To escape the dangers of wartime London, Millie has been sent away to Wickford Hall, but what lurks there is far more sinister than anything war might bring.
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THERE'S SOMETHING WICKED STALKING WICKFORD HALL...
As war rages on, Mildred Cunningham...
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Matthew's remaining good eye stared up at Millie, blank and unseeing, her own horrified face reflected in its dark empty depths. Millie shoved his body off of her and scuttled back. She scrabbled over the stones, trying to put as much distance between them as possible, only stopping when her back hit a wall. For a second, she just sat there, clinging to the edge of the room, face frozen in horror as she stared at him, just lying there.
Then she rounded on Sister Marion.
"What did you do?" she shouted at her. "What did you do to him!?"
Sister Marion just stared back at her, her expression merciless.
"He didn't deserve to die," Millie howled, "None of them deserved to die! And yet... Why would you kill him?"
"That was not my doing," was all Sister Marion said.
Millie's eye drew up to the long staff still gripped in the sister's hand. Its golden head towered over the old, hunched woman, ruby stains shining bright in the lamplight. Blood stains. His blood.
Was she really going to stand there and deny that she was the one that killed him?
Millie scowled back at her. Yet another lie...
The sounds of a heated argument and heavy footsteps began to drift down the stairwell. Millie turned to just as several figures descended the stairs, and soon the Archdeacon, the Mother Superior, and the Headmistress emerged from the shadows. As they filtered into the room, they didn't even glance at Millie as she cowered on the floor.
"This has to end tonight," the Archdeacon warned the Mother as he trailed after her. His pale features were ruddy from agitation, his lake-water eyes bright and furious. "It has gone on for far too long, and I cannot allow it to continue."
"I agree," Sister Marion piped up as the Mother Superior and the Archdeacon reached her side. "The breach has destabilised the entire situation. It could jeopardise everything we've worked for."
"Precisely!" the Archdeacon agreed, nodding vigorously. "We must act now!"
The Mother Superior did not respond. She didn't even seem to be listening. Her gaze was down, fixed on her feet, as though she was locked deep in her thoughts. Though the others appeared to be deeply agitated, her expression was at peace.
"It is not for either of you to decide," the Headmistress cut in, glaring at both Sister Marion and the Archdeacon. "It's the Mother's decision. This is her jurisdiction, and her trial—"
"We are still allowed to give our opinions," Sister Marion snapped back, incensed that the Headmistress would address to her in such a way. "And the Mother should know all of the ramifications her decision. If this fails, it has dire consequences for not just us, but possibly for the whole country—"
"That is well known. But this is the first progress we've made in years—"
