The Shadowed Manse Read Online Free PDF Page B

guess. They're chasing me and … look, we've got to get out of here. I’m certain they’ll be back any minute. I can explain it all later.”
    Morgan snorted. “Demons? Okay, short bus. Sure thing.”
    “Hey!” he retorted. He struggled for a comeback … but gave up. And then he realized something remarkable: Morgan had struck him, and all he’d done was defend himself calmly — without going crazy-mad-angry like normal … without striking back. This had never happened to him before. Was it because she was a girl?
    She examined the cut on her arm and shrugged. Then she really, finally looked at him. “Ugh, Arthur, you’re covered in blood.” She cocked her head to the side and crinkled her face into a worried frown. “You know, you’re really messed up.”
    “I’m aware of that.”
    “Are you okay?”
    He nodded. “Nothing’s broken. Just a bunch of little cuts and scrapes.” He didn’t mention the broken plate that went over his heart. That would just lead to questions he couldn’t answer. “Hurts like crazy all over, though.”
    “You didn’t get all those injuries in that tumble.” He shook his head. “What happened?”
    “Really, there’s no time to explain. We have to go. You need to trust —”
    His eyes locked onto the ridge. The nightmare wasn’t over. He pointed up at the slope. Eleven shades stood in a line at the top. The setting sun's light was full against them, and yet they were still shadows.
    “What … what are those?” she asked in horror.
    “I don't know, but like I said, they’re after me, and we've got to run.”
    “This can't be real,” she muttered, staring up at the shadow men. “This has to be a trick.”
    “It's not,” Arthur replied. “Can't you feel them? The emptiness …”
    Morgan shivered. “Yeah, I can feel it.”
    “We have to get away. They've already …” Arthur took a deep breath and choked back his emotions. “They caught my cousin Derek a few minutes ago — he screamed and …”
    Morgan threw a hand over her mouth. “Is he …”
    Arthur shook his head. “I — I don’t know. I couldn’t help him, so I just kept running.”
    “We need to go get help.”
    “Yes, I agree,” he said with frustration.
    But still she didn’t budge. “Why aren’t they moving?”
    “I have no idea,” Arthur said. “But we need to start running now , Morgan. Come on. They’re slow, but they’re also relentless.”
    She picked up her backpack and took a lurching step toward him, favoring one foot.
    “You’re limping.”
    A note of fear trailed through her voice. “Just tweaked my ankle during the fall. It’s not bad.”
    “It’s enough to get you killed,” Arthur stated bluntly. Running wasn’t going to be an option for them. “Change of plans.” He thought about the angel’s words. “We need to find a small house … a cottage. It should be nearby.”
    Her eyes went wide, and she pointed a shaking finger toward something behind Arthur. “Like — like that one?”
    Arthur whipped around and spotted an ivy-webbed stone cottage tucked back into the trees about fifty yards beyond the stream. A warm glow poured from the windows and from the front door, which was cracked open. A thin wisp of smoke drifted out of the chimney.
    “Um, yeah.” This had to be the cottage Ylliara had told him about. “Come on, we’ll be safe inside.” He hoped.
    “Arthur …” Morgan was still staring at the house. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the shades. “I’ve been down in this hollow a dozen times. There's never been an old house here before.”
    “I know,” Arthur replied.
    “You knew it was going to be here, didn’t you?”
    “No … well, sort of. I — I’ll explain later. We need to go. Now !” 
    The shades finally spotted them and charged downhill. After a few seconds of sprinting, Morgan fell behind, her limp worsening with each step.
    Arthur slowed and held out his arm. “Here, you can lean on me.”
    She glanced at