Grace reached towards her. Leanne stepped out of reach and felt the children shuffle out of her way. She didn’t dare let the woman touch her again. Too much was taken away each time.

“Sweetheart.” Grace shook her head. “Don’t be so petulant, now. Give me your hand. I can make this right. I can bring you over. You want to be with your brother, don’t you? I’ll make it so that you never have to leave him again.”

Henry stepped through the crowd. His movements weren’t entirely natural. They were a fraction too slow and a fraction too jerky to look right. He came to a halt beside Grace. Leanne met his eyes—white, dead eyes—and felt her heart break.

Grace moved forward abruptly, trying to snatch up Leanne’s hand. She stumbled back, breathing heavily, holding her arms close to her body so that they couldn’t be caught.

“I want to leave.” Leanne chanced a look over her shoulder. The room shouldn’t have been large, but she had been backing up for metres and still couldn’t see the door.

“You are being difficult, my darling. But I want you to know that it’s all right. Nothing you do will dull my love.”

“I don’t want your love.”

For a moment, they were both silent, staring at each other across the expanse of black. Then Grace tilted her head to one side. “I am being patient with you, but you know, we are not alone here. My mother stayed with me, as well. She takes care of the naughty children.” Grace smiled. “You are being quite naughty, aren’t you, my dear?”

A thud echoed through the dark. Cold washed through Leanne’s limbs, turning them heavy. The children scattered. They disappeared into the darkness, their footsteps making no more noise than Leanne’s own thumping heart.

She met Grace’s eyes. The woman’s smile, a little too large to be reassuring, glimmered in the candlelight. Then the cane hit the floor again, and the candle’s flame died.

The world was black. Leanne, afraid of touching and of being touched, held her hands close to her chest. Her breath was raspy in her ears. Her legs shook. She turned her head, searching for light, searching for an escape.

The cane impacted the ground again. It was growing faster. Closer. Leanne tried to back away from it, but she couldn’t tell which direction it came from.

Thud.

“No.” Leanne tried to run. She took two steps before fear brought her to a halt. It was closer. Almost on her. She pressed her hands to her face, a child again, afraid to see.

Thud.

Right behind her. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

Thud.

A hand gripped her shoulder. Heavy, claw-like fingers dug into her. Leanne screamed.