Strega (Strega Series) by Fernandes Karen Monahan

Author:Fernandes, Karen Monahan [Fernandes, Karen Monahan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Mink Publishing
Published: 2013-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

XXXVI

The hallway floorboards creaked. I jumped back into the secret room and hid behind the doorway. I peeked out but saw nothing. Then I heard another creak, and another. Someone was out there, I was sure. My heart pounded so hard and fast that whoever or whatever it was could surely hear it. I turned off the flashlight, grabbed the fire poker in my hand, and watched vigilantly.

Something flashed across the threshold and disappeared. A moment later, it reappeared. Its face was light brown and black. Its body slinked around the corner and rubbed against the door frame, eventually finding its way to me in the dark room. I sunk to the floor and let her crawl into my lap. She looked familiar. Possibly the neighbor's cat. But she had no collar. As I patted her, I wondered how she got in. She could have snuck in with me when I came in the front door. But I didn't see her, and I slammed the door behind me.

Holding the cat in one arm, I tucked the journal and Mom's book under the other and gripped the fire poker in my hand. However the cat had gotten inside, I hoped she came alone. I stepped out into the hallway and looked for any unwelcomed guests before I headed down the stairs. I left all the lights on behind me. When I approached the front door, the cat hissed and jumped from my arm. I dropped the books, and as I scurried to pick them up, the curious sound of scraping metal caught my ear. I stared at the deadbolt as the bar moved and it unlocked before my eyes. Before I could react, the door flew open and slammed against the wall.

As if a tornado had entered the house, a gust of wind surged in and knocked over the glass vase on the table. I ran into the living room, but before I could hide behind the sofa, a black cloud, thick and swirling, approached and hesitated just inches away from me. It was shapeless, but its aura was definitive. It was dark. Sinister. And it was determined. I held my breath, frozen in terror. In that moment, I wished that I could shrink into a tiny grain of sand and disappear into the floorboards.

To my relief, the dark mass suddenly shifted, continuing down the hallway and drifting up the stairs like billowing smoke. When it was out of sight, I ran for the open doorway. But before I could reach it, something stopped me. It felt like I'd run into a wall. Out of nowhere, the black cloud materialized again in front of me. Swirling and shapeless at first, it soon settled into a gruesome form. A tall figure draped in black. Its face was cloaked, but its skeletal fingers, tipped with long blackened nails, grazed my cheek. I couldn't run. I couldn't move. I was so stiff I could have cracked in half. Then it grasped my throat and I winced.

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