Prologue
Prologue
Mr. Radcliffe
"You're sure about this? I just have to go down there and you'll get me in?"
The girl stared at me, doubt flickering across her face.
I nodded. "Of course. Now hurry up."
Her brow furrowed. "Can't someone else retrieve the files?"
I let my expression harden. "It sounds like you don't want admission to Crescent University."
"I do want it, Mr. Radcliffe."
"Then go inside and get me those files."
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Of course she did. Students like her would do anything for a spot at a prestigious university. Anything I asked.
She turned toward the stairs leading down to the basement. Narrow steps, slick with moisture. Moss and fungi crawled up the walls. Cobwebs stretched across the darkness below.
I checked my watch.
"We don't have all night."
She flinched, then nodded. Clicking on her flashlight, she pushed through the webs and descended. The beam of light bounced off the walls as she moved deeper.
The moment she disappeared from view, I closed the door.
Her scream came almost immediately. Sharp. Terrified.
I walked away from the basement, my footsteps echoing through the empty hallway. Behind me, her screams grew more desperate. Then came the final one, wet and strangled.
Then silence.
I exited through the university gates and turned back to look at Crescent University. Moonlight caught the Gothic spires, the manicured lawns, the pristine facade.
No one would ever suspect what lived in the basement.
