Daughter of Heaven (WIP - On Hiatus)

Chapter 73 - Dead men tell no tales

A new week, a new town. The sooner this was over, the better. This touring pirate expo was getting more freaky with each passing day, and Howard didn't like it one bit. Especially not since he was the only one handling security at the moment. They still weren't sure when Eddie would come back, but considering the poor bugger was still in the psych ward in Lincoln, it didn't look like it was going to be soon.
Honestly, Howard couldn't blame his buddy for losing his marbles after somehow winding up in the replica treasure chest. To this day, no one knew how it had even been possible since the chest was at the back of a lifesize diorama and not that easy to get to. If it hadn't been for a very observant cleaning lady hearing Eddie's muffled sobs and cries, they probably wouldn't have found him until moving day. Some still tried to shrug the incident off to Eddie having been overly clumsy or trying to pull a prank that backfired, but Howard wasn't so sure about that. 

Deciding to do one more sweep before calling it a night, Howard mustered his courage and walked the silent halls, his trusty flashlight in hand. He kept up a quick pace, checking all the glass cases to make sure nothing was missing. There was only one path, no side lanes, a fixed route for all staff and visitors to follow, so he should be done in an hour. 

All right, everything seems to be okay with the navigation tools and weapons, thought Howard in relief. So far, so good. 

As he continued through the European hall to the Americas, he thought of Eddie again. He should definitely pay him a visit after the expo, just to make sure he was doing better. After all, he was the one who brought Eddie into the job. It was a two-man team or nothing. Mr. Jones had been a real stickler on that.
Now there was a man who needed to spend some time on a psych ward. That old crackpot couldn't talk about anything else besides pirates. He even made everyone who worked for him sign a 'pirate code of conduct'. Howard recalled his thumb getting scratched open by the very flamboyant plume Mr. Jones made him sign with. Honestly, the man was a fanatic.

Just two more states to grin and bear with it all. I'll have to find a new gig, but lots of companies are asking for security guards nowadays, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'll try getting a recommendation from Mr. Jones but - 

A powerful ring echoed through the hall, making Howard stop dead in his tracks. There was only one bell in the entire expo, recovered from an eighteenth century vessel, but it was on the other side of the hall. Even if someone had sounded it, or something had fallen against it, it shouldn't have resonated that loud. And it came from the direction he was walking toward.
Howard drew back, hairs on his neck standing up in fear. He watched enough horror movies to know going towards the creepy sound was always a bad idea. He turned around. His foot bumped against something. A cutlass sword glistened dangerously in the shine of his flashlight when he looked down. That hadn't been there before... had it? 

Howard picked the saber up. A howling wind struck up around him. The bell tolled again, much clearer this time, as if it had been rung right above him. Something making a quaint clattering sound approached the security guard from behind. He swiveled around to face whatever was coming up on him.
A sharp pain shot through Howard as the blade pierced his chest, paralyzing his body. The cutlass sword dropped to the floor. He held on to his flashlight and raised his trembling hand to illuminate his attacker. The two carmine dots glaring at him from hollow eye sockets in a face so mutilated that the leathery flesh barely hung onto the skull were the last things Howard saw before uttering a horrifying scream as the bell roared a third time. 

***

"Hey, I think I have something."

Dean tore his attention away from the eggs on the stove when Allegra entered the kitchen with the newspaper. She spread the paper over the counter, tapping her finger to an article on the right page. Not wanting the eggs to spoil, Dean turned the burner down before walking over.