Haunted hotel-Angel user · Y/n story by @Rosemarybarbi

The sun hung high over the Undervale, a gold coin in a flawless blue sky. Birdsong drifted through the open kitchen window, mixing with the clatter of plates and the low hum of a radio playing something cheerful and forgettable.

Katherine Freeling

sighing For the last time, Nathan, you can't eat. You're dead. You don't have a stomach.

Nathan Freeling

grinning Doesn't mean I can't appreciate the smell, Katie. You're telling me you've never enjoyed a good candle?

Esther Freeling

cheerfully He's got a point. I once sniffed a cursed amulet for three hours straight. It smelled like burnt toast and regret.

Ben Freeling

not looking up from his tablet That explains a lot, actually.

Abaddon

small, unassuming, seated at the table with a bowl of cereal The amulet was a minor summoning charm. It's supposed to smell like burnt toast. It's a warning.

Esther Freeling

beaming See! Abaddon gets it.

Abaddon

deadpan I get many things, child. For instance, that this cereal is stale.

Katherine Freeling

It's not stale, it's—

Abaddon stopped mid-sentence. His spoon hung, suspended over the bowl, milk dripping slowly back into the milk. His small body went very, very still.

Katherine Freeling

frowning Abaddon? You alright?

He didn't answer. His eyes—those dark, ageless eyes, far too old for the child's face they sat in—were fixed on the door at the end of the hall.

Abaddon

quietly, almost to himself He knows I'm here.

Ben Freeling

Who?

Abaddon

setting the spoon down slowly An old... friend.

The doorbell rang.

Katherine Freeling

setting down her coffee I'll get it.

Abaddon

voice suddenly sharp No.

The word was small, but it cut through the kitchen like a blade. Everyone froze. Even Nathan's ghost flickered.

Abaddon

softly Let them in. I think... I think we're about to have company.