Fallen

Scarlett leaned forward as she walked, peering around the corner to see into the foyer before she stepped into the open space. It was empty, the gas lanterns that she’d turned on earlier that evening emitting a soft glow, the flickering light making those flowered vines on the wall stretch and grow.

She heard a soft bump and turned toward the noise, her eyes fixed on the wall that held the bannister. She swore it sounded as though someone was climbing the stairs, but the grand staircase was devoid of human life. A shiver moved through her. Calm down. It’s just the age of the house. Stop spooking yourself.

But even as she attempted to explain the sound away, it continued upward, somewhere behind the wall. Something was there, moving. Something with weight. She pictured a strange ghoul, its black body climbing up the inside of the wall. Scarlett stood, frozen, listening to the soft taps of the thing climbing, heading up and away from where she stood, though—thankfully—in the opposite direction of where her daughter slept. Tentatively, she took a step, and then another, gathering her courage and following the sound, pressing her ear to the wall and then pulling quickly away, lest whatever it was reach through the planks and grab her. Which is ridiculous, she tried to reassure herself, and yet still the feeling of barely tempered dread persisted. There was something there. She could feel it on the other side of the wood. She could feel its menacing.

Her breath came short as she walked beside the soft thumps of climbing coming from within the wall until it moved upward, seemingly into the ceiling, the noises fading away. Scarlett waited, her heart thumping, as the sounds of another door opening and closing overhead could be heard. Her heart sped even further as fear spiked within. What the hell? Someone or something was in her house.

A board squeaked above as though whatever she’d heard was now walking the hall and Scarlett turned, bolting down the stairs and running to the kitchen where she picked up her phone and called for help.CHAPTER FOURTEENThirteen Years AgoKandace couldn’t sleep. She stood at the window, watching as the sun came up over the trees. Even though she’d left Los Angeles less than a month ago, the world felt so far away. Real life seemed so distant. Ever since she’d arrived at Lilith House, she’d felt as if she had slipped and fallen down some rabbit hole that transported her into a skewed past. Lilith House felt . . . ancient somehow. Ancient and off. There were things she could pinpoint that were strange and even dreadful, but there were other peculiarities that she couldn’t name but sensed all the same. As if something lay in wait for her just around each long and twisted hallway.

Kandace leaned forward when she spotted a blur of movement within the trees. Something large and seemingly tall. Or was it just a trick of the hazy lighting? Her blood chilled. Ms. Wykes told us about the natives who used to live in those woods. She said one’s still out there, a war-mongering demon hungry for human flesh.

“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. She refused to give credence to dark fairy tales. She knew very well that was just a story used to keep the girls in line. Keep them from attempting to venture off the Lilith House grounds. She squinted, trying to make out what it actually was when suddenly something else to her right caught her attention. It was the kid. Kandace turned her head, watching as the boy paused for a moment as though listening to make sure he didn’t hear anyone nearby, and then ducked around the chapel and headed for the forest.

What are you doing, Dreamboat?

Kandace turned, looking at her roommates who both slept soundly. Then she pulled on her uniform, left her room—committing the sin of breaking curfew—and tiptoed quietly down the stairs. For a moment she stood still, listening for any sounds, but all she heard were the creaks and moans she’d grown used to. The students and teachers were still in bed, but Lilith House? Lilith House never slept. Lilith House had stories to tell, especially in the dark. She crept toward the back stairs. If she returned before anyone woke, no one would be the wiser.

When she made it to the first level, she checked quickly behind her, and then ducked out the back door, closing it very gently.

Kandace took the same route the boy had, entering the woods at the large gray rock where she’d seen him last. She expected that she’d have to travel more deeply into the forest to find him—if she was able to locate him at all—and so when she practically stumbled upon him just a few feet from the edge of the tree line, she almost screamed.