Page 32 of Sleep No More

A moment later she gasped like a swimmer coming up for air. Her eyes burned.

“There’s no lamp in this room,” she said.

“Is that important?”

“Yes.” She glanced at the bedside table and shuddered. “Yes, it’s important. That’s enough for now. I need to draw.”

He took his hand off her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

They moved out into the hall. He closed the door of the room.

A voice echoed down a corridor. “Mr.Drake? Ms.Llewellyn? Where are you?”

The woman in scrubs who had been on her phone earlier appeared from around the corner. Ambrose was still in his other vision. He could see that her aura was spiking wildly. Suspicion, probably. Or maybe anxiety. Or both.

“I’m afraid we took a wrong turn,” Pallas said with a cool, faintly apologetic smile. “We were looking for the lobby.”

“This way,” the woman said. “I’ll show you out.”

“Appreciate it,” Ambrose said.

He and Pallas walked toward the woman. When they got closer her name tag became legible. He glanced at it and made a mental note.J. Luckhurst.

“Thank you, Ms.Luckhurst,” he said.

“Call me Jodi. It’s easy to get lost in this place.”

The route back to the reception area took them past the chained staircase. Pallas abruptly stumbled.

“Damn,” she muttered.

Ambrose caught her arm and steadied her.

Jodi looked back, frowning in concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Pallas said.

Ambrose glanced up toward the darkness on the landing above. “Is this where Xavier Carnelian broke his neck?”

“Yes,” Pallas said.

Ambrose glanced at her.

Jodi’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“I read the story of the haunting of Carnelian House,” Pallas said. “It’s in my hotel room.”

“Oh, right.” Jodi processed that for a beat. “But there are a coupleof staircases in this place. How did you know this was the one where Xavier Carnelian died?”

“It’s obviously the main staircase in the mansion,” Pallas said. “So I just assumed it was the right one.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Jodi said. She looked disappointed. She glanced briefly at Ambrose and then turned to Pallas. “I heard you tell Dr.Fenner that you’re looking for Emery.”

“That’s right,” Pallas said. “Emery Geddings. Do you know where he is?”

“No, he just took off one day.” They walked into the reception area. Jodi gestured at the front door. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Pallas said.