The Guest House Hauntings Boxset by Hazel Holmes (novel books to read txt) 📕

gently placed her hand on the old woman’s back. “I know what happened to your daughter. But this isn’t what she would want.” Sarah felt how weak Iris had grown, and it seemed that all it would take to kill Iris would be to apply the slightest amount of pressure. “There has to be another way.” And then she remembered what Mary had said. “The moon still shines.”

Iris gawked at Sarah, as if she were stuck in some trance. Only the slightest twitches around her mouth and eyes broke the stoic expression. “Hand in hand with the stars.” She clasped her hands together, clutching them tightly. “You spoke to Mary?”

“She doesn’t want you to do this,” Sarah said. “Help me end all of this.”

The witch laughed, that cackle filling the room. “Stupid girl. You think you can sway her now?” The witch held out her hand. “Give me the orb, Iris. And you will have your daughter back.”

Iris fingered the smooth crystal still attached to the necklace, and smiled sadly as she looked at Sarah. “My late husband thought the same thing you did. He couldn’t understand how his own family could make a pact with the devil. He didn’t understand that it would take our children, that it would take my daughter!” Iris stepped from Sarah’s reach. “I understood what my husband couldn’t.” She plucked the orb from her neck. “The devil gets his due.”

When Iris dropped the orb into the witch’s palm, Sarah lunged for it, but was suddenly squashed to the floor, unable to move her body.

The pain returned, but it was different this time. It felt closer, more intimate, and when Sarah clawed at her shirt, she felt the scales spreading up her stomach. The pain reached her chest, and she grew short of breath and then lost her voice as she felt the vibrations of her screams in her throat.

“It’s going to hurt,” the witch said, walking closer, her hips swaying and that coy little smile still spread across her stunningly beautiful face. “And I know it’s in your nature to fight and resist, but the more you try and put this off, the more it’s going to hurt. You’re going to die, Sarah. Your soul will vanish, and you will cease to exist. The scary part is knowing that beforehand, but I can tell you that when it happens…” She leaned close, and Sarah caught the faint stench of decay on her breath. “You won’t even remember what it was that you were afraid of.”

“Sarah!” Dell stumbled forward, but before he even made it a step and had a chance to reach out his hands to grab her, she was gone.

Dell waved his arms around in the spot where she had disappeared, but he touched nothing but air. Spinning in circles, he looked back up at the house.

Dell sprinted back to the squad car, reaching for the radio inside and ignoring Brent’s pestering questions. “Faye! Tell the state troopers that I’m going to the Bell house, and tell them that our situation has changed to involve hostages.” He tossed the radio receiver onto the dash and popped the trunk.

“Dell? What the hell is going on out there?” Faye’s voice crackled through the radio, and Dell scooped the dashboard receiver one last time before he left.

“Just tell them that I’m going to the house and that the kidnappers involved are Iris and Kegan Bell. Both should be considered armed and dangerous. If I don’t make it out, I need you to take care of Sarah, all right?”

With Faye still screaming questions, Dell opened the trunk and grabbed the shotgun and started loading shells. His nerves started to fray as he loaded the weapon, and he could hear Brent screaming through the back window.

“You’re going to get yourself killed, man!” Brent’s voice sounded throaty and hoarse. “That’s what she does. It’s all just a game for her to try and make herself feel better. Don’t get caught up in it!”

With the shotgun loaded, Dell shoved another handful of shells into his pocket and then slammed the trunk closed, revealing Brent staring at him through the back window, still shaking his head.

“Don’t go!”

But Dell wasn’t going to lie down. He sprinted toward the mansion, the butt of the shotgun shoved into the crook of his shoulder, and his gaze focused on the weapon’s sights.

The Bell family had sunk its teeth and claws into his town for too long, and now they had taken nearly everything. Dell knew that they weren’t going to stop until it was done. But he couldn’t let them win, not now. He was going to put a stop to it, and he was going to do it by any means necessary.

Dell leapt up the steps to the Bells’ front door two at a time, winded by the time he reached the top, and slowed as he approached the doors. He gripped the shotgun with both hands and then flung the doors open.

Dell kept the shotgun poised to shoot but after a quick sweep of the foyer, he found it empty save for the candles that wiggled flames, moving the shadows inside, bringing the house to life.

Shadows and light danced in a tango of mystery and defiance. Despite the cold inside, Dell was sweating. He stood there in the foyer for a moment, unsure of where to go.

“Sheriff’s Department!” Dell shouted, his training taking over and forcing him to identify himself. “I want everyone inside to come out and identify yourselves, now!” But his voice only echoed off the walls and bounced off the high ceiling. No one exited. No one left.

Dell turned toward the grand staircase, lifting the barrel of his gun up the winding steps to the second floor. If Sarah was here, he was betting that she’d be on the fifth floor. He approached the stairs carefully and then made his way up, leading with the shotgun.

He passed the second floor and then the third. Halfway up to the