Page 299 of Castings & Curses

The cat continues the charade with a few other rooms in various states of disarray or abandonment, taking me into the other aisle of the mansion. At last, he settles on the bed of one charming, well-kept bedroom overlooking the garden and the forest. The sun’s peeping through white curtains flowing whichever way the breeze blows from the open window. The atmosphere here is cozy and inviting, unlike the rest of the mansion. There’s an adjoining bathroom, and sure enough, the wardrobe’s full of clothes ranging from comfortable to downright dressy.

“A ballgown, really?” I ask the cat.

He closes his eyes in reply. I shake my head and shrug. Well, I could do with a good soak and a different outfit for sure. My white shirt’s muddy and torn to shreds, and my skirt stopped being even halfway decent a long time ago. Into the shower I go!

The cat stays on the bed all the time, making himself at home, and when I return with a fresh black V-neck t-shirt and denim slacks, he purrs.

“Glad we agree. It’s not exactly my style, but it’ll do. So, what next?”

The cat jumps from the bed and scratches at the door. I open it and follow my new guide, only half-astonished that it seems to understand me. This place is weird and wonderful, so much so I almost expect Tomkitty here to talk at this point.

He strolls back to the balcony and down the stairs to an ornate double door with golden handles and gilded frame. I’ve barely touched the handles that both panels open wide into an exquisite reception area. Everywhere my eyes fall, gold and burgundy fight for attention: in the shelves full of leather-bound books and the old-fashioned tapestries, the tattered Persian carpets, and the Louis XIV furnishings half-covered in white sheets. Utterly entranced, I enter the room and examine every inch, not once resisting the foreign impulse to uncover everything as I go.

The light slithering through the dusty windows grows brighter every time I toss a sheet aside, and by the time I am done, I witness the sheer magic of this place. Everything looks spotless, shiny, replenished and almost new, as though my mere presence and actions breathed life into the room.

“How dare you?”

The tone’s ice cold, venomous, sharp as a knife. The spell breaks at once.

I turn to face the woman from earlier. Livid doesn’t even begin to describe her countenance. She looks raving mad. My delighted smile disappears in a flash.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what took over me. But this place—”

“Leave it alone! You got no business being here!” Blondie spits out, her bulging sapphire eyes and entire demeanor altogether too bestial for my comfort.

Without warning, she lunges at me and snatches the sheets from my hands. As she frantically puts them back on every piece of furniture around her, I dodge her and rush back into my room to grab my bag and make it out of the mansion as fast as I can.

“There’s no way I’m staying here one minute more. This chick is crazy as heck...”

I glance at the surrounding forest, remembering the monster lurking somewhere in there; but the adrenaline and anger pumping in my veins won’t let me reconsider. I run towards the undergrowth without a glance back.

Where am I going? I haven’t the foggiest idea, but I’m determined to get as far away from this cursed place as possible. The forest must end at some point, right? I walk in as straight a line as possible, daylight helping me spot the treacherous roots and stones that would otherwise make me fall.

The forest isn’t as scary now; I even stop to take in the beauty of my surroundings. Birds are chirping and bees are buzzing. A small river gurgles somewhere nearby, and the sun shining through the green summer leaves dances with the breeze on the bark of the trunks.

I inhale the scent of moss and soil, losing myself in the simple pleasure of being surrounded by this beautiful nature. What was I even afraid of? The dark, mostly. The beast? A product of my imagination after everything that’s happened last night. A metaphor for the depravities I witnessed. Yeah.

Realization dawns on me then. The birds have stopped singing. The atmosphere has suddenly turned heavy. The hair on my nape raises and prickle, and I hold my breath.

Rustling in the nearby undergrowth makes me start, but when I turn, there’s nothing. The sound comes back from behind me, and I veer again, looking for the fang-heavy snout and the glowing red eyes, my body so alert it aches. Terror overtakes my brain as the rustling continues left and right. I back away from the noise, but there’s nowhere to go.

I’m surrounded.

CHAPTER8

Fear smothersmy brain and I remain there, senseless, paralyzed, terrified. Talk about a deer in the headlights. Why the fuck did I leave this fucking house? There we go. I’m gonna die here and now. And all because of that stupid woman and that stupid party and that horrible, horrible monster.

The rustling intensifies. Someone’s running at me. The beast. Except, it’s coming from everywhere around me, all at once. How is that even possible? My body aches all over from the tension; fear is about to make my head explode. Death by aneurysm would actually be preferable, right? Not ripped apart, torn to shreds, slaughtered like an animal. Sweat drips from my forehead into my eyes. Or are those tears? I’m losing myself in the ruckus approaching from all around. Are there several beasts?

They’re closing in on me. I can hear them grunt, snort, laugh. Wait. Since when do monsters laugh? Or talk?

“Over here!”

I know that voice. I know that face emerging from the undergrowth. It’s the guard, one of those who chased after me yesterday. He’s pointing his gun at me, and is soon joined by the other one, and a third dude I’ve never seen. They’re all armed and ready to fire at me.

“Hello kitty...” the first one purrs, as the second meows sarcastically.

“Good thing we planted a tracker in everyone’s bag, am I right?” says the third asshole.

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