House of Ash and Bone by Joel A. Sutherland

Author:Joel A. Sutherland [Sutherland, Joel A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

PART THREE

THIRTEEN

Early morning sunlight filled the kitchen when Josephine entered. Other than Louisa, who was drinking from a bottle in the family room with her father, her sisters were still upstairs.

“Quick, someone call Guinness,” Mrs. Jagger said. She looked at her watch. “It’s a new world record.”

“It’s, like, eight o’clock,” Josephine said.

“Well, it’s a world record for you.”

Josephine poured herself a glass of orange juice and joined her mother at the table without comment.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mrs. Jagger asked.

“No, I had a great sleep.” It wasn’t a lie. It had been one of the best sleeps she’d ever had without wearing her headphones, and easily the deepest since they’d arrived in Canaan. Her eyes had closed as soon as her head had hit the pillow, and she didn’t think she’d had a single dream all night.

But in a way, that scared her more than any of the nightmares she’d had. Ignorance is bliss, but at what cost? Wasn’t it better to know what Dorcas was up to throughout the night?

Mrs. Jagger smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. You’ve looked tired the past few days. Is everything okay?”

Even though Josephine knew everyone else’s memories were continually resetting, her mother’s innocent question still upset her. She didn’t want to deal with everything on her own. She wanted her mom and her dad to be able to help her—no, more than that; she wanted her parents to take over. She wanted her parents to be, well, parents. She shouldn’t have to be responsible for their safety, and for her sisters’, and yet…here she was.

Josephine briefly considered lying, smiling, saying everything was fine and nothing was troubling her and she didn’t know what her mother was talking about.

Instead, she lowered her gaze and her voice, and said, “It’s this house, Mom. We’re not welcome here.”

“What?” Mrs. Jagger said with a shocked laugh. “What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about?” Josephine had to laugh too. “What am I talking about? Well, let’s see. I’m talking about a witch who used to live here, who built this house. Shit, she was killed in this house.”

Mrs. Jagger reeled as if she’d been slapped, her mouth wide open in shock. Josephine never spoke like that in front of her parents, let alone to them.

Josephine continued without pause. “I’m talking about a witch who still haunts this fucking house, a witch only I can see.”

“Josephine!” her mother said, but Josephine didn’t stop.

“And she’s awful, Mom, like nothing you’ve ever seen, not even in your worst nightmares. Skin like wax, hair like stringy tar, a monstrous smile and empty eye sockets that still look at you, that still see you. But it’s what she wants to do to us that makes her truly awful.”

“Stop it, Josephine.”

“She’s keeping us here on purpose, Mom. She’s keeping us here long enough to kill us or eat us or trap us in the basement walls or turn us all against each other or who knows what else, all in the hope that doing so will resurrect her.

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