Page 185 of Forever Dead
Foss entered the kitchen.
Selena seized a chair and shoved it toward him. He kicked it aside.
“Still disappointing,” he said.
Selena moved around the island. “At least I got under your skin. Just like your mother.”
His shoulders stiffened.
Useful.
She grabbed a ceramic bowl from the counter and threw it. Foss ducked, and the bowl shattered against the wall.
Selena limped through the opposite doorway, back into the hall.
The staircase rose on her left.
Going upstairs was a terrible idea. Staying on the same floor was worse.
She took the steps one at a time, dragging the injured leg. Behind her came no footsteps.
Halfway up, Selena glanced back.
The hallway was empty.
She climbed faster.
At the landing, three doors opened onto darkness. Selena chose the nearest bedroom and slipped inside.
A bed. Wardrobe. Window.
She tried the window latch. Paint held it shut.
A door struck its frame downstairs.
Selena stepped behind the wardrobe, leaving enough space to watch the doorway. Nothing moved.
The house became silent again.
Her knee throbbed with every heartbeat.
She needed a weapon.
Selena scanned the room. Lamp. Wooden chair. A heavy glass ornament on the dresser.
She reached for the ornament.
Footsteps reached the landing.
Selena stayed behind the wardrobe, the glass ornament gripped in her right hand and the cane in her left.
The footsteps stopped outside the room. She waited without moving. After several seconds they retreated, descending the stairs.
She could not stay here. The window was stuck, and even if she broke it, the paved path below offered a landing her knee would not survive.
She waited until she heard movement downstairs, then edged into the hall.
The landing was empty. Selena began descending, setting the cane carefully on each step. If Foss had gone back toward the kitchen, she might reach the front door and release the chain.
