Paul pulled out a file labeled Everhart and handed it to me before returning his attention to his uncle’s. His eyes flew across the page.
I opened the file to discover it wasn’t only about my mother. Culpepper had written a note on one of the pages about me taking the ledger and using spells on him. I shuffled to the page where he kept track of purchases. There was only one listed for my mother, dated last Monday with the words moonwort key written beside it.
“Looks like your mom wanted to do a little breaking and entering herself,” said Eli.
I bit my lip. “Yeah, but where?”
He didn’t answer, but stooped, examining more files. A moment later he said, “Check it out, guys. There’s a file on Rosemary.” Eli set it on the desk and began flipping through the pages. I leaned in close to him to see. The first page held vital statistics and the second a list of purchases for Pixy Stix. The contents further in nearly made my heart stop from shock. A photograph of Rosemary’s smiling face stared up at me. Someone had drawn a heart around her in red ink.
Eli picked it up. “I don’t believe it.”
There were more photos beneath the first, covered in more hearts.
“Faustus,” I said, still stunned by disbelief. “Culpepper’s first name is Faustus. Do you think this means he’s the F from Rosemary’s diary?”
“Looks that way,” said Paul.
Before anyone could speculate further, Selene darted around the corner, running toward us with a look of alarm on her face. She slid to a stop, waving her hand and muttering the anti-fire spell. All our torches went out, even Eli’s flashlight.
“Someone’s coming,” she whispered.
I heard a familiar clicking noise in the distance, the sound of claws hitting stone. Culpepper was here, and he’d brought his hellhound with him. By the faint flicker of torchlight shining through the shelves, I could tell he was near the entrance and moving this way.
“Where are they, George?” Culpepper’s voice boomed throughout the chamber.
The hound whined in answer.
He named his hellhound George? Seriously?
“Come on out! I know you’re in here,” said Culpepper. “Got this place bewitched to let me know when people break in. You didn’t really think you’d get away with taking my keys, did you?”
I looked around, trying to figure a way out of this. Then I remembered the door leading into the tunnels. “Follow me,” I whispered, taking hold of Selene’s hand.
The light from Culpepper’s torch was just enough that I managed to navigate the aisle without running into anything. By some miracle, I’d left the door unlatched. But that didn’t keep it from making a loud creak as I pushed it open. George the hellhound started barking in response.
“Get them!” Culpepper screamed, which was followed by the distinctive sound of a leash unsnapping.
The four of us hustled through the door, and Eli managed to slam it closed in time to keep the hound from following us out. The creature struck the door so hard Eli almost fell down. Paul jumped forward, adding his body weight to Eli’s.
“Quick. Somebody seal the door,” said Paul.
Selene performed the barricade spell while I relit our torches.
“We better hurry,” said Selene. “That spell won’t last long.”
“Which way?” I said.
Beside me, Paul glanced left, then right several times, his face tense with worry and indecision. “This way,” he finally said and took off to the left. Selene and I followed after him, but Eli remained in place.
“Hang on, guys,” he said. “I think this is the way we should go.”
Selene and I stopped and looked back at him, but Paul kept walking.
“Why do you think so?” I asked.
“There’s something familiar about it.” He shook his head. “I’m having déjà vu.”
“A tunnel is familiar?” asked Selene, incredulous. “Don’t they all kind of look the same?”
Eli shook his head, his body tense. “There’s a draft this way, too.”
“Hold on, Paul,” I called.
Paul stopped and turned around, his eyes narrowed, but still worried. “Why?”
I didn’t answer, as I walked back to Eli, trying to detect the draft. I didn’t sense anything different, but I was struck by my own sense of déjà vu.
“The dream,” I said, a wave of dizziness washing over me. “It reminds me of your dream Friday night.”
Paul rejoined us. “We don’t have time for this. It’s that way. Trust me.”
“No, it isn’t,” said Eli, his voice hard and his expression dangerous.
The loud rattle of the door behind us shut everybody up for a moment. Culpepper and his hellhound would be breaking through any second.
Eli turned and started walking.
I didn’t know what to do. Paul did seem to know his way around the tunnels, but I couldn’t deny the strong pull I felt to go the opposite way. It wasn’t just déjà vu. It was more like gravity. And I realized I couldn’t walk away.
I glanced at Paul. “I’m sorry, but we’re going this way.”
He looked upset, but there was no time to worry about it. I turned and jogged down the tunnel beside Eli. The sense of being pulled grew stronger the farther we went, almost to the point that I felt as if I was riding one of those moving walkways they have at airports.