"You… are… not… asleep."
A thin crack appeared across the stone beneath Sonny's hand.
He pulled his hand away immediately.
The crack spread across the floor like a black snake.
Vanish tightened his grip on Sonny's shoulder, maintaining their invisibility as both men moved backwards.
"What was that?" he whispered.
Sonny shook his head.
The voice had not come through the floor in an ordinary manner. It had appeared directly beside his ear, as if the speaker had been standing behind him.
Yet, there was no one else inside the room.
The crack stopped spreading.
Silence returned.
Neither man relaxed.
The strange heartbeats beneath the house had not resumed, but Sonny could feel something waiting below.
It knew they were present.
More importantly, it knew they were awake.
This confirmed Old Chen's claims. Travellers brought into this house were expected to be unconscious before whatever lived below acted.
"We should leave," Vanish whispered.
That had been Lu Zhen's order.
