Chapter 9 · Ghost in the Basement

"Do you actually believe I’d help you?"

Julian didn't look like a man; he looked like a corpse that forgot to stop breathing. He was chained to the damp stone wall, wrists raw and weeping blood. His eyes were sunken, but the malice in them was still sharp enough to cut.

I didn't flinch. I stepped closer, the click of my boots echoing against the slime-covered floor. I grabbed his chin, forcing his head up. His skin felt like cold parchment.

"I don't need your loyalty, Julian," I whispered. "I need your keys. And I need the location of the second lock before Silas decides to come down here and finish what the executioner started."

Julian let out a wet, rattling laugh. "Silas. You’re terrified of him, aren't you? I can smell it. You’re shaking, Alice. Is it fear... or do you just like having him breathe down your neck?"

I slammed his head back against the wall. Not enough to kill, but enough to make him gasp.

"Shut up. You’re a talentless husk now. I took your leadership, remember? You’re not a lord anymore. You’re a rat in a hole."

"Then why are you still here?" he spat.