The Crooked Fate Series

Claire listened as thudding footsteps pounded against the wooden floorboards with dire urgency. They were heavy, clearly belonging to a male. Must be Zak's, thought Claire idly. "Laura! Demon Drop twelve-o'clock!" Zak shouted. Dishware struck the floor and shattered. "My coffee mug!" Laura exclaimed in absolute horror. "Zakary James!" Then, a moment later she said in a much calmer tone, "I'll get the phone." "No time," Zak said, huffing lightly. "It's him." "He's there now?" She asked evenly. "Yeah," he said. "I told her I was coming over, and I heard her arguing…I…She's scared, Laura." It was as if he were pleading her for permission. Must be important, Claire thought to herself as she continued to listen in on the conversation from the room above them. "Want me to put in an order for tickets?" Laura offered. "No," Zak said, "A plane ride will take too long." There was a pause. "She needs me. Now. And…if it comes down to it-" "It won't," Laura reminded firmly. "I won't let it." "No?" He asked. "Do you know how hard it is to find a good repair guy around here?"She was clearly joking, but it was completely out of endearment as well. Zak snorted in dark amusement. "Is that the only reason you keep me around?" "Well," Laura started, "You…do make pretty good biscotti cookies." "Uh-huh," said Zak. Claire could almost picture them exchanging fond smiles at that point. Then more seriously he added, "You know why I have to go," he told her. "I know," Laura said quietly. "I need your help," he said. "Okay," she agreed, "Let's bring her home." Wait, her? Claire's eyes went wide at the words. Did he say bring her home? "Laura, he's not alone…" Zak added. His volumne had dropped, making him much more difficult to overhear. The sound of a second door creaked open. "Hey, what's going on?"Joy curious voice called out for anyone who might answer. Multiple footsteps were already racing through the living room and straight toward the front door. "Laura? Zak?" Joy waited for a response. When there wasn't one, she shouted, "I'm gonna eat all the junk food I want, skip school for a week, and watch adult movies." Her announcement had been deliberately made to provoke a response from Laura. Claire knew she wasn't into dirty movies. Although she might have actually been telling the truth about skipping school. Still no response. "Suh-weet," Joy said. Then more loudly she shouted, "Claire! We're home alone again. I'm in charge this time, okay?' Yeah, right, Claire snorted with a smile. Her expression quickly melted away as she considered the recent conversation, she had overheard on the floor below. Whatever was happening sounded pretty serious. Laura would have normally lectured Joy for making such a ludicrous statement. She debated exiting the shower early, but then dismissed the idea. Laura's house was always full of some sort of ongoing chaos. She was certain she still had time to get clean before facing whatever it was that awaited them. If Laura and Zak were truly gone again, then that meant she was in charge just like the last time they had left the island. After all, she was both older and wiser than Joy. When and if things turned utterly dire, Joy would come find her. She would never face danger by herself and she certainly wasn't the type to go looking for trouble. Even if Zak and Laura had ventured out on some new "business" trip, it wasn't like she and Joy had ever been on their own before. They were both completely capable of handling things by themselves. The island was safe. Nothing bad could ever reach them there. So, they could just wait until Laura and Zak returned and everything would be okay again. Except they were bringing someone new with them. But who? Doesn't matter, thought Claire. With a simple twist of the lever, icy droplets burst forth from the shower head. She yelped and scampered back toward the furthest regions of the tub. As she gazed at the stream, the water seemed to distort slightly, as if a beam of light had moved through it. She tilted her head slowly to study the falling beads of fresh water. The light moved again, like a wave, only this time as if partially revealing a face. Claire blinked and leaned closer. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? The outline of the face began to protrude toward her a little further. Closer and closer she drew to the effigy in the now hot, shiny beads of liquid. Steam rose up all around her. Suddenly, the water droplets fused together to form a distorted undead female face. It raged at her and thrust its head forward as if it might bite her. Claire screamed and nearly tripped as she fought to climb her way desperately through the shower curtain and out of the tub. She grabbed a purple towel and wrapped it securely around her body. When she turned around to face the shower, the eerie manifestation was gone. "Oh, my God," she muttered, her body trembling. "Laura said Remnants can't come here. She said I'd be safe. But that had to be a…I'm going crazy. Yeah, that's it. I'm going crazy," she repeated as she fumbled with the faucet. Once it was off, she rose and moved to stand before the large mirror that spanned the length of the marble countertop. Purple and black smoke suddenly began to spiral out from the center of the mirror. Claire slowly stepped back toward the safety of the opposite wall. Her mouth fell open as the two colors continued to expand rapidly in size.