I stopped at the top of the stairs, and she paused a couple of steps below me.
“What’s wrong?” I held my arms close to my sides, praying sweat hadn’t stained my sleeves.
“I…I need to speak with you and Wilson whenever you are free. Maybe sometime this afternoon? Talk about next steps.” She tilted her head up to meet my gaze, exposing her delicate neck. An image flashed across my mind, one of me pressing my mouth to her drumming pulse right underneath her jaw.
I nodded numbly. “One o’clock works?”
“One’s perfect.”
“Good.” I lingered, waiting for whatever words were still hanging between us. “Well…is that all?”
“That’s all.” She stepped down one step, ready to return to the dining room.
There was a lump in my throat; I had no success in swallowing it. I didn’t know what I wanted to say. Or for her to say to me. So, I escaped to my room down the hall in silence, shutting the door behind me and pressing my forehead against the wood.
Think, think.
What was the average time of exorcising a demon? Were there success statistics for stuff like this? Had I done something to deserve this…?
Did Rae seem a bit off?
My thoughts swarmed, reaching for answers that may never solidify. I needed to know everything. And I would learn as much as I could before the team left us in case something like this happened again.
Next time I’d be able to defend myself.
A knock on my door made me yank my head back. The abrupt vibration sent an icy chill across my skin. Maybe it was Rae? Maybe she’d come back to smooth out the jagged edge we’d left out on. An embarrassing glow of hope blossomed inside my chest. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
An empty hall greeted me, bits of morning light spilling onto the hardwood floor, thanks to the parted curtains. The stairs creaked. Oli cleared them, glancing down the hall at me standing like a weirdo in my entryway.
“All good?” he asked, brow worried at how anxiety pulled my mouth down.
“Did you…did you see anyone out here?” I peeked my head out further, looking at both sides of my door as if someone might have been hiding in the corner without my knowledge.
He frowned but looked around to be sure. “Nope. Just me.”
“I thought I heard someone knock on the door.” No, I knew. And if Rae had taught me anything, it was that trusting your gut would always be the right play.
Oli shrugged and looked around once more. “Maybe it was a ghost.”
His smile vanished as soon as he saw my immediate frown.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out when something moved behind Oli. His shadow stretched against the floral wallpaper, arms extending while his body remained still.
“Octavia?” Oli’s voice dipped, uncomfortable by my wide eyes and stony silence.
The shadow crept across the wall behind him, its shape unstable, morphing into something larger and sharper. I reached for my neck, protecting the bruise that pulsed as if warning me of impending doom.
“You need to get Rae for me,” I told him, trying to keep my voice calm, though my body trembled too much to avoid the sound of shaking.
“I’m sorry?” Oli frowned and didn’t move from his place atop the staircase. The mirror hanging on the wall revealed a glimpse of the shadow creature. Much like the demon near the elm tree, this thing didn’t have a full form. It was a black cloud that almost looked humanoid. A slab of clay, unmolded, barely touched, but somehow finished. Somehow strong.
The part that should havebeen a head turned to me. In the space where its eyes should have been, a sunken hole provided a piercing stare.
“You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?” it taunted, its laugh deep, shaking the floor and walls. “That I’d be done with you if you left?”
“Octavia?” Oli asked. “I’m sorry, is Rae one of the people downstairs with your brother? You may have to point them out to me.”
