Dreams of Fire (Maple Hill Chronicles Book 1) by Elizabeth Alix Page B

further. The wall in the office still looked white, and there appeared to be no new disasters.
    She made tea for herself in the kitchen and put out a fresh can of cat food for Oscar. Given the spooky thunderstorm atmosphere, she half expected more ghostly happenings. It would be better to keep busy than idly anticipating something dreadful. So, she got a bucket and sponge and decided to clean the kitchen cabinets thoroughly.
    The storm outside passed while she worked, but the wind and rain continued to lash the windows. She was just sponging mouse poop out of one of the lower cabinets when the hair on the back of her neck prickled, and she had the distinct sensation of someone standing in the doorway behind her. Goosebumps crept over her skin, and she felt a bubble of apprehension rise in her chest. She turned slowly hoping against hope to see Oscar and thought she caught a shadow in the doorway to the pantry, but when she looked, it wasn’t there, nor was Oscar. The unnamable anxiety was back.  
    Oh, damn, she thought. Kelly said I was brave. Time to be brave.
    “Hello?” Her voice sounded tremulous in her own ears, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello? I don’t know who you are, but you’re scaring me and I really wish you wouldn’t.” She got off her knees on the kitchen floor and went through the dining room door. She had the powerful feeling that someone was standing in the living room. Catching sight of Oscar in the dining room, she picked him up unceremoniously. His warm, soft weight was comforting as she carried him with her back through the kitchen and little canning room-pantry and past the basement door. As she passed the door there was a particularly strong gust of wind and something crashed outside. She jumped a mile and clutched Oscar to her. He meowed loudly in protest, and she eased up, apologizing and stroking his fur more to soothe herself. She felt like the basement door was radiating something like static or electricity that raised the hairs on her skin as she passed. She made sure it was locked.  
    Marianne paused in the doorway to the living room, standing between the foot of the stairs and a small closet. Oscar squirmed in her grip, but she didn’t want to put him down. Instead she murmured to him and kissed the top of his head. The longer she stood there, the more she felt like someone was standing just out of sight around the corner by the fireplace, and if she stepped forward and turned her head to the left, she’d see them. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt a cold dread.
    Be brave, Marianne, she told herself. The air felt heavy with the gravity of a person standing on the floor out of sight only a few feet away. The room felt cold as a freezer. She had to know or her heart would explode from fear, so she stepped forward and looked. As she did, she squeaked in a small voice, “Please stop scaring me.” She stepped into the living room with Oscar as a shield in her arms and made her head turn left. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a shadowy apparition by the fireplace, but when she looked full on, there was nothing there. “Please stop scaring me,” she said again more firmly and felt an easing of the pressure of anxiety. The room gradually warmed up.
    She took a deep breath and felt her heart slow down from its furious pounding. There was nothing there now, and as the moments passed, she felt more relieved and sure that she was alone again. “Thank you,” she whispered to the empty room as she put the squirming Oscar down. He paused long enough to shake himself before dashing off down the hall.
    The storm petered out and the air coming in the front windows felt fresher and less humid than it had earlier. She steadied herself as she opened all the windows again and aired the house out. The clouds passed and shafts of sunlight turned into full afternoon sun shining on a sparkling world outside.  
    She went outside and got wet all over again