Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Somehow I manage to elbow her, her hand slipping away from my mouth, and then I’m scrambling over the side of the tub, water rushing over the sides, and then dropping down onto the floor in an awkward heap.
A hand reaches out and grabs my ankle, trying to pull me back in, nails digging into my skin.
I scream, twisting around to see the woman, her grey hair hanging off her in ropes, her decaying skin flayed open to show maggots underneath, the empty hole for a mouth and white eyes that seem to consume me whole.
“You cannot love a man like that,” she hisses. “Ichabod will never let you leave!”
“Marie?” I manage to say, remembering Crane’s ex-wife’s name.
She drops my ankle in surprise.
Then smiles, that gaping black hole spreading across her face until all her features are swallowed by it.
She slowly stands up and starts stepping out of the tub.
Heaven help me.
Just then I hear the door in the bedroom open and Crane’s faint voice, “Kat?”
“Crane!” I scream. “Help me!” I try to get to my feet just as the door opens and Crane and Brom come running inside. I collapse into Crane’s arms and look over my shoulder but the bathroom is empty. The bathtub is still. The water on the floor is the only sign there’s been any disturbance.
“What happened?” Crane asks.
“Th-there was a woman,” I stutter, unable to catch my breath. “A dead woman. She was right there, I swear to you.”
“I believe you,” he says, running his hand down my back. “I believe you.”
I stare up at him in horror. “It was your ex-wife.”
Crane’s jaw flexes.
“You were married?” Brom asks incredulously, a hint of betrayal in his voice.
“It’s a long story,” he says, his eyes glimmering darkly.
“And a story I think we ought to hear,” I tell him, straightening up. I’m aware that I’m naked once more around these two but before I can grab a towel, Crane is grabbing one and wrapping it around me.
“And you will,” Crane says, holding my hand and giving in a squeeze. But I don’t find any comfort in it. “Both of you will. I promise you that. First we need to get you dressed and out onto the grounds. It may be the weekend but soon everyone will be up and your mother will be here and the last thing we need is trouble from the coven. We have our own shit to figure out first.”
I can barely think, my heart is still beating too fast and I feel like I can’t breathe. I close my eyes and try to take in a deep breath while Crane whispers, “I’m sorry we left you alone for too long. We had to go to the library first thing and you looked so peaceful sleeping.”
“Did you find the head?” I ask warily. I’ve been trying not to think about that head, knowing it was the drunken fellow who was pawing at me at the bonfire. Mary did a good enough job getting him to leave me alone, there was no need to murder him in cold blood. I suppress a shiver at that, knowing his murderer is standing in the room with me.
“The head is gone,” Crane says this so easily, as if we’re discussing something trivial. “I cleaned up the mess we left in our tussle but the head is gone. And no, Brom has no idea where it went.”
I glance at Brom but he seems lost in thought, that hurt expression in his eyes, and I know he’s still thinking about the fact that he didn’t know Crane was married before.
I swallow uneasily and look up at Crane. “I think your wife was trying to kill me.”
He gives me a tight smile. “I’m sure she was. She has a lot to be angry about.”
I squint at him. What did you do to her?
But I know that question will have to wait for later. I tuck it away with the million other questions I have, knowing it’s probably futile to expect answers anytime soon.
Chapter 7
Kat
After the incident with Crane’s dead wife, I was clothed in his shirt and coat and made my way over to the women’s side of the faculty dormitories. Since I arrived at school in only my nightgown, the only way to get proper clothes would be to go back to my house. But I don’t want to go back there. I don’t even know what time my mother and Famke got back last night from the bonfire—or if they did at all—but my gut instinct is telling me that going back to my house wouldn’t be safe.
Of course I’m only assuming that my mother is coming here today with my belongings to move me into the dorm. One would think she would have come here as soon as she got home in the night and realized I wasn’t there. Or perhaps she thinks I’m still in my room sleeping. It’s early in the morning enough.