Radley's Home for Horny Monsters by Annabelle Hawthorne (chromebook ebook reader TXT) 📕

“So in response, you want to treat the books in our collection like garbage?” Elizabeth examined the tome on the table, stroking its pages. “I’m half tempted to turn you into a weasel for a week.”

“You always were mother of the year.” Sarah turned sideways on the chair, kicking her legs impatiently. “There has to be something we can do. You tried to play nice, we offered him far more than the house is worth.”

“And there is no way he could have taken out the elemental on his own.” Elizabeth frowned. “It’s obvious that he has discovered at least one of the house’s secrets.”

“You don’t suppose-“ Sarah sat upright in her chair, clutching her amulet. “I mean, he couldn’t have...”

“The Caretakers of that home have been there for decades. We would have known if they had found it. Garrett would have known. Maybe even the whole world would know. You told me earlier that we shouldn’t have bothered trying to do things diplomatically. The longer we wait, the more power he will draw from those... things. We need to send something into the house that won’t easily be spotted. Something that can get in and out without a trace, something that the creatures in the house can’t defend him against.” She held out her hand. “I’m going to need the blood sample.”

“You mean this?” Sarah grinned, retrieving a leaf from a hidden pocket inside her bra. It had a single drop of blood on it, a tiny red spot on an otherwise ordinary leaf.

“I saw you pull it. He almost saw you too. That should have been our first warning. Despite our glamours, he didn’t fall for charm, whimsy, or distraction. He is obviously warded.”

Sarah laughed. “You can’t remember the last time a man didn’t fall all over himself to impress you, can you?” She handed the leaf over to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stared at the blood spot, a murderous grin on her face. She walked across the room to a portrait on the wall, a picture of the Society’s founder. She moved the portrait to reveal a safe. After typing in the passcode and opening the door, she withdrew a glowing ruby. As Elizabeth held the leaf and the ruby side by side, the ruby glowed brighter, illuminating the cruelty in her eyes. “Yes, well neither can she.”

What About the Creepy Doll?

“Actually, there is something.” Mike carefully walked around the furniture in the room, and pulled the doll from the mantle of the fireplace. He came back and handed it to her. The docile porcelain features of the doll gazed imploringly into Beth’s eyes, as if it was sad to be leaving.

“I don’t care how, just get rid of it,” he said.

Beth realized that even she thought the doll was spooky. Staring into its painted eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m on it. Have a good night, Mike.”

She left him, a stranger in a strange place, her heels clicking softly on the pavement as she walked to her car. Looking back, she saw Mike waving at her and gave him a wave in return. Entering her car, she then contemplated the doll briefly before sitting it in the passenger seat. “I don’t think a seatbelt is going to work for you,” she informed the doll, starting up the car and pulling away.

The house shrank away in her rearview mirror, a many-layered mystery she was hoping to explore a bit more sometime. The drive to the office was fast-the home was in the older part of the city, meaning it was closer to the new business district that was built ten years ago. Stopping inside, she dropped off some of the paperwork Mike had already filled out for her, and then made a couple notes on her work computer.

When she got back in her car, she smiled at the doll. “You’re much too special to just be tossed.”

She had been obsessed with the house since she was little, and she wasn’t yet ready to part with such an unexpected treasure, no matter how creepy it was. The doll had a porcelain face with a cloth body, and it wore a pale red dress. It stared up and out the car window as they drove, and Beth contemplated how ethical it would be to keep or sell it. Technically, Mike had given it to her for disposal, but now she worried what sort of implications it may have if it turned out the doll was somehow worth a lot of money.

She pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex. Beth lived by herself, and found that The Highrise was the perfect place to live. It had a gym that she frequented on a regular basis, a pool that was open during the summer, and she was only minutes from the big shopping center that had the best clothing stores for forty miles.. She picked up her files and the doll, got out of the car and headed inside. She entered the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor.

On the ride up, she held the doll gently, inspecting its face. The dark eyes looked sad, as if it somehow knew it had been given away. She wondered what little child had owned the doll, once upon a time, and if it had been loved.

She also wondered if it was wearing underwear. She lifted its skirt to reveal a carefully knit pair of white panties. Feeling weird for even thinking such a thing, she tucked it under her arm when the door opened and walked down the long hallway to her apartment. It was small, but it was hers. Only six hundred square feet, it had a tiny kitchen which turned into her bedroom. She never bothered having company over-there were plenty of more interesting places to meet friends in town. She set the doll on the counter next to her files and walked into the