Joshua Dread: The Dominion Key by Lee Bacon

Author:Lee Bacon [Bacon, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-37127-8
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2014-05-13T00:00:00+00:00

Cassie’s great-great-great-grandfather looked just as spooky as ever. His gray eyes followed me everywhere. His frown was buried behind a silver mustache.

“I’m not sure this is the best time to admire the artwork,” Milton said.

Ignoring the comment, Cassie placed her hand on the golden nameplate at the bottom of the frame. With a sharp twist, she turned the nameplate upside down. Then she reached under the frame and—

Click!

The painting swung open on hidden hinges. Behind it was a dark tunnel. For a second, I was too stunned to move. The haunted painting was a … secret door?

Miranda looked from the tunnel to Dr. Fleming. “Did you know about this?”

The teacher shook his head. “It’s news to me.”

Cassie climbed onto the ledge of the tunnel and motioned for us to follow. “We’ve got to hurry!”

Once we were all inside, she pulled the painting closed behind her. As the frame clicked back in place, the last sliver of light vanished, engulfing us in absolute darkness. I felt blind—at least until Cassie flipped on a flashlight.

As the beam of light sliced through the black, tossing around our distorted shadows, I remembered what I’d been told about the ghost of Herman Alabaster. People claim he lives in the walls.… You can sometimes hear him rattling around.… He emerges from his painting in the middle of the night to roam the hallways.

“It’s you.” I stared at Cassie in amazement. “You’re the one walking behind the walls and climbing out of the painting. You’re the ghost of Herman Alabaster.”

Cassie sighed. “It’s true.”

Miranda glanced deeper into the tunnel. It stretched a long way, fading into darkness. “What is this place?”

“I know it’s not the shortcut you expected,” Cassie said. “I’ll explain on the way.”

She started walking. The rest of us followed, footsteps echoing. The tunnel was just tall enough for us kids, but Dr. Fleming had to hunch to avoid hitting his head. We moved through the narrow space in a single-file line. Every so often, another path would branch off to the right or left, disappearing into the shadows.

Cassie began speaking. “Alabaster Academy was designed by my great-great-great-grandfather—”

“The dude in the painting,” Milton said.

“Exactly. Back then, people with special powers weren’t superheroes. They weren’t celebrities. People saw them differently. As freaks, outcasts, weirdos. For centuries, they’d been put on trial, accused of witchcraft, burned at the stake. With this school, Herman Alabaster wanted to create a safe place for Gyfted kids. So he built this fortress on an island. And as extra security, he designed a network of secret tunnels inside the walls.”

Cassie turned a corner. I got the feeling she was glad to have her story to tell. It was an excuse to take her mind off the trouble her dad was facing.

“Herman Alabaster kept these passageways secret,” she said. “Only he knew they existed. The only people he ever told were his children. Eventually, they told their kids. It went on like that. The family secret. And when I was six, my dad took me here for the first time.

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