The Hotel

By Alledria Hurt

Edwina Parker decided to take her overworked self on a vacation to the European countryside, yet when she arrives at her hotel, she finds herself without a phone. No way to call out. Then her tablet disappears from her room. And all the while, there's some kind of shadow appearing and disappearing from said room. Couple that with the overarching sense of dread and doors that are locked in the daytime and suddenly she's ready to pack her bags and head home. Unfortunately, with no way to change her flight, she's stuck another few days. The garden offers some solace, but even it is somewhere secrets hide. Can Edwina get out of the hotel intact, or is she going to be another victim of its strange environs? 

 

Just a short for the fans of Stephen King set in a crumbling medieval castle turned hotel. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alledria Hurt
• Release date: Apr 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223740490

Alledria Hurt

Alledria Hurt is an African-American author of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction novels. She currently resides in beautiful Savannah, GA with her two cats. 

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The Hotel

Alledria Hurt

Small Dragon Media

Copyright © 2023 by Alledria Hurt

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

The HOTEL

Checking into the hotel was one thing. Checking out was another. I chose to check into this particular hotel because the reviews were something else. Of course, there were those who said there was something wrong with the place, but I didn't listen to the haters. I wanted to see the views and everything from the high balconies. It was, once upon a time supposedly, the castle of a murderer. Supposedly. The hotel, of course, denied such claims, but there were those who said they were able to find bits and pieces of its old history throughout the property.

It was a choice I made because the truth was I needed something, a getaway from my work. Being the only female in a high powered executive position had its perks, but it also had its drawbacks. There were those who thought I had only gotten my job because I had a nice rack and nothing between my ears. I hadn't been able to disabuse them of that notion, but I had been able to make those who didn't think that way see that I was indeed competent and that was all that truly mattered. Matt from accounting, who constantly questioned my expenses, didn't matter. He wasn't the one signing my paychecks, which were pretty fat paychecks when you came right down to it. The trip was one I had been wanting to take for a while, one which would get me away from the world where I worked in corporate America.

So here I was, at an antique castle turned air b and b. The owners were there to greet me when I showed up, which was a little late I had to admit. I couldn't seem to get a cab which would bring me out to the place, which seemed to me a little strange. Sure, everyone seemed to know where it was, but they weren't willing to actually go there. Then I met Sayyid. Sayyid, my taxi driver, knew where the place was and seemed willing to go there for a price. The usual price of a fare, actually. He chattered on about the region as we rode through the ancient streets with the buildings which loomed a little too close for my liking being used to the broad avenues with multiple lanes of back home. Of course, this was a tiny European village a distance from the airport. I had picked it specifically because it was a departure from everything I knew. The structures had stories older than the United States and I wanted to experience that.

Sayyid let me out in front of what looked like a crumbling mansion from deep in yesteryear. Yes, it still held a lot of beauty, but it was a castle-like place with its own battlements. I was in awe, I mean I literally stood in the driveway looking up at it and stared. Then the massive doors opened and out issued a woman who looked as though she had picked out an outfit at some point in the 1920's and chose to stay with that style for the rest of her life.

She was gorgeous.

I mean, beautifully done up in curls with the kind of slinky party dress you expected to see on someone in the Great Gatsby. I immediately had a moment of pure envy for the way she moved with such ease in her finery. I was agog. Then a man stepped into the doorway behind her, he simply stood there as though he were waiting on her to make the first move to welcome me. Obviously tailored black suit, perfectly folded ascot, with a pin in it which looked to me like some kind of medieval crest. It was too small for me to make out what exactly the crest was from the distance but it looked as expensive as everything else.

As Sayyid was getting my bags out of the car, the woman approached and put her hands out to me.

Welcome, her English was impeccable. Obviously, she had practiced, though I had to wonder if she did this to all the guests or just those who came in during the night when there should have been a party going on. From the way she was dressed, there probably was a party going on and she was simply taking time away from it in order to greet a newcomer. I almost felt bad, but then I realized if she had decided to take the time out, that was a choice she'd made. I didn't have to feel bad for her choosing to come and see me in. The gentleman waited patiently, not too subtly leaning on the door frame as though he were in a hurry to be somewhere else. The expression on his face said there were things he'd rather be doing.

Hello, I said. I'm Edwina Parker. I introduced myself. I wanted to say more, but the woman took my hands and then embraced me.

Welcome, Edwina, she kissed the air around my face as though we were in France. Maybe she was from France. It would make sense. I was in the far reaches of Europe,