Free The Demon's Grave by E.M. MacCallum Page B

a defiant grin toward the second floor. “I can deal with a mess.”
    Before Aidan could protest Phoebe disappeared up the stairs, her footsteps creaking the floorboards above our heads.
    Aidan hesitated before grabbing the railing. “ Only the second floor!”
    Robin clicked her heels into the entry with us and looked to me, her green eyes wide and excited. “Are we going up?”
    Before I could answer Aidan was trudging up the stairs. “Might as well,” he said, frowning. “Bring up some light, will you?”
    The curiosity of this old house had hypnotized us all, it seemed. Perhaps Aidan’s surprise weekend would be a hit after all. The seeds of guilt were laid as I thought of what a jerk I’d been. This was a great surprise and it would make a great place for the weekend, maybe even more in the future.
    Cody stuffed a handful of candles into his saggy back pocket while Read begrudgingly traded his empty beer bottle for a flashlight.
    Read followed Aidan, then it was Cody, then Robin who snatched my hand in her bony fingers to tug me along.
    We traveled up the groaning steps in single file, not leaving anyone out of arms reach. I was reminded of kindergarten recess.
    Read hopped up on top step and a distinct crack snapped through the empty space. Robin glanced at me, her smile faltering and her bird-like fingers crushed my hand.
    Breathing out slow so not to whimper, I said. “Robin, it’s okay if you want to go back downstairs.” I somehow hoped she’d say yes, but it only spurred her forward.
    “It’s okay,” she whispered and took a few more steps behind Cody. “If something happens, Cody will save us.”
    Cody glanced back at the sound of his name, looking like an overgrown zombie.
    Yeah right. Even on a good day I didn’t think Cody could save us.
    We reached the top of the stairs and were greeted by a hallway of doors. Three doors on the left and two on the right.
    Beside the landing was another set of stairs that curled against a circular brick wall.
    It must be the tower , I thought and leaned closer.
    It was shadowed and dark within, smelling like cold brick and something musty. That’s what Aidan must have meant by ‘only the second floor.’ After seeing the roof, I doubted anyone would want to go up there anyway.
    Robin gasped and didn’t let go of my hand, instead she dragged me along with her. Jolted forward I was yanked into a small room with her, our feet pounding on the wood floor.
    Stumbling to a stop, I could see the source of her gasp.
    An old crib was coated in spiderwebs and layers of dust. It appeared hand-carved, laced with intricate designs.
    Above it was one of the new windows. I could see an overgrown pond behind the house. Cattails and long reeds incrusted the tree line before thinning into bush.
    Robin pushed the crib with the toe of her boot and it rocked for the first time in what could have been a decade.
    The familiar hum bristled my hair and I looked back to see Aidan walk into the room.
    Seeing the crib rocking, he stepped inside. “Apparently, it was my grandpa’s crib when he was a baby.”
    He was walking too close to me.
    I felt my shoulders rise and refused to move. I wasn’t going to show Robin that I was uncomfortable.
    Aidan moved to stop the crib’s rocking and his hand brushed against mine.
    That humming shock that I often felt around him became sharp. It electrocuted every hair on my arm and rocketing through my shoulder blades, giving me goosebumps.
    It wasn’t so much a physical shock as a vibration with a life of its own.
    It wasn’t my imagination, we both stiffened.
    I met his shocking blue eyes to see them just as wide as my own and realized, he felt it too.

CHAPTER NINE
    Offering the little crib a sad smile, Robin shifted her eyes toward the only other piece of furniture in the room, a broken empty shelf. “Come on,” she urged to me.
    Staring at Aidan I realized I should breathe.
    He did at the same time and neither of us moved.
    When Robin