by E. Latimer
Edgar seemed to have wilted slightly. “You don’t have orders to bring us back?”
Eliza crossed her arms, which were still flaming, and continued to glower at McCraw as she spoke to Edgar. “Hate to break it to you, but we don’t matter in the big picture. Finding Witch City has always been the hunters’ top priority. That and Lenore Black. That’s why they were formed in the first place.”
McCraw frowned very sternly at this, and Eliza smirked. “Why do you think adult witches go to the dungeons and not straight to the noose when they’re accused? They drill them for information about the city.”
“That’s classified information.” McCraw’s voice was a low growl from above Emma’s head.
“I’m a witch.” Eliza rolled her eyes. “We’ve known for ages.”
A moment passed while they all stared at one another, and Emma briefly considered breaking out of his arms and running for it. Then the silence was interrupted by a shuffle and thump from overhead, and they all looked up at the ceiling.
Before any of them could move McCraw released Emma, shoving her forward. She stumbled, nearly falling on her face before Maddie caught her. “Stay there and don’t move,” he said tersely.
The witch hunter leapt back and slammed the door shut, struggling with the rusted lock, before it finally turned with a sharp snap.
“That thing’s been following me for hours. I thought I’d lost it.”
“It chased us in here.” Emma rubbed her arms, glaring up at him.
“What is it?” McCraw’s expression was dark as he looked at each of them in turn. “What does it want?”
“Something awful,” Maddie said. “We should push the furniture against the door. Block it out.”
“With you on the outside,” Eliza suggested, with a pointed glance at Tobias McCraw.
The witch hunter ignored her. He was still staring up at the ceiling. “Another witch?”
“We don’t know. Maybe.” Emma shuddered. “It wears other people’s faces. It changes. It’s been following us on and off.”
And stalking the witch hunter in the “off” moments, obviously.
A witch hunting a witch hunter. It would have been almost funny if that thing out there wasn’t so terrifying.
“Maybe it’s on the next floor up?” Maddie whispered, and Emma nodded slowly. That was a good thing. If it had gone straight past them and continued to the next floor, it obviously didn’t know where they were.
Maybe now was the time to sneak out of the hotel and run for the edge of the city—that is, if the witch hunter would let them.
As if one murderous problem wasn’t enough.
The Noise had retreated slightly ever since the witch hunter burst into the room, so when another heartbeat started up again, more distant than the others, Emma froze, head tilted to listen. This one was…different, she realized, and a shiver dropped down her back.
There was something very off about the rhythm.
The sound of a human heartbeat was so familiar to Emma, so natural. In contrast, this one was utterly strange. In fact, there was something terrifying in its sheer wrongness.
A second later she knew what it was, and the realization sent a sliver of cold horror through her.
It was far too slow. There was a long pause between each deep thudding beat, so long that it seemed impossible the creature was alive at all.
Which meant it was not human. Maybe it wasn’t even properly alive.
“It’s here somewhere. I can hear it,” she whispered, half to herself. “It’s trying to get in.”
The witch hunter didn’t ask how she knew this. Instead, he set his back to the door. “This is oak. It shouldn’t be able to break it down.”
“You’ve met this thing,” Maddie said, her voice trembling. “You should know it’s determined.”
It had gone quiet out in the hall, and no new noises could be heard from the ceiling above, but Emma could still hear the awful pulse of the heartbeat. The creature was still there, but…what was it doing?
A second later, a loud crash answered her. The door jumped violently in its frame, and the witch hunter gave a cry of surprise, his back still braced against it. The base of the rusted lock had shattered, sending splinters of wood skittering across the floor.
Emma lunged forward without thinking, jamming her shoulder into the door on one side of the witch hunter. Another earth-shattering crash, and the wood shuddered violently against her. Edgar had braced himself on the other side, his face grim. “It’s too strong!”
Maddie looked at the witch hunter, eyes wide. “Can’t you…hit it with your staff or something?”
“Tried that earlier. It shook it off like nothing.” The witch hunter grunted as another shuddering blow pushed him forward. “You two, open the window. We’ll get out that way. Wait on the roof for me.”
Maddie grimaced at him before running over to the hotel window. She jerked at the frame, trying to pull it up. It gave a rusty shriek and stuck fast a few inches up the track. “Eliza, help me!”
Eliza was still standing in the middle of the room, arms wreathed in flames, her face ashen. She shook her head. “It won’t go out! It—my fire is stuck!” Her voice was climbing in pitch, laced with panic. “It seemed harder to put out the last few times, but I just thought it was because I was stressed. Something’s wrong!”
There was another series of crashes from the door. They weren’t as strong this time, and Emma was able to brace herself well enough. Above her, the witch hunter muttered, “It’s not properly trying to get in.”
From where she was leaning, Emma had a clear view of the doorknob as it began to turn. She shrieked, grasping the knob to stop it, but her palms were sweaty and her hands were shaking. Her fingers slipped.
Emma screamed, alarmed to feel her feet sliding on the carpet as she was pushed forward. The witch hunter growled under his breath, turning to shove his shoulder to the door, planting his boots more firmly onto the carpeted floor.
