Sophia raised her hands at the door, following what the book said and picturing the image she’d received when attempting to ‘scry’ the Salem house. Her previous failure at opening gates came from three sources: doubt, overestimation, and belief. She used to doubt she had the power necessary to open gates. She overestimated the effort necessary to cover distances, expecting someone so new to casting spells couldn’t possibly transport anyone more than a few hundred feet. According to the tome, opening a portal from her room to the basement didn’t really take a significantly greater amount of power than going to London—or Salem. Her assumption it did—and that she lacked the experience to cast portal spells—tricked her into making herself fail. The last reason for failure had been belief. Or rather, the lack of it. She had to believe opening the gate was possible and would work if she tried to do it.
The test gate she pulled off right after dinner cemented her confidence. Needing to protect Sierra cemented her resolve and belief.
Light glowed from inside the closet briefly, then faded.
Sophia reached for the knob. Sierra leaned forward, preparing to tackle her out of the way of a tentacle. She grasped the door, opening it to reveal a scary, dark swath of woods. The silhouette of an enormous, partially collapsed house blackened the moonlit sky in the distance. Five or six spires rose from the third story at different angles, one of which had weak light coming from the window.
“Whoa…” Sierra grabbed Sophia from behind. “Why is it so dark? The sun’s not all the way down yet.”
“Salem’s on the East Coast. They’re like a few hours later than us.”
“Oh. If we go there, are we technically up past bedtime or does bedtime remain based on West Coast time?”
Sophia blinked. “Are you serious?”
“No. I’m kinda scared.”
“Really?”
Sierra blushed. “Yes, really. You can see those trees, right? It looks like a horror movie. Besides, you opened a gateway and nothing’s exploded yet. I’m waiting for the giant rainbow squid to show up.”
“Won’t.” Sophia approached the door. “Come on. The gate isn’t going to last long. We have to grab the stuff and come back in about thirty minutes.”
“Sec.” Sierra ran out of the room.
Sophia tapped her foot on the carpet, waiting.
Her sister returned soon, carrying her sword. “Okay. Ready now.”
“You’re not going to need that.” Sophia rolled her eyes. “We’re only picking stuff up.”
“Do you know for sure?”
“Umm, not really… but this place is empty.”
Sierra whistled. “Wow. You even sound like the innocent blonde girl from every horror movie.” She put on a fake ditzy voice. “Like no one’s been there in ages. The place is abandoned. We’ll be perfectly safe.”
Sophia smirked. “C’mon.”
They stepped into the closet. Soft carpet underfoot became damp dirt. The scent of Sophia’s room—crayons, fruity shampoo, and ‘kid perfume’—gave way to the fragrance of a forest with a hint of ocean. Not too odd. Depending on how the wind blew, sometimes they could smell the sea at home.
After a brief pause to pull her sneakers on, Sophia set Klepto on the ground by the gate. Anyone more than ten feet away from the opening wouldn’t be able to see it. Since the kitten couldn’t go into the house thanks to the defensive magic, she’d help out the most by serving as a beacon. Sophia’s mental link to the kitten would let her find the gateway to home easily, even in the dark.
Jaw clenched, she started toward the house, Sierra walking beside her. It took less than five seconds for Sophia to get a serious case of the ‘bad ideas.’ Scraggly trees loomed over her on all sides like shadow monsters. Wavering branches looked more like long, gnarled claws. Her strides shortened until she ended up stuck in place, unable to make herself move.
Sierra paused beside her. “Are you sensing something?”
“Umm,” whispered Sophia. “No. I’m just being a wimp. This is scary. I’m totally going to have nightmares about this.”
“A fuzzy pom-pom gave you nightmares.”
Sophia pouted at her.
“I mean…” Sierra took her hand. “This forest is legit scary. It should give you nightmares. You can sleep in my room tonight if you want.”
Oh. Whoa. She said she’s scared, she’s willing to share a room tonight, and she didn’t complain about me pulling her off the game. “Cool. Yeah. I think I will if it’s okay.”
