Page 40 of Magpie

I t should have startled me, to walk into a decrepit barn only to find myself back in that all-too-familiar house, but I find myself only grimacing at the sight.

I stand in the entryway, shifting on my feet.

My courage seems to have fled the moment I stepped back into the House, leaving me to fend for myself.

I chew my bottom lip, looking at the rooms on either side of me.

The House is just as empty as I remember it, exactly like the first time I stepped within the cage of these walls.

I should have seen it then for what it was: a tomb.

I strain my ears for the slightest noise, the barest hint that one of Alister’s creations is close.

I thought that the moment my feet touched the first floorboard Alister would pounce on me, digging his claws in to never let me go again.

Instead, I am left standing alone in the cold, dark room.

Clenching and unclenching my hands, I bounce on the balls of my feet, trying and failing miserably to quell the fear and anxiety gripping my throat.

The luna key has stopped thrumming, and I’m trying not to take that as a bad omen. Even the light of the guiding moth cannot penetrate this place.

The quiet remains uninterrupted, no distant shouts of fear or peals of nervous laughter wafting to me from the hallway or down the stairs.

But I know the House will be full of unsuspecting souls, and I know he will be gorging on them.

He must be starving without me, denied his unlimited access to life.

“You’re done feasting, Alister,” I whisper into the House. It is the loudest I can make my voice go, and even so, the soft tone sounds like a scream in the grave silence.

Determined to not feed him a single morsel of fear, I let out a shaky breath and push my nerves aside. If Alister isn’t going to come for me, then I’m going to find him. Grabbing the banister, I’m ready to climb the stairs when a voice calls out my name.

“Maggie.”

I stop dead in my tracks, one foot raised to step onto the first stair.

“Maggie,” he says again, his voice exactly as I remember it.

“No. This isn’t real,” I tell myself, closing my eyes, wishing I could close my ears as well.

“Maggie,” he calls again, stressing my name long and low.

I know it is a trick. I know he cannot be here. But I am unable to stop myself as I turn and follow his voice, if only for the flickering hope of a chance to see him.

Leaving the staircase behind, I follow the gentle song-like call of my name down the hallway.

The layout of the House is the same, but even if it had changed a hundred times, I know my feet would lead me down this path.

My breath catches in my throat at the sight of the open bedroom door.

My chest tightens around that breath, holding it in as if it is my last.

He is standing in front of me, looking down at a book, flipping through it idly as he has so many times before.

“Sean.”

He looks up, an easy, crooked smile spreading across his face. I am moving before I think, catching myself halfway across the room and coming to a trembling stop. It’s with a great effort that I keep myself from running into his arms.

“You came back. I knew you wouldn’t leave me forever.” His voice is soft, if a little too bright. Too happy. There is none of the cocky bravado or sincere gentleness that I am used to.

“I…yes,” I end lamely, not sure what else to say. “Are you…are you really you?” I ask, reaching a hand out to him. Maybe Alister brought him back. Maybe it is a peace offering of sorts, a reminder that he can reward just as he can punish.

Sean smiles broadly at me, closing the book he is holding and opening his arms wide to receive me. “I’m so happy you’re back,” he says, and that tells me everything I need to know.

I don’t move. Neither does he. The smile stays plastered across his face, his eyes unblinking. I look at him then—really look. His face is too stretched, his eyes just a little too vibrant, and his smile looks more like Alister’s sneer than the sweet, crooked smile I fell in love with.

“Sean would never be happy to see me back here,” I say, watching his arms drop to his sides, his smile fading. His face goes slack, the joy leaving his eyes. He might as well be a statue.

Silence creeps between us as my words ring in the air. Shaking my head, I take a step back from him, and he stays perfectly still, not an ounce of life to be found in him.

“This isn’t you. You’re gone.” My voice sounds dead in my own ears. “Goodbye, Sean,” I say, more to myself than to the specter in front of me, as I turn my back on the only man I ever truly loved and walk away.

Rushing down the hallway, my breath coming in great heaves and gulps, I stumble over my feet and lean against the wall.

