Page 73 of The Clifftop Cottage

When he hung up, Leah turned back to Maisie, who was sitting on the couch, still clutching the edge of her cape, eyes flickering to the door every few seconds.

Waiting.

Leah clenched her jaw.

She wouldn’t let Maisie wait all night.

Grabbing her car keys, she forced a smile. “Come on, let’s go get Auntie Erica.”

Maisie blinked. “At her house?”

Leah nodded.

The streets were already starting to fill with small groups of children clutching treat buckets as they darted from door to door. A little ghost and a tiny vampire waved as Leah hurried Maisie into the car.

“Come back to ours in an hour!” she called after them before pulling the car into gear.

Maisie sat quietly, the sudden change in plan unsettling her. “Auntie Erica knows she’s taking me, right?”

Leah gripped the steering wheel. “She knows.”

But as they neared the cliffside cottage, dread tightened in her chest.

The house was in darkness.

Leah stopped the car, engine humming against the silence. The wind had picked up, making the nearby trees rustle and sway.

“Stay in the car,” she told Maisie, pushing the driver’s door open.

The gravel crunched under her boots as she strode to the back door, rapping her knuckles against it.

Nothing.

She tried again, harder this time. “Erica?”

Still nothing.

She moved to the front door. Knocked. Waited.

Darkness.

She stepped back, looking up at the windows. Not a single light on.

Going around the side of the house, she peered through the kitchen window, pressing her face to the glass.

Just darkness.

A cold breeze lifted her hair, sending a shiver down her spine.

Where was she?

And then – anger.

A sharp, hot flicker of fury.

How could she do this? Of all nights, how could she let Maisie down?

Jaw tight, Leah turned back to the car.