Lahat ng Kabanata ng Whispers of the Devil: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Dalton I coat my brush in paint and dab it gently against the wall in the cigar room. With each stroke, the wallpaper is coming back to life. Sunlight drifts through the windows, highlighting the dust my movements disturb with each flick of my wrist. It’s nearly 2:00 in the afternoon. I’ve been fighting the urge to storm into Layla’s room and wake her up, demanding answers. Something happened to her last night. The look on her face and hurt behind her eyes sets my soul on fire every time I think about our encounter in the hallway early this morning. Something happened, and whoever did it… they made her think it was me. I clutch the brush so tightly it snaps. “Fuck.” I growl, tossing the pieces onto the plastic at my feet. I rest my hand against the wall, then press my forehead to it, closing my eyes for a moment. “You fucking bastard,” I whisper to t

Layla My scream penetrates the air as I stumble away from the table. I clasp my hands over my mouth, blood thrumming in my ears as my back hits the counter, and I can no longer retreat away from the box. The smell of it… God, I can barely stand it. I gag, whirling to face the wall. Footsteps thunder in the hallway, and I turn to find Dalton skidding to a stop, his hands and shirt smeared with paint. “Layla?”His eyes leave my face and snap to the box. He straightens, closing his eyes, and slowly nods to himself as he takes a deep breath and stalks toward the table. “Stop!” I shout, but it’s too late. He calmly closes the lid and tucks it under his arm before walking out the back door. “Dalton!”“Stay inside, Layla!”I reach the screen door and push it open just as he starts walking across the back yard toward the tree line. “Where are you…. Wh

Layla Bailey’s eyes are growing heavy despite the third cup of coffee she’s consumed in the last two hours. We’re in the supply room, years and years of notes taken by a variety of nurses spread out on the plastic table between us. She brings the coffee to her lips, shaking her head. “What are we going to do?”“Nothing until your doctor friend gets here tomorrow,” I tell her, swiveling from side to side in the computer chair while the printer beside me works in overdrive. We’ve been going through the computer system, printing out everything and anything pertaining to Aunt Penny’s care. The notes only go back ten years or so, but that should be enough to give this new doctor a clear idea of what’s been done to her. “What about Vera?” Bailey asks, her eyes rimmed red with fatigue. “I’ll handle Vera this weekend. I’m going to call the lawyer af

Layla I wake up in Dalton’s bed around 5:00 in the morning, and he is no longer there, of course. I have no idea where his studio is located in the tangle of hallways on the third floor. It’s the only place I assume he’d be right now. The house is quiet as I pad downstairs after checking on my aunt and Bailey, both of which are still asleep. I go through my normal morning routine. I’m wearing nothing but a pair of boy shorts and one of Dalton’s shirts. I smell like him, which makes me think of him, and thinking of him makes me wonder if I’m falling in too deep with a man I barely know. I make a pot of coffee and pour myself a mug before stepping out onto the back porch to watch the sky turn from a dark gray to a pale silver, but as the morning shadows stretch across the grass, memories of last night come flooding back to the forefront of my mind. I clutch my mug so tight my knuckles turn

Dalton I sealed my fate by telling her this. I can feel the shadows beginning to crowd the room as I step toward her, reaching out to her, looking at her for what could be the last time. I made a deal with the devil in her name. I signed it with blood. I was tricked. I failed to protect her. I knew Vera would do this. Her plan was already in action years ago before I was hired to start bringing this hellhole back to life–a life Amos was desperate for. He wanted to see the return of the golden age of the property, when parties raged, and there were plenty of minds for him to plunder and the promise of further generations to keep fueling his fire. Layla, a young, impressionable nursing student, stood out to Amos. She has no idea he’s been stalking her from afar for years now, biding his time. Why he waited to try to get into her head until now, I’m not sure, but I imagine it had something to do with the way