Muse Unexpected Read Online Free PDF

creeping phlox and tulips. The colorful flowers faded, shriveled and sizzled, like someone had poured acid on them. Callie’s mouth went dry as she watched everything coming into contact with the putrid liquid shrivel and melt, adding mass to the slime. As it seeped onto the front lawn, the liquid engulfed and devoured everything in its path, including the boxwoods lining the front walk, the weeping cherry tree Angelo had planted last fall and even the massive maple tree and river birch. All of them lost their color, shriveled and died, falling into an even larger pool of the red liquid that became brighter and seemed to throb in its hunger and intensity. It formed a small river on the opposite side of the front yard, gathering more mass as it churned, bubbled and fell back onto itself.
    The once overcast and muted sky had become ominous and threatening. A crack of lightning followed by a burst of thunder exploded above, and the river of red liquid crashed against a huge rock in the front yard, causing it to change direction and form a semi-circular whirlpool. The wind picked up, feeding the rushing liquid with additional velocity, and it rose onto itself, creating a grotesque funnel cloud with the debris from the yard swimming inside of it. As the funnel was about to collide with the far corner of the house, it fell away as quickly as it had formed, revealing a shrouded, blood-drenched figure.
    “Oh my God.” Callie said. The figure moved towards her, not on legs, but on a wave of the red substance surging several feet behind it, forming a wall that continued to consume anything near it. Its robes were made of heavy black material shredded into long pieces. Each of the strips moved, independent of the others, stretching mid-air, hungrily searching for her, their razor sharp edges whipping outward and snapping back, slicing through the air.
    The apparition reached up and pulled its hood away, exposing a disfigured face, the flesh burned and caked with blood, and two gold coins visible over its eyes. It opened what remained of its blistered lips and howled, lifting its arm and pointing a boney, burnt finger, beseeching her. It hovered several yards away before it rushed forward. Its movement broke Callie's paralysis and she scrambled back against the front door, slamming into it. She grabbed for the door’s handle, but in her haste she jammed the lock. She clawed at the door, gasping for breath. In desperation, she threw all of her weight against the door, which gave way with a loud crack, and she flew through the opening as the specter’s hand touched a strand of her hair.
    She rushed back to the door and slammed it shut. A chorus of desperate screams and screeches exploded on the other side as the thing pounded the door with its fists. The impact of the blows threw her off balance, but she grabbed the umbrella stand and slid down the door, attempting to catch her breath and calm herself. The thing let out one final scream, this time calling her name in its hoarse voice, and she pressed her hands over her ears as each word brought a searing pain to her head. Then, the screams stopped. Her ears rang as the room filled with complete silence.
    She shuddered and removed her hands away from her ears. She was drenched in sweat and her lungs demanded more air, but she held her breath as she tried to catch any sound of the thing outside. She heard nothing.
    “Nearly twenty years,” she yelled, as tears ran down her face.
    “Nearly twenty years of normal. Twenty years of nothing but PTA meetings, garage sales, of complete and utter bliss, of keeping my past in the past, denying those miserable old Fate hags and the destiny they said was mine and now I’m back to square one."
    Oh my God. The killings in Cleveland. It was the word, Nothos. Someone is hunting and sending me a message. Sophie! No, wait, she’s safe… in school . Callie closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees.
    She jumped when the doorbell rang. As a