“Sun’s just about done.” Kant rubbed a hand into his shoulder, grimacing as he stretched it. “That means we have to go, yeah. You remember what you need to do?”
Margot bit her lip. The instructions ran through her head in a stream that became increasingly tangled the more she tried to straighten it. Stage one, after dark. Stage two, when the bells ring. Stage three, once they’re in the house.
Marsh continued to smile up at her, panting faintly, and Margot felt her heart turn cold.
They’re going to get into the house. No amount of false hope or good talismans will change that. They’ll get into the house, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
“How safe is the employee accommodation?” she asked.
Andrew exchanged a glance with Kant. “For you? No safer than the house. Just…more places to become cornered. And the rule says you need to stay here.”
“No, I understand that.” She frowned, staring down at the smiling golden retriever at her side. “But for you. And the other staff. Are you in much danger there?”
“Less than you,” Kant murmured. “The dead ones will come near our homes. But they don’t seem as interested in us, unless we interrupt them.”
“Good. Take Marsh back there with you.”
She held out the leash, but Kant only looked at it.
“I’m not taking the dog.”
Her voice caught, half choking her. “I can’t let him stay here. It’s going to be dangerous. He’ll be hurt. I know he will. I can’t—I can’t do that to him—”
Kant took her outstretched hand, but instead of lifting the leash from it, he folded her fingers closed around it. “Keep him.”
“But—”
“The dead ones don’t go after animals, unless the animals get in their way.” Kant released her hands, and she let them fall, still clutching the leash. “Witchety loves Marsh more than she loves anything, and she still gave him to you. I’m prepared to trust her.”
She turned to Andrew, desperate.
“I’m more of a cat person myself,” he said, chuckling, as he put his hands into his pockets.
“You can do this.” Kant bent forward slightly so his heavy, gray eyes could meet hers. “Remember: when you hear the bells, put your lights out. Stay quiet. Stay alert. When you hear them coming, move. Don’t panic.”
“Don’t panic,” she echoed dully.
“That’s the important part. Keep your head no matter what. The curse can make you see things. Hear things. Don’t fixate on them. Just keep moving.”
Margot thought of her reflection in the mirrors. The spiders in the attic. The way her shadow’s neck had seemed to break.