Allowing myself one moment to feel, one brief second of grief, as I clutch my chest, my heart aching.

Letting out a final sigh, I straighten, gathering my strength and shutting the door on my wounded heart.

I’m determined to not be distracted by another trick of the House.

I set my shoulders and head back to the stairs.

Alister turned me into death, and I intend to live up to that one more time.

With new resolve, I grip the banister and take the stairs two at a time. No other voices call out to me, and I suspect it is because the House knows I will not follow them. I’m a woman possessed, and nothing is going to steer me off track.

Navigating the twisting and winding halls, I find myself standing before the attic stairs all too soon.

Gripping the string, I gave it one swift tug, jumping back as the accordion stairs tumble down in front of me.

Fear grips my throat, my heart beating out of my chest. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do, how I’m going to ensure that an endless being actually dies.

But she gave me the luna key for a reason, and I grip it underneath my shirt to reassure myself.

There is no promise that he won’t pull me under his spell again, trapping me forever as his trained pet, doling out death on his whim.

But I have to try.

Planting my foot on the first stair, I swallow my fear, and I hoist myself up.

One step after another, I ascend into the attic, the room where I ceased to exist. I hastily scan the space, waiting for his white gloves to emerge from the shadows and grab me.

My eyes lock on the fortune teller’s table across the room.

I suck in a breath at the sight, expecting to find him seated behind it.

But the room is entirely empty. My shoulders deflate as I let out an unsteady breath.

He’s not here.

Not allowing myself to panic, knowing he is most likely toying with me, I move on. Bypassing the table entirely, I step toward the wall. There is a small indention, nearly invisible. Gripping it, I pull the wall back, revealing Alister’s study.

It is a small chamber with an entirely glass ceiling and walls, telescopes of all shapes and sizes lining the room.

He spent his time up here on nights when the moon was full, whispering his dark incantations to his spell books.

The space is claustrophobic and stifling with the incense that is constantly burning.

The musky scent instantly gives me a headache.

I scowl when I scan the room and see it’s also empty.

Closing the door behind me, I storm into the study, dropping my bag on a desk littered with books and maps of the night sky, and even a few handheld telescopes.

Placing my hands on my hips, I turn, studying the room but not truly seeing it.

He knows I’m here; he must. I can’t imagine why he hasn’t come for me yet.

Opening my backpack, I pull out a plastic shopping bag.

Before I went to the diner, I stopped by a lingerie store, buying a black teddy, the simplest one I could find.

I strip, pulling my hoodie and shirt off and stepping out of my sneakers and jeans.

I pull the black silk nightdress over my head.

The cups around my breasts are lacy, barely covering the more intimate parts and leaving very little to the imagination.

Slowly, I remove the luna key, knowing I won’t be able to hide it in the revealing garment.

I hold it for a moment longer, waiting for it to thrum, to glow, to guide me.

It is nothing but a hunk of cold metal.

Shoving the pile of my clothes in the corner, I turn and look at myself in the reflection of the glass walls.

My breath catches in my throat. The darkness that bleeds out of me is thick and heavy, like a fur coat trailing down my shoulders and pooling at my feet.

My key normally held all this energy, this deep blackness that lives inside of me.

Now it is eating me alive. Soon I will be gone, and all that will remain is Magpie.

“No,” I snap, forcing myself to look away from the grim figure of my reflection. I will not give that thought the slightest attention. He will never trap me in that cage again.

Then the world tilts as I feel him approaching.

I sense each step he takes up the attic stairs, can almost hear the wood creaking beneath his weight. He crosses the attic floor. He’s standing outside the door, waiting, savoring this moment.

The door slides open behind me, the sound as he snicks it shut deafening in my ears. I do not miss hearing a lock clicking into place. I almost laugh at the effort. I don’t plan on running from him, not anymore.

Turning, I set my eyes on Alister.

I’m rewarded with a brief look of shock as his eyes roam over me, over the dips and swells of my entirely too-exposed body. The shock falls from his face, replaced with a triumphant grin as he finally meets my gaze.

I smile, the expression like plastering war paint across my face, and I prepare to go to my death.