Page 20 of Chillingham Castle

I nodded. “Always.”

This was beyond creepy. There was a strong smell of damp and the walls felt wet. We carried torches because there was no power. The prisoners who’d been detained down here must have known what it meant to be truly helpless. The atmosphere would drain the life from anyone.

John had ruled with an iron fist and no mercy. Even children had been kept down here. It was a horrifying thought.

“This is cheerful,” Trunk muttered. “I’ve switched to night vision, and it’s not filling me with joy.”

“There is something here. It’s lurking right now, watching, gauging our reaction. It’s male and highly offended we’re down here,” Ghoul murmured.

“John Sage?”

“He’s definitely present; there’s a second presence, though. Sage is possessive, cruel, and I can sense the desire to cause pain, and his fingers twitch to torture. But this other entity, it’s driving Sage. It doesn’t belong and knows it, and it won’t go easily,” Ghoul continued.

“Demon,” I guessed.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m picking up. It’s pissed and needs power, but someone trapped it here at a great cost. My salt ring is also annoying it. It’s testing the bound… damn. Sage just left. Guess he can leave when he wants, but this demon is stuck,” Ghoul explained.

“Are you sensing anything else?” Lich asked.

“There’s grief and pain literally bled into the walls. If you searched for the most miserable place in England, this would win hands down. The emotions are almost tangible. I can hear the cries for mercy, mixed with children’s and women’s screams. Some of them are trapped; you need to help them,” Ghoul turned to Lucky. “They don’t want to stay here, and this demon is feeding off them.”

“Wait,” Lich said. “Swapping to SLS and shit…”

We crowded around him and gaped.

Over thirty figures appeared on his screen.

“We’ve never seen that,” Trunk murmured. Lich moved the camera, and more became visible.

“They’re trapped. Somehow, John Sage not only tortured them to death but also imprisoned their souls. Can we do anything?” Lich asked.

“I’ll pray for a doorway. Ghoul, tell them to head towards the light,” Lucky said.

“Surround them; the demon won’t want his food source to leave,” I ordered.

Lucky began praying as Ghoul urged those trapped to seek the light and move on. His shoulders were tense, and noises kept making us jump.

“Fuck off,” a voice intoned.

The demon.

“No, you’ve no power over God,” Lucky replied.

“You’re no priest.”

“Nope, but I’m a man of faith,” Lucky retorted, his cross held high.

“Heathen,” the demon hissed.

“Yup. But one that’s about to ensure you remain trapped down here. Ghoul, how are we doing?” Lucky questioned.

I sprinkled some holy water around, aware of something close. A hiss by my ear made me jump, and I flinched. I threw water in that direction.

“Stay and play.”

“We’ll pass. Ghoul?” I asked.

“The spirits are becoming fewer. They can see the light and are fleeing,” he answered.