The Spider Catcher (Redemption by A.L. Tyler Book 1) by A.L. Tyler Page A

Ethel was oblivious, and Gina sat with no food in front of her, staring out the window.
    Ember picked at her oatmeal, her eyes occasionally darting up to the people who were forcefully ignoring her.
    “I need you to leave for a while today, Ember.” She said, just as Ethel started clearing plates away. She looked her in the eye. “I need you to get out of this house. Thalia needs things to get back to normal for a bit.”
    Ember smiled sheepishly, feeling the blush creep up her neck. “Where should I go?”
    “Out. Away.” Gina shook her head. “I don’t care where you go. Stay out all night…just give us the day. Just…” Gina hesitated, sucking air through her teeth as she glanced at Ethel. “Stay away from the other people here. They’re not the types I want you around.”
    Gina’s words hung in the silence. Several minutes later, Ember calmly folded her napkin and placed it next to her dish.
    “So, let me get this straight,” she started. “You want me to leave the house, and stay out after dark, and not talk to anyone all day. What am I supposed to do? You want me to walk laps around the edge of the island?”
    Gina slouched into her shoulders, looking defeated for the first time in Ember’s memory. “Don’t go near the water. Or Main, stay away from there, and all the shops. Go for a nature walk. Or else, you can stay here, but only if you can stay in your room and be completely quiet.”
    “You’re being serious.” Ember said gravely.
    “Very,” Gina spat. “It was a mistake to bring you back here. I can’t think while you’re in this house.”
    “Mom…”
    Gina’s eyes flashed at Thalia. “You just need some quiet time, Lia. Ember’s going to go for a walk, and think about what she did.”
    “No.” Thalia shook her head. “Just let her stay here, in her room. It’s safer.”
    Looking caught between amusement and annoyance at Thalia’s sentiment, Gina turned back to Ember. “The choice is hers, I suppose. Stay and be quiet, or go for a walk.”
    Staring around at her family, Ember decided that it was pointless to argue. Gina was nearly crazy, and Thalia seemed to have bought into her delusions that the world was out to get them. Every one of them except Ember, it appeared, because Gina wanted her to go wandering alone in the wild.  Seething, she wondered if her mother was secretly hoping she would get eaten or murdered if she left the house.
    She walked back up the stairs, intent on having a long day of reading, but her plans were cut short when she found all of her books were missing from her suitcase. She dumped the whole bag on the floor, eliciting a yelled warning from her mother when her shoes landed with a ka-thunk .
    Poking around the mess with her foot, and eventually spreading it all out, she stood in the middle of the room, turning slowly. The books were gone, and they weren’t the only thing missing.
    The red wool coat that Acton Knox had given her was gone too.
    Despite herself, Ember ran down the stairs, making a horrible racket as she went.
    “Where are they?” She demanded.
    Ethel, Thalia, and Gina were all still sitting at the breakfast table.
    “What?” Gina asked indifferently.
    “You know what.” Ember insisted, trying to keep her voice calm. “The books. My new red jacket. Where are they?”
    Gina looked down at the table, shrugging, and then looked Ember in the eye. She didn’t speak again, so Ember fetched her key, wallet, and jacket, and let the back screen door clap shut behind her.
    She shook her head, shoving her hands into her pockets as she walked away from the house. When she finally looked down from the sky, her eyes landed on a bit of white in the middle of the burn pit her mother had made; it must have been the same thing that she had noticed the night before.
    She knew what it was before she even got to the pit, but she was disappointed all the same. In the ring of ashes, neatly trimmed by carefully laid salmon and tan flagstones, just off