Eldritch Manor Read Free Page A

back and spotted Belle in an upstairs window, slowly combing her long, long hair. Willa could hear her humming mournfully and froze in her steps, overcome with sudden pangs of sorrow. She looked so sad. Willa waved but Belle was looking beyond her, gazing off in the direction of the ocean.
    Willa’s mind was racing. Magnets? Ridiculous. What magnets could work all the way across town? Miss Trang was lying. What was going on in that house? Was she keeping those old ladies prisoner?

    That evening Willa found her mom in the bathroom surrounded by tubes of colour, busily banishing the grey from her hair. Twisting her towel into a turban, Mom scowled to hear that Willa was giving up on the newspaper job. But Willa had a plan B. She would work doing odd jobs — mowing lawns, weeding, cleaning houses, pet-sitting, that kind of thing. She’d even made posters with their phone number at the bottom that she was going to put up all over the neighbourhood. Her mom was surprised for sure, maybe even impressed. When Willa showed the posters to her dad, he said she had gumption.
    Willa herself felt uncommonly adventurous. Especially because of the secret motivation behind her plan B. The posters were really just a way to get another look at the old house by the park. Willa was going to get inside and try to find out more about its inhabitants. She felt excited and nervous at the same time. It was like real detective work! It might even be dangerous. Well, probably not very dangerous. After all, it was just bunch of little old ladies.
    The next day she went about taping her posters to lampposts all over the neighbourhood. When she reached the park across from the old house, she sat on a bench, pulled out a book, and waited.
    Detective work turned out to be more boring than she expected. The porch was empty and nothing happened for nearly two and a half hours. She had finished her book and was just nodding off when the slam of the front door snapped her awake. Miss Trang strode off down the street, purposefully consulting a piece of paper, a shopping bag slung over one arm. Willa held her book up in front of her face until the coast was clear, then she strolled casually to the front gate of the big house, her heart pounding. As she passed through the gate, something small and hard hit her on the head with a sharp CRACK!
    An acorn dropped to the ground in front of her. Willa rubbed her head, wondering what acorns were doing falling from a willow tree. She peered up into the branches, right into an old, old face, brown and lined with wrinkles, all of them creased into a smirk.
    â€œGotcha!” it squealed.
    Startled, Willa let out a shriek and jumped back as the owner of the face swung from a branch and landed heavily in front of her. He grimaced, clutching his back as he straightened up. Willa was surprised to find the old man was smaller than she was — he only came up to her shoulder, but he raised his fists as if to fight her.
    â€œWanna fight? Hmm? I may be old but I’m wily! ” He danced, hopping awkwardly around her.
    â€œI was just going to visit ...”
    â€œHah!” he interrupted, squinting at her. “Aren’t you scared? I am Tengu, and this house is feared by all!” He hopped back and forth, grimacing and waving his arms. The effect wasn’t very scary; in fact, it was all Willa could do to keep from laughing. She covered her smile with one hand, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
    Then he stopped and leaned in conspiratorially. “I bet you’ve heard lots of scary stories about this place. Yes? Hm? Well ... they’re all true! ” With this he let out an exultant wolf howl. “OwWOOOOO!”
    Willa looked around nervously. She really didn’t want to attract any attention. “I — I haven’t heard any stories at all,” she admitted.
    Tengu stopped in mid-howl, his face falling. He was clearly disappointed. “None? Doesn’t anyone talk