Chapter 1

Five Days before Halloween

 

Tori smiled as she watched her brother bounce across garden stones to avoid touching the grass with his shoes. It was his new favorite game since arriving at their grandmother’s house.

Absently trailing her fingers along the curls and bends of a wrought-iron bench, Tori looked up past her brother at the eighteenth-century plantation, renovated many times over until it resembled a haunted mansion. The main building was huge with gables topped with neo-gothic spires. Multiple levels of porches looked out across gardens and walking paths leading to the woods. Leaves flecked the surrounding lawns with yellows and reds, filling the air with the spiciness of autumn.

Tori sucked in a breath when the toe of her brother’s shoe caught the edge of a stone.

“Kimmy!” she yelled out, just before he landed on his stomach, his fleece jacket adding a smear of blue to the mix of colors. “Careful, come here.” She wrapped her arms around the boy to soothe him before the surprise of falling wore off and turned into a tear-fest.

His given name was Kenneth; his toddler pronunciation of the nickname Kenny had always morphed into Kimmy, and so the name stuck. He squirmed in her arms but smiled in that way she knew meant he didn’t want her to let him go.

“Are you ready for Halloween?” she said, looking into his giant blue eyes.

“Candy!”

Tori laughed. “That’s right, we’ll get lots of candy this year. Everybody’s going to love your costume!”

Last year’s lady pirate and parrot ensemble had been a bust. Kimmy, dressed as the parrot, had refused all forms of candy, insisting that parrots only wanted crackers.

Tori’s friend Shawna had been horrified at the idea of dressing up in matching costumes with a sibling thirteen years younger. But Tori thought it was kind of cute. She loved having a brother. She’d waited so long. There would have been a sister between her and Kimmy, but her mother had miscarried. Her parents weren’t the only ones who’d been devastated. Besides, Tori wasn’t proud, especially where candy was involved.

“What are you dressing up as this year, Kimmy? You remember?”

“A candy bucket.”

“That’s right,” Tori laughed, tapping his nose. Halloween was only a few days away, but she’d had a year to prepare their costumes and coach Kimmy. She’d even designed her own homespun version of a lollipop princess from one of Kimmy’s board games. Operation Candy had to be a win.

“Kimmy! Tori!” called a voice from one of the porches.

“Yes, Grandma?”

“It will be getting dark soon. You should bring Kimmy inside.”

“Okay, be right there!” Tori took Kimmy by the hand and led him up a walkway from the garden to the house. The floorboards underneath a canopy marking the entrance creaked just like in old haunted houses she’d read about. This is going to be the best Halloween, she thought as she opened the door and stepped into a room with floor tiles curling with leaves, braided twists, and diamonds.

“I haven’t been here since I was your age,” she said, raising three fingers toward Kimmy, who lifted three fingers back. Smiling, Tori scooped the boy up in her arms and flipped him behind her so he could ride piggyback. “That was thirteen years ago. Everything feels familiar, but I can’t remember any of it.” She studied the staircase that rose from the entryway and split into two sides, one veering off to the left and the other to the right. “Phew,” she whistled. “This place is crazy big.”

Tori found her mother and father snuggled before a fireplace in a room that was way too large to be a normal living room. It was like someone had built the house around a ski lodge.  “Comfy?” she asked, grinning.

“Hey, Tori baby,” said her mother. “Was Kimmy behaving out there?”

“Yep,” she said, prying the boy off her back. She twirled him while making airplane sounds before dropping him on her father’s lap. “Grandma was just worried that it was getting dark outside.”

“Not worried,” said a voice as a woman rounded a corner, her hands filled with a tray of mugs. She peered at Tori over her eyeglasses. “My property is as safe as can be. Your grandfather saw to that. It’s just that Kimmy is young and will need to go to bed soon.”

Out of respect for the matronly presence of her grandmother, Tori nodded. Behind the glasses—trifocals with bone-white frames—her grandmother’s eyes were a deep blue, like Kimmy’s and their father’s. Tori and her mother both had eyes of dull hazel. Both sides of the family had dark hair, everyone except Kimmy, who had blond curls.

Tori beamed as she accepted a mug of steaming cocoa. She inhaled its sugary sweetness before taking a sip and sitting down. Her chair, high-backed with claws carved into its armrests, gave her a slight thrill.

Grandma’s property is as safe as can be. That didn’t sound fun; the hugeness and creepiness of the house had so much potential. But her grandmother’s self-assessment provided an opportunity. “So, if it’s safe, can I go back outside for a walk? There are a lot of grounds to explore, and we’re only here for a few days.” She gave her parents her most angelic smile. “I brought my favorite hiking boots. Please?”

“Okay, baby,” her mother said, running her fingers through Kimmy’s curls. His eyelids closed halfway. “But don’t stay out too late, avoid strangers, and if ever in doubt—”

“—scream fire and run back to the house. Yes, Mom, I know. I’ve been babysitting Kimmy since the day he was born. I can handle it.”

Her father smiled. “We trust you, hon—it’s just the crazies out there in the world,” he said, thumbing toward the door. “That’s who we’re worried about.”

“I said that it’s safe, Carl. As long as she stays on the paths, she’ll be fine.” Tori’s grandmother bobbed her head in disapproval, her white curls plastered in place, as she collected the mugs and set the tray on a table. She pulled a lump of knitwear from a chest wedged next to the fireplace. “Here, take this sweater with you. The most danger you’ll run into out there will be the cold when the sun sets. Go on now, have fun.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” Tori had noticed her grandmother’s indignant look as she’d reminded everyone of her property’s safeness. It was as if her grandmother wanted someone to go out there, to enjoy what she and her late husband had spent their lives building.

Once outside, Tori tied the sleeves of the sweater around her waist. Her long-sleeved flannel was warm enough for now, buttoned up over her T-shirt and jeans. Thick socks lined her boots.

A fresh breeze skimmed across her cheeks. It felt good to be outside. As much as she loved her brother and her family, being alone every so often helped her to recharge.