Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“What are you wearing?”
“Do you like it?” She poses.
“It looks like a costume for a play.”
“Raine said the same thing. Shakespeare or something. C’mon, there’s a whole wardrobe like this. We can play dress up.”
“Yes! I can make flower crowns.” I drag my suitcase up the creaky wooden steps.
“What did you bring? You’re only staying one night.”
“I know. I brought supplies. Is Raine already here?”
“Yeah, she got done with her shift at the library early.”
“Welcome to my humble home.” She sweeps her arms out, and I catch my breath. In the golden light, framed by the heavy wooden door, Honey looks like a vision. A pagan priestess. A medieval queen.
“Wait, you have to tell me what this place is.” The door creaks as she opens it. There’s grimy stained glass on either side of the door depicting vines and roses. I spot some familiar imagery: a pentacle, cup, sword, and serpent are hidden in the center of the roses, and a bull, knight, and fire-breathing dragon-snake are rampaging over the door.
“I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”
“There are gargoyles on the roof.” They look like ivy-covered lumps, but I bet they’re griffins to match the gates. “And a turret.”
“You want to see the tower? There’s an amazing view of the labyrinth.”
“Hecate help us,” I murmur and drag my suitcase over the warped wooden floorboards.
Honey gives me a mini tour. As old houses go, it has good bones, but it definitely needs renovation. The front foyer and grand staircase are gorgeous and pretty clean, but we pass whole rooms full of ghostly-looking furniture draped in white sheets. Every room has high ceilings and elaborate molding. Giant paintings cover the walls, half covered in dusty drop cloths. Dark and forbidding landscapes in elaborate gilt frames. Portraits of people long dead, the faces glaring down at us.
It’s the creepiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Honey seems to know her way around, though. I keep stepping in spots that make the floor creak and groan, but she avoids every one.
“Wait, I thought this was a dorm,” I say.
“It is. This is on original university property. I checked the records.”
“But you’re the only one here?”
“Yep. Lucky me.” She shrugs in a way that makes me think she doesn’t feel lucky.
I can’t imagine living in this giant house all alone. It sounds like something out of a horror movie. “How do you sleep at night?”
She just sighs.
We come to a drawing room with a huge fireplace. Honey’s placed tons of candles behind the grate, and the effect is almost cozy. The scent of cedar and lemony furniture polish covers up the musty old-house smell. An ancient mirror hangs over the mantle, tarnished in a way that wigs me right out.
“Is this place haunted?” I ask.
“Definitely yes.” Raine pops her head up from behind the couch. She’s made herself a nest of blankets on the ancient Turkish-style rug. We exchange greetings.
“We should probably do sleepovers here more often,” Raine says to Honey. “Keep you company.”
I glance up at the creepy mirror. The smudges make me feel like shadowy figures are lurking in the back of the room. I’m about to whisper, “YOLO,” when a bit of movement in the mirror makes me jump.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Because there is nothing there. “I thought I saw a spider.” But it was probably a ghost.
“Oh gods.” Raine starts twitching.
“It’s okay, it was nothing.” I try to soothe her.
“Yeah, the spiders are practically my roommates,” Honey says. We stare at her in horror. “I mean, I won’t let them get you. Um, I’m glad you guys are here?” She smiles weakly.
Hecate, help us.
I wheel my suitcase over to Raine and start unpacking. “I’ve got snacks.” I toss bags of candy on the big leather Chesterfield.
“What’s this?” Honey points to a black box with gilt detailing.
“Beauty samples. Lotion, moisturizer, perfumes,” I list off as I pull the bottles out of the box.
“Ooooh!” Honey’s eyes light up. I knew she’d love this. Both she and Raine love makeup products. They promised to help teach me how to do a smoky eye.
“Aqua Tofana?” Raine asks, holding up a green glass vial. “Wasn’t that a poison women used to kill their abusive husbands?”
I grin. “Just my idea of a little joke. I love that you got the reference.” Raine is really well-read.
“I want to hear the story,” Honey says.
Raine tells her about Giulia Tofana, the early 17th-century poisoner who sold a mixture of arsenic and belladonna to her clients.
“She was a supervillain,” I say. “I want to be like her when I grow up.”
“She wasn’t a villain,” Raine says. “She helped women escape their abusive husbands. There was no divorce in Italy. The systems were unjust, and she just balanced the scales.”
“Yeah, some men are just asking to be poisoned.” I think of the Vesuvio brothers.
“So wait, did you create these?” Honey asks, sifting her hand through the samples.