The Island

Malcolm floats into the hotel, pointing things out as we follow along behind him.

Harper nudges me with her elbow and rolls her eyes as Malcolm boasts about his incredible resort.

I look up at the tall ceilings framed with ornate wooden designs weaving in and out of each other like a bowl of spaghetti. Every archway is peaked and reaches almost to the ceiling. It looks like it was made from just one piece of wood.

“Ah, magnificent, isn’t it?” Malcolm comes alive when he talks about his island. “You wouldn’t believe how long it took to complete. Worth every cent.”

How many cents did it take?

“The hotel is huge,” I say.

“For the number of guests. How astute of you, Paisley. Yes, the hotel is big, but so are the rooms. We could fit plenty more in, but I opted for quality over quantity. Don’t you hate it when you arrive at a hotel and your room is tiny? No room to even swing a cat. Here you can swing lions.”

It’s impossible to tell how literal he’s being.

I’m about to ask how much the resort cost, how long it took to build—things my followers would want to know—and when he expects the island to make money after what I imagine was a huge outlay, but he interrupts my train of thought by bringing us to his “masterpiece” in the lobby: a long glass-fronted cabinet that spans the distance between two tall, arched windows.

We all stop and stare.

It’s full of short-length swords, axes, labrys axes, and even a mace.

Comfortable soft leather armchairs are dotted between archways. Each set of two chairs faces each other, giving a private feel in a public place.

“Why would anyone have those?” Ava says. She tries to keep her sneer quiet, but it doesn’t work. Malcolm ignores her. Everyone besides James does.

He whispers something in her ear that makes her laugh.

If I were Malcolm, I would put them back on the boat and send them home.

“Are these weapons real?” I ask.

James pushes past me and Harper. “Can we take them out?”

“Absolutely not,” Malcolm replies. His tone is scolding, but James isn’t fazed. Nothing about him makes me think that he listens much to authority.

Liam steps up close and smiles at me—and my face flushes—before addressing Malcolm. “So, are they real?”

“Unfortunately, no. A few of the swords are, but most of what you see here I’ve had made. They’re authentic to the era and work just as they would have been, though.”

So they’re real enough. Which I’m sure he paid an eye-watering sum for.

“What’s the fascination with all this…stuff? I thought you built a luxury resort on a luxury island,” Ava asks, raising her eyebrows.

Malcolm looks at her, his eyes unreadable. “Well, young lady. How many resorts have you been to like mine?”

“None.” Her reply is another ugly sneer. For someone on a free trip, she sure isn’t acting very appreciative.

“There we are. I don’t want to be another Disney. This place isn’t for little children.”

Harper and I grin at each other. Ava blushes a deep shade of pink and glares at Malcolm.

He deserves a high five for that subtle insult.

The island, according to our information packet, is aimed at wealthy people ages thirteen and older.

Now, the info pack didn’t actually say wealthy, but three nights here costs six thousand dollars per person.

It’s an expensive weekend.

Even though my parents would be able to afford it, I couldn’t see them dropping twenty-four grand to bring our family here. Not for three nights, anyway.

There will be a lot of trust-fund kids booking rooms the second the website goes live. A different type of spring break.

Blaine will come here with his friends, I have no doubt.

Malcolm continues the tour, taking us past the lobby, around a massive fireplace that’s taller than me. The other side is the bar lined with every type of alcohol and soft drink imaginable.

“Kenna, our cook, will be here later with Reeve to prepare cocktails.” He raises a finger. “Apologies. Mocktails. This weekend is strictly alcohol-free.”

“Note how he said that last part directly to James and Ava,” I whisper to Harper and Will.

“Does that mean we can sneak a few beers?” Harper replies, winking.

I smile because I really don’t think so, given the fact that there are coded locks on the row of fridges.

“I can break those locks,” Will says, peering over the bar as we’re led along a corridor.

I nod but my focus is back on Malcolm, who is breezing right along. “The entire east wing of the hotel is our wellness center. Treatment rooms, swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, steam room, and organic juice bar. If you would like a fresh-pressed juice, you can ask Kenna and she will make you one.” He smiles. “Highly recommend the beet-pineapple blend.”

Malcolm pushes open the high double doors to the wellness center. It’s amazing.

“Wow,” I say, gazing around in awe. “I’m spending a lot of time here.”

The pool is huge, the lighting low, and the aroma of lavender and eucalyptus floats around the center. The classic luxury doesn’t clash with the Gothic aesthetics of the resort. High ceilings, intricate carved designs, and archways are carried on throughout.

