Clara remained on the cold floorboards of the foyer for what felt like hours, though the grandfather clock in the corner ticked only a handful of minutes past the hour. Her body trembled in shallow, uncontrollable waves. The low hum that had begun in the cellar had followed her up the stairs and now filled the entire house—a deep, monotonous drone like the slow heartbeat of something vastly larger than the narrow brick walls could contain. It pulsed through the floor, up her spine, into her teeth.