Sierra nodded, then tugged her along. “Keep walking. The longer we stand here, the scarier it gets.”
Sophia squeezed her sister’s hand and forced herself to resume walking. Coralie didn’t say anything bad would happen. Dead leaves and twigs crunched under her shoes. She tried not to pay attention to moving shadows, but didn’t fully succeed. Whether or not the darkness genuinely watched them or her imagination ran away, she couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter, really. Her imagination scared her worse than real monsters, anyway.
“You know the door is gonna make this real long creeeeeak,” whispered Sierra.
“Stop. You’re gonna scare me too much.”
Sierra gave a nervous laugh. “Trying to make a joke so it’s funny instead of scary.”
“It would work better if the joke was funny.”
“Butt.” Sierra snickered.
Sophia grinned.
“We forgot a flashlight.”
“Got it covered.” Sophia held her hand out. Within a second or two of her wanting it to exist, a two-inch ball of light appeared floating above her palm. It rose into the air and moved up to hover a few feet above her head.
“Nice trick.”
They reached a dirt path and followed it out of the woods, then up the hill toward the house. Sophia stared at the ground, knowing if she looked up at the outside of the old building, she’d scream and run. Worse, she’d be too scared to find the gate and end up getting lost in the woods and eaten by a werewolf or some other furry monster. Probably with huge teeth.
Before she knew it, a set of ancient, crumbling wooden stairs slid into her vision. She risked looking up three steps to a porch so derelict and brittle it might collapse under someone her size. Peeling white paint flaked from the warped front door. It didn’t look as if it could close anymore. She held her breath, gingerly climbing the three steps onto the porch. As if trying to walk across a thin layer of ice atop snow without breaking it, Sophia crept up to the door. Sierra reached out to touch the knob. A shadow in the room beyond moved. Sophia gasped, making Sierra scream, which made her scream, too.
They stared at each other.
“Sorry,” whispered Sophia.
“It’s okay.” Sierra swallowed. “You will tell no one I screamed.”
She held up one hand. “Promise.”
“Okay.” Sierra pushed the door open.
It did, in fact, emit a long, low creeeeeeak.
Sophia shivered. “Y-you know what they say. Whatever happens in Salem stays in Salem.”
“No one says that.” Sierra crept into a former living room.
The ghosts of old chairs and a sofa lurked under mildew-stained sheets in a massive living room. Yellowed wallpaper patterned in dark blue flowers sagged in spots of obvious water damage. The grandfather clock in the corner appeared so timeworn it resembled the furniture version of a zombie. Creepy shadows stretched away from everything, as if afraid of the light ball floating over her head. Ten pounds of cobweb dangled from a lightless chandelier in the middle of the room. Rather than bulbs, eight hooks hung from a ring, likely intended for small oil-burning lamps. Various creaks, groans, and soft tapping sounds came from all over the house.
“Just the wind,” whispered Sierra.
“Yeah.”
“What are we looking for?”
“We gotta go upstairs to the second floor. There’s a bureau. Silver ring.” Sophia pointed at a stairwell against the left wall on the opposite side of the room.
S
ierra stared at her chest for a moment, then smiled.
“What?” Sophia peered down at herself. Nothing appeared to be wrong.
“You’re wearing a pink and white dress with a unicorn on the chest.” Sierra pointed at the rainbow-horned cartoon face. “It’s funny to wear something like that in a house this creepy.”
“I always wear stuff like this.”
“Right. Trying to distract myself from feeling like a scared little kid. I sliced up a bunch of vampires trying to kill us. I shouldn’t be afraid of a dusty old house.”
Sophia leaned close to her. “Can I say something you’ll probably hit me for?”
“Sure. I won’t hit you.”
“You’re not afraid of the house. You’re afraid of what might be in the house.”
Sierra exhaled. “Accurate. Careful going up the stairs. They might break.”
Stepping only on the very side of each step and holding the railing in both hands, Sophia pulled herself up to the second floor. Sierra put her foot through a step six away from the top and fell over sideways. The railing crunched apart under her weight, as brittle as potato chips. Sierra vanished from sight before Sophia could even scream.
