Read Online Fairytale Beginnings by Holly Martin - Free Book Online

take her eyes off what was clearly the skeleton of a child.

Chapter Six
    C ameron heard the scream just as he was investigating a suit of armour he’d never even looked twice at before.
    It was a sound of pure fear and panic and it didn’t stop. He ran from the room and took the stairs two at a time. He hesitated at the top for a second as he tried to ascertain whether the scream and the accompanying thumps were coming from the study or the library, but the noise was so loud, he was left with no doubt.
    He burst into the study and it was very obvious which shelf Milly had gone through as the bookshelf was no longer there. In its place was a blank wooden panel. The screams for help and thumps that were coming from the other side of it were also a big clue.
    Milly had obviously gone through and got trapped but he was surprised that this would cause her to scream so much, since she was a feisty little thing that didn’t seem to get upset by anything.
    He ran his hands over the wooden panel to see if there were any switches or buttons that would release her but he couldn’t find anything.
    ‘Milly!’ he shouted through the door, but he doubted she could hear him over her own screams. He raised his voice. ‘Milly!’
    ‘Get me out!’ she screamed.
    ‘How did you get in, was there a lever or button somewhere?’
    ‘Get me fucking out of here,’ she sobbed.
    There was a time for reason and calm and this was not it. The only thing that was going to solve this problem was sheer brute force.
    ‘Stand back.’ The thumping and screaming stopped, but the whimpers and sobs did not. ‘Stand back, ok?’
    He didn’t hear any arguments so he threw his whole body weight against the wooden panel. It cracked but didn’t move. He took a few steps back and ran forwards and threw himself against the wood again. This time it gave way. It spun on its axis, revealing a room beyond that was in complete darkness. He didn’t have time to investigate it as the next moment he was hit hard in the stomach by a tiny blonde figure.
    He wrapped his arms round Milly and was stunned to feel her trembling all over. He held her tight against him.
    ‘What happened? Did you see another ghost?’
    She was shaking so much, she couldn’t speak. He ran his hands down her back, stroking her soothingly.
    Eventually she pulled away to look at him and he hated that she had tears in her eyes. He wanted to hold her forever and protect her from anything that might cause that look of anguish again.
    ‘You know you said you saw the ghost of a small boy up here in the study?’
    He nodded, his hands still running up and down her back.
    ‘I think I’ve just found his body.’
    His mouth went dry. ‘A corpse?’
    She nodded. ‘His skeleton.’
    Fuck.
    ‘I better take a look.’
    Her fingers dug into his shirt. ‘Don’t go in there.’
    ‘If you’re right, we’ll need to call the police.’
    She nodded and stepped back. Shit, he really didn’t want to go into a room with a corpse. He was likely to scream and cry like a girl too. But they couldn’t exactly leave it there.
    Milly was watching him, waiting for him to be brave. He took a deep breath and squeezed through the gap.
    Sure enough, propped up against the corner was a small skeleton. He felt sick. He shuffled closer, holding his breath against any smell of rotting flesh. In the light from the study, he could see something metallic on the elbow joint. As he moved closer he realised it was some kind of hinge or spring. There were similar metal joints and hinges on the shoulder, knees and ankles too. This wasn’t a real skeleton at all. He reached out to touch it to make sure and could clearly feel that the bones were made from plastic.
    He grabbed it by the arm and carried it out.
    Milly shrieked when she saw him carrying it, stepping back against the desk.
    ‘It’s not real.’
    Her face fell with relief as he tentatively stepped forward to show it to her. ‘It’s not?’
    ‘It’s one of