Shimmer (Riley Bloom #2)(26)

I was off. His words trailing behind me as I raced through the front door and up the creaky wooden stairs. The thought of saying good-bye not even entering my mind, since it all seemed surreal, like a game of some kind.

Bad things happened to other people, not me.

I was rich, privileged, the only child of a big, important, plantation owner, which made me special in a way that far surpassed all the others. Aside from my mother’s untimely death, anything negative, dreary, or bad had always whizzed past me on its way toward somebody else.

I made for my mama’s old sitting room, just like my papa had ordered. And though I was sure no one knew, the truth is, I’d often visited that room.

I liked to sit in the soft, cushy upholstered chair she used for reading, before switching to the less comfortable straight-backed one she used for correspondence and list making. And more often than not, I’d play either one of two games: one in which I pretended she was still here, reading and chatting with me, and another in which I’d somehow become her, find a way to stand in her place.

But today there was no time for games.

Soon enough my papa would climb the stairs and come find me. And when he did, well, I was eager for him to see just how perfect I was.

Just how willingly I’d obeyed his every word.

Then maybe he’d finally take notice of me, since he never seemed to notice before.

I made for the closet, crawled into the small, dark, rarely used space, wrapped my fingers around the edge of the door and pulled it shut as well as I could. Crouching all the way against the back wall, just about all settled in, when I remembered my dog.

I scooched forward, propped the door open, peeked my head out, and called, “Shucky! Here boy!” before chasing that with a low, even whistle I prayed my father wouldn’t hear.

Relieved by the sound of Shucky’s paws scurrying across the wood floors, I caught him as he slipped inside the closet and jumped right onto my lap. Yipping softly, he excitedly lapped at my cheeks, as I shut the door again and moved us back into place.

I clutched him to my chest and tried not to giggle at the way his icy-cold nose prodded against my shoulder and neck. Struggling to ignore the cloying scent of mold and mustiness and various things that hadn’t been used in a very long time, while I worked to decipher the look I’d seen in my father’s eyes.

Was it love that I’d seen?

And would I even recognize it if it was?

It’d been so long since anyone looked upon me that way, I had no way to recognize the signs.

And that’s how I spent my last moments.

Fending off old closet smells, fending off my dog’s stale, panting breath, while trying to determine just exactly what my father’s gaze had meant.

My legs beginning to ache from being so awkwardly bent, my back and buttocks growing sore from leaning for so long against the hardwood floor.

Wondering if I should maybe take a quick peek, see what might be taking him so long to find me, when my dog suddenly stiffened, perked up his ears, and narrowed his eyes as he let out a low, menacing growl.

But while he may have been the first to sense it, it wasn’t long till there was no mistaking it.

The sound of a stampede—hundreds of bodies running with purpose.

The sound of violence—things crashing and breaking as a series of screams rang out, one in particular, one that I recognized as my father’s, that rose above all the rest.

The sound of my front door being pulled from its hinges.

The sound of my house being stormed, invaded, ransacked, and looted.

The sound of the horrible, lingering silence of a papa that never came looking for me.

And yet, I continued to wait like he asked.

Waited long past the time the crackling began and the closet floors began to heat.

Long past the time gray ribbons of smoke curled their way in and around the door frame and rendered it impossible to breathe.

Long past the time the flames licked at my heels and rose up my dress like snakes.

Long past the time my frightened dog clawed huge gaping holes in my dress as he fought with all of his might to escape.

But I wouldn’t let him go, wouldn’t let him leave without me, I just held him fast to my chest, my lips incessantly whispering my father’s warning:

Do not come out for anyone but me, no matter what!

My body blistering and burning, as the bow on my dress worked like some kind of accelerant and encouraged the flames to leap onto my hair and my face. Engulfing me in a pain so wrenching, so great, I told myself it was a game.

That it couldn’t possibly be happening to someone as special as me.

Repeating the words as a wave of red, searing-hot timbers crashed down upon us, reducing my dog and me to nothing more than a pile of charred bones and black dust.

Obedient till the end, I’d died in the exact location where my father had told me to wait.

Then, just as quickly, I was out.

Gazing down at what little remained of myself and my dog as the scene continued to play, seeing smoke, fire, destruction, and blood, most of which belonged to my father, judging from the looks of his severely mangled body.

And when I saw what had caused it or, rather, who had caused it—when I realized we’d all been murdered—well, from that moment on, all I could see was red.

A bright, raging red that shimmered and glowed and bubbled all around until it was big enough to house me.