Page 59 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck
I continued to the back door and reached to unlock it, only to draw my hand back fast as a cold draft raced up my spine. I fought the urge to turn and run—to get to my niece and leave the house.
“Stop,” I whispered to myself, fighting the need to flee. “This is your home too. Think of the good memories. Not the bad. Don’t let Nile take this from you. You’re stronger than this. It’s raccoons. Nothing more. Stop making it into something it’s not.”
Steeling my resolve, I turned the lock and then gripped the cool metal handle. I took a deep breath and did my best to calm down. As I started to turn the handle, the cold sensation returned, this time stronger.
I released the handle and touched the opaque curtain that covered the window of the large wooden door. I felt a little foolish peeking out to assure myself it was only wildlife foraging in the trash cans, not my insane uncle, but I did it all the same.
I pulled the curtain that was hooked by two rods, one at the top of the window and one at the bottom. As I eased the material aside, I peered out, fully prepared to laugh at myself and my overactive imagination.
At first, my mind couldn’t wrap around what I was seeing. It was a mass of black. As I drew my gaze up, I realized what I was staring at. The broad chest of a man in a ceremonial robe. Just like the robes I’d seen the men wearing who had been with Nile years ago.
The face that stared back at me from under the hood was something out of a horror movie. The symbol I’d seen numerous times before was there, branded on the man’s forehead. His head was clean-shaven, and his mouth looked to have been sewn shut. His eyes were black as pitch. He tipped his head to the side, his gaze firmly fixed on me.
A scream tore free from me as I reacted, engaging the lock and pivoting on my heels. I ran toward the front door—toward the foyer where the steps to the second story were. The need to get to Astria and keep her safe was the only thing that kept me from getting lost in terror and freezing.
I was nearly to them when the front door burst open. I screamed again, sliding on the hardwood as I tried to stop. For a second, I thought another robed man would be there. When I saw it was Drest, I burst into tears.
He was to me in the blink of an eye, taking me by my elbows, steadying me. “Rach, hon, what is it? I heard you scream when I was coming up to the door. Are you hurt?”
I was shaking so hard it was difficult to form a clear thought, let alone a sentence. “The back door,” I managed. “There was a man there, staring in at me.”
Drest spun around, went for the front door, pushed it closed, and did something that left his ring glowing purple before he twisted around, facing me. “Stay here. Don’t move.”
He raced down the hall toward the back door. He tossed it open and ran out like he was ready to take on the world.
A black shadow came rushing down the stairs, taking shape before me. Torid was there, in goblin form.
I reached for him. “Astria? Is she safe?”
He looked puzzled or as puzzled as a goblin can look. “Yessss,” he hissed. “Is Ray-shell?”
The way he said my name left a laugh nearly erupting from me. Worry for Drest and our situation kept my humor in check. “Did you come down because you heard me scream?”
He nodded.
I hugged him, thankful for his concern. It was touching.
He farted.
I eased back from him.
He snarled. “Hunter.”
I caught his hand. “Torid, stop. Drest is outside right now, possibly with a robed guy.”
Torid swayed back and forth in a way that made his spindly limbs look almost tree-like. It was evident he was worked up. “The…hors…d’oeuvres.”
“The what?” I asked, wondering what hors d’oeuvres had to do with anything.
I wasn’t sure what Torid was aiming at. He had an interesting way of naming people and things. Amice once told me it was because English was something like his eight-hundredth language. I wasn’t sure if she’d been joking or not.
Torid vanished and reappeared at the end of the hall, near the back door. He zipped out into the night.
I was torn between checking on Astria, just to be sure she was as fine as Torid claimed, and running out back to see how Drest and Torid were doing. I decided to go for Astria.
As the sole of my heel touched the first step, noises came from the front porch. I spun and went right for the door, looking out the side panel window. I didn’t see anything, but I heard something out there.
Worry for Drest, more than Torid because I was fairly sure the goblin would eat anything that got in his way, took hold of me. I swallowed hard, hating being the damsel in distress, waiting in the wings for men to save me. That being said, Drest was a trained and skilled fighter.
