Page 7 - Chronicles of Darkness

“To your father, stupid child. Tell him he mustn’t sell
my home to the hollow men who have been creeping
around here at night. I’ll kill as many of you as I must
to drive them off, but it can all stop if he promises not
to sign anything they give him.”
“Hollow men? The lawyer, you mean? Papi said he
was a real estate investor.”
“Nonsense words. He is an empty thing that traded
favors for a face and a name, and the men he speaks
for don’t even have the grace to cast a shadow. They
are hollow men and they must not be allowed to put
their clockwork...”
Mena interrupted her, angry. “Wait, you’ll kill as many
of us as you must? What did you do with Jenna?”
“The soft, pink one? She was oily but toothsome. You,
I suspect,” and she shook Dawn again, who struggled
harder this time, palming something, “will need to sit a
few days before you are soft enough for my old teeth.”
Mena tried to stay calm. “But you’re scaring everyone
away! If any more tenants leave we won’t be able to
afford to live here. He’ll have to sell.”
Mrs. Luz appeared to consider this for a moment. “The
man’s gold is his own to track. Tell him not to sell or
I’ll collect you next.”
Mena didn’t quite suppress a shudder. “I will, but only
if you let her go.”
“I will not. You are the child with the message, so this
one is for me. You are thoughtful to have brought her,
and she will buy your safe escape.”
“You evil old witch!” Mena threw Dawn’s flashlight at
Mrs. Luz – and regretted it almost instantly when one
of the folds of skin holding Dawn in place reached
out to bat it away.
Dawn, in that moment, wrenched herself forward to
face Mrs. Luz, and emptied a can of pepper spray into
the folds where her face should have been. Mrs. Luz
reeled backward, screaming, as Dawn braced herself
against the dress-colored flesh and pulled her arm
free. “Come on, this way!”
Mena was already running.
“Dawn, wait, this is the way we came!”
“I know, just trust me!”
Mena tailed Dawn back to the door with no knob.
“No, this is a stupid plan. Do you even know how to
turn it on?”
“Only one way to find out! Come on, help me pull this
thing open.” The wood splintered and came apart. Not
open, but open enough for them to crawl through.
Before climbing in, Dawn pressed the remains of the
doorknob into Mena’s hands. “You’re a better pitcher
than me. Remember, all you’ve got to do is get her
attention.”
The minute that Ximena stood outside the wreckage
of the door lasted six years. So when she saw Mrs. Luz
charging toward her, screaming so loudly it rattled
Mena’s teeth, she was a little relieved.