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Holding the skull necklace in front of him like a protective talisman, he tiptoed toward the closet door. When he got closer, the door rattled again.

Thump.

Something was definitely in there. But what? His heart hammering, he reached for the doorknob and gripped it. He flung open the door.

But the closet was empty.

There was nothing in there.

Just piles of shoes and dirty clothes on the floor, pushed inside to hide them from their mother. He must be hearing things, he decided, breathing a sigh of relief. After all, he’d had a crazy day. He was about to shut the door when his eyes fell on something next to his sneakers, partially buried under a pile of dirty clothes.

“Wh-what is that?” Jamal whispered, scooping it up.

The light from the skull necklace fell over it.

It was a tarot card.

He held the card closer to the skull necklace, which illuminated it with reddish light. The card depicted a twisted, dark figure with long, slim legs and arms that tapered into claws.

A shadow monster.

Just like the ones he kept seeing everywhere. His eyes fixed on the word scrawled in ornate script.

Death

The skull necklace flared even brighter. This was Dr. Facilier’s work. The card looked exactly like the ones he’d used to read Jamal’s future.

But how had it gotten into his closet?

That was impossible. His heart pounding like it might jump out of his chest, Jamal dropped the card and slammed the cl

oset door shut. He stood there, staring at it in shock.

Thump.

The closet door rattled.

“N-no, leave me alone!” Jamal cried, backing away. He tasted metal on his tongue, which only happened when he was really afraid.

Then the death card slid under the closet door. It landed right by his foot. The shadow monster’s eyes stared at him. They lit up and started glowing with reddish light.

Then the monster moved.

It cracked open its jaws, exposing rows of jagged sharp teeth like a shark’s.

It snapped at Jamal’s foot.

“No, get away,” he said, kicking at the card.

But more tarot cards started shooting out from under the closet door, pelting him. He bolted from the bedroom and slammed the door, hoping he was safe. He breathed a sigh of relief.

It worked.

But then…Thump.

The bedroom door rattled, making him jump back. The cards started shooting out at him. He fled down the hallway, but as he ran past each door, more cards shot out from under them.

He had to get out of the house.