~Reo’s~

“You’ll never be free of me, Reovan.”

Her voice slithers through the dark.

Reo turns his head in the dream, but the shadows twist like smoke. The walls of his childhood home stretch around him…the walls too white and cold. The clock in the hallway ticks without rhythm. He’s barefoot. And he’s small again. No suit. No title. Just a child in a silent house that doesn’t smell like anything. No warmth. No dinner. No home.

And then she appears.

Mrs. Cuss.

She stands at the top of the stairs like a statue carved from frost. Her black gloves are on even in the dream. Her posture is sharp,...