Page 25 of Queens Will Play

Menolly hesitated. “Can you ask me in by name?”

“Oh! I forgot! Of course,” Marion said. “Menolly, come in.”

I glanced at my phone. It was 1:45. Fifteen minutes until the activity usually seemed to start. “We should get ready. Is Douglas asleep?”

Marion shook her head. “No, he’s actually in the kitchen, making coffee.” She sounded nervous.

“It’ll be okay,” Delilah said, trying to comfort her.

“I’m worried that with the extra activity tonight, whatever it is won’t show.” She led us into the bedroom. The lights were off, and the energy felt thick. “I’m wearing the neck guard I told you about, but I’m worried it will try something new. So, what should we do?”

“Why don’t you get in bed as usual. I’ll curl up in the chair here. Menolly, can you hover in the corner? Delilah, you and Trillian wait outside the door and come in when I call to you.” We didn’t want to overwhelm whatever it was.

“All right,” Delilah said, and she and Trillian withdrew from the room.

Menolly sat cross-legged on the floor and hovered up till she was near the ceiling, hidden in the shadows of the dark room.

I curled up in the oversized chair in the corner while Marion slid under the covers and closed her eyes. Of course, there was also the possibility that whatever it was wouldn’t show up, now that we were here, but I had the feeling that it wasn’t necessarily that intelligent. Or maybe it was like an energy footprint, a reenactment of something that had happened either in the house or nearby. Whatever the case, I was ready, with my phone camera and one of my daggers that was enchanted against the undead. We’d had to fight more than our share of zombies and ghosts over the years.

I waited, patiently watching the bed so that I could jump to help the moment I spotted trouble. Ten minutes passed, and ten more. By two-ten I wondered if whatever it was, was going to show. But the next moment the room felt heavy—like my breath was being stolen away. I stiffened, watching Marion.

Within seconds, she began to fight off something near her throat—and tonight she was awake, so she noticed immediately. I rushed to her side trying to ascertain what was attacking her, but the moment I reached the side of the bed something hard hit me, like a muscled tentacle, knocking me backward onto my butt. I couldn’t see anything, but I sure as hell felt it. I rolled aside and came up on my feet, pulling my dagger out. But I couldn’t see anything to attack.

Marion was rolling on the bed, grappling at her throat and Menolly was holding onto something invisible, trying to drag it away.

“Get in here!” I shouted, and the door burst open, Delilah and Trillian spilling in. Douglas was behind them, a worried look on his face.

I jumped on the bed again, struggling to help Menolly. My hands landed on something that felt solid, like a thick, slick arm, and I dug into it with my nails, trying to startle it into letting go, but it constricted tighter beneath my fingers.

Delilah was staring at the bed as Trillian landed on the other side of Marion and began reaching around. He stopped short, his hands above her head.

“There’s something here,” he said, looking like a mime. I reached up with one hand to feel a smooth, bulbous form under my hands. Menolly continued to try to pry Marion out of the arms of the creature. If it even had arms.

Marion gasped as Delilah turned on the lights. The moment they flickered on, a sudden hush flooded the room. Whatever it was, seemed to swoosh past us. The energy lightened. I sighed, relieved as Marion struggled to sit up. She removed the plastic neck brace, panting, her eyes wide.

After a moment, she said, “Well, I needn’t have worried. It showed up.”

“Are you all right? Did it hurt you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “The plastic guard kept it from squeezing in on my flesh. But it’s strong—it was shaking me like crazy. I’ve got a backache from it.”

I turned to Delilah. “Could you see anything? A spirit?”

Delilah was pale. She shook her head. “No, in fact, I didn’t sense anything ghostly about it.”

“I felt…it felt like some sort of octopus,” I said. “Only less squishy.”

“You don’t think it’s a karsetti demon, do you?” Trillian asked.

I caught my breath. “I hope not. They’re hard to kill.”

“I don’t think it is, and remember—I had a firsthand encounter with one,” Menolly said. “I don’t think we’ve never encountered this before.”

“Marion, did you hear anything? Has it ever said anything to you?” Trillian asked.

She shook her head. “No, not that I noticed. I was too busy trying to fight it off to pay attention.”

“Do you know anything about this house?” I asked.