We reached the other side of the chamber, where there was a narrow entrance to yet another passageway. This led into a second room, almost identical to the last, with glowing ponds on either side. We passed through several more of these rooms, and by this time I was no longer even bothering to struggle beneath the creature’s grip. After what felt like the seventh chamber—for I began to lose count—I began paying less attention to the phosphorescent ponds, and more to the rest of my surroundings. More gruesome garlands draped down from the ceiling, only these were not constructed only of shrunken heads. Whoever was responsible for the morbid decorations had thrown in a myriad of bones, tufts of hair, and what looked like dried flaps of skin.

Whoever was responsible for the interior design of this place clearly had a one-track mind.

My escort came to an abrupt stop as we reached the end of perhaps the ninth chamber. He stopped in front of the last pond in the room. His hold around me tightening, he moved closer toward the water until we reached the edge of it. Without warning, he shot up into the air, dragging me with him. I barely even had a chance to look at the water before the creature gripped my head and thrust me beneath the surface. As I gazed around underwater, I realized what was causing the faint, bluish glow.

The pond—all of these ponds… they were swarming with ghosts. So many ghosts surrounded me in this single reservoir, I couldn’t even begin to count them. Most were motionless at the bottom—some sitting upright, others lying down in whatever little space there was—while others swirled around in clusters aimlessly in the water.

I immediately surged upward again, but the heinous being was still hovering over the surface. His large, clawed hands clamped around my head and he forced me back down into the pool.

I continued my attempts to escape, but as he continued to push me back down—each time with more severity and impatience—I saw the futility in my attempt. He needed to leave before I could try again.

My gaze tilted back to the ghosts beneath me and surrounding me. I needed to talk to somebody. I needed answers before I completely lost my mind.

I scanned all the unfamiliar faces, wondering who to approach first, and then… I spotted two faces that were not so unfamiliar at all. Chantel and Nolan. The two of them were cowering in a corner, their faces drained and gaunt. Being at the base of the cramped pool, they didn’t seem to have noticed me yet.

My heart leaping just a fraction, I surged down toward them. Nolan’s eyes bulged as he recognized me.

“Joseph!” he gasped.

“What’s going on?” I breathed. It was an odd feeling being underwater, and not having to worry about opening my eyes or even breathing. I could talk the same as I could when I was above the surface.

“We’re doomed!” Chantel sobbed.

“What?”

“The light came for us on the mountain,” Nolan began, his face lined with devastation. “But it was not the light we expected. It did not take us to the other side. It brought us to this hell instead.”

“Of course, this is not actually Hell,” a rasping voice spoke behind us. I whirled around to see the ghost of an elderly woman, crouched in a corner, just a few feet away from us. Her form was humanoid, though she did not look quite like a human, nor a vampire. I wondered what she was.

Momentarily forgetting about Chantel and Nolan, I asked her, “Then what is this place?”

She blew out a sigh. “The Underworld. Also known as the realm of the ghouls.”

The realm of the ghouls.

“But… how?” I stammered. “Why? Who were those glowing beings?”

“It’s all a hoax,” the old woman murmured. “Whatever those fae told you, it’s a pack of lies.”

My jaw couldn’t drop any lower. “Fae?”

“Yes, fae,” she replied. “You wouldn’t have seen one before, not if you’ve never traveled beyond the walls of a portal.”

“What are fae?”

“Elemental spirits who inhabit the ether in between dimensions. They captured all the ghosts in this pool.”

I was still wrapping my mind around ghouls—my mother and father had told me about an experience they had with one on the island that had caused utter havoc, even killed two of The Shade’s residents, though I’d never seen one in the flesh before, so to speak. And now… fae? There was a lot more I could’ve asked her about the “fae”, but at the forefront of my mind was the question:

“Why? Why would they bring us here?”

The elderly ghost shifted from her position and moved closer to me. “Almost five decades ago now, the fae made a pact with the ghouls. At the time, the realm of the fae was in chaos as they fought to overturn their monarchy. A group of insurgents struck a deal with the ghouls to further their cause. The ghouls would help them fight a war in their realm to overturn the current rulers, and in exchange, the fae would agree to serve them by supplying a constant flow of ghosts for the next fifty years.… In fact, I believe the time is almost up.” She eyed me bitterly. “You’re unlucky to be caught within the catchment date.”

I gaped at her. “Why do ghouls want ghosts anyway? They can’t eat them. What use are they to them?”

The woman’s eyes darkened. “Ghouls live for death, reveling in all things morbid and macabre… in case you hadn’t noticed their rather singular taste in decoration. They are known by some as grave robbers, by others as collectors; they are hoarders of all things relating to death. And ghosts… we are like trophies to them.” She paused, eyeing the ghost-infested water surrounding us. “They keep us here, like ornamental fish.”