Ash Return of the Beast

CHAPTER 76



Sitting in her vehicle, Ravenwood wiped the tears from her face and looked in the mirror. She barely recognized the woman staring back. The dirt smudges were indistinguishable from the smeared mascara. Her black hair was a tangled mess, flecked with ash. Her clothes were ripped, partially singed and smelled of smoke. She drew in a deep breath and held it for a long moment before letting it go. She had to get a grip.

She phoned in the fire and fished the ignition key from her pocket. She knew she had to drive to Sarah’s house to make sure the precious girl and Linda were safe. It wasn’t going to be easy, even if they were okay.

Informing someone about the death of a family member was something she’d never had to do. That gruelling task had always been someone else’s job. The thought of having to tell Sarah…

Ravenwood shivered as her eyes welled up again. She had no choice. She flicked a tear from her cheek and slipped the key into the ignition. Then she heard something. A voice.

“Hey!” the voice shouted.

She turned toward the sound and her eyes grew wide. Kane was coming at a labored half-trot across the back yard of the mansion, his hands waving for her to wait.

She flew out of the vehicle, ran up and threw her arms around him. “Oh, my god,” she said, choking the words out. Then she realized what she was doing and stepped back. She cleared her throat, and tried to manifest some degree of composure. “I thought you were…”

“What the hell?” he said. “You were just gonna take off and leave me here?”

“But, I thought… How did you…?

“I know how he got in and out of that room.”

“What?”

“A goddamn secret door. The fire must have tripped the mechanism. I don’t know. All I know is, I stumbled against a wall and part of it opened up.”

“Oh, my god. I can’t believe you’re––”

“Yeah, me neither.” He grabbed her by the arm. “Let’s get out of here. We gotta get over to Sarah’s. You drive. I’ll call Linda.”

Ravenwood flipped the toggle switch on the dash. The red and blue strobes behind the front grill started flashing and she peeled out of the alley just as the fire trucks were pulling up out front.

Kane took out his cell phone and called Linda but there was no answer.