Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
“. . . nothing is broken,” Phoenix was saying as I arrived. “I’m fairly certain it’s a bad wrench. You managed to save yourself.”
“Doesn’t feel like it.” Kaea made a face, teeth gritted, as he shifted position to shrug into the hoodie I handed him. “Hurts like a bitch.”
“It should calm down.” Phoenix helped stabilize him so he could pull on the sweatpants under the cover provided by the towel around his waist, after which, I put on his socks for him.
“Thanks, guys.” Already out of breath from the pain caused by the exertion, Kaea settled into an unmoving position.
Phoenix put the ice pack back where it had been. “If it doesn’t stop hurting,” he added, “we might need to take you in to get a scan. Something might’ve torn.”
Vansi looked toward the windows, the rain slamming into the glass in tiny pellets. “Can we even get out of here? Or do we have a signal to call emergency services?”
Her words made me realize that my phone was upstairs. I’d left it because I hadn’t wanted it to get wet when I ran outside, but now the lack made my muscles twitch. As I watched, my best friend pulled out her own phone, frowned. “No signal here just like on the mountain.”
They must’ve tried to call us, I thought, tell us what was going on. “When did you injure yourself?” I grabbed Kaea’s discarded towel. “On the way up?”
He shook his head. “I probably wouldn’t have been hurt if it had happened on the way up. No, we’d turned around—I’d begun to worry about the weather. It happened on a slope with broken stones, made the entire thing worse.” He held up his palms; both looked as if they’d been through a cheese grater.
“Good thing is I’ve got you two right here. Fucking A-team.” He bumped fists with Nix and Vansi. “I should be fine if you can cobble up a crutch for me.”
“I found it!” Darcie cried from the doorway.
I glanced over to see her holding up a carved wooden cane.
“I knew we had this around somewhere. My grandfather used it when he came down.”
“Fantastic.” Vansi smiled for the first time. “It’s not as good as a crutch, but it’ll do in the interim until we can figure out a better solution.”
As I was closest to Darcie, I threw the towel over my shoulder and took the cane from her, examining the smooth curve of it. “It’s beautiful work,” I said before handing it over to Kaea.
His eyes met mine for a second before he took it, began to run his hand over it. I knew what he was thinking, understood he wanted to examine the shoes. But there was no way for either one of us to do so with everyone around.
Since it didn’t look like Kaea’s first-aid kit was needed, I picked it up from where it had been placed on the seat of an armchair. After putting it on the table beside the sofa, I threw the towel into the basket in the laundry room before heading back upstairs to grab my phone. I ran into Grace as she was coming downstairs, and she made a face at me. “Poor Kaea,” she said. “Aaron told me he’s the most active one of the friend group. He’s going to hate being stuck in place.”
I angled my head toward the narrow window that threw bleak gray light onto the staircase. “With this weather, we might all end up playing cards in the living room anyway.” I could hear thunder now, rolling booms of it that seemed to make the windows rattle.
Grace shivered. “See you downstairs. Aaron made cookies.”
“I’ll be quick.”
Once I reached the bedroom, I picked up my phone, grabbing my camera as well. Why not? I could wander around inside the house, get a few images of the internal architecture and oddities—such as that wall of stag heads. Might not be my idea of décor, but it’d make an excellent photograph.
I was halfway down the stairs when a short, sharp scream reverberated against the walls. This time it wasn’t of terror but of what felt like blinding rage. Running to the living room, I found the others all there . . . with Darcie holding Bea’s doll.
18
You think this is funny, Luna?” A harsh demand, her fingers squeezing the doll until I was scared she’d break it. “To torment me with the reminder of my dead sister?”
I fought the urge to tear Bea’s treasured possession from her grip. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I put that in the closet.”
Darcie’s entire face . . . shivered. Turning on her heel without warning, she lifted her arm and threw the doll into the fireplace. “The cursed thing can burn!”
“Jesus, Darcie!” Ash, closest to the fire, moved with unexpected speed. Picking up a fireplace poker, he dragged the doll out of the flames.