reverberated around them and, one second later, his foot landed in the middle of one of the rib cages.

It snapped shut around his ankle.