A great monstrous thing that will devour its host. At least, that was Kady's first thought upon seeing the house. It really was large compared to the houses back in the village two miles behind, made to Victorian standards and fully repaired. Her father had told her that it was nearly unsalvageable when he first found it, but he had quickly hired a whole team of workers to resurrect the thing. That's what it is, a thing, not a home. Beside her, Milo had come to a stop and was staring at the thing with the same disgust as Kady.

"Well," their father asks with a smile," what do you guys think?" I think we should go back home, that we should sell this place, that we should get as far away as we possibly can.

"It's great," she says instead, knowing it didn't matter what she really thought.

"Yeah," Milo echoes," it's exactly how I imagined it." Their dad, August, stood proudly on the porch, hands planted on his hips and an excited gleam lighting up his hazel eyes. This was their adventure, the one they didn't get to go on until their mother had died. They were supposed to be in New Zealand, exploring Hobbit country and the mountains, but here they were instead—surrounded by dead trees and blood red snow. Crimson Peak, indeed. The clay beneath their feet turned the snow ruby red, a truly disturbing thing when you first spot it.

"Is the snow always that color?"

"It's pretty creepy, Dad." The light in their father's eyes dimmed a bit at the criticism and he stares down at the ground as well.

"Well, that's just the clay coming up out of the ground," August answers. "There used to be a huge mine under the land, but I made sure it was completely filled in to avoid one of you two falling in." And stop the house from sinking. From the pictures she had seen, the clay was coming up through what was left of the floor, what parts of it that hadn't rotted away. "Come on in, guys!" He was excited again, like a little boy at Christmas as he gestures at the teens. Sharing another look, Milo and Kady walked up the porch stairs and into the house, not expecting it to look much better than the outside.

Most of the inside was made up of dark wood like the outside, a few colorful patterns appearing on the floor from where the sun shined through stained glass windows. Kady had to give it to her dad, the place really was beautiful no matter how much of a monster it reminded her of. All the doorways were arched and right across from her was an old fashioned elevator with a gilded gold cage around it instead of comforting metal and steel. Lift, she reminds herself, that's what they're called in England.

Still, despite its beauty, it was cold as Frosty's right cheek inside and she was almost tempted to go sit in the car. Maybe if I threw myself on the ground and screamed, August would take us back to Oklahoma. She missed her state, where the trees were just beginning to change colors and the air didn't seem so heavy. Best of all, there wasn't any snow on the ground yet.

Still, Kady manages a smile in her father's direction and she moves across the foyer to get a better look at the cage. That's really what it was, a rickety old bird cage with a lever inside to control which direction it went in. There were designs welded into the metal—because it's obviously metal now that she has a better look—that reminded her skating eights.

"Stay out of that," August warns," the workers couldn't get it working right and I don't want y'all getting hurt." Kady takes two quick steps backwards, half-expecting it to gobble her up. "The stairs are perfectly safe, though." Kady moves to look at the stairs, her hazel eyes widening when she realizes just how much of those this behemoth has. At least three landings above her head and she didn't realize how shocked she was until she felt Milo's finger under her chin, closing her mouth.

"Don't want to catch flies, Kady-bug," he jokes, using her old nickname. "How many rooms does this place have?"

"More than thirty, but I haven't gotten around to counting. The attic's split into three rooms and they're all pretty huge. Take it easy with the lights because the electricity bill's gonna cost us an arm and a leg."

"I can imagine." Most of the chandeliers hanging overhead looked wired for electricity, but the next room she walked into had a massive fireplace and a silver candelabrum resting on the mantle.

"That's weird." August crosses the room with four long strides and picks the candle holder up, studying it with some interest. "This looks like the real deal, too! One of the workers must have found it and left it here for us to have." That was the only way he could get the workers to do anything with this place, by offering them a hefty sum and the promise that they could have any hidden treasures they could find. There was a high-backed love seat near the fireplace, the back made to look like butterfly wings, and there was a low table across from it.

"Are we staying here tonight," Kady asks, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets. She didn't want to stay in this place, not when it was dark and she couldn't see where she was running. What if I start sleepwalking and fall over one of the banisters?

