The Demon's Grave (22 page)

The lantern was flung over my head as I toppled backwards.

Shrieking my butt hit part of the mysterious bubble behind me and I slid down the slope onto my back. The lantern’s glass shattered a few feet above my head and darkness shrouded the kitchen. My feet were propped up on the rounded object, my shoulders on the floor.

As the initial shock subsided, I groaned. The developing bruises from the books reminded me of their presence.

“Jesus, Nora,” Read chuckled.

“What happened? Are you guys okay?” Aidan called from the dining room.

“Yeah, just a sec dude,” Read shouted back. “Just have to pick up our resident klutz…‌” After a heartbeat he added, “…‌again.”

“Shut up, Read.” I wriggled until my butt hit the linoleum floor.

What else could go wrong?
I felt awkward and embarrassed. I had my clumsy moments, but this was becoming ridiculous.

Swinging my legs, Read grabbed my arm and his hand squeezed.

“But a cute klutz, right?” I tried to tease.

“Always,” Read said and started to pull me up when he paused. “Nora, stand up.”

Through the window’s curtains a dim light began to wax, like the moon was emerging from the clouds. I could see enough to make out the overturned cauldron.

“Holy shit!” I spat, grabbing wildly for the counter. If it wasn’t for Read’s grip on my arm I might have fallen again. There wasn’t much hope that Read would be able to lift me. He wasn’t the strong-type, he was‌—‌as he often boasted to anger Phoebe‌—‌an endurance-type. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wonder if this were true or not.

“Guys?” Aidan called.

Read eased his grip on my arm before letting me go. “Yeah, so, let’s get another rag and…‌”

Water spilling over the counter, onto the floor stopped him cold. I hadn’t turned off the faucet.

With the help of the island I hopped over the large pot, avoiding the goo and fumbled for another towel. The water from the tap wasn’t green‌—‌according to the moonlight‌—‌and I soaked the towel through.

“Guys?” Aidan repeated, his voice strained.

I turned off the tap but the water kept spewing. Twisting it in the opposite direction didn’t seem to help either. The water flowed unhindered, it neither increased nor decreased in pressure.

“Just leave it,” Read whispered.

“Guys!” Aidan called more sharply.

Dancing back to avoid the water that snaked along the linoleum, I made it around the island with Read following close.

“Guys, there’s something you should see,” Aidan insisted.

Read darted into the dining room in three steps.

I wrung out the towel as best as I could and hurried behind Read.

There was nothing out of the usual at first glance. Aidan was twisted in his chair to look behind with his leg still extended toward us. “This probably isn’t a good thing,” Aidan said, not looking back.

Slapping the wet dish towel onto the table I slowed my step.
Did I really want to see this?

Gripping the back of Aidan’s chair I stretched to see past him.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the extra light from the candles. I froze as I could make out the outline of a plump body on the floor.

It was an old woman from what I could tell. Lying face down, she was dressed in a dark cloak, her long, greasy, white hair splayed around her matted skull like a batch of snakes. When Read had pushed me back to help Aidan into the chair, she would have been a mere foot away from my sneakers.

Aidan stood up on his own using the table for support. “Do you recognize that person?”

“No. You?” I lowered my voice along with his. “Read?”

Read shook his head. “Why is she here?”

I motioned to the kitchen where we had left the cauldron. “She’s a witch,” I said.

“A
witch
?” Aidan cried, he wasn’t whispering anymore. “Considering she’s dead, she can’t be a bad one.”

To the corpse Read asked, “Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?”

“Read,” I rolled my eyes.

Aidan opened his mouth to say something then seemed to change his mind.

Read gestured to Aidan and me. “We have to clean out your leg before anything spontaneous happens.”

I took one step and felt the carpet squish under my sneaker, sounding soggy and wet. We all looked down to see the carpet was soaked. The water had already seeped into the dining room.

“That’s impossible,” Read cried,” it would take a couple of hours for that little sink to flood the dining room.”

Aidan hobbled in a half turn. “If time doesn’t exist here, why should physics?”

