Working out was for jocks. Homework was for nerds and I
wasn’t a jock or a nerd. Yet, here I was, sweating through my favorite Victoria
Secret yoga pants and tank with a headache the size of Macy’s. Learning about
my powers was hard work. I thought it would come naturally. My brain was
hurting from concentrating and my muscles were actually sore from effort. I
thought longingly of the potion in the green bottle that Hecate had given me—a
little sip would make it that much easier to use my powers, but she took it
away. Apparently, I had all the power she wanted me to have. It kind of pissed
me off.
In fact, I was
feeling pretty disgruntled all around.
I was hot, I was
sweaty, my head hurt and my hair was frizzy. Not to mention I had been wearing
sneakers far too long. Thank goodness Hecate was gone. I actually had been glad
not to be alone after the “bone incident,” but now I was ready for some alone
time. I felt stronger.
Feeling strong plus
feeling disgruntled equaled somebody was gonna get hurt.
I was standing in
my yard near the lake and I glanced up at the moon before heading inside. It
was low and swollen tonight—a haunting moon. It sent a shiver up my spine. I
thought briefly about going to Heven’s and treating her to a little of what she
deserved. I even looked toward the driveway as I walked, but I wasn’t going
anywhere looking like this.
I went into the
house and began climbing the stairs. Halfway up, I heard a noise in the kitchen
and I paused. My parents were still out of town. It wasn’t the maid’s day to be
here… unless she came early. Another thud in the kitchen had me spinning on the
stairs to see what it was.
“Mary?” I called
out. “Is that you?” Maybe she switched her schedule around and I didn’t know
about it. Maybe I could get her to make me a latté.
No one answered, and
the noises in the kitchen fell silent. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs
and listened, wondering if I had heard anything at all. “Hello?” I called
again, this time more unsure. This time a fine chill raced up my back.
Suddenly being
alone in this big house was scary.
Clink, clink, clink.
Okay, I wasn’t hearing things.
Someone was there.
I stepped off the
stairs and walked through the foyer in the direction of the kitchen. I heard
the cat hiss and I paused again. Clover was too lazy to hiss at a mouse.
Something in my stomach turned cold and hard.
I looked over my
shoulder at the massive front doors to the alarm keypad and the distress
button.
But it was too
late for pressing buttons.
Clover burst
around the corner with a hideous screech and barreled into me, hitting me in
the knees and causing me to stumble. The cat didn’t even stop. I could hear his
claws scraping frantically across the tiles. “What the…” I began as I
straightened, but then something lurched around the corner after the cat.
It was hideous.
It stood about a
foot taller than me with wide shoulders that were uneven looking—one was lower
than the other—and a wild mane of bushy orange hair that seemed to create a
cloud around its pasty, white face. Its lips were black and it had a nasty row
of teeth that had seen a lot of decay. It had large purple circles around its
eyes, which seemed to have no color at all.
It looked like a
psychotic clown.
I screamed and
took a step backward, and the thing grinned. I went running but it lunged and
caught me around the wrist, pulling me back. I struggled, kicking out, but it
was no use, his grip was too strong.
Without any
warning it reached up and snatched my silver pendant right off my neck. “Hey!”
I screamed as it shoved me away. I fell onto my butt and stared up at the
glittering silver heart as it dangled from the nasty clown’s hands.
Cole had given
that to me. It was the last gift he had given me before we broke up.
Anger surged into
my chest, making me hot. “Give that back.”
Freaky Clown gave
me another frightening grin and ran back into the kitchen, disappearing from
sight. I ran after it, running into a solid wall of… offensiveness.
