Page 46 of The Curse of Redwood
He dragged me from the room and slammed the door behind us. There was aclick, like the door locked. “Do not go in there again. Do you hear me?”
“W-Why? Someone was in the wardrobe.”
“No one was in there,” he said, clenching his jaw.
“Yes there was,” I argued, knowing I didn’t imagine the voice. “I thought it was William, but—”
“It wasn’t William,” Z interjected.
I went to say something else, and he put a finger to my lips. That’s when I heard it from the other side of the closed door. Breathing. Like someone had their face right up against the wood.
Without saying a word, Z gripped my elbow and led me away from the room. William popped his head out from the doorway ahead of us. Chills spread all through me: it really hadn’t been him in that wardrobe. So who had it been?
“We can play more tomorrow.” William fell in beside us, taking hold of my other hand and swinging our arms between us as we walked. He lost interest once we were back in the parlor and ran from the room.
A second set of steps joined him in the hall. Probably Rose.
“Are you going to tell me what that was about?” I asked Z, once we were alone again.
“I warned you Redwood was dangerous,” he responded, resting a hand on the mantel above the fireplace as he stared at the silent clock. Time was frozen, just like everything else in the manor. “Spirits are stronger at night, which is why I ask you to leave at sunset, but that doesn’t mean they’re harmless during the day. The woman in that room…” He paused and dropped his head to look at the floor. “If you can even call her a woman. She’s someone I never want you to meet.”
“Why?”
“Must I spell it out for you?” Z flashed to the spot right in front of me. “Not every spirit is like me or William. Not all of us keep the humanity we had while living. Death changes some of us. Twists the soul. Turns it dark.”
“Like Lady Death?”
“Yes. However, unlike Lady Death, the spirit in that wardrobe is pure evil. She isn’t just an omen of death like Elizabeth. She is wicked and malicious. She thrives off fear. I keep her locked in that room for a reason.”
“Would she have hurt me if I opened the wardrobe?” I asked, feeling a little faint. I sat on the couch and tried to get my head to stop spinning.
Z sat beside me. “I dread even considering what she would’ve done to you.”
“That makes me feel so much better. Really.” I heavily sighed and rested my head on the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
“Not every death in this mansion has been caused by the curse,” he said. “One family who lived here had a young daughter who lived in that room. The spirit lured her into the wardrobe, and the family found her corpse the next day, her bloodshot eyes wide with fright even in death. Scratch marks covered her entire body.”
“Scratches?” I asked.
“Caused by long, sharp fingernails.”
I shuddered and moved closer to him. “Okay. You don’t have to tell me twice. I won’t go in there again. Is there any other room I should avoid?”
“Never go to the third floor,” he responded. “And do not wander around on the second, unless I’m with you.”
“Got it.” I swallowed the tightness in my throat and flashed a nervous smile. “You probably should have told me all this before now.”
He didn’t look amused by my statement. “I distinctly remember warning you about a lot in the beginning. You chose to ignore me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “I’ve never been good at following directions. Call me a rebel.”
“A rebel?” Z ran his finger down the three studs I wore in my left ear. “Is that why you’ve done this to your beautiful body?”
“Hey, I thought you liked my piercings.”
“Oh, I do.” He closed the small gap between our legs and moved his hand to my upper thigh. My heartrate spiked with that one simple touch. “I’m especially fond of the one right here.” He leaned over and kissed my lip ring.
“Keep doing that, and we’ll need to put a sock on the door,” I said, breathing a little heavier.
