Chapter 31
“We can use what’s left of the candles in the room,” he said as they left the study.
When they exited into the hall, he paused, his gaze on the floor. Small wet footprints led from the study across the foyer to the stairs where they disappeared, blending in with the runner. And the sound of the child’s crying echoed once again. Lily was leading them to where they needed to go.
“Keep going,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
Gripping her arm a little tighter, they started again. It was slow going with her injured ankle, but she was determined.
“And the knife?” she asked.
“You’ll need that, too.” He sounded grim.
As they walked toward the stairs, she started to form a plan. The candles would be lit and ready. She would use the curved knife, slash her palms with the tip, and speak her name. Three times, it said. Three times to free Gabriel from his torment and send Lenore to the spirit world.
And if she failed…she did not want to think about if she failed.
Where the staircase began, a sudden draft stirred, making the foyer candles gutter and flare. They flickered, leaving garish shadows across the walls. In the parlor, the piano played its mournful tune. Somewhere on the second floor, a door slammed. The house groaned.
A shudder passed through her. Cold tendrils danced up her spine.
Lenore knew she was coming.
Hesitation radiated off Gabriel in waves as he stood there in the shadow of the staircase. She turned to him, placed her hand on his arm, and gave him a valiant smile.
“We can do this,” she said.
Worry lines creased the corners of his eyes. He didn’t object. He nodded and together they started up the stairs. She took one step at a time to favor her ankle. He stayed right with her, never faltering. Never letting her go.
At the top, they turned toward the west wing. Victoria inhaled a deep, cleansing breath. To give herself courage. To give herself strength. To tell herself this was the right thing to do. She would banish Lenore and free Gabriel—no matter the cost.
As they started in the direction of the west wing, the house suddenly tilted. A whoosh went through her, sending her stomach into knots, making her feel sick. She stopped walking and leaned heavily into Gabriel. He clutched her to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“What’s…what’s happening?” she murmured.
But Gabriel’s gaze was fixed on the hallway ahead. Fog rose from the floorboards. The chill settled over them, making their breaths crystalize. And then—worst of all—the walls began to crust with ice.
“She knows we’re coming. So does the manor. Neither like it.” His words were soft, as though he hoped not to disturb either of them.
Ahead, small wet footprints appeared on the floor disappearing down the hall.
“Look,” Victoria gasped.
“Lily.” Her name came out on a choked sob.
Then the little girl’s voice, “Hurry.”
Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath. “She’s warping the house.”
Together, they started once again. But the hall stretched unnaturally before them, making her dizzy. Shadows twisted. Doors shifted. She closed her eyes and pressed a hand against her head.
“Gabriel?” she queried.
“We’re almost there.” His voice was tight with emotion.
Victoria stumbled, falling against him. It appeared the walls were moving, the hall was elongating. And somewhere deep inside the west wing, a deep, guttural snarl.
Victoria whimpered, suddenly regretting her decision to banish Lenore. There was some unnatural force at work. Something she had never seen before.
I have called upon all the darkest forces to aid me.
Lenore’s voice rang out. Gabriel flinched and stopped walking as a shudder moved through him. Victoria wrapped her arm around his waist.
“She’s just trying to scare us,” she said.
“And doing a fine job of it,” he muttered.
“We have to keep going,” she said.
As they passed Lily’s bedroom door, the ghost girl materialized through it, running ahead of them and leaving wet footprints behind. Victoria released her hold on Gabriel and jerked out of his embrace. She stumbled after the girl, hobbling as fast as her injured ankle allowed.
“Victoria, wait!”
“We have to follow,” she said.
Sharp pain lanced up her leg as she followed Lily’s disappearing form in the shadows of the elongated hallway. Behind her, Gabriel’s heavy footsteps. The ghost girl disappeared through the door to the room with the altar.
When Victoria arrived, she turned the knob but the door wouldn’t budge.
“Let me try,” he said.
He nudged her out of the way, his hand on the knob. He gave it a twist and then pushed his shoulder into it. It didn’t move. He tried again. Same result. He glanced at her, uncertainty in his eyes.
“She doesn’t want us in there,” Victoria said.
Not him. Only you.
Lenore’s voice fluttered through the hallway.
But Victoria was determined to continue onward despite the terror shuddering through her. Even so, Gabriel released his hand from the knob and stepped back. He shook his head. Fear glinted in his eyes.
“We can’t do this,” he said hoarsely.
She pulled in a shaky breath, released it. She reached for him, then, putting her hands on his cheeks.
“We can’t, but I can.”
Before he could argue, she kissed him quickly, nothing more than a peck. Then shoved him out of the way. Her hand landed on the knob, twisted, and then she pushed the door open violently. She stumbled into the dark room. The door ripped from her grasp and banged against the wall.
She was greeted with darkness and no altar.
“What—?”
“The house,” he muttered. “It rearranged itself.”
“Because she willed it?” she asked.
“Perhaps.” There was a rustle of fabric behind her, then he reached for her hand and pressed something in it. A matchbox. “You’ll need it.”
Victoria turned to face him. “You’re not coming?”
“I’m not sure I should.” His gaze flickered toward the dark room behind her.
“She wants to separate us.” She took his hand. “We can’t let her.”
A menacing laugh echoed through the room as though confirming Victoria’s words.
Victoria tugged him through the door. The moment she did, it swung toward them, banging into her. She yelped in surprise and pain. Gabriel shoved her into the room, stumbling in after her. As he did, the door slammed shut, plunging them in total darkness.
Cold pressed all around them. And then a hand tugged at her skirts. She looked down into Lily’s wide, frightened eyes.
“Lily?”
The girl pointed to a second door, faint light spilling through the edges. She slipped through, the wood creaking.
Gabriel stepped closer to her, his body pressing against her to let her know he was there. Giving her strength. Fueling her determination. Victoria squinted in the darkness to see the door. Closed.
The ghost girl disappeared through it.
The door creaked open revealing shadows and strange flickering, otherworldly light. Light that did not belong.
“Come in. If you dare.”
Lenore’s voice again, taunting them. She cut a glance to Gabriel, who’s eyes were fixed on the open door. He gripped her elbow, his hand a reassuring presence. She clutched the matchbox in her other hand as she took a deep breath. Ready to face Lenore.
Before she took a step, he whispered, “Be careful.”
Together, they stepped into the room. The altar was there, bathed in yellow-gold light and in the center, the knife gleamed bright, waiting for her blood.