Taking the towel from the table, I ordered Aidan to sit back down. “Bring your leg up so I can see. We have to be fast.”

Dropping into the high-backed chair he propped his foot up on the table. “Shouldn’t we be getting out of here?”

“We might not get a second chance to clean this,” I replied and dabbed at the scrape with the towel, not concerned with hurting him anymore. The important thing was to get him able to run and at least prolong an infection.

“Read?” I asked, not looking up, “is there a way out other than that stupid window?”

Aidan leaned forward carefully and ripped the exposed threads near the hole, making it bigger for me to see. His thigh had taken the brunt of the fall. I was no doctor, but it almost seemed deep enough to need stitches.

With shaky hands, I picked out glistening chunks of glass, rock and clumps of dirt while Read paced the two rooms, kicking up the water as it rose high enough to squish water between my toes in socks.

When I was finished I turned the dish towel around and put the clean side to his skin.

The water was warm around my ankles.

I fumbled in tying the towel around Aidan’s leg. During my third failed attempt, Aidan stole the cloth and tied it expertly into a knot. “Spent a year on a yacht,” he answered my expression.

Rolling my eyes, I snapped. “Could have told me instead of watched me.” I wasn’t really angry at him, but the demand to get out was weighing heavier.

Snatching Aidan’s wrist, I jerked him hard to his feet. The water had almost reached my knees, churning and swirling faster around my legs.

We trudged through the water, encumbered by the new current. Long, slow strides led us to the doorway and into the kitchen. Read grabbed my wrist leading the way. I reached back and took Aidan’s cool hand. By the time we reached the doorway, the water had risen half-way up my thighs.

Read gestured to the window just above the sink. “That’s the only possible exit.”

The curtains were opened wide enough to reveal the jagged glass, like someone had thrown a rock through it.

“There wasn’t any glass on the floor when we had been in here before,” Read said, gritting his teeth as he fought for another step, “I think it was broken from the inside.”

A chill ran down my back, or maybe it was sweat. “We’d have heard it break,” I protested.

Read tugged on my wrist. “It’s the only way we can go.”

He was right; we’d have to risk it. I gave him an apologetic wince and we battled the flood.

Making our way around the island, I pushed Aidan toward the window. Terrifying images of someone grabbing my ankles in the deepening water plagued my imagination, but I didn’t want him lagging behind.

Aidan looked back at me, eyebrows pinched. “You should go first.”

“Go,” I insisted with enough authority to make him step closer to the sink. Despite my previous animosity, I’d feel pretty damn bad if he were swept away in the water.

“Yeah, you two argue,” Read said then climbed onto the cupboard as if to finish his sentence with,
While I do something smart and get out of here
. With a cast-iron pan he knocked out the last loose bits of glass. Upon closer inspection I could see blood on one of the jagged little pieces reflect in the moonlight.

Read eased through the window, careful not to cut himself. His shirt rode up to his armpits while he escaped feet first. If the water around my hips wasn’t so distracting, I might have paid attention to that.

I struggled to stay upright as an undercurrent picked at my ankles, pulling my feet up whenever I wasn’t focused.

Read turned back around to help Aidan through.

“Just go!” I shouted at his second glance back.

With the water around my waist we didn’t have time to play the polite game. Standing was becoming a pain. I stumbled, gripping the cupboard to keep from drifting. Part of me wanted to let go and float‌—‌see where the strange river would take me‌—‌though I knew it would separate us and I’d be in the same predicament as Phoebe, Robin, and Cody.

Aidan pushed himself up onto the cupboard, wobbling before sitting at the edge of the counter. His legs kicked at the clutter of dishes and pans in the kitchen sink.

Read beckoned Aidan forward. “Put your feet through,” he instructed. It felt like forever, though it probably lasted less than a minute for Read to help Aidan slide out without any injures. They tried to avoid dragging him against the edge, which still sheltered a few rogue shards.

The water slapped against my stomach.

I was beginning to lose my footing. The current was able to lift my left foot completely off the floor and it took all my balance and stubbornness to get it back down. As I gripped the flat kitchen counter, my fingers cramped, desperate for something with more purchase.

