The Curse of House Corbant by Patrick Luther

Author:Patrick Luther
Format: epub

10. The One That Dwells Below

Ally’s heart pounded in her chest. Sam would undoubtedly try to stop her the moment he realized what she was up to. Still, for the sake of her sister, she couldn’t let him. However, she felt Sam’s presence the moment her bedroom door clicked shut behind her. Asshole must have been waiting for it.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the shadow man standing at the end of the hallway, his silhouette outlined by the moonlight streaming through the window behind it. Despite the chill it sent down her back, she turned towards the foyer and began her trek.

Keeping her eye on the shadow man, Ally crept down the hall to the foyer. She then made her way down the stairs as cautiously as she could. After the events of this morning, if she were caught outside of her room, especially this late at night, it would be disastrous. Thankfully, the stairs did nothing to betray her presence. As she neared the bottom, she hesitated for a moment. Would Sam go so far as to wake her mother? It was a chance she had to take. Every second Sam was allowed to influence Cassie was dangerous.

As she reached the floor, Ally glanced around and saw the shadow man again, this time standing on the opposite landing of the stairs she had come down. Once again, the moonlight through the window brought his shape into sharp relief. Bastard wants me to know he’s there. Undaunted, Ally entered the hallway beneath the stairs. Just as she was reaching the music room door, it burst open.

Ally threw a hand up to stifle a scream as a little blonde girl ran out, giggling. Her flesh was blackened and charred, and she was accompanied by the nauseating scent of burnt flesh. The little girl ignored Ally, opened the door to the dining hall, and slipped inside with another giggle, leaving nothing but her smell behind. Ally had never smelled anything so horrific in her life. That was my aunt. Crysania. She burned to death. Ally pictured the story on her whiteboard, having read and reread it countless times over the past week.

Trying not to retch, Ally passed the music room to the next door on the left: the storage room. Inside she would find the entrance to the cellar. She tried the knob but found it locked. “Dammit!” she whispered. Forgot about that. Thankfully, one of the keys was in the laundry room nearby. Ally turned around but paused at the sight of the kitchen door hanging slightly ajar. An invitation—or a distraction? Either way, she wanted no part of it.

Ignoring the door, Ally made her way further down the hallway to the last door on the right. The laundry room was possibly the plainest room in the house. It was the same as any other laundry room except perhaps for the laundry chute, which extended to all three levels, from the unused servants’ quarters on the third floor and past her parents’ room on the second.

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