Chapter 374

We get up the spiral incline and into the long corridor, which splits into sleeping quarters and a second stairway. Blinking momentarily and trying to decide on direction when Carmen sticks her nose in the air and heads for the passage up ahead of us to another level. She seems to know where to go, and her sense of smell has always been top-notch. Without a word, we all follow, swift and silent, without second-guessing her ability. My nerves are eating me raw and making me shiver with anticipation, but all I can do is keep moving forward and pushing down the nauseating worry. It’s dark, and Leyanne’s glow is the only thing taking the edge off the eerie creepiness of being in the manor while it feels abandoned. We move this way up three flights to the fourth floor, where Sierra’s wing with Juan all these years is located, and I wonder if he’s hiding in his own bedroom. A coward like him, it seems fitting somehow. To be hiding in the dark corner by his bed, hopefully trembling at the im