AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What the fuck?!” I rush up to the attic to find Tom cowering in a corner with a sander still in his hand.
“Hey Tom, are you okay?”
“No! Something just tried to choke me!”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I was sanding away, and suddenly, I couldn’t breathe because something was trying to crush my windpipe!”
“Tom, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this. Do you have a history of anxiety?”
Tom shakes his head. “I know what happened. Honestly, man, I’m out. Find someone else to finish the job.”
“Tom, you can’t leave! I- the floors are 95% sanded!”
He places the sander in my good arm. “Finish the last five percent yourself. I can’t do this.” Tom makes his way down the ladder, leaving me shell-shocked with a sander in hand.
On my lunch break, I called Eleanor. “We need to contact Dante.”
“I already made an appointment. He said if we do it on the Winter Solstice, it’ll be extra powerful.”
“Good. We need all the help we can get.”
“And Eleanor?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I believe you. Are you staying at the beachfront Inn?”
“Yeah, why?”
I look around at my desecrated office. “I’ll be there tonight.”
Chapter 19
Eleanor
Icometowitha handful of sand and snow clenched in my fist.
I’m freezing, the bone-chilling cold burrows deep inside and begs for warmth. I’m on the beach, wearing nothing but a nightgown and a pair of thin slippers. My feet slip as I scramble upright.
I see a silhouette in the distance. It’s Iphigenia. I can tell by the angular point of her shoulders and her long silver hair glowing in the moonlight. What the hell is she doing here? My knees creak as I heft myself up.
“Iphigenia!” I call. She doesn’t hear me. She keeps walking at a leisurely pace. The dark ribbon she’s wearing in her hair is absorbing the moonlight. I start to pick up my pace to catch up to her. I don’t know how long I’ve been or how I got here. It’s been a month since I last woke up on the beach.
I thought, perhaps, Beatrix was being kind. I know now that she shows no mercy. I’m jogging to keep up with Iphigenia now, who still won’t acknowledge me despite my pleas. Instead, she turns toward the shore and starts walking into the water.
There are icicles shaped like crested waves all around us. It looks otherworldly. I waddle to keep up with her. My feet turn to icicles once I’m ankle-deep in the water. It’s so cold it’s painful.
Iphigenia’s up to her waist now. She won’t stop no matter how loud I yell. My voice is growing hoarse as I wade deeper and deeper.
Finally, I’m waist-deep, and Iphigenia is just beyond my reach. The waves move with such force I’m almost pulled back, but I stand my ground. I reach out and grasp her shoulder.
She turns.
It’s not Iphigenia.
It’s Beatrix.