The creature was alarmingly strong. It somehow managed to push them forward another full inch, even with three of them shoving back with all their might.
There was an excited screech from the crack in the door, which sent shivers of horror down Emma’s spine.
“How is it so strong?” Eliza shouted, and her flames jumped higher.
Emma groaned as she slid forward, and then yelped as several thin, spindly white fingers hooked around the edge of the door inches from her left shoulder.
Across the room, there was another crash. Maddie had managed to slide the window up at last. “Come on, let’s go!” she yelled, beckoning frantically.
For a moment no one replied. They could all immediately see the ordeal they were in. If they let go of the door to run for it, the creature would get in. It was too fast. They wouldn’t make it in time.
“Change of plans,” the witch hunter grunted. “You four hide in the closet. I’m going to throw this blasted thing out the window instead.”
Emma stared up at Tobias McCraw. She knew he was trying to get them to stay in his sight. If they slipped out the window while he fought the creature, his entire mission was blown. “How are you going to do that?”
“You let me deal with that.” He scowled down at her. “You both let go on three.”
Before either of them could argue, the creature behind the door gave an excited shriek and shoved them forward another inch. In that moment, Emma knew they had to do what Tobias said. At least if the witch hunter tried to fight it, they could make a dash for the window while he was distracted. She glanced past him and looked at Edgar, who nodded.
“On three,” Emma shouted over the noise, “One, two—”
She didn’t get to finish, because in the moment between two and three, something very strange happened.
One second the witch hunter was standing betwee
n her and Edgar, and the next, he was gone. There was only empty space between them, and Emma stared uncomprehendingly at Edgar, who looked just as shocked.
But there was no time to question it, because the door was shoved violently forward and this time, without the weight of the witch hunter, Emma felt herself slide nearly a full foot. An excited wail came from the doorway, and a thin, crooked arm shot through. Emma screamed as it hooked around her neck and shoulders, dragging her sideways.
“Emma!”
Eliza’s scream mixed with Maddie’s and Edgar’s, and there was a great thunder of footsteps. Emma struggled to hold the door shut as she thrashed against the creature’s bony arm. Its skin was horribly cold and clammy, and the only thing she could think about was how much she wanted it off of her.
A moment later, Maddie rammed her entire body against the center of the door, slamming into the space between Emma and Edgar. Eliza crouched down next to Emma, curling one flaming hand around the monster’s wrist. It gave another high-pitched scream, this one filled with pain, and yanked its arm away, slamming Emma’s back into the door and striking her head on the wood.
Dazed, Emma heard Eliza give a cry of triumph as the door slammed shut, and then Maddie snatched at something near the base of the doorframe. There was the rattle of a chain, and the sound of a bolt sliding home. When Emma glanced down, blinking spots out of her eyes, she was relieved to see a chain across the door. She hadn’t even seen the second lock at the base.
“Deadbolt,” Maddie said, breathing hard. “They always have them at hotels.”
No one asked how she knew that; they all just stood back and stared at the door. The chain was thick, and only a few inches long. The crackle and pop of flames and the heavy sound of their own panting breaths filled the silence.
When the door crashed again, they all jumped, and then Emma let out a shaky breath when it stopped short, caught against the chain. A screech of anger could be heard through the crack.
Maddie spoke over the noise. “Window’s open.”
They gathered themselves, staring around the hotel room. The window was indeed open wide now, letting in a steady, pine-scented breeze. Slivers of wood littered the floor in front of it, and a wide crack ran down the frame.
They could still hear the creature growling and muttering behind the door, rattling the chain as it pressed against it. For the moment, it seemed, they were safe, and as some of the adrenaline left Emma’s body, her legs suddenly felt as if they were about to give out beneath her. She stumbled over to the bed and sat down on the mossy blanket. Her entire body seemed to have gone weak.
“What just happened?”
None of them knew why the witch hunter had disappeared, or where he’d gone, but since the creature on the other side of the door didn’t seem to be giving up, Emma knew they’d have to get out soon.
Slowly, Emma stood and moved over to the window, trying her best not to make any noise. She wasn’t sure how intelligent the monster was, but she didn’t want it to guess their plan. When she leaned out the window and peered down, the ground didn’t look as far away as she’d thought. They were only on the second floor. A fall from this height wouldn’t kill them, but it was still a long way down. They couldn’t risk broken bones, not when that creature was following them.
She leaned out a little farther, holding tightly to the ledge, and scanned the rooftop to her right. It was steep, and the black tiles were almost fully covered in a thick layer of green moss. That would make things rather slippery.
The window next to theirs, the one she’d be aiming for, was only about ten feet away, and the ledge under the windows, though it was covered in dirt and rotten leaves, was wide enough to walk along. If they could climb out onto the ledge and walk to the next window as quietly as possible, they could simply slide into the room beside this one and escape while the monster was still hammering at their door.
From up here, Forest-London looked wild yet beautiful. The sun had risen fully now, its rays glittering off hundreds of cracked windowpanes, flooding the forest of fall leaves and towering pine trees with light that made everything green and gold.
