He laughed and draped his arm over her shoulders giving her a firm squeeze. "There are no such things as ghosts."
Iris bit her tongue not wanting to argue. It was their honeymoon after all and while it wasn't her idea of romance, Perry had charmed her into the ghost tour with his dancing eyes and promises of the ballet tomorrow. She pushed aside her apprehension. She knew more than most these tours were usually as empty of spirits as they were full of cobwebs.
Iris sighed and looked at the group milling in front of the nondescript shop on the edge of the twisted cobblestone street. Children stood with their mitten hands clasped. Older couples with guide books laughed and exchanged ghost stories.Teenager crept up to each other eliciting shrill shrieks of manufactured terror.
The guide appeared in the glow of the street lamp. "The darkest part of the tour is best seen at twilight," he began as he led the group through a stone arch and down a set of creaking wooden stairs. The stairs ended on hard packed earth. The walls of the cavern flickered in the glow of the electric torches set on the walls.
She pressed against Perry's warmth as a cold child crept over her.
"You okay?" Perry asked in a low voice.
Iris shook her head. Perry's chuckled washed over her. "It'll be over soon, baby."
Icy fingers played with her hair. She needed to leave. "Excuse me?" she interrupted the guide's description of plague and small pox. "How do I get out of here?"
The guide laughed. "The only way out is through the tunnels. If we let everyone out who got a bit spooked, we'd never finish the tour."
Iris fought panic. "I need to leave," she said firmly, steadying the tremor in her voice as hands swept her arms and legs.
"Sorry, ma'am," the guide said, his voice unapologetic. Turning, he led the group deeper into the caverns. Iris closed her eyes, focusing on sealing her mind the way her grandmother had taught her.
"Hey," Perry's voice was a soft distraction, "you okay? I don't care what that guy says. We can leave."
Iris held her hand up to stop his words. The fingers tore at her hair and scratched her skin, trying to find a way in. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she concentrated. She'd never encountered anything like this before.
"Iris!" Perry shook her breaking her concentration for a split second. That was all it took.
Iris opened eyes glowing a light green. "Hello, darling," she purred. Stretching her hands above her head she arched her back. "This feels amazing."
"Iris?" Perry took a step back, fear replacing concern as he continued moving away.
"God, you're an idiot," the woman who used to be Iris said. She stalked him in the dim light. "Who brings a medium to a haunted cave?" She shook her hair out of the twist Iris favored and followed Perry until he was pressed against the cavern wall.
"I'm hungry," she whispered before devouring his lips with her own.
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Write on Edge challenged us to write a spine tingling ghost story this week. After my not-so-scary short story in Echoes in Darkness, I thought I'd try to do something spooky without adding a joke or a tension breaking banter between characters.
5 comments:
Did you know that I know Nora Roberts in real life? I am friends and was a roommate of her son's. I have been to her house. There is a bookshelf full of nothing but her books in foreign languages.
Also, SQUEE, to the published!
So, does she have Mandy's problems? ;) That's super cool, by the way. She's my romance-author hero.
Yay Mandy! Wondered if you'd be at it again this year. :)
You've got this! And you're going to be published. I can't wait to read it.
Doctor Who has been taking precedence over writing for me too. I just can't get enough! Allons-y!
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