Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
We reached the second floor, and I cast a quick glance around frantically searching for an escape route or the best place to hide until help arrived. I scanned from one end of the corridor to the other.
My eyes shot wide as realization struck. “That’s what it is!”
“What is?” Kelly asked, her voice breathless and hopeful.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said and recalled the armory, a place where I could get a weapon.
I yanked Kelly to the right, leading her down the corridor to the end to make another right straight into the armory.
Numerous weapons common to the period when the house was built and up until Ignatius’s death hung on the walls and a display case held antique weapons—some real, some replicas—but I wasn’t interested in an exhibit right now. I needed a weapon I could handle with some confidence.
I grabbed a sword.
“Do you know how to use that thing?” Kelly asked as we stumbled toward the library entrance.
“I swing it,” I said, doing just that and hoping confidence would make up for my lack of skill.
Kelly suddenly gripped her stomach. “The baby!”
Panic surged through me, but I grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to meet my gaze. “I’m going to get you out of here and to the hospital.”
She nodded frantically, her eyes wild with fear yet desperate with hope.
I yanked open the library door, pulling her inside just as I heard Edna’s footsteps on the stairs.
Slamming the door behind us, I shoved a chair under the handle, knowing it wouldn’t hold long but hoping it would buy us a few seconds.
“You won’t stop me!” Edna’s voice rang out from the other side.
She got that right. But I could slow her down.
I turned to Kelly, who was leaning heavily against one of the massive bookshelves that lined the walls, sweat glistening on her forehead, her hands trembling. I needed to get her out before she collapsed, not able to take another step.
My mom’s voice echoed in my memory.
The upstairs library connects with the downstairs one.
I grabbed Kelly’s hand. “There’s a way down to the first-floor library. We get down there and then outside.”
She nodded, the shred of hope making her determined to tackle the task.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, grateful I hadn’t left it in the truck. “Hit ‘superhero’ in my contacts and tell my dad to hurry and bring the entire police force with him.”
Kelly moaned but fought against the pain to do what I said.
A sharp cracking sound made me whirl around.
Wood splintered as Edna hacked through the door. My stomach twisted as I realized she must have grabbed one of the axes from the armory. We had seconds, maybe less.
I spun around and spotted the top of the spiral staircase.
“There!” I pointed. “Take the stairs, get outside!”
Kelly gripped my arm, shaking her head, tears in her eyes. “I—I don’t think I can make it down by myself—too much pain.”
I looked back just as Edna burst through the ruined door, eyes gleaming with malice.
I had no choice. I had to hold her off.
I pushed Kelly toward the stairs. “GO! Just start moving! I’ll be right behind you to help!”
Kelly headed to the staircase.
Edna raised the gun.
I raised my sword.
Edna let out a short, cruel laugh. “What are you going to do with that, Pepper? Give me a history lesson?”
I didn’t think. I reacted. With everything I had, I flung the sword at her, and pure luck—not skill—caught the gun and sent it flying out of her hand.
Edna let out a furious shriek and lunged for me.
I had seconds to react.
I grabbed the first thing I could find—a thick oversized tome so heavy it nearly slipped from my grasp.
I didn’t hesitate. I swung.
The book slammed into the side of Edna’s head with a sickening thud. She staggered, eyes unfocused, then crumpled to the floor in a heap.
For a split second, I couldn’t help but think that the book really was mightier than the sword.
Breathing hard, I dropped the book and turned to Kelly.
She was gripping the railing, her body trembling, her eyes wide with fright.
“I got you,” I said, looping my arm around her waist.
We descended the spiral staircase, moving as fast as Kelly’s body would allow. Each step felt like an eternity, every breath an effort, but we made it to the first floor.
We reached the main library, and I hurried her through it, then through the foyer to the kitchen and out the back door. I preferred to go out the front door to my truck, but I heard Edna groan as I went down the stairs, which meant she wouldn’t be far behind, and I worried we wouldn’t have enough time to get the front double doors open before she caught up with us.
A blast of cool spring air hit us as we stumbled into the backyard.