“It’s you.” My words came out softly, and the fortune teller nodded as she lowered herself to sit on the rock next to mine. “Aunt Marie? Marie?”
She nodded again. “Either.”
Suddenly, I wanted to know all the answers. “That riddle…was that real? Or was it just a made-up thing?”
Her stare…it was like she could see right through me again. She remained silent, and the words just kept coming out. “I messed up.” I sighed, kicking at a pebble. “Well, it wasn’t just me. Everything went wrong.”
“The gain will not come without a cost. Can you hold on when hope is lost?” She repeated part of the original riddle that she’d given me back on Fright Night.
“What is that supposed to mean? Help me out, here. Please.”
The raven croaked. “Help!”
I glared at it, and it raised its head in a way that managed to be both disdainful and judgy at the same time.
Marie’s eyes glazed over, and she touched a hand to my arm. “Both light and darkness lie ahead. Your path is shrouded with hidden dread. The question that you need to ask… What is hidden beneath his mask?”
She broke out of her trance, adding with a whisper, “Find out…before it is too late.”
A shiver ran through me as the sun dropped below the horizon.
With her words echoing in my ears, she rose to her feet and disappeared into the distance, leaving me trembling, and not from the cold.
I rubbed my hand across my face, bringing my knees up and hugging them to my chest. Had that actually happened? The entire thing had felt like a dream. A creepy dream, if I thought about it.
Anyone who lives by the coast, or in the UK for that matter, knows just how quickly the weather can change. Lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t notice the storm clouds rolling in. One minute I was surrounded by clear dark skies, the next, angry clouds were growling at me, and then the heavens opened.
Heavy drops hit my face as I struggled to do up my raincoat and get the hood over my head. My hands and nose were already turning numb as I made a run for my bike and unlocked it. I was resigned to getting soaked, but at least I could have a bath and hot chocolate when I was home.
Peddling as quickly as I could, I wobbled slightly on the bike, my lights weak in the driving rain, as I turned onto the large road that would lead towards the area I lived in. The one bonus was that the streets were quiet, since it was a weeknight.
I’d just swerved around a puddle when I heard the sound of a car coming up fast behind me, and I instinctively wrenched my handlebars towards the side of the road, hugging the grass verge. The car flew past me in a spray of dirty water, soaking me from head to toe.
I gasped at the shock as the first spray of water hit me, sending rainwater into my mouth. Wobbling off the road, I came to a stop on the grass verge, spitting the liquid out
and recoiling at the taste on my tongue.
As I was about to start pedalling again, I heard the sound of another car coming from the opposite direction and steeled myself for another shock of icy water, hunching my body over instinctively. How much bad luck could I have this evening?
The car slowed, and headlights swung across my body, illuminating me in all my dripping glory.
“Are you okay?” a voice called over the driving rain.
My streak of bad luck wasn’t over, then. Was I about to be kidnapped and taken away? Various scenarios ran through my mind, each sending me more and more hysterical. My imagination was running wild at this point, no thanks to Aunt Marie’s mysterious riddle, and being out here, soaked through and helpless, had me almost paralysed with fear.
“Hey!” the voice called again, and I slowly turned, wiping the rain from my eyes. Something even worse than kidnappers or killer clowns faced me.
Xavier Wright and Carter Blackthorne.
Kill me now.
“Raine?” Xavier’s voice was shocked. “Shit, didn’t realise it was you we sprayed water all over.”
I couldn’t find my voice.
“Raine. Get in the car.” Carter’s low, commanding tone easily reached my ears.
“No.” I shook my head, sending raindrops flying everywhere.