Chapter 36

Valerie

Silence swept over the room like a shadow. What once had been a crowd full of loud colloquy and laughter had become a sea of wide eyes and sheer silence. I felt a chill crawl up my spine as I read over their pale, bony faces. They were all looking at Lucas, like he was a monster of sorts.

“Lane?” blurted Marvolo from across the room. “That Lane?” There was a suspicious furrow in his brow, but it quickly sunk away as he tilted his head back and laughed. “No, that’s impossible. I haven’t seen you back in Chelver.”

He was laughing heartily, but no one was joining him. It seemed the rest of them half-believed Lucas’s identity, and it was leaving a striking mark on them, though I didn’t know why. Why were they so scared of Lucas? And what did the Lane name mean to them?

Then the host stepped forward and cleared his throat. “For the sake of the archive, I must know, my guest. Are you…from that Lane family?” His voice was quivering in a way it hadn’t all night. Almost like he was…afr