Whump.
“Ow,” deadpanned Sierra.
Sophia grasped the wall, stretching to peer past the edge of the stairs at the lower floor. “Sierra!”
Her sister lay in the pose of someone making a snow angel atop a white sheet and the crushed remains of a cushioned chair. A huge cloud of dust hung in the air around her, coating her in pale grey.
“I’m okay. Landed on a chair.” Sierra coughed.
This is stupid. We shouldn’t be in here. Gonna go home right now and wait for Sarah.
Sierra stood, looked up, then jumped vertically almost ten feet to grab the edge of the stairwell.
“Ack!” Sophia clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Still got some boost left.” Sierra grunted, pulling herself over the edge onto the stairs. “It’s not enough to fight a vampire, but I can do some stuff.”
Sophia made a flicking gesture at her sister. All the dust burst off her and billowed away into the living room, far enough not to re-settle on her.
“Thanks.”
“We should just go home. Wait for Sarah.”
Sierra shrugged. “Okay. Sorry for falling.”
“Not your fault. This is kinda dangerous. I didn’t think the house would be this…” A weird feeling tugged at her, pulling her gaze down the hall to the left. A distant corner beckoned.
Ancient wallpaper dangled in ribbon-like strips torn from the walls. Ages ago, the carpet had been Washington blue. Dust concealed some paintings as well as the face of a small statue on a table. The odd sense seemed to beckon her.
“What?” whispered Sierra. “Why are you staring down the hall? Did you see something? Ghosts?”
“Oh, duh. I can see ghosts.” Sophia smacked herself in the forehead. “Totally forgot.”
“How do you forget something like that?” Sierra chuckled nervously.
Sophia gestured around. “Look at this place. I’ve been a scaredy cat for eleven years and only able to see ghosts for like six months. All the creepy noises and shadows people think are ghosts still scare me. If there really are any ghosts here, I oughta see them like they’re people.”
“Cool. Umm, can ghosts hide from you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Sophia sighed. “I mean no, you did not just say that… now I’m scared again. I don’t know if they can hide from me.”
Sierra took her hand. “So, are we gonna go get Sarah or what are you looking at?”
“I dunno… We’re already here. She’s gonna worry too much and tell us not to do this enchant.” A yawn forced its way out. “Opening gates is tiring. C’mon. I think I’m sensing the ring. Let’s just get the stuff and hurry up and go home.”
“Okay…”
Sophia followed the unusual pull down the hall. She didn’t dare look into any doorways for fear she might see unhappy ghosts or worse. An errant raccoon erupting from an old cabinet or closet would give her nightmares for years. The floor creaked under them but didn’t feel dangerously weak. Except for enough dust to choke a street cleaning truck, this hallway appeared to be in decent repair. A pervasive moldy smell grew stronger as they went deeper into the house, likely thanks to rain seeping in a roof in severe need of repair.
The unusual urge pulled her around the corner at the end of the hall, then to the fifth door on the left. She nudged it open with her sneaker, then peered in at a fancy—well once fancy—bedroom. Three of the bed’s four posts had collapsed, dumping a canopy onto the disintegrating remains of a mattress. A small, round table, two chairs, two bookshelves, and a couple of wardrobe cabinets took up the rest of the space. The inner wall had a little fireplace nestled between two windows, neither of which offered a view of anything but darkness.
“Bureau,” whispered Sophia, while looking around for ghosts. Seeing none, she entered the room.
The two tall wardrobe cabinets stood on either side of a long chest of drawers, as wide as two standard writing desks touching end to end. A frame attached to the back of the bureau held a giant, filthy mirror. All manner of little jewelry boxes and canisters littered the surface, everything covered in dust and cobwebs.
The girls rummaged the bureau. Sierra checked drawers while Sophia examined the boxes. Nothing on the surface contained anything of value or interest. The drawers had a few old bits of clothing, so rotted neither one of them could tell what the item had once been.
“This isn’t right.” Sophia sighed at the search turning up nothing. “It’s gotta be in this room.”
