The Beach Manor (The Complete Series: Books 1-5) by Woods June

Author:Woods, June
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Sadie, Iver, Pru, and Roy stood at the bottom of the grand staircase. Normally, even at night, it could be described as sunny. The warmth of the wood, reflecting the light from thoughtfully placed sconces and chandeliers, practically made it glow. But in this storm, when flashes of lightning created shadows of indeterminate origins, it could easily have doubled for Dracula’s foyer. Pru gazed up to the landing, wondering if a cloaked figure with an Eastern European accent would apparate in the next strobe flash from the windows overlooking them.

“I don’t know about this possible…mystery intruder, but maybe we should come up with a safety plan?” Sadie asked.

Pru nodded.

“Like, if we’re not back at this spot in 30 minutes?” Pru said, trailing off.

When no one chimed in to finish her sentence or offer other suggestions, Sadie shrugged.

“Okay, so we’re a bit limited in terms of workable contingencies,” Sadie said.

“It’s a good idea to have a time limit. Even if we haven’t completed our respective missions, let’s say we meet back here in 30 minutes? And if anyone is missing, we go to the living room and form a search party,” Roy said.

It wasn’t perfect, but they shrugged and set 30-minute timers on their phones. As Iver and Sadie headed up the stairs to the attic, Iver gave a comical little salute and said in a mock-American accent, “no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect.”

Pru and Roy returned the mock salute.

“What did he mean by that?” Roy asked.

“No clue. Maybe…danger is okay except for the part where it’s scary?” Pru said, shrugging. She huffed out a sigh. “Like the prospect of someone else getting hurt.”

Roy and Pru stood watching as Iver and Sadie rounded the corner of the landing.

“Come on. Let’s just get the lights working. Things will feel more manageable then,” Roy said with a frown.

Walking around the left side of the balustrade, he pressed a section of the linenfold paneling on the side of the staircase. It popped open to reveal a door. Beyond the doorway was a black void of ambiguous depth. It could just as easily have been a closet or an oubliette.

Pru turned on her flashlight, illuminating a steep wooden staircase. Roy moved aside to let her go first, and they began their slow and methodical descent.

There was no railing to help keep balance, just rough lime plaster walls. It felt like sandpaper under her hand, so Pru touched it as little as possible, instead, keeping her eyes glued to the steps in front of her. But Pru was so focused on the stairs she completely missed the massive spider web draping down from the ceiling, directly in her path. When she walked into it, her eyes instinctively snapped shut, and she let out a squeak of shock. Her hands came up to her face, and she furiously tried to bat away whatever she’d run into. And then the stair disappeared from under her feet. Within milliseconds she understood she was going to fall to the basement floor, and fall hard.

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