Bonus Excerpt!

Finding Emmaline. A Blackwood Series Novel. Book 2

Bonus Excerpt!

Finding Emmaline

A Blackwood Series Novel

Book 1 Available on Amazon and Goodreads.

Whispers in The Dark

I waited, listening. The house was so still, so quiet, all I could hear was the storm brewing outside. But something was off. I didn’t know what, just… something.

Trying to decide if I was just imagining things or not, I heard it again. Still faint, but louder this time. I laid there, contemplating. Get up and see what it was, or go back to sleep?

I huffed a tired sigh. It was probably just Duff, Mrs. Dougal’s cat from next door, bumping against the windows downstairs, trying to find a dry, cozy place to sleep. Mrs. Dougal was a sweet old lady, and I loved her dearly, but she really ought to consider making Duff an inside cat. The fluffy white Persian liked to prowl at night, and she was notorious for lurking around my back porch.

I sank back into my pillow, trying to get comfortable. I hadn’t even closed my eyes this time before I heard the sound again. More distinct now. And closer. Much, much closer.

I stayed perfectly still, my eyes wide open now as my ears strained to listen. Only a second passed before I heard it again. That was no cat. Someone was crying. Softly. Quietly.

But those were definitely tears. Women’s tears.

My blood went cold, and my stomach dropped as I realized there must be someone in my house. But how? I knew I had checked all the locks on the doors and windows before I went to bed. 

Frozen with fear, I couldn’t move. As I laid there listening, my breath coming faster, I waited for the sound to come again. When a few moments passed and I heard nothing, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my pounding heart. Just your imagination, Emily.

But of course, as what inevitably happens, I couldn’t get the sound out of my head. What if someone really was in the house with me? As I was debating that particularly uncomfortable thought, and trying to decide if I should call the police, the sound came again. Closer this time. Like, right outside my door, closer.

My heart racing so fast I could barely breath, I turned my head on the pillow, eyeing the cell phone on the nightstand. Then another thought occurred. Say I did call for help? What would I say to them when they got here? “Sorry I called you in the middle of the night, but I thought I heard a woman crying in my hallway?”

My eyes went to the door again. Sitting up, I tossed the comforter and sheet to the side, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Flipping the bedside lamp on… why do people in horror movies never think of that?... I stood and was preparing to creep out into the hallway to check things out, maybe go downstairs and check the windows again, when I stopped, then hastily tip-toed to the closet. Quietly opening the door, I reached in for the baseball bat that lay propped underneath the light switch. My sister Eveline had given it to me when I first moved into the house, because growing up with five sisters, Ev. was all about safety.

But knowing I would never have a gun in my home, she said the bat was the next best thing, preaching to me that it was better to be safe than sorry. Grateful now for my sister’s paranoia, I grabbed the heavy wooden stick, took a deep breath, and went back to the door. Quietly turning the knob, I stepped out into the hallway. The crying grew louder. What had started out as soft, weeping sobs had turned into deep cries of sorrow. But whereas before, the sound had been right outside my bedroom, it now sounded distant, farther away. It was an eerie sound. Like echoes whispering through a long tunnel.

But where was it coming from? As I looked up and down the hallway, bat raised and ready to strike anything that moved, the lights flickered, and the air suddenly felt heavy, charged. Like static electricity after a storm, causing the hair on my arms and neck to stand up.

Taking a shaky breath, I called out a squeaky, “Hello?” Then realizing how pathetically feeble that sounded, I cleared my throat before calling out a bit louder. “Is someone there?”

The crying abruptly stopped, leaving an unnerving silence behind. It was like someone had flipped a switch. The air felt lighter, and the house seemed to settle with a quiet calmness.

I stood for a moment, looking around the hallway. My legs wouldn’t move, but I slowly lowered the bat to my side. A moment later, I heard the sound of thunder rolling across the sky and knew the storm was passing. I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath. I was shaken, and I didn’t mind admitting it, even if it was just to myself.

Suddenly, the narrow hallway turned cold. I opened my mouth with a gasp at the sudden chill, and an icy mist whispered from between my lips as I exhaled. It was so cold. Like a window had been suddenly flung open on a hard winter’s night. But that was impossible. It was already May, and while it still got a bit chilly at night, it wasn’t nearly cold enough for the temperature to drop so low. I stood frozen in fear, my breath coming faster. Shaking, I was about to take a step back into my room when an eerie voice split the silence like a knife. It echoed around me. “Do not fear. All will be well again,” it whispered wistfully.

It was a woman’s voice. Soft, faint, lilting. And English? I looked around, expecting to see someone standing in the hallway with me, but there was no one there.

 “He is coming...” the voice repeated, fading down the quiet hallway on a soft whisper, taking the chill of the air with it. My breathing returned to normal, the iciness gone. A peacefulness came over me, so sudden it left me weak. I slumped back against the wall, my whole body shaking. What the hell just happened? Trying to calm my ragged nerves, I ran a hand through my hair, drawing a deep breath into my lungs. Walking backwards, because I was honestly too scared to turn my back to the hall, I stepped back into my bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me. On impulse, I threw the lock before dropping the bat in the corner and making my way back to bed. Sitting on the side, I stared at the brass doorknob. With a disgusted sigh, I rolled my eyes. “You have got to stop watching tv before bed Emily,” I grumbled. I was addicted to paranormal reality shows. I just loved them. Other than reading a good book, they were my only other vice. Entertaining yes, but not really suitable recreation before bedtime.

Deciding it really must have been my mind playing tricks on me, I  crawled back under the covers. Reaching up, I fluffed my pillow beneath my head, then pulled the comforter up to my chin. But as I laid there, listening to the house settle as the storm passed, I couldn’t close my eyes. I just stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what just happened. Had that been real? Or had I been dreaming? I wasn’t prone to nightmares, never had been.

But it had certainly seemed real.

Daisy chose that moment to roll over with a jaw popping yawn, then with a full body stretch, she sauntered up to plop down next to me with a huff. I smiled as I stroked her soft little head. “Some watch dog you are.” I mumbled. Her response was to treat me to another lazy yawn before she promptly turned to her side and went back to sleep. Wrapping a hand around her silky soft belly, I pulled her to me, snuggling her warm little body to mine.

My mind was racing. I couldn’t get that voice out of my head. It was so haunting. Beautiful, but haunting. I looked over at the clock on my bedside table and groaned. Four-thirty.

Great. Seven a.m. was gonna be a nightmare.

Check out

Finding Emmaline

A Blackwood Series Novel

Book 1

Available on Amazon and Goodreads