Dark Secrets [COMPLETED]

Chapter 21: The Heart of Everything

"Do we really want to do this now?" Carlos asked as we walked down the hall together towards Robert's study.

"What better time is there?" I asked. When we got to the last door on the right—Robert's study—I tested the doorknob. It wouldn't budge. I slid the study key into the lock and turned. It clicked and I opened the door.

The room was emptier than it was when I last saw it. The table in the center was gone now, and so were the books and papers it was covered with. The paintings were still there, but when I looked at the fireplace, Meredith and Virginia's photographs were missing.

Carlos stared at all of the covered furniture. "How does he sleep in here?"

I shrugged. "No idea."

Standing in the centre of the room, I felt like an idiot. What exactly was I supposed to be looking for in here? Something to do with Spain, was the only clue I had. My eyes lingered over the bed, moving to the round object that I previously thought was a globe.

Curiously, I went and pulled off the sheet. My initial assumption was right: underneath was a large standing globe. The colour had faded from it with time, and the closer I examined it, I noticed that it was old. Russia was still the USSR on it, and Nunavut was missing from Canada, still a part of the Northwest Territories. I smirked and moved to play with the black needle fixed to the frame, above the globe. It was like one of those math compasses, that you'd stab yourself with if you weren't careful.

Mom's last warning ran through my head: the compass always points to Spain...

At first, I tried moving the compass itself, but it wasn't movable, only stuck in one place. Then I tried turning the globe itself, and hissed with delight when it moved under my fingers. I turned it until the compass needle was pointed directly above Spain.

There was a loud click and the globe started to shake. I stepped back in shock as it rose up from the floor and the entire square of the floor and wall it was attached to raised up and slid to the side.

An open archway was revealed, leading to a secret passageway within the wall.

"Holy shit..." Carlos muttered behind me. I looked over at him standing by one of the covered paintings, and grinned. "It's just like a real haunted house!" He shook his head, and I cackled.

But when I peered into the black space that the archway led down, any giddiness I felt before evaporated immediately. There were stairs that led into a winding abyss. I looked over at Carlos and began my entrance.

"Calista!" He hissed, and when I didn't come back out, I heard him curse and rush to come after me.

Having Carlos behind me certainly helped me feel better as I felt my way through the dark. I fished my phone out of my pocket and turned on my flashlight. It illuminated a narrow hallway that we were coming down. The walls and floor around us were unfinished, and everything reeked of must and dust. We moved through the space for what felt like ages, until we reached a space in the wall where two holes were cut. I looked through them, and my stomach clenched when I saw I was peering into my bedroom.

These walls have eyes, Meredith's voice echoed in my mind.

I moved away, letting Carlos take a turn to look. His jaw dropped and he closed it again. "What the actual fuck?" He exclaimed. "Has he been watching us all this whole time?"

The eye holes were cut along the walls every couple meters or so, so that they looked into every room in the upstairs. When we reached the ones in Carlos's room, I was worried he would faint. Instead, he just shook his head and clenched his fists. "That creepy bastard..." he growled.