"Of course we are, it's an hour and a half drive back to the village." He must have seen the scared look that flitted across her face because his expression hardened. Cop mode. "Kadence Marie Hastings," he scolds, pointing at her," I won't have you moping around again." Kady makes a face at that, staring down at her scuffed shoes instead of at August.

"Yes, sir." There was no arguing with him when he's in cop mode, not that Kady felt like arguing right now anyway. She was exhausted from the flight over here and just wanted to collapse in a bed, but she was hoping said bed wasn't hiding a boogeyman underneath it. "Which room is mine?"

"Whichever one you choose." He was back to normal now, looking happier than he has since Estelle had died. "As long as it's not on the third floor."

"Is the third floor forbidden," Milo asks, stepping out of the room in order to spot the third floor landing.

"No, it's just…. A little spooky to be honest." August scratched the back of his head, a habit that appeared whenever he was tired or stressed. In this case, he's probably a little of both. Who wouldn't be stressed in a house like this one? "Alright, you two can have first dibs, but no fighting." Again, Milo and Kady's gazes lock before both of them make a dead sprint for the wide staircase, bumping each other out of the way while their father shouted behind them. "Careful, that's mahogany!"

While Milo branched to the left once they reached the second floor, Kady went to the right and all the way to the very last door, throwing it open to find a spacious bedroom. The bed seemed to dominate the room, done up with pink and white curtains and matching comforter, there was a white nightstand beside the bed, a bookcase on the right wall beside another doorway while an old wardrobe stood against the left wall, and a powder blue desk was under one of the large windows against the same wall as her headboard. The walls were painted a pale lilac with white trim and part of the wood floor was covered in a soft, faded yellow rug.

Curious, she moves to her right to peer through the doorway and finds that she has her own bathroom complete with porcelain sink and a clawfoot tub, both furnishings have bronze fixtures and looked like the originals. The floor was white tile that matched the walls, but it was brand new and shiny, and a shelf was fixed to the wall closest to the tub for holding towels and her washing stuff; above the sink was an old mirror, stained at the bottom corner, but mostly clean.

"I figured you'd choose this room." Kady lets out a squeak and spins on her heel to face her dad, August laughing a little when he realizes he'd scared her. "Your brother's decided on the room down the hall and I'm in one downstairs."

"That's great," she mumbles, coming back into the bedroom with another of her forced smiles. Overhead there was another one of the chandeliers and a smaller version of the downstairs fireplace built into the wall a few feet from the wardrobe. "What made you buy this place, Dad?" She'd been dying to know ever since he decided to fly them all out here since he'd never professed a dire need to visit England before.

"You don't know?" Kady arches one of her brows, continuing to stare up at her father until he gives another small laugh. "It belonged to your great-great-grandparents on your mother's side and she inherited it when they kicked the bucket. We were supposed to spend last summer fixing this place up, but then…." Then she got sick and wasted away in a hospital. "But we're here now and we're going to make the best of it."

"Should I start wearing my hair in pigtails and playing with knives?"

"Ha, ha," he returns sarcastically, catching her reference," Sorry, Kady-bug, but we have a nicer house than the Addams family."

"Don't call me Kady-bug." Only Milo is allowed that nickname, he's the one that gave it to me. They were only a year apart, but they've relied on each other all their lives and felt more like twins. While August and Estelle had run all over the country on vacations, Milo and Kady were left behind with grandparents to take care of them. Now he expects us all to be one big and happy family.

"Well, I'll go get the bags out of the car and you just get some rest, Kadence." She nods, not really paying attention as he slips out of her room. Letting out a breath, she flops backwards onto the queen-sized bed and stares up at the pink canopy above her, wondering when August had dug it out of storage. She hasn't been obsessed with pastel colors since fifteen when she decided she liked a grunge look better—horror movie posters on her walls, dark blue blankets, plaid printed pillows that were soft to the touch, and a desk covered in her little drawings.

She doesn't like this room, she doesn't like this house, and she especially doesn't like this damn weather.

I just wanna go back home.