THE ALPHA’S DESTINY 2 (Fulfilling The Prophecy) - Chapter 72: Chapter 72

ZANDER'S POV
The air was cold and numb and with every breath, I drew, a misty, chilly exhale followed.
Everything around us became quieter the closer we got to the mansion.
"This is it," Lance let out. "But it isn't what I remembered," he finished.
The dreary mansion was tall and intimidating, made from large dark grey stones.
I noticed there were no leaves on the ground around the house, just some aged concrete steps, and a doorway that stood in front of us.
Cement crumbs were sprinkled along the sides of the house, cement dust was everywhere, only notarizing the fact that this mansion was, in fact, abandoned by both the living and the dead.
"I don't think anybody is inside," James announced.
Isis walked up to the front door.
"Isis, be careful," I warned.
Wisps upon wisps of climber plant plaster across the structure of the house, at least what's left of it. Isis' fingers scraped at the wild vines, revealing the door.
"There is some sort of keyhole here," Isis said as she tried to wiggle the doorknob. "My magic is not opening it, it is protected by a powerful incantation, only the key will open it."
"I think I can help with that," Lance cleared his throat. He strolled up to the door.
The windows rattled vigorously as the howling of the wind intensified. Their frames barely hold on to the rotten wood from which they were now made. Thanks to the woodworms.
Lance took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. It swung open without even making a creak.
A puff of dust encased Lance coming from inside the mansion.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness and there was nothing but broken furniture and mildewed walls.
But it was my ears that told a different story. Clearly, someone or something was inside. Footsteps could be heard gracing the stairs to the side, then there was a creaking door a few seconds later followed by retreating footsteps.
"Do you smell that?" I asked James. My nose flared and caught the scent of something I never thought I'd see here in Dead Man's Cave.
"If you're referring to the stench of mildew, wet wood, and rust, then I definitely smell that," James scrunched up his nose. I did smell those too, but I wasn't talking about the obvious.
"Cotton Candy, Licorice, and rice cakes."
I turned to look at Hazel. Of course, she smelt them too.
Isis gave her a weird reprimanding look, like she was silently warning her to go easy on her powers.
"The smell is fresh too," I added quickly before Isis could go off on us, stating what we already knew.
Isis stooped down and placed her palm on the old dusty floor. "Yakka yakka ra ra!" She chanted. Dust floated in the air, coating our tongues and causing salty tears to run from our eyes.
Isis's sliver hair swirled in the magical wind her chanting summoned. Her eyes matched the colour of her hair as she continued to cast her spell.
Her body shook, then she flew up from the floor. All colour drained from her face, leaving her skin paler than usual.
James squeezed her shoulder. "What is it?"
"A child, there's a child here," she whispered winded.
"OK, but why are you so frightened about a child being here? We already established that weird things are taking place here." I huffed.
"You don't understand, Zander, this child was born here!" Isis explained, and Lance gasped.
"That's impossible," The ghoul almost shouted. The surrounding air became bitter, and I could tell he was scared. In fact, he was terrified.
"What do you know? Why are you so afraid?" I asked.
"I – I..." he stuttered. "I have to get you guys out of here. You have to fulfil your mission," Lance rambled.
The hairs on my arms began to rise. Isis's eyes went wide, and so did Julia's.
I crouched in a defensive position, and so did James.
The temperature dropped, and puffs of breath could be felt on my earlobes and across the back of my neck.
"What do you want?" Julia asked. I saw her nodding her head. She then turned to the rest of us. "It's a friendly spirit that is trapped inside this mansion by Major Skully."
"OK, what does it want?" I retorted.
"It wants to help us. He says the little girl is the key to getting out of the Mansion. He says to talk to the little girl before you talk to her mother."
"Her mother?" I questioned.
"Yes, he says the mother will do anything the child says," Julia explained.
"But why does it want to help us?"
"He wants to ensure we defeat Major Skully. He said he met Skully many years ago while he was looking for investors to invest in his company. He said Skully tricked him into signing over his soul to him. And he's been hiding out here until the saviour showed up."
"How does he know we are his saviours?"
I froze when I caught a woody scent lingering in the air that wasn't there before. Then out of nowhere, a shadow flickered from the corner of my eyes. I zoned in on it and realized it was a manifestation of a man around my age.
"So we're all seeing this, right?" Hazel asked.
"Because Irena told me. She said my saviour will be travelling with her daughter, Isis." The ghost announced. "And that one looks just like Irena." he pointed to Isis.
Isis didn't meet any of our gazes, and she didn't ask the ghost not one question, but I could see the pain in her eyes. She missed her mother, and I don't blame her. It was times like these I missed mine too.
The ghost gestured for us to follow it upstairs. "My name is or was Carson." The ghost chuckled and Gidian growled in my head.
I swallowed hard. Everyone else made an audible gasp.
I hope I don't regret this.
'We are following a ghost named Carson, I think regret will be inevitable,' Gidian laughed.
I sighed as I followed Carson the ghost upstairs.