She tiptoed back over to the others and told them the plan, keeping her voice as low as possible. Maddie and Edgar both looked grim. Eliza only seemed to be half paying attention; she was still preoccupied with the flames licking at her arms. Emma glanced at her, worried, and Eliza shook her head.
“They won’t go out.”
“Alright. Um…we’ll sort it in a bit.” It was a problem, but they had to deal with the immediate threat first. There was another round of rattling thumps as the monster tried to knock the door in. “Just…try not to set anything on fire for now, okay?” she said quickly.
Eliza glanced over at the door and nodded.
They crowded around the window, and there was a brief but silent squabble over who would be the first to go out. Finally, Emma simply swung one leg over the sill and slid out onto the ledge, being sure to grip the sill with both hands as she turned slowly and got a solid footing before facing the next window.
Outside, things seemed different. The ledge was thinner, for one. It only appeared to be a foot or two across. One wrong step and she would slide off the side of the building.
She felt dizzy suddenly, her head swimming. The ledge was slick under her feet, and she clung to the sill, her knuckles white, fingers aching. Then she forced herself to push off, placing her hands on the mossy roof slats, inching forward and then forward again. Just another step, and another. She was so close to the next window.
It seemed to take forever, but finally she could reach out and grasp the edge of the frame. A wave of relief rushed over her. Thankfully, this window was less sticky than the one she’d just come through, and she managed to slide it open enough to wiggle into the room, dropping as quietly as possible onto the floor. This hotel room was much the same as the last—overgrown, and filled with moss and peeling wallpaper, with a dust-covered mirror that reflected her white face back at her.
Maddie and Edgar came next, both clearly reluctant and terribly slow, but at last Emma was able to pull them in. When she looked up from helping Edgar in, Eliza was already halfway across the ledge, nearly about to let go of the first window frame, her face set in grim determination. Already a few small fires were starting, and Emma watched, holding her breath. A spark shriveled a patch of moss under Eliza’s hand and then fizzled out, and a clump of damp leaves sent up a wisp of smoke. Thankfully, the thick layer of green moss that covered everything here didn’t seem particularly susceptible to catching fire.
Emma’s gaze drifted from Eliza to the open window, and then to the window just across from theirs. The sun was directly overhead now, a glare of yellow light reflecting from the pane, combined with the flickering glow of Eliza’s flames. Emma squinted, frowning. She could see her reflection in the dusty glass. Her face, pale and wan, her black hair wild around her shoulders.
Emma froze.
She could feel Edgar’s shoulder touching her own as he leaned past her, could hear Maddie breathing beside her, so how was it that only she was reflected…? The Emma in the windowpane twitched, her black eyes glittering, a smile snaking across her face.
Not a reflection, Emma realized with a jolt of horror. It was there. Somehow, the monster had gotten into the room across from theirs, and it was watching them.
“Eliza,” she croaked out. Eliza paused and looked up at her, still just past the frame of the first window, and nearly out in the middle of the slender ledge.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Emma’s throat seemed to be closing up. It made her voice come out high and strangled. “Run.”
Eliza turned, wobbling in the center of the ledge, bracing herself on the roof. The monster snaked one hand onto the edge of the windowpane. It was gibbering excitedly, tugging the window upward. Emma could hear the window creaking in its track.
It was stuck, like the other had been, but the monster was strong.
Eliza seemed frozen, staring back over her shoulder.
“Run!” Emma hissed again, and even through the dusty glass she saw the monster twitch, turning wide lamp-like eyes on her. In the dim light those eyes seem to glow with a sickly yellow radiance.
“You have to run now!”
But Eliza didn’t move.
“What are you doing? Move, Eliza.” Edgar’s upper body was hanging out of the window now. His voice was sharp and commanding, but Emma could hear the faint tremor in it. She half expected Eliza to whirl around and yell at Edgar to shut up, but she stayed where she was.
The creature had sunk down in front of the window now, its bony shoulders hunched, its horrible face tucked down low into the rest of its body. As they watched, it flattened itself against the sill and, horrifyingly slowly, it slunk through the crack in the window. Emma watched, mouth open wide. The creature’s movements were boneless, almost snake-like.
She had time for one terrible thought—if this thing had ever actually been human, it hadn’t been for a long time now—and then it was through, spilling out onto the ledge, unfolding its long, crooked frame.
Emma clutched the windowsill so hard her fingers ached. In the middle of the ledge, Eliza was as still as a statue. Why wasn’t she moving?
“Eliza.” Edgar’s voice cracked. “Come on.”
The monster placed one foot on the ledge, tentatively, its face swirling and molding itself into strange new features, as if it were too distracted to settle on one.
Eliza still didn’t move, but the flames on her arms flared higher.
Finally, the monster leapt forward. Emma screamed, hands over her mouth, as it hurtled across the gap and crashed onto the roof, digging its claws into the tiles, skidding to a halt a second before going over the edge and landing deftly on the window ledge. There was less than ten feet of distance between itself and Eliza now, and it was making an excited kind of screeching, its open mouth revealing a set of broken, yellow teeth.