An obstruction lay directly in front of me. I thought it was nothing more than a heap of old rags and I put out a tentative hand to shove them aside. Then I recoiled in horror. The barrier was a body.
My first thought was of Louvenia. Nelda and Owen had planned to do away with her and pin the blame on Micah. They must have gone through with their scheme, probably after dumping me here.
I eased back up to the body, running my hand along the motionless arm until I found her wrist. I couldn’t feel a pulse, but in that moment of contact, the tingle of cloves on my tongue overwhelmed me.
I drew back in shock. The dead woman was not Louvenia after all, but Nelda. How she had ended up under the house I had no idea, but I could only surmise that Owen had betrayed her. Maybe he’d decided with both Nelda and Louvenia out of the way, the Kroll fortune would fall to him sooner.
Her skin was cooling but not cold. She couldn’t have been dead long. She may even have drawn her last breath while I lay unconscious only a few feet away.
As I lay there beside the body, a dreaded certainty washed over me. I wasn’t alone. I could feel and smell a presence, though I couldn’t see it. The entity was not unlike the one I’d encountered in Asher Falls. It was no longer a ghost, if it ever had been. It was colder and darker than any ghost. Negative energy that had evolved into pure evil. And it was there with me under Rose’s house. At the moment of death, it had left Nelda’s body and was now crouching in the gloom observing me.
The tingle of cloves faded as a hint of witch hazel wafted from the shadows. I could sense it moving closer, slithering unfettered through the piles of debris as it sniffed and circled, a netherworld predator on the hunt for a conduit. I still couldn’t see it or hear it, but the underlying stench of its being overwhelmed me.
My hand flew to my chest, seeking Rose’s key. It was gone, of course. Nelda had ordered Owen to take it from me. But he wouldn’t have understood the significance unless she’d told him. Was it possible he’d left the key on her person? Could it still be in one of her pockets or around her neck?
Hope surged as I steeled my resolve, inching toward the body only to be propelled backward by an unnatural gust. I grabbed on to the nearest thing I could find, a wooden support beam, as that strange vortex swirled around me. Then the wind died away as suddenly as it had risen. I huddled in the dark, the air so stale and fetid I couldn’t breathe without retching. The entity was right there, squatting beside me, touching my hair, running a finger down my arm as it tried to find a way inside me.
From outside the enclosure, I heard the abrasive rattle of a cicada. Almost at once, the entity retreated back into the shadows and I could sense its wariness. For whatever reason, it had a healthy respect for Mott’s power.
I took advantage of the reprieve and eased back up to the body, running my hands over the stiffening torso, searching one pocket of Nelda’s smock and then the other. I wanted to scream in frustration. Where is it? Where is it? But then as I jostled the body, I heard the faint tinkle of metal.
Mott’s diversion had been momentary. Already I could feel the entity creeping back in as the smell grew stronger. It was coming for me. Getting nearer with each passing moment...
One hand pressed to my nose and mouth, I thrust the other hand back into Nelda’s pocket, searching, searching until my fingers finally grasped the skeleton key.
I turned, clutching the key to my breast, but the talisman seemed to have no effect. Prowling and predatory, the malcontent kept coming. Closer and closer. Stroking its icy tentacles down my face, sliding feelers into my memories, seeking darkness or a weakness that would allow it to enter my soul.
I wanted nothing so much as to roll over and vomit up the filth of its presence, but something inside me held fast. I gathered my strength and every ounce of my courage. I would not let that thing in. I would not.
I sensed hesitation. Then frustration and rising anger.
The tentacles snaked around me, poking, prodding and then finding no way in, they withdrew. The odor faded. The entity hunkered there in the darkness, thwarted and enraged.
I kept moving. On and on until I reached the fence. Darkness had fallen outside and clouds drifted across the moon. I smelled rain in the air and I drew in a long, cleansing breath as I curled my fingers around the chain links and peered out. The maze was a dark outline against the horizon. I wanted to take comfort in the sight, but another scent drifted to me on the night air. Smoke.