“If it was obvious, someone would’ve stolen it already.” Sierra started checking drawers again. “We’re not looking in the right place.”
“What do you mean? This is the right place?”
Footsteps came from the hallway outside. Sharp, but not heavy. Probably a woman in boots, a woman in boots who’d likely not be too fond of a pair of young girls roaming around her house.
Sophia stopped breathing.
Sierra stepped in front of her, drawing the sword a few inches.
Sophia clung to her sister from behind.
The girls stared at the doorway, frozen in anticipation as the steady tapping of something walking grew closer. At the precise moment the sound indicated someone would barge in on them, a faint shadow flashed past the doorway, not entering the room.
Silence.
“Whoa…” Sierra exhaled. “I saw a shadow.”
“Same.”
“Not a ghost?”
“No. Just a black mist.” Sophia bit her lip. She wanted so much to run like hell, but Sierra’s life depended on her not being a wimp for another few minutes. “Hurry up. We gotta get out of here before it stops trying to scare us and starts trying to hurt us.”
“You think it’s going to try and hurt us?” Sierra slid the sword back into the scabbard.
“No. I’m guessing.”
“Right…”
Sierra pulled out each drawer as far as it would go, looked around the opening, and replaced it. Alas, Sophia couldn’t do much but keep staring at the doorway, terrified, gripped by the irrational belief something bad would get them if she dared look away. The drawers all seemed empty until Sierra got to the topmost huge one in the middle set. It also contained nothing—but the back was missing. Sierra yanked the drawer completely out of the cabinet, then climbed into the opening until only her legs stuck out.
“Be careful!” whispered Sophia.
“Aha! Found something.” A dingy redwood jewelry box appeared in the drawer hole beside Sierra’s right knee. “Grab that.”
Sophia took the box, waiting until her sister backed out of the cabinet and dusted her hands off before opening it. A faint chill traced across the back of her shoulders. She looked behind her. No ghost. Despite not seeing anything, it certainly felt as though something or someon
e watched them.
Three small trays rose out of the box as she lifted the lid, lifted by a series of hinged metal struts. The tiny compartments contained an assortment of jewelry, as did the bottom chamber.
“Wow,” whispered Sierra.
“We shouldn’t steal this. Only the ring we’re supposed to take.” Sophia looked around. Still no spirits.
“No one lives here. It’s an abandoned house.” Sierra flapped her arms.
Sophia set the box on the bureau and carefully picked at the contents. “There’s something here. It’s watching us. We’re not stealing anything. I need to use a ring from this box to help my sister. Only have to borrow it.”
Sierra rolled her eyes.
Under a bunch of old necklaces—mostly made from agate, wooden beads, feathers, and other less-than-expensive materials, she located a plain silver band encircled in engravings. The marks appeared to be writing of some kind. Runes perhaps. Definitely not English letters.
“It’s not even shiny,” said Sierra.
Sophia grinned and put the ring into her little Hello Kitty purse. “It’s real silver. And old. This is the first item.” She closed the jewelry box before holding it out. “Would you put this back in there?”
“Fine.” Sierra took it and crawled once again into the open drawer spot. “It fell by accident when the drawer broke. No one stashed it there to hide.”
“How do you know a ghost didn’t do it when people came to take stuff?”
“Ugh. Stop saying scary things.” Sierra backed out of the cabinet. “So, what now?”
“An acanthia mushroom.”
“What the heck is that?”
Sophia smiled cheesily. “A mushroom called acanthia. The drawing made it look like it had thorns on it.”
“Mushrooms don’t have thorns.” Sierra marched across the room toward the door… and fell through the floor.
Sophia screamed.
The dust plume cleared to reveal Sierra’s hands clinging to a hole in the floorboards. Her sword lay a short distance away.
“Ack!” Sophia pointed at her, concentrating on the same magic she used to help Megan jump in dance class, trying to make her weigh less without sending her floating off into the sky uncontrollably.
Vampire Innocent | Book 12 | Ancient Vampire Death Cults & Other Annoyances Page 16
