Chapter 9: StenchOnce inside we went to Antonia’s room. The agonizing silence, our eyes never leaving each other’s faces, we waited. Chester found washcloths and wiped the filth from our skin, eventually having to use enough force that even my rough skin burned. Our clothes became a reeking pile on the bathroom floor. Every sound made my baby’s breath catch. At one point she cried silently until she dropped in my arms and I carried her to bed. I sat, stroking her hair. Chester stood by the window, staring outside.
Outside, where crows fought a goblin.
A goblin…outside…out…
I shook my head, trying to shake reality back into something recognizable.
“What was that thing? Chester?”
Before he could answer, my phone buzzed.
Hesitating to leave Antonia, Chester left the window, found my pho
