Billy wanted to argue, to deny it and assure both of them they were mistaken. But the coppery scent wafted to him, and his stomach churned. That was definitely blood.

Kyle came crashing down the hall and stopped short of the mess in the flashlight. “Dammit, Billy! Are you two okay? Where did all the blood come from?”

Billy swept his hand broadly across the mess. “Don’t you see all these urns? I guess they were all full. I don’t know why, though. I thought this was some ancient Buddhist or Gregorian temple. This looks like some sort of voodoo practice.”

As if things weren’t bad enough, Paige and Ethan came in behind Kyle, peering over his shoulder. Ethan huffed a loud sigh. “Can’t you two control yourselves? What happened?”

Saying nothing, Billy looked to Charlotte, her horrified expression telling him she had no clue what this was about, either. “W-we were just exploring, and it wa dark. Billy bumped into the table, and everything went everywhere.”

Ethan gave her a hard look. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when Billy’s t-shirt isn’t sticking out of his fly.”

Billy started to tell him to mind his own business, but a crack like thunder sounded, and he stared at the gooey liquid on the floor, shocked and confused as each trickle caught fire, leaving trails of ashes in their wake. “Oh, shit,” he muttered, not knowing what to think.

He glanced up at Ethan, then over at Paige. Both had gone pale, which worried him even more. “Billy,” Paige said, her voice barely above a whisper, “step back, slowly and carefully, and don’t step on any of those ashes.”

His heart raced, and he didn’t want to move. But then, impossibly, a whistling wind kicked up, as if someone had created a wind tunnel throught he corridor, opening a door or window behind him. There were no windows or doors anywhere in sight. The air originated from the center of the spilled ashes, swirling around them so Billy’s hair blew in his face, and he took a leap backward as the ashes were caught in the whirlwind.

The black and gray matter rose up between them, and Billy felt lightheaded, certain a face appeared in the shadows of it. An unnatural light glowed from the center, and a thunderous roar shook the building. Beside him, Charlotte screamed, and Billy covered his face with his arm as the ashses broke apart, a gale force wind sending them like tiny knives straight at him and Charlotte. They stung as they pinged against his skin, and for the first time in his life, Billy felt true fear.

Everything stilled suddenly, silence and dead air surrounding them. Slowly, Billy peered over his burning arm, seeing it dotted with little red marks. Charlotte whimpered next to him, but he was more concerned with the sound of footsteps dashing down the hall from both directions. He was screwed now.

“Don’t say anything,” Paige hissed at him as several monks circled them, eyes wide and fearful. Clearing her throat, she bowed at the group and spoke in a language Billy had to assume was Nepali. His voice trembling, one of the monks replied, and Paige looked for a moment like she might pass out.

After another exchange, she shook her head, leveling a terrified glare at Billy. He hedged, “What did he say? What is this?”

Paige shook her head. “He calls it the Kiss of Death.”