The Book of Spells (Private 0.50)

“What?” they both demanded, whipping around to face her.

“I just thought you might want to know we just ran one hundred and fifty paces east,” Catherine said with a smile. “Approximately, of course.”

Eliza’s jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”

“I counted while I was running,” Catherine said. “Just in case.”

Theresa and Eliza looked at each other, for a moment united in their awe. “Well, then,” Theresa said. “I suppose we should walk one hundred paces north and see where that gets us.”

“We’re still doing this?” Alice wailed.

“Oh, hush,” Theresa told her. “Follow me.”

She counted the paces quietly as they made their way along a makeshift path through the woods. Eliza breathed in and out slowly, trying to regain her normal pattern after the terror of her run. She couldn’t help wondering who had closed that window back at McKinley. Whoever it was, what was the person doing there so late at night? And if he or she had seen Eliza and her friends, why not come after them?

“That’s fifty,” Theresa said as they came to the edge of the woods.

“Oh, no,” Alice intoned.

Eliza joined the other three girls on the grass just beyond the tree line and stared up at the stark white façade of the Billings Chapel.

“Another fifty paces will take us right to the door of the chapel,” Catherine stated.

“This isn’t happening,” Alice whined, leaning into Eliza’s side.

The wind kicked up, swirling around the four girls and lifting their skirts. Eliza clung to the map with one hand and held her hat to her head with the other.

“What does it say after that?” Theresa asked. “Once we walk the hundred paces north, where do we go next?”

Eliza looked at the map but couldn’t make it out in the darkness. “I can’t tell,” she admitted. “The moon is strong, but not strong enough to make it out.”

“Perhaps if we still had the light . . . ,”

Theresa said sarcastically. “Theresa, please,” Catherine said.

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Theresa clucked her tongue but said no more.

Catherine took a step forward and looked up at the spire of the chapel. “Perhaps there are matches inside.”

“Then let’s go inside,” Theresa said, starting ahead.

Alice grabbed her arm. “No! You can’t!” she pleaded. “That’s a sacred space! You can’t just traipse through there alone in the dead of night!”

Theresa glared down at Alice’s hand until the girl finally released her. “Control yourself, Alice Ainsworth,” she said, her tone clipped and impatient. “It’s just a building.”

Alice’s skin was so pale, Eliza feared her friend might faint. She forgot about her hat and reached around Alice’s slim waist, holding on to the girl in case she crumbled. The proximity to another warm body helped calm Eliza’s own nerves a bit.

“It’s not just a building,” Alice said, her voice low and firm. “It’s the house of God.”

Theresa rolled her eyes. “Well, my pastor is always saying that we’re welcome in God’s house anytime.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked purposefully toward the chapel, hitching up the skirt of her black dress and taking the lantern with her. Catherine stepped closer to Eliza, but other than that, none of the remaining three girls moved. Alice let out a quiet wail as Theresa shoved open the gleaming, arched door. The motion produced a loud, ominous creak that could just be heard over the whistling winds.

“Girls! Where’s your sense of adventure?” Theresa shouted from the open doorway. Then she disappeared inside, letting the heavy door slam behind her.

An owl hooted nearby, and Alice mewed pitifully. But Eliza swallowed back her fear. “I’m going in,” she said, stepping away from the others. She didn’t want Theresa to think she was afraid.