(Still pushing the heck out of this book, because as authors, that's what we do....)
A sudden urge came over her and Bri frowned, but followed her feet to the bookshelf. The metal box was back in its place. Taking it down, she pulled out the broken-heart pendant and stared at it. Her fingers roved over it, exploring curiously. It wasn’t like any other she had seen; inscriptions covered the backside, written in an unfamiliar language. A strong sense of wanting slid over her and she shook her head, intending to put it back in its place, but instead found herself slipping the pendant into her jeans pocket.
Bri frowned. She didn’t want Aeryal’s jewelry obviously, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to return it. Unwillingly, she let her fingers slide over the aged wood of the bookshelf. Something about it seemed….alive. Beneath her fingers, it felt warm, almost like skin, and Bri shuddered. She’d never touched anything that felt so alien and evil.
Even so, she could not stop running her fingers over it, slowly tracing the whorls and patterns along the grain. Oddly enough, there seemed to be shapes cut into each level of the shelf, and Bri frowned, remembering how the pendant had sank into one of those grooves. As she touched each, a tiny whisper sounded and grew louder, until the air around her was humming.
Mildly freaked, Bri muttered, “Time to leave,” and jammed her hands in her pockets, making sure the pendant still there. With a sigh, she left the room. Clearly, Greta wouldn’t be home anytime soon, and Bri did have things to do at home. She headed for the stairs. The first step creaked miserably under her weight, echoing loudly through the lonely hall. Suddenly, a blast of frigid air swept over her, numbing her where she stood. Frost appeared on her arms, white ridges harsh against the brown. She could feel goosebumps rising beneath the ice and she shivered violently.
‘Why can’t I move?’ Hysteria filled her brain as her feet refused to work, refused to move her out of place. It was as if she was frozen where she stood.
Overhead, darkness swirled until it settled into one large mass and two red eyes popped open in the midst of it. She knew it wasn’t her imagination that the eyes looked pleased.
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