Page 29 of An Invocation of Monsters

Had they known?

How could they possibly know?

“It was probably a lot to take in,” Kase said gently, still not meeting my eyes. “You… you should rest.”

I nodded mutely, continuing up the stairs past them. I heard them whispering together before I was out of earshot, my skin feeling clammy and cold.

They hadn’t been worried at all when I vanished because they knew I was no longer there. No longer on Earth.

Monsters and another world… I was beginning to understand why my mother had kept this a secret her entire life. My father would’ve had her committed if she’d ever said a word of it.

But these people knew far, far more than they were letting on. I was tired of mysteries, and everyone in the Wendigo Society was clearly lying.

I had to dig to the bottom of this before I drowned in it all.

9

Elle

After a quick shower, I went wandering around the Lodge, trying to meander my way out of my own tangled thoughts about the people here.

The meandering was also an exercise in intel, finding corridors framed with dusty old photos, snapping photos on occasion when one stood out.

Several were labeled with engraved brass plaques. A blurry, sepia-toned photograph was framed in pride of place in a seemingly forgotten parlor covered with a thick layer of dust.

But the photo showed several grinning girls in their very early teens, with ribbons in their hair. They sat on a stone wall, and when I leaned in closer, I recognized a knotted oak behind them.

This picture was from the ghost town in the forest. I could just make out the edges of one of the ruins to the left.

The names on the plaque read Marie, Sophie, and Tessa. I frowned, a bell clanging faintly in my memory, but I’d never heard of these people before, as far as I knew.

The girl in the middle, Sophie, wore a Ouija board planchette on a string around her neck. There was something about her smile that was sly and knowing compared to the other two girls.

I snapped a photo of the picture, and then one of the plaque, before continuing on.

It wasn’t until I’d made it to the third floor that I met another person, and it was less of a meeting and more of a running into someone face-first.

“Oof.” I braced myself, grabbing the other person to haul them upright, and realized I’d just about bowled over one of the Lodge owners.

Joseph brushed himself off, smiling at me. “Where are you going in such a hurry, Elle?”

His tone immediately made me bristle, a strange and irritating combination of patronizing kindness and knowingness.

Did he know about the other world?

“I’m just exploring the premises.” I held up my camera with a faint smile of my own. “There’s so much history here. I was hoping to run into you, actually—are there any history books on the area?”

Joseph paused, staring at me in the dim half-light of the corridor. “Why, I can do you one better,” he said slowly, still brushing dust off his pristine collar. “You would find quite a few historicals in the general library catalogue here. But… we maintain a particular library for members of the Society.”

My breath caught in my throat. It was like pulling teeth to get these people to admit that the Wendigo Society existed, even though the signs of them were all over the damn property.

Joseph finally stopped scrubbing at his shirt, staring into middle-space. “Yes… yes. You are Gillian’s daughter. It’s only right that I show you.”

I tried not to let my eagerness show, afraid I’d drive him off. And, allowing myself to be a little manipulative, I decided to pull on his heartstrings. From the moment I’d met him, Joseph seemed to have a particular fondness for my mother.

“I would really appreciate it. I’ve been trying to find out as much as I can, but… my father was never really into this sort of thing. She couldn’t keep anything at our house, and I feel like I need to get to know this side of her.”

Joseph glanced at me. “Your father? Oh, indeed, Benjamin. Yes, he was not… well, he was not meant for the Lodge, that’s for certain. Come with me. All of Gillian’s effects now belong to you, regardless.”

---