Page 8 of Eldritch

Good. At least they see it. Or you’d be crazy.

Droplets of water fell from the heavy clouds above. Thunder rumbled.

“Crap,” Letisha said. “We’d better go inside. It’s gonna rain.”

Sybil looked up at the clouds behind the house. They were building rapidly. “That’s weird. It’s the wrong time of year for thunderstorms.”

“Well, in Hogwarts, anything is possible, right?” Letisha asked.

“We still need to call the cops. I’m not going in there until we find out if someone is squatting there,” Pauline said.

Sybil asked, “Can someone find Maria? We don’t want her out there alone if there’s someone in the house that isn’t supposed to be here.”

“I’ll go,” Pauline took off at a trot.

Right then, the clouds let loose. Letisha and Sybil hopped back in the van, and Letisha drove it close to the porch overhang. Lightning was followed by instant loud thunder.

Sybil didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the key out of her waist pack and exited the van. She headed for the big double wooden doors. She reached for the doorknob and inserted the key.

“Wait.” Letisha stepped up close. “I thought you said we aren’t going in there?”

“You can stay here. I’ll go in.”

“Are you crazy?”

Sybil threw her a smile. “So it’s been said.”

With that, Sybil inserted the key and opened the door.

Chapter Two

“No.” Letisha sounded desperate as she followed Sybil into the house. “This isn’t a good idea. I hate to quote a movie cliché, but the black chick always gets it first.”

Sybil exchanged a smile with Letisha. “No, you’re too tough for that.”

Letisha smirked. “I flunked physical education, remember?”

Light streamed inside from the open doorway and a skylight above in the octagon-shaped foyer. Dust motes floated in the air. Sybil noted the beautiful parquet flooring that had been dulled a little by time and dirt. She couldn’t wait to see it restored to its former glory.

“Oh, my God.” Letisha seemed to have lost a little of her fear. She stepped past Sybil. “Look at these portraits.”

On each side of the octagon there was an enormous portrait of a person dressed in vintage clothing. Sybil took a step toward the one Letisha stared at. It appeared as fresh as if someone had painted it yesterday. Based on the woman’s dress, Sybil knew the era was from the 1890s.

Sybil stepped closer and peered at the woman’s blonde pompadour hairdo and startling blue eyes. “Wow, look at her eyes. They’re the icy keen eyes of a Siberian husky.”

Letisha snorted. “That’s what every woman wants to hear. That she looks like a dog.”

“No.” Sybil laughed. “That isn’t what I mean, and you know it.”

Sybil continued to stare at the portrait. The woman’s necklace caught her attention, and Sybil peered closer at what dangled at the end of the necklace. A silvery depiction of an octopus or other multi-legged creature.

What the actual hell?

She noted a large mirror next to the portrait and glimpsed herself. Dark brown eyes wide. Almost-black hair tousled by wind and rain. She smiled. A lunatic’s smile.

Sybil jerked back with a start.

“Sybil! Come on!” Letisha’s voice sounded so close Sybil jumped again, but when she turned and looked around, Letisha wasn’t there. The wind howled outside, and Sybil realized she’d been standing in the foyer forever. At least it seemed like forever. She closed the front door. Nothing like letting all the weather inside.

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