Count Rodhe's face, already pale, suddenly turned the color of old chalk.
He flinched, a twitch of his eye, but it was enough.
Kaelus, whose arm was around Seraphina, felt the child's breathing shift.
He observed her eyes the entire time, and it seemed she wasn't looking at the Count's face; her gaze was fixed on the empty air behind him.
'The shadow monster,' Kaelus remembered instantly what she said before.
"There is nothing in the wine cellar!" the Count stammered, his voice cracking. "Just... just a bunch of old vintages!"
The ghost with the slit throat floated right up to the Count's ear, his face twisted in rage.
He pointed at the Count, then pointed at his own slit throat, then mimed pulling a stone block out of a wall, specifically holding his hands wide to indicate a large, heavy object.
"He says you're lying," Seraphina said.
"W-who says I'm lying?!" Rodhe panicked, looking around the empty hall.
