MUMA Read online

  . .

  MUMA

  Text copyright © 2020 by M. K. ROZE

  ISBN:

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  Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be

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  the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is the work of fiction. Names, characters, places,

  and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or

  used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,

  or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their

  content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Printed in the United States of America.

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  delyn glanced out the window at the historic buildings

  of downtown St. Augustine, certain she wasn’t going

  back there anytime soon. Not after what she had done.

  Dad got into the SUV, lowered the visor from the

  afternoon sun, and looked into the rearview mirror at

  Adelyn. “Was this the best Spring Break you ever had or

  what?”

  Adelyn glanced at her duffle bag on her lap. “Dad, we

  come here every Spring Break. It’s beautiful, but I’d like to

  go somewhere else next year.”

  “I agree, but this is your mother’s favorite spot.” Dad

  pushed the starter button on the SUV, but the engine

  wouldn’t turn over. He pushed the button several more times

  and got nothing. “What the heck. I just bought this damn

  thing.”

  Adelyn’s hazel eyes left the bag on her lap and narrowed

  on Dad’s angry expression. “Please don’t tell me we’re stuck

  here.”

  “I love this place, but we better not be.” Dad slammed

  his finger on the button a few more times and the engine

  roared. He let out a sigh of relief. “That was weird.”

  Adelyn shrugged it off and slid her duffel bag down her

  long thin legs onto the floor. “What was so funny about me

  not wanting to come back here?”

  “You’re going to be nineteen by then. I’m sure you’ll

  drive off to Daytona Beach with your friends or to some

  other well-known party spot.”

  Adelyn glanced across the road at a couple of teens

  laughing while they took pictures of the ancient fort,

  knowing that wasn’t going to happen. “Yeah, right. I’m an

  adult now and you still control me.”

  Dad placed his muscular arm over the headrest and

  turned to Adelyn, getting her attention. “I’m a cop. It’s in my

  blood to protect. Especially my family. But it doesn’t mean

  you’re not allowed to have fun. I only ask you to be

  responsible and trust no one. Plus, you never asked me to go

  anywhere on your own.”

  Adelyn shot him a smirk. “Okay. Can I go to Daytona

  Beach next year? I won’t dare drink alcohol.”

  “You got that right. And we’ll talk about that when, and

  if, you decide to go there.”

  “I was kidding. I have no desire to travel this far.”

  Dad winked and looked forward.

  Adelyn glanced out the back window at the Victorian

  bed-and-breakfast they had stayed at. “Where’s mom?”

  “Oh, crap.” Dad rushed got out of the truck and headed

  toward the back of the inn.

  Adelyn stared at the lighthouse across the Matanzas Bay,

  wishing she could go back in time from what she had done,

  but it was too late. The guilt overpowered her, and it was

  beginning to show.

  Mom got in and closed the door. “I’m sure going to miss

  it here.” She looked back at Adelyn. “Did you have fun?”

  “Yeah, minus the ghosts that kept me up at night.”

  Mom’s blue eyes sparkled. “You heard them too?”

  “I was kidding. You know I don’t believe in that stuff.”

  Mom turned back around. “Don’t get freaked out when

  one of them follow us home.”

  Adelyn rolled her eyes and smiled, knowing Mom was

  obsessed with anything paranormal.

  Dad placed Mom’s suitcase in the back, and they started

  the five-hundred-mile journey back to Witchery Cove,

  Georgia—a small town known for a beautiful, evil witch

  named Sula, who was hanged in the 18th century. Sula was

  famous for hunting people in the mountains, then killing

  anyone she didn’t like. It took years before the witch-hunters

  caught her and took her to the top of Broom Mountain.

  As Sula was hanged, she didn’t fight her death. She

  stared each man down with her black eyes and had a demonic

  grin on her pale face. The hunters feared she would cast a

  last-minute spell on them, so they burned her alive—Sula’s

  guttural screams echoing through the valley—sending the

  hunters running back down the mountain.

  The following morning, the hunters went back up to

  Broom mountain to bury Sula, but she was gone. They

  believed she’d escaped death and hid somewhere in the

  mountains, waiting to kill whoever crossed paths with her.

