Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1) Read Free

a
broken bottle of ink flowing over sand. Raking my fingers through my hair, I
follow behind my cousins. The scent of pine carries on the light wind. As I
cross under the porch, Aunt Sally sticks an old-fashioned key into the rusted
keyhole. The dark metal around the keyhole depicts a screaming demon.
    I hug myself. A few strands of
black hair sliced through my view of the door.
    Aunt Sally jiggles the brass
handle. The door does not budge. With a slight bump of her thigh against the
wooden door, it squeaks open. The horrible sound mimics nails scraping against
a chalkboard. She disappears into the stale-scented house. A singular cloud
crosses over the sun, shadowing the porch and yard.
    I swipe the scent from my nose
and follow behind my cousins into the hot living room. I almost forget the dark
creatures. Almost. Textured wallpaper designs in brilliant red and gold cover
the adjoining walls. Over the fireplace, in the corners, and around the
built-in bookcases, pieces of torn wallpaper stick out. Aged furniture pokes
out from underneath white sheets layered in dust. Odd paintings of women in
elegant gowns hang on the walls. I stare hard at their faces. Their eyes look
so wild; so dangerous. I flip on the light switch. A decorative mask lays on
the fireplace mantel.
    Aunt Sally hauls her thick
luggage into the kitchen, while the boys run upstairs to find the largest
bedrooms. The floorboards moan overhead. Particles of dust twinkle when falling
through the rays of sunlight penetrating the windows. Aunt Sally sneezes in the
other room. “We’ll have to clean the ceilings, too.”
    I halt at the mantel. Mesmerized
by the pearl-white mask, I run my fingertips along the silky feathers. Tiny
diamonds outline the cutout eyes. “Gorgeous.”
    My black fingernails grip the
mantel. Lint-like dust and a tiny spider twitch in an attempt to escape my
fingers. Lifting my filthy hand to my face, I grimace, and wipe it on my torn
jeans.
    I reach for the mask, but then
halt. As I observe the mask’s unique artistry, a disturbing fact troubles me.
Not a speck of dust lies on the mask. Gently raising the mask to my eye-level,
I wonder if someone broke into the house and left it. My nervous laughter
echoes off the walls. No. Shaking my head of the stupidity of the idea, I
decide the Real Estate agent might have left it here or possibly the last
owners. The images of my stalkers resurface. Shaking my head, I growl. “Get a
grip, Temptation. Nothing’s in here. I’m starting over.”
    I abandon the mask back on the
mantel and stroll into the kitchen. My coined hip scarf pings across my hips.
Mahogany cabinets, tile countertops, and modern stainless steel appliances
instantly crush my negative attitude toward the old home. An antique red stove
with gold trimming stands in the corner and adds character to the kitchen,
along with the multi-toned stone flooring.
    “How do you like it?” Aunt Sally
asks, holding her hands together in a prayer-like motion against her red lips.
“I am, of course, going to have granite counter-tops installed, but the rest of
it only needs cleaning. Outside needs a little work. The broken windows will be
replaced this week. Your uncle said someone should be out this afternoon to cut
the grass.”
    “That’s fast.” I amble around the
room in awe of the beauty of the ancient house. “How can you and Uncle Jack
afford this place? The outside needs some work, but most of the appliances are
worth a lot of money.”
    “Actually, we were lucky.” Aunt
Sally bustles around the kitchen, opening cabinets and searching for abandoned
treasures. Her high-heels click every time she takes a step. “After your uncle
received his new position in the company, they awarded him with a small bonus,
and well...we entertained the idea of living in a small town. Not as much crime
and you’ve more of a supportive community. This house had been empty and on the
market for years and the seller wanted to get rid of it for almost