Kyle shivered and hedged quietly, “Something feels off. Wrong.”

Ethan snorted. “You think?” He shook his head, moving slowly down the hall as if waiting for something to jump out in front of them or someone to stop them. “Your friends in there destroyed a sacrificial altar.”

The muscle in Kyle’s jaw twitched. “They aren’t my friends.”

“You could have fooled me,” Ethan threw back at him. “You’ve been partying with them and hanging with them like a third wheel.”

That pissed Kyle off. “Actually, I’ve been acting like a damn babysitter, trying to keep them out of trouble. And trying to stay out of your way with Paige. The two of you have so much sexual tension, it’s uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to get in the way.”

Ethan shook his head. “We’re friends. There’s nothing else there.” His tone was tight, adamant.

Kyle wanted to spit it out. He’s been friend-zoned. But another cry carried through the air, sending a shiver down his spine. “He’s outside,” Kyle stated the obvious as the sound resonated in the air around them.

Ethan’s stride lengthened, and he moved faster toward the nearest exit, and Kyle followed. He wanted to strangle Billy for thinking too much about his dick and not enough about the group, but he didn’t want some angry villagers or monks disemboweling him.

They were feet from the exit door when the sharp wind kicked up out of nowhere. It came with incredible force from the far end of the hall, sounding like a whispered scream that grew louder as it blew harder. The freezing blast hit like a punch to the gut, knocking them both to the ground, and Kyle thought his heart would explode.

On the air, in a haze, were three translucent figures, flying toward them. Their faces were more like skulls with a bit of skin, their bodies skeletal, and their expressions were fixed in absolute rage. They stared with blind, pupilless eyes. They approached so fast, there was no time to get up and move, much less run away.

One of them lunged at Kyle, and he fought the urge to scream, feeling a hand brush over his face, a sensation like it touched the skull inside rather than the skin. He curled into a ball, knowing he was about to die as warrior cries sounded overhead. When was the last time he’d told his mother he loved her? He couldn’t remember as he braced for his last breath.

The wind rushed past, and the hand touching Kyle disappeared. But as it past beyond them, the roar became words. “Balidāna nagarēsam'ma tapā'īṁ chōḍna saknuhunna!” Kyle glanced back as the ghostly figures dissipated into the air, the corridor silent once again.

Glancing around, he found Ethan almost against the door, pushing to his feet, pale and drawn. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“I’m fine,” Kyle replied tightly, standing and brushing himself off as if he could clean off the experience like dirt. “Do you have any idea what that was all about?”

“I’m not sure, but I get the impression they don’t want us going after Billy,” Ethan said, his gaze distant. “If I can repeat what he said, maybe Paige can translate it for us.”

Kyle hoped so. While he didn’t particularly want to hear death threats from the undead or whatever those things were, not knowing was worse.