Page 28 of Things Get Dark

“This should help prevent swelling,” he explained as he tipped the ice into the towel, wrapped it tightly, and pressed it against my hand.

I couldn’t help the pained gasp that escaped me then. So much for being brave.

The harlequin lifted his eyes to mine. It was hard to read his expression beneath the makeup, but the angle gave him a puppy-dog vibe. A slightly scary, clown-esque puppy. “I’m sorry about ruining your date, uh… I just realised I don’t know your name.”

“Hazel.”

“Like the flower? Suits your costume. Witch Hazel.” His painted smile widened. “I’m Nox.”

“Nice to meet you. And it’s cool about the date thing. You were doing your job, and honestly, it was a lost cause way before yousnuck up on me. If anything, you saved it by giving me another scare he couldn’t ruin.”

“Well then, in that case, you’re welcome.” He chuckled. “That was a wicked punch you gave him, by the way. I know it was meant for me, so I shouldn’t enjoy it too much, but it was still impressive.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I think it was some kind of gut-instinct thing.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He winked at me, then lifted the ice pack to check on my knuckles. “Not the first time someone’s swung for me and missed.”

“Guess I’ll have to try harder next time,” I joked.

Nox reapplied the ice, sandwiching my hand and the pack firmly between his warm hands and squeezing my fingers a little. “Maybe practise on a pillow or something first. Something squishy.”

“Good advice. Not nearly as much fun, though.”

A laugh bubbled out of him. Not a creepyI’m going to chase you with a chainsawlaugh that I’d heard the other actors make tonight. This laugh seemed genuinely joyful, and it warmed something in my heart to hear it.

“You’re not what I expected, Witch Hazel,” he admitted as his laughter died down. “Tell me, what do you know about Treglyn Manor?”

“Only what I remember from school.”

Nox raised a black eyebrow and waved his hand for me to continue. Suddenly under pressure, I quickly racked my brain for lingering knowledge and blurted out what I could remember.

“The pirate captain William Treglyn received a pardon, thanks to his pals in court, and became a lord—lucky guy—then he bought the land with his leftover fortune from piracy, built the house, started ritualistic demon summoning, and dieda gruesome death. His family kept the house through the generations until the line died out around a century ago.”

He let out a low whistle as he removed the ice pack, setting down beside him on the bench. “Very good. But the family didn’t just keep the house, you know. They also kept the demons.” His painted smile widened, eerie in the dim light. “And even without their master present, they remain here, waiting for the souls foolish enough to seek them out.”

A cool wind blew around us, rustling the autumn leaves still clinging to the trees and swirling my cloak around my ankles. I pulled it tighter around myself with my good hand, grateful Lena had insisted I wear it tonight.

As the wind died down, a thought occurred to me, “If the demons have no master, why are they still here?”

Nox leaned in, picking out a leaf caught in my hair. “Know a lot about demons, do you? Well, Lord Treglyn was eccentric, not stupid. He made sure they couldn’t leave the grounds. Not without powerful help.”

“That’s kind of sad.”

“You think so? How interesting…”

Chatter from up the path caught my attention, as a group of a dozen or so people walked towards us from the manor house. No way. Was that the tour group I was supposed to be in? I fucking missed it?!

“That was amazing!”

“No way was that ghost real, babe.”

“I think I peed a little.”

“I’ve never run so hard in my life!”

Pieces of their conversations floated over to me on the wind, my heart sinking further into my stomach with every word.

“Shit. I totally forgot about the tour.” I frowned, not bothering to hide the disappointment. “Guess there’s always next year.”

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