The Mirror (The Lost Bride Trilogy #2)

“It’s coming from upstairs, too.”

Trey glanced up as Sonya had. “Yeah, it is.” Up and down the hall, every door slammed. “And here, too.”

“She’s been saving this up,” Owen said as smoke crawled along the stairs from the third floor.

Something began to wail, and the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Every light went out.

“Shit, shit, I didn’t grab my phone. Everybody, stay here, right here,” Trey ordered. “I’ll go back for it.”

“Hold on.” Owen switched on a little flashlight. “Always have this in my pocket. Good thing I pulled on my pants.”

“There’s one in my room,” Cleo said. “On my nightstand, right-hand side of the bed.”

“I’ll get it. Like the man said: Everybody, stay here.”

“It’s like the time she made me think there was someone outside in a snowstorm. Only worse. When I went down, opened the door, it stopped.”

“We’ll try that.” Guided by the sound of her voice, Trey took Sonya’s other hand.

Owen came back with two narrow beams cutting through the ink-black dark. He handed one to Cleo, then aimed his toward the stairs. “She’s pulling out the special effects,” he said as smoke curled up the walls and blood ran down them.

“We’re going down. You’ve got the light and the lead, Owen,” Trey told him. “Watch your step.”

They started down as the wailing turned to moaning, then the moaning to shrieking.

The cat abruptly turned, streaked back up. As Cleo turned to call her, she saw Pye run up the steps toward the third floor.

“Damn it!” Calling, she ran after the cat.

“Well, shit!” Owen shoved his flashlight at Trey. “I’ll get them. Go.”

“We’ll get to the door.” Sonya fought panic. “We’ll get to the door and open it, and it’ll all stop. Like before.”

“Don’t rush. This light doesn’t help much.”

“She wants our fear. She can’t have it.”

Since the dogs all barked in front of the door, she followed the sound as much as the narrow beam of light.

“Take it.” Trey pushed the light into her hand, grabbed the door handle.

But when he wrenched it open, the storm didn’t stop.

The gale blew in.

As the dogs went wild, Trey put his shoulder against the door. “Need to close it,” he shouted over the roar of wind.

The light in Sonya’s hand bobbled as she pushed with Trey.

“That smoke, it’s coming down, it’s coming down.”

Cleo felt the icy brush from the smoke on her ankles as she ran. She’d brought the cat, a living creature, into the house. She’d be damned if she’d let Dobbs cause her harm.

As she reached the third floor, something grabbed her from behind. Sucking in her breath, she jabbed back with her elbow. Owen grunted, but held on to her.

“It’s me, goddamn it. Stop!”