Page 61 of Wolfsbane Hall
“When I find out which one of you assholes is the Phantom, I will hunt you down and torture you for days.”
But it seemed to behertorture that the Phantom was after right now. Because dragonflies and hummingbirds on strings dropped from the ceiling, some of them had their wings ripped off, and from their mouths played the cruel harmony from Margot’s nightmares.
A nursery rhyme.
With a loud creak, the statues also opened their mouthsand began to sing in a sinister, off-key tone.Margret, Margret hanging down. It’s cold this Winter’s mourning. Too bad and oh so sad. You caused the Marquess’s scorning.
The color drained from Margot’s face, and guttural fear burned in her veins. Tears dripped from Margot’s face as she fell to her knees and clasped her ears tightly, screaming. She couldn’t hear this. Not this. Not again.
“Please.” The word left her mouth as a hollow plea. “Please, stop.”
“Open your box, and I will stop it,” the Phantom’s voice whispered right behind her ear. “Play my game, Margot.”
“No.” Her throat was raw. “No.”
“For once in your miserable existence, just follow the rules,” the Phantom said softly. While he was torturing her, he didn’t seem to like it. He felt almost compassionate. “Please, Margot.”
“Fine.” Margot pinched her stinging eyes tight. “Fine.”
She opened her eyes and drew the box into her hand. There was no way Margot would solve the puzzle. Though the last thing she wanted to do was admit that she was bad at something, it was undeniable. Margot wasn’t brilliant. She wasn’t stupid, either. She was merely average and, unfortunately, not the type of average who liked riddles.
The show wasn’t made for Margot; it was made for Celestine. This meant she had to wake up the vessel.
Wake up. Please. I need you to tell me what this is.
The soul sparked to life and slammed so hard into Margot’s consciousness that it was clear the girl was waiting to take her chance to come back into the spotlight.
Why would I help you?
Because if we don’t solve the show, our body is going to die, and neither one of us wants that.
Margot sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Celestinewas thinking hard about helping, and she said into their mind,It’s a stereogram.
What the fuck is that?
It’s a visual puzzle. If you look at it correctly, a two-dimensional image will become three-dimensional.
So, how do I look at it?
Hold your finger up in front of it and look at it through your finger.
But it wasn’t Margot who did it. Celestine gritted her teeth and forced her consciousness to puppet her body, moving her finger in front of the box. A fairly easy puzzle, all things considered.Her vision shifted, and a mockingbird appeared at the center of the box.
She pushed it down, and voilà, it opened.As the box opened, the hallway cleared, and the song stopped.
Celestine inhaled sharply. She turned the small box over and poured a small slip of paper out. On it was a handwritten note.
I knew you would open it first, my brilliant Celine. The first clue to Lorraine’s murder is stuffed inside the couch in the Pettitte Parlar—Your Phantam.
Parts of the note were misspelled. Celestine scratched her hand as Margot clawed at the sides of their brain. Celestine wasn’t entirely in control, but she was fighting back. She might be a weak soul, or vessel, or whatever Margot called her, but even the weak could fight. Even an underdog could win.
So, while she had some ability to make choices, she got up and quickly made her way to the Petite Parlor. Stepping over to the couch, she lost her balance and was struck by a fit of dizziness. The palms of her hands barely caught her weight as she fell, and her knees knocked against the hardwood floor. At least she caught herself before striking her head on the coffeetable.
Fuck.
Be careful, Margot yelled at the corners of her mind.
Because Iwantto fall and hit my head.
