Monster Mansion 2 by Dante King (most interesting books to read TXT) 📕

branches hung like limp, gnarled fingers above their heads. The trees and the undergrowth were full of shuffling noises, as if unnamed creatures were shadowing them.

Sarah drew one of her small shortswords, and Josh took his crossbow from his back. It was already loaded with a heavy steel bolt. Todd’s hands glowed with a greenish light as he drew on his enchantment powers, ready to deploy a healing spell on his companions.

But they were not challenged. Despite the rustling noises, nothing appeared from the bushes. After they had been walking for a few minutes, Sarah stopped, and her companions gasped in unison. There it was, looming up out of the darkness ahead of them, glowing with a cold, white light.

The Monster Mansion.

“Fucking hell, I can’t believe we’re actually here,” muttered Todd. “It’s real, it’s fucking real. I didn’t believe it until now but It’s really really real!”

“Pull yourself together, Todd,” snapped Sarah. “It’s real, and we’re going in. If we get through it, we’re going to come out rich with loot, but if we can’t hold it together as a team, we’re fucked. Keep your head. This is a dungeon; it’ll kill us if we’re not worthy.”

Todd took a long, deep breath and straightened up. “You got it. Sorry, boss.”

Sarah nodded.

Josh clapped his brother on the back. “You ready to make history, little brother?”

Todd nodded. When he spoke again, his voice was steady. “I’m ready.”

Together, the three of them pressed on toward the glowing mansion. It looked deserted, but the sensation of conscious, living presence was overwhelming. This was what a haunted house would have felt like, thought Sarah. We can’t see anything, but it’s seeing us.

There were rows of blank windows rising up, tier upon tier toward the high overhung roof. Trailing ivy had taken hold on one corner of the mansion and was growing up over several floors. More than one of the blank windows were broken.

Sarah could see no sign of occupation anywhere, but then she got a fright. Up on the third floor, a light flickered in a window, and she saw a face. A man stood there, looking down on them. His face was handsome, his brown hair tousled, and even at this distance she could see his piercing eyes staring down at them. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, then he was gone.

She blinked. The window she’d been looking at had seemed solid a moment ago. Now, it was broken, and she could see beams in a bare ceiling, falling plaster, peeling paper.

Ghosts, she thought, then shook herself. She had told Todd to pull himself together, but she was the leader. No one would hold her courage for her except herself. You can do this, Sarah, she promised herself.

Before they knew it, the three adventurers were standing in front of the entrance. This was an imposing, pillared porch with a flight of cracked marble steps running up to two immense wooden doors of polished oak.

Sarah looked to the left and right. Her buddies were flanking her, one on either side. They met her eyes one by one, and then together they began to mount the steps.

At the top of the stairs, they were presented with the huge doors. There were no handles, but on the right-hand door there was a big, heavy golden door knocker in the shape of a woman’s face.

“She’s beautiful!” said Josh, looking at the door knocker. “I wonder who she is?”

“Most likely that’s the face of the dungeon herself,” answered Sarah. “From what I know of the true Legendary dungeons, it was not uncommon for them to have representations of their avatars outside, so that an adventurer would recognize them if they had the honor to meet the dungeon’s avatar. I’ve read about dungeons with statues of themselves outside, or even of dungeons made in the shape of a massive head, with the open mouth as the entrance to the dungeon.”

“I’m glad this dungeon has only got a door knocker as her representation outside,” said Todd. “I don’t think I could deal with walking into a giant mouth just now!”

They all laughed, and it broke some of the tension.

“Well, here goes,” said Sarah. “Ready?”

“Ready,” said the two brothers. Shifting her sword to her left hand, Sarah reached up and gripped the heavy knocker. She lifted it and used its weight to bang on the door.

A deep booming reverberated around them, and then the voice spoke, as if projected from speakers all around them. It was the voice of a woman, beautiful and melodious, and as deep and rich as velvet.

“What do you seek, strangers?” it thundered. “You come here armed to my door. Do you seek plunder? Treasure? Adventure and fame? Who are you, and what are you, and why?”

“I am Sarah Windvane,” Sarah replied, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. She wouldn’t admit to fear, but this was one hell of an experience. “These are my companions, the brothers Todd and Josh Hammerfist. We are Dungeon Adventurers, brave dungeon runners from the city. We come to seek our fortune in your halls!”

The woman’s voice rumbled a deep, satisfied chuckle. “Welcome, dungeon adventurers. I greet you in the name of Old Eosor. You are welcome to try your hand in the dungeon, but be warned, this is no game. All who enter here risk death. If you survive, you may take home a great fortune, but if you do not, your very flesh will be consumed and it will be as if you never were. Are you prepared to take that chance?”

“We are,” they all said.

“Very well,” rumbled the smooth voice. “And what tribute do you bring to my halls to pay for your entry?”

Sarah had expected this, and she had come prepared. “We bring gifts from the outside world, mighty dungeon. We bring a weapon,