  A few days later, the townspeople complained of

  hearing bone-chilling screams coming from somewhere in

  the mountains. The witch hunters were certain it was Sula

  killing again, so they went to look for her. They vanished in

  the night,
never to be found.

  In the 21st century, the town and everything in it was

  renamed after anything that pertained to a witch. They did

  this to draw more attention and make the town’s owners

  more money. When thousands of tourists visited all year

  round, in hopes of finding Sula, they knew their idea had

  worked. But when some of the tourists vanished, the town

  flooded with their family members and reporters, certain the

  myth about Sula escaping death was true. The cops didn’t

  believe it was supernatural. They put out a report saying the

  tourists lost their way and died somewhere in the mountains.

  After hours of driving from being stuck in traffic, they

  finally arrived back in town.

  As Dad drove down Sorceress Street—the main street

  of Witchery Cove, Adelyn rolled the window down—the

  cool air blowing her hair back. She leaned her head out and

  smiled as she took deep breaths of the burning pine while

  looking at all the old buildings they passed by.

  When Dad stopped at a red light, Adelyn looked across

  the street at Sula’s Cauldron, a small family restaurant she

  worked at. “Wow, they’re busy for a Sunday night.”

  “Yes, they are,” Dad said. “Do you want to stop there

  and get something to eat?”

  Adelyn glanced at the people eating at the tables outside.

  “No, I’m still full from that nasty pizza we ate earlier.”

  “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “That’s because you think anything that has cheese on

  it is good.”

  Dad chuckled and took off driving again.

  As they passed the new age shops, which were on every

  corner, Adelyn glanced at the paranormal souvenirs in the

  windows, wondering why she suddenly wanted to buy

  everything she saw. Maybe all the ghost tours we went on in St.

  Augustine changed my way of thinking.

  Adelyn thought that was possible and stared out the

  window at the woods as Dad drove a few more miles down

  the road. She looked up at the mountains and smiled at their

  menacing presence. Adelyn couldn’t stop staring at their

  imposing existence, and she didn’t understand why she was

  unable to look away.

  Dad yawned as he took a right onto Conjurer Drive.

  Adelyn snapped out of her trance and shook her head

  at Dad. “I told you I would’ve driven.”

  “I know, but you wouldn’t be able to get out of a

  speeding ticket like I could.”

  “That’s what your badge is for,” she joked.

  “You use my badge, and you’ll get a lot more than a

  speeding ticket.”

  “Dad, I was kidding. I wouldn’t want you to arrest me.”

  Dad looked back at her and winked. He turned around

  and continued the mile drive up the steep, winding road to

  their two-story cabin, which was surrounded by tall pine

  trees.

  Dad came to a stop and gently shook Mom awake.

  “Hey, we’re home.”

  Mom jumped out of her sleep and glared him down.

  “Jeff, you scared the shit out of me.”

  “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Adelyn giggled as she took her water bottle and candy

  wrappers off the seat next to her. She opened the door and

  got out. “I have to use the restroom.”

  “Go ahead,” Dad said. “I’ll get your suitcase.”

  “Thanks.” Adelyn walked around the SUV and glanced

  at her red, run down 1996 Explorer that was parked behind

  her mother’s Jeep. She rushed up the steps of the

  wraparound porch and took her key out of her bag.

  Adelyn unlocked the door while crossing her legs from

  holding her urine in for so long. She regretted drinking so

  much water and ran through the foyer, crossed through the

  chef’s kitchen, and ended up in the family room. As she

  opened the bathroom door, a scratching sound came from

  above her. She glanced up at the loft and followed it around,

  trying to locate where the sound came from, but she saw

  nothing. She shrugged it off and continued inside to use the

  restroom.

  After Adelyn unpacked and took a long hot shower, she

  said good night to her parents and went to her room. She

  turned off the bedroom light and walked over to her bed,

  glancing at the black shadows on her white walls from the

  amber nightlight. She got into bed and lay snuggled under

  her comforter, staring blankly at the cedar vaulted ceiling,

  regretting what she had done in Florida.

