The Six | A Reverse Harem Novel | ✔️

Forty

Each breath trembled out of me. My eyes locked onto the ceiling, forcibly welded to the sight above me. Hands clasped my upper arms, shaking me gently, but I could do nothing but stare, horrified.

“Blue,” Charlie’s voice echoed in my head, “Blue! Come on, princess, give me those eyes.”

Snapping out of my revere, I growled under my breath at his nickname. He released me quickly, tearing away from my slapping hands. Gritting my teeth, I pointedly raise my head to look back at the ceiling. Charlie follows me, gasping quietly.

“Is that…”

I nod my head. “Yes.”

He pauses, swallowing hard. Our heads drop together, and we gaze at one another in silence. What words could we speak? Nothing was making sense anymore. Pressing a hand through my dark curly locks, I raise my eyes to stare at the monstrosity above us.

“What are you guys doing?”

I don’t answer Chris. Charlie opens his mouth after a beat of silence.

“Fuck if I know.”

“What does that mean?” Chris asks, tipping his head to the side in confusion.

Shrugging, Charlie nods at me, watching Chris approach me silently. “Fuck if I know.”

“Blue?” Chris catches the back of my head and angles me to face him. “What’s going on?”

Silently, I point up. His body stills as he lifts his head. I clutch my hands into his, watching as his face drops to mine wearing a quizzical look.

“Is that…?”

I nodded again. “Yes.”

Three 100 centimeter tall glyphs spanned across the dining room ceiling. Each one was wispy, drawing with the careful strokes of a paintbrush. The deep lines feathered at the ends, every stroke confident and connecting at the center. Tipping my head to the side, I tried to make sense of the drawings again, but my heart pumped sure.

Blood.

Drawn in the dark liquid, each endless pattern marred the perfect ceiling, mocking us in their silence. Long dried drops of blood extended from the ceiling at the middle of the glyphs. Winding lines starting from the edge and ending at the middle. No glyph was like the other, only baring the same disturbing ingredient. My system flickered to life, analyzing the strange shapes earnestly.

“What is that?”

A frown tugged at my lips at the hushed tone of Hayden’s voice. Drawing his head back and forth, his natural dark brown eyes melted away to red. He as well as Charlie and Chris were doing the same thing, searching to find the origination of the text, but nothing pulled.

“Arabic maybe?” Chris guessed.

“No,” I sighed, “it’s not the right positions.”

“Any ideas, Michael?”

Looking gruff and focused, Michael entered the room with his arms crossed. His green eyes caught mine briefly before lifting to the travesty above us. We watched him, letting silence reign in the room again. Annoyance turned his lips downward, and he shook his head.