“What about friends?”
“That we got,” he said. “The folks at Shadow Grove were really good to us. And your aunt . . . I guess Esther was the one who made us feel safe. I spent just about every day with her.” His voice broke as he said it, then he laughed remembering her. “That lady was something, I swear. I never thought she’d really leave us.”
He cleared his throat and wiped his face. Gretchen felt awful that she’d only known Esther on the last day of her life. She squeezed his hand and suddenly she wanted to put her arms around him. He took a quick breath in at her touch, then looked right at her. “Thanks,” he said. His eyes shining brightly in hers made her feel like they’d done this all before, the walk, the trees in the distance, the empty spaces. She held his hand for the rest of their walk through the old foundation—and that felt just as easy and natural. But also like she was walking along in someone else’s skin, like he was leading her somewhere to start a better life. The feeling made no sense, and after they had passed through what would have been the foundation of the church, it left her entirely.
Something shuffled along inside the woods again and this time it sounded bigger than a squirrel or chipmunk.
Hawk’s lip twitched, his eyes were bright and glassy, and then he turned away, his face haunted by something in the distance none of them could see.
In the daylight the house looked more of an empty relic, a long-abandoned mansion sinking into the land. The climbing rose thicket loomed taller and more precarious than ever.
As soon as they opened the door the musty overwhelming smell of moldering papers and dried flowers greeted them, but there was another smell too—something metallic and something like fresh dirt. They could hear a low murmuring buzzing sound, the contained energy of a swarm.
Oh no, Gretchen thought. The wasps.
“Okay,” Hawk said, his face stricken. Gretchen began to feel worried about him, and her sense that he was frailer than his sister came back to her.
“I don’t remember it being this bad even three days ago,” he said.
“Or even three hours ago,” Gretchen said. “C’mon, there are more boxes to carry down from the library. Let’s go.”
Hawk reached the top step and then tripped and fell forward, catching himself and twisting his wrist.
They heard the sound of whispering, then laughing.
“Goddamn it,” Hawk said, grabbing at his ankle to see what had knocked him down. In the dim light, Gretchen could see just the tattered ends of two little dresses moving quickly past them and turning the corner. But Hawk seemed to see them clearly and he looked grave. “The rope,” he whispered.
They heard scampering feet running down the hall in the direction of the mirror; sunlight streamed in through the windows, cutting bright squares into the darkness, and dust swirled in the beams of light. They could make out the sound of some unintelligible chant. The sibilant words like leaves rustling against one another.
Sufferus. Sufferus. Sufferus totaste oftheeinour life’s last agony.
Celia and Rebecca were nowhere in sight but the halls and stairwell were again filled with people as they had been last night just after Esther killed herself. It was as if they were gathering for some big event. Men in suspenders and button-down shirts, women in light calico dresses. An icy breeze blew through the house. And through it all they could hear the spectral little girls’ whispered chants punctuated by laughter, as if the songs were really cruel jokes.
“Now it looks like almost everyone is here,” Hawk said.
“Who?” Hope asked, stumbling up the stairs behind them. “Who’s here?”
“What you can’t see won’t hurt you,” Hawk said.
“Yeah, like viruses, or toxic fumes,” Hope said. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
Descending the steps was a man with torn and bloody clothes, followed by other men and women barefoot. They looked as confused to be there as Gretchen felt seeing them. She grabbed Hope’s hand, to steady herself.
Hawk, Hope, and Gretchen ran toward the library. Esther’s words rang in Gretchen’s head—When they realize I’m gone they’ll take the house. But she barely had time to think more about it.