Scary not Scary (The Holidaze Book 3)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The gruesome key he had placed in the lock now glowed with the brightest of gold. George stared at it as he removed it from the lock.

Never in his life had he seen anything as golden. The weight of the key now proved that it was solid gold as well.

Peering into the room left him gasping like a fool. Images of him filled the walls. He stumbled into the room not sure where to look first.

There were pictures of George as a child. There he was at every single birthday party and, of course, pictures of him at the petting zoo, when he had a day out.

"What is this?" George asked as he looked around but there was no reply.

With his mind feeling boggled, George tried to figure out what was going on. Why was there a shrine to his childhood hidden in the castle of the Halloween Holidaze?

"What is this place?" George asked again.

"Your father never abandoned you. Instead you were taken away from him," the voice started talking again.

"That's not true," George protested.

"Ah, but it is. In the middle of the day, when all in the Halloween Holidaze stood silent and still, she stole you away from the life you knew."

George's skin began to grow fiery hot. This time his skin didn't as much as itch as it felt like it caught on fire. The burning sensation made him want to scream. He'd never had his skin so inflamed.

"Are you trying to suggest that my mother took me from here as a child?" George asked in disbelief.

"I am telling you the truth of your life. Yes, your mother removed you from here," the voice insisted.

"She would never have done that to me. How dare you suggest that. Why would she do that to me?"

"Perhaps you need to ask her."

The voice said no more. George continued to speak and make enquiries but he heard no response. With a deep breath, George glanced around the room. How was he even going to get out of here?

"You used to love the spooky side. What happened to you, Salem?" the voice said in the saddest tone.

"I knew of the slide in the throne?" George asked.

"The slide in the throne isn't the only way to get here. This was once your playground. You know how to get out of here. You know how to return to the top of the slide. If you want to fetch her to help you figure out the mystery, then you need to recall how to get back to the top of the slide," the voice offered sage advice.

"How would I know? Are you suggesting that Devinah could help me?"

"They have pegged that one wrong for too many millennia," the voice made a snorting noise that sounded disgusting, "she had never been the delighter of the world."

"What is she then?"

The voice chuckled, "oh, no, she can discover that all on her own. Hurry off and find her, Salem. She will help you solve the riddle."

"My name is George!" George firmed his voice.

"I would never name my son something as vulgar as George. Off with you."

"Wait, are you Severson?"

George stood there in shock. Had the voice really suggested that George was his son? Could he be this elusive Salem? George shook his head and turned to the task at hand. How did he find his way back to where Devinah was?