The Price of Power (The Price of Secrets Series Book 2) by Ashley Drake Page A

moments over. “Come on inside and lets get started so maybe I can salvage the rest of the night. This did, however, get me out of having to go see my aunt and uncle with rest of my family.” She walked back into the house.
       Following her, I started to cross the threshold, and hesitated. My body, or mind, did not want me to enter.
        “Are you gonna stand there all day? I know you hate me but I wont bite, Hannah.”
        Against my better judgment, I entered the house and into the living room. “I don’t hate you. That’s a strong word.” I had planned on adding something witty, but the man standing in the far corner of the room caught me off guard.
        I knew instantly that he wasn’t alive, but what throwing me off was that he didn’t feel like a living impaired.
    Don’t acknowledge him. The voice, that first came to me the night we freed Samantha, whispered to me.
        Why she whispered inside my head I don’t know. Unless she thought someone or something might hear. Wait, she? That felt right. Whoever has been talking to me is female. Good to know.
        I diverted my eyes to the family portrait hanging on the wall beside the man. I bravely walked up right next to him to study the picture. “This is a great pic.”
        “Yes, we are just one big happy family.”
        Okay, note to self- family is a touchy subject for Megan.
        The man leaned over to me and he, I promise to God, sniffed me! What the crap am I supposed to do with that? I tried to focus on Megan and pretend that I hadn’t just been violated by a dead guy.
        “Um, well, let’s get started.”
     
                            
        After about two hour of trying to decode life learning lessons from The Fall of the House of Usher , we decided to take a break. (So far all I have been able to come up with is that Edgar was either insane or high while he wrote it.) Megan went to do whatever it is she does, and I pulled out my phone to text Daniel.
        “I know who you are.” The man had appeared right behind me. “I also know that you can see and hear me.”
        It was all I could do NOT to scream, let alone not to relieve my bladder, but I was proud of my external composure. I continued to type my message out on my phone.
        “You think you are so powerful.” His body turned to a limp rubbery mass and grotesquely slithered across the sofa and turned back into a solid form to stand in front of me. “You haven’t seen anything yet. When you leave here, don’t come back.” I was still trying to keep my eyes on my phone while watching him from my peripheral view. In less time than it took to blink, he had his face an inch away from mine. His lips spread literally from ear to ear in a disfigured smile. “You can’t have her, she is mine!” He screamed, then disappeared.
        My hands and knees started to shake as I let myself react to what I just saw. I have never seen a living impaired distort themselves like that. Saying that I was scared and creeped out was an understatement. Why was he so angry with me? Powerful? I don’t think I’m so powerful. I heard the sound of glass breaking coming from the kitchen, so I decided to go investigate.
        Megan was on the floor sweeping up what looked to be the equivalent of half a dozen glasses shattered on the floor.
        “What happened? Megan, are you alright?”
        “The lights started to flicker and the cabinet doors swung open, then glasses started flying out onto the floor.” She was crying. “But I will be told that this is an old house and that is was just faulty wiring and slanted flooring.”
        She is used to this! To make things worse, her family doesn’t believe her.
        “How long has this been going on?”
        “Oh don’t act like you believe me.” I guess she saw that I did in fact believe her when she looked up at me, because she answered. “Years.