House of a Thousand Rooms

Chapter 10

Without a moment's delay, Cora began hoisting the furniture, piece by piece, onto the mattress. She stacked the chairs on top of the table into a somewhat precarious-looking tower. Nervously, she began to climb. Right as she was about to reach the very top, however, a shockingly loud barking sound echoed through the room. It startled Cora. Her foot slipped, and she fell backwards onto the mattress as the pile of table and chairs toppled over her.

Minor cuts and bruises now covered her arms and legs. She groaned in pain as she crawled out from under the wreckage. A few of the chairs crashed onto the floor with several resounding 'clanks' and 'thuds.' More yips and growls followed.

Angrily, Cora sought out the blasted creature that had nearly sent her tumbling to her death. From the corner of her eye, she noticed something moving in her direction. She gasped. One of the stuffed bears was stalking towards her. As the beast drew closer, Cora realized it wasn't a toy bear at all.

A tiny black hound with absurdly large and pointed ears crouched before her. He snarled to reveal razor sharp fangs. The canines and incisors appeared much too large—rather comically so, in fact—for such a little dog, but oversized teeth were hardly the most unsettling thing about him.

The hound's eyes were what truly seized Cora's sense of dread. They were mesmerizing in a terrifying way. Both irises glowed like the embers of a dying flame, and blood seeped from the hound's tear ducts. The thick red liquid trickled down his shiny black chest and front paws, pooling on the ground in a puddle of crimson.

Cora screamed. The hound pup howled. As though in response, the black hole in the ceiling swelled to the size of a porthole. Cora's eyes widened in horror as she snapped her mouth shut. The hound quieted down. The black hole ceased to grow.

In a panicked voice, Cora whispered, "Oh no, oh no! Now you've done it. The hole is even bigger than before. Aunt Mathilde and Aunt Amelia are not going to be pleased about this at all. This is all your fault, you mangy mutt! You must help me fix this!"

The hound whimpered. His ears drooped. Then, he turned tail and ran out the door.

Cora glowered and grumbled, "Good riddance."

She gathered up the table and chairs again and restacked them atop the bed. She clambered up. One of the chairs wobbled slightly, but she didn't fall. Ever so cautiously, Cora pulled herself to the top of her improvised ladder. She smiled triumphantly as her body straightened into a standing position high above the ground. The black hole glimmered inches away from her face.

Cora removed the needle and thread from her skirt pocket. She studied the very supernatural hole looming over her with a slight frown. She looked down at the very ordinary tools at her disposal. Her frown deepened.

How in the world was this supposed to work? Would she need to sew up the hole like a regular piece of cloth? It seemed unlikely, but Cora didn't have any other ideas at the moment. She decided to give it a shot. With her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth, she carefully threaded the needle and then aimed the bevel towards the edge of black hole. The sharp tip passed through the blackness like air. No matter how many times Cora tried to make physical contact with the hole, the needle kept doing the same useless thing.

Cora sighed in frustration and complained loudly to no one in particular, "This is ridiculous! I feel so foolish right now!"

To her surprise, someone actually answered her, "I would not do that if I were you."

Cora's jaw dropped as she glanced downwards. A black-haired boy with blood red eyes was standing in the doorway. He smiled at her. Instead of teeth, though, he had a mouth full of monstrous fangs.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is dedicated to one of my best WP friends, luxiferase, because the little fanged puppers that Cora has just met is her fave character. Be sure to check out her amazing stories, "Sugar and Smoke Rings" and "Loving Mayhem," if you're looking for romance with some attitude and badass female leads to match. ;)