It was working! The more Jason shook the house, the more the shadow thing faded. Just a little more. Just a little harder, and maybe it would go away completely.

Lou and the girl with the braids were in the hallway not far from where the mass was pulling at shadows, as if trying to rebuild itself. The two had fallen and were scrambling to stand.

Jason was about to jolt the dollhouse again when a pair of hands reached out of the darkness and steadied his own. He screamed and nearly toppled from the house’s halo of light, but the hands grabbed his wrists and held him upright. “Shhh …”

From the other side of the dollhouse, a girl was staring at him. For a moment, there was a glint in her eyes, like flame from a candlewick. Though her dress was dark, her apron reflected the glow of the house, giving her an aura of warmth. She raised a finger to her lips. Jason tried to slow his breath.

He glanced through a window. Lou and the other girl had made their way into another room and were leaning against the door from inside.

Safe … for now.

“Lou,” he said, his voice echoing into the dark.

“Shhh. It’ll hear us,” the girl in the black dress whispered. “And I really wouldn’t recommend shaking the dollhouse again. You’ll only make it angrier.”

“It?” Jason lowered his voice too. “What is it exactly?”

The girl shook her head. “It doesn’t know that I brought you here. Not yet anyway.”

“You brought me here?” he asked.

She went on. “My name is Connie Caldwell, and once upon a time, this dollhouse belonged to me.”

CHAPTER 6

“THIS THING WAS yours?” Jason asked. “But how?”

She raised her finger to her lips again, shook her head, and glanced worriedly out into the void. She was afraid of something hearing them.

But Lou’s safety was at stake. “My sister, Louise, dreams about this dollhouse. That there are five kids trapped inside. A monster chases them. I’m pretty sure I just saw it!” Connie motioned wildly for him to keep quiet. Frustrated, Jason threw his hands in the air. “There’s got to be something I can do to help her,” he whispered. “You said you brought us here?”

“I brought you here,” she said so quietly, he barely heard her. “Not the others.”

“You must have done it for a reason. Right?”

Connie nodded slowly. She held out her hand. As he took it, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Jason closed his eyes too, imitating the speed of Connie’s long breath.