  As Adelyn’s parent’s footsteps faded to their bedroom,

  which was a few doors down from hers, a faint thud,

  followed by scratching sounds came from on the other side

  of her room. Her body jerked slightly and her curious eyes

  followed a black shadow over to the bay window, where the

  silhouette vanished.

  Adelyn rubbed her eyes, thinking it was her cat’s

  shadow. “Mr. Snowflake, is that you?”

  Adelyn grabbed her iPhone next to her and turned the

  flashlight on. She aimed the phone around the room—the

  light illuminating the pictures of her and her friends on the

  wall. As she lowered the phone, three thumps came from

  under her bed—the mattress lightly bouncing. She held her

  breath for a second and froze. What the heck was that?

  Adelyn leaned down to see what it was, and her cat ran

  out from under the bed hissing with his white hair sticking

  up. She flinched, pushed herself back up, and clutched her

  chest. “Holy crap, cat. You scared me.”

  Mr. Snowflake meowed as he scratched at the floor,

  trying to get out of the room.

  “I’m not getting out of bed, so you’re stuck in here with

  me for the night.”

  The cat kept scratching while meowing.

  She sighed. “Mom and dad are gonna make me get rid

  of you if you don’t stop tearing the floor up.”

  Adelyn gave up on the cat and sat there for a minute.

  She opened the diary app on her phone, selected video, and

  tapped on the record button.

  “I have to confess to something I did,” she said in a low

  voice, “while I was on vacation in St. Augustine, Florida. I

  didn’t do a video while I was there because my room was

  next door to my parents’ room and the walls were thin. I

  didn’t want them to hear me.

  “After my parents and I walked for a mile with the tour

  group in the creepy forest, we stopped in front of a cabin

  and listened to the tour guide talk about the history of St.

  Augustine. Supposedly, tons of people were mutilated by a

  leopard. I’m not going to lie, it was spooky. Especially when

  I saw glowing red eyes looking down at us from the upstairs

  window. I didn’t pay it any mind because I was sure it was

  done purposely to scare us. And I didn’t believe those poor

  souls were drained dry by a leopard. I think it was a serial

  killer, who thought he or she was a vampire or something.

  Which is another thing I don’t bel—”

  Something fell onto the floor, causing Adelyn to flinch

  and stop talking. She paused
the video and looked around

  the room to see what it was. “Mr. Snowflake, was that you

  again?” Adelyn sat up and saw the cat staring at the door like

  it was waiting for it to open.

  As Adelyn looked around the room, she noticed a hand-

  carved cross her grandmother had made for her—lying

  upside down against her dresser. She got out of bed,

  wondering why it had fallen after four years it been hanging

  there since her grandmother’s sudden death. She picked it

  up, hung it back on the wall, and got back under her blankets

  where she resumed the video.

  “Where was I?” She thought about it. “Oh, yeah, I don’t

  believe in vampires either. Anyway, as we walked further into

  the woods, we stopped at an old white building that sat alone

  in the middle of an open field. Most of the tourists, including

  my parents, went inside to look at the old ballroom while I

  stayed outside with a young couple. I didn’t go in, not

  because I was scared of the three evil ghosts that were said

  to haunt the place, but because the tour guide said it was built

  in the fourteenth century, and the structure looked like it was

  about to collapse.

  “While the couple took endless pictures of a horse

  statue, I walked around the building, and I saw a gold object

  sticking out from under a pile of leaves. I moved the leaves

  from it and picked up the beautiful handheld mirror.”

  Adelyn paused the video and looked at the duffel bag

  on the floor with the mirror in it, but she didn’t want to get

  out of bed, so she resumed the video.

  “I’m too lazy to show you the mirror, so I’ll describe it

  the best I can, and I’ll show it to you later.” Adelyn pictured

  it in her mind and continued. “It’s a gold oval-shaped mirror

  with a crack in the middle. The antique patina, tells me it’s

  centuries-old, and the red gem on its handle is breathtaking.

  I’m sure it’s worth a lot of money.

  “Anyway, as I looked at myself in the mirror, my skin

  was flawless, and the scar on my chin disappeared right

  before my eyes. I thought it was cool, but I knew it was

  wrong to steal. I went to put it back, but something inside of