“Alright, quick Nora!” Aidan reached his arms through the window for me.

Eager, I let go of the counter, aiming to snatch his hands.

Our fingers brushed when the current yanked my feet behind me.

Pitching forward, I screamed but it was cut short and I gargled water instead.

Feeling a hard floor at my back, I wheezed a harsh breath and opened my eyes.

The ceiling above my head had vaulted upward with cracks allowing in fresh air.

No water, no kitchen, no fear.

Glancing to the window I saw the moonlight had faded. I wanted to sit up, but couldn’t bring myself to move. The beauty of being safe was something to savor.

I took a deep breath. The air moved my chest up and down. What a relief. I took another and another until my hand touched one of the chairs sitting back to back in the circular room.

I had thought it was a dream. How could I have forgotten when the spiders were attacking? I was here before. Was this all a dream? A hallucination? Where was everyone?

“Phoebe?” I whispered. “Read?”

Dead air shattered under my voice and when my ears stopped ringing, no one had answered. “Cody? Robin?” I turned my head into the chair, my forehead bouncing off the wood and I winced.

“You ask for everyone but one,” the mellifluous voice echoed in my ears but my eyes wouldn’t adjust to see him.

Blinking several times I realized he was a shadow, pacing the wall near my feet. His broad shoulders hunched and hands clasped behind his back with his head tilted down. From the angle, he could have been watching me.

“Where am I?” I asked.

The pacing stopped and he straightened slowly. “You don’t know?”

If I didn’t know better, it sounded as though Damien were smiling.

* * *

Warm water assaulted my mouth and nose, striking through my sinuses like twin daggers.

I clawed at the water to reach the surface. One of the currents shoved me against the island shooting pain through my bruised back.

Instinct took over and I shouted in bubbles. I clawed at water as if it were a mountainside or a tree.

It wasn’t until after my gurgled scream that I realized all my air was gone. With a jolt of panic I planted my shoes against the island.

Pushing off with all my strength, I aimed for the window, praying to break the surface.

Stretching my fingers, I strained to feel Aidan’s hands. I could see his watery, warped face above; see him reaching for me.

As my feet found the island to push off, a second current shoved me back. I skidded over the island as the water’s flow flushed me away from the kitchen.

Kicking and swinging my arms, I tried to find the surface.

Panic heated within my chest, my lungs were starting to ache, my throat convulsing for something,
anything
. It took all my concentration to not take a breath.

One frantic kick landed something solid beneath my foot. Pushing off, I rose. My muscles leaked of energy with each labored stroke.

My fingers broke the surface first. I don’t think I could rise fast enough before my head broke free. I took a shrieking breath. My lungs felt as if they’d been caved in. My arms wind-milled for something to grip.

I didn’t want to go under again, but I had to get to the window.

Taking another greedy breath, which still didn’t feel like enough, I twisted until I realized I wasn’t in the kitchen anymore. The undercurrent had swept me into the dining room. The water was over my head. The archway to the kitchen was almost submerged.

My flailing arms eventually caught the top of the china cabinet. My fingers cramping to hold on. My sneakers flattened against the wall, preparing myself for another swim. Several breaths and heartbeats passed before I found a smidgen of courage to try again.

Aim for the archway,
I thought.
One thing at a time.

With that, I bent my knees for a leap off the wall.

It was now or never.

Jumping to bypass some of the water, I landed a foot away from the archway. Pushing hard, I used the burning muscles until my hands grabbed the doorway. Another rush of water attempted to knock me back.

As I gripped the wall, my arms and legs strained and ached.

All I wanted to do was stop but I didn’t want to deal with the consequences. The window was my only way out.

Somewhere far away, I heard what could have been my name but it was muffled.

I immediately thought of Damien.
You shouldn’t be here, Nora
.

The water should have been flowing out of the window by now but it kept rising to crush me against the ceiling.

Dragging myself through the doorway, I crawled until I was rolling against the wall of the kitchen. I tried to find the next place to jump before the current snagged me again.