AvaThe knock on the door made us all jump, our hands breaking apart as we scrambled to our feet. Betty let out a terrified squeak, clinging to Fabian’s arm like a lifeline.“I-It’s them,” she whispered, her eyes wide with fear and her finger shaking as she pointed at the door. “The demons are here!
“I don’t understand,” I said, crossing my arms. “How can we be sure you’re telling the truth? This all sounds... well, crazy.”The witch fixed me with a piercing stare, her dark eyes seeming to look right through me. “You saw the white figure, didn’t you? Felt the chill in the air? Surely you’ve see
Ava“Your mother lied to you, Ava; spirits are real. And it’s okay to be afraid.”My eyes widened at the mention of my mother. “How do you know about that?” I hissed, wrenching my arm away.Zara released her grip on my wrist, her expression inscrutable. “I saw it in my scrying glass,” she said simpl
“I... I don’t know,” I admitted finally. “I guess I never thought about it that way.”Chris squeezed my hand gently. “I’m not trying to shake your beliefs or anything,” he reassured me. “But you taught me yourself how important it is to keep an open mind.”I nodded, still lost in thought. We continu
AvaWe made our way back to the parlor, the music box clutched tightly in my hands. Its weight felt significant, as if it carried more than just metal and mechanics inside of it. That strange scream still seemed to echo in my ears, sending a shiver down my spine.Zara was waiting for us in the parlo
“Mommy!” the little girl cried out. “Mommy, she’s here again!”My stomach dropped, my insides turning thin and weak. No, no, it couldn’t be; I remembered this night. I remembered the terror, the certainty that there was something—someone—in my room night after night.I remembered how my parents woul
AvaI blinked, my vision slowly coming back into focus. I was no longer in my childhood bedroom, but rather in Moonshine Manor; the parlor ceiling swam above me, and I realized I was lying on the floor. No fog anywhere to be found—just Chris’s face appearing in my line of sight, his brow furrowed wi
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. I remembered my mother’s illness, how quickly it had taken her. Just two weeks after she had been diagnosed, she was gone. “I didn’t know... I had no idea it was because of that spirit.”Zara placed a weathered hand on my shoulder. “Your mother was a h