Each arch has a subtle door that must lead to the treatment rooms. A hot tub is set into the ground. It looks like it’s part of the stone floor too. It wouldn’t surprise me if Malcolm made the builders dig the pool and hot tub out of the stone floor.

Either way, it’s stunning.

“Now I’ll show you down in the basement where we have the game room. Arcade, pool, air hockey, interactive tennis, and another bar. Feel free to use it whenever you like this weekend.”

“I might check it out,” Liam mutters, his eyes saying much more than that. He’s probably spotted the game consoles by a massive U-shaped sofa.

“Do you play pool?” Harper asks.

I smile. “Oh, you’re going down.”

She laughs and links my arm with her own as if we’ve known each other for longer than an hour.

“Think Ava and James will be too cool to hang out with us?”

She nods immediately at my question. “Without a doubt. Who cares, though? You, Will, and Liam are the only ones I’d want to spend any time with anyway.”

“Same,” I reply as we follow Malcolm back up the stairs and into the lobby again. He points out a restaurant on the way.

“Now,” he says. “Camilla will give you your key cards and you can get settled in your rooms. I’ll be back in thirty minutes to meet you for lunch before we take the tour of the park.”

Camilla jumps into action, flying behind the reception desk. “All right, Paisley, you’re room 237.” She hands me a key and is telling James his room number before I can thank her.

Two thirty-seven. The number sounds familiar and then I remember. Wasn’t that the number of the room in The Shining? The one where the dead woman was in the bathtub.

I wait a minute and take the elevator with the others.

Ava and James laugh as they call for the second elevator.

“They should get married,” Liam says as he tugs his suitcase into the car.

“They’re definitely perfect for each other,” Harper says, shrugging.

I press the number two on the board. “We should team up a little this weekend. Use our platforms to introduce each other. There are a lot of crossovers between all of us.”

“Not much between me and Liam,” Will points out.

He wasn’t being unkind. Liam plays video games where he commits crime and Will blogs about beauty.

“That doesn’t matter. We all share this park and this weekend,” I reply.

Harper is the first out of the elevator. “Paisley’s right. We can all help each other.”

We start walking down a long hallway. “This is me,” I say. My room is close to the elevator, but there aren’t a lot of doors in the hallway. If this were a normal hotel, my door would be much closer to the elevator, but as it is, it’s a bit of a hike.

Malcolm did say the rooms were bigger.

“See you downstairs in thirty!” Harper says, skipping ahead to her room. She’s in 239 next door. The boys are farther down.

I unlock my door and step inside, parking my suitcase next to the wall.

Whoa.

My room is sick.

It’s a large suite. To my left is a marble bathroom with two sinks, a round black bathtub, and a double shower. There’s a mirror spanning the length of the wall and a TV set into it.

I’d never get out on time if I turned that on.

I continue into the room past a wall of wardrobes and large mirror. In the main room is a sofa, table and chairs, large TV, and mini fridge.

I poke my head around the door to the bedroom. A massive four-poster emperor bed takes up most of the space. The floor is dark wood with a large soft rug with a red and gold twisty pattern. There’s a slight scent of lemon and something else I can’t name, but it smells…rich.

How much did all this cost? I know Malcolm’s net worth thanks to the internet, but I don’t have any idea how much it took to build this. The island cost close to ten million dollars when Malcolm purchased it a few years ago. Back then it was just rock and dirt and trees.

I walk around my suite with the four-poster emperor bed and black bathtub. In the main area is a wide window. The peaked archways continue, spanning the height of the room and house large panes of glass.

Stepping forward, I peer out the window. From here I can see half of the jetty and a lot of the ocean.

I texted my mom when we arrived. Now I snap a few pictures and text them to my family.

Mom:

Wow! The hotel looks amazing. But also—strange?

Paisley:

It’s 16th century gothic, mom

Blaine:

Surely you recognize it from your era?

I chuckle. Is my brother looking to ditch his golden child title? I’ll happily take over the throne; it’d be much easier not to have to go through a middleman to get what I want.

Mom:

You can do your own laundry when you’re back home.

Paisley:

We’re going to ride the coasters now!! I’ll check in later. Love you all!

I toss my phone on my bed and start to unpack my suitcase. I packed pretty light, so once everything that needs to be hung up is, I decide to go on Instagram and post a quick video with the gargoyles carved into the bedpost in the background.

The comments are unanimous.

My followers think the island is haunted.

I’m leaving the bathroom light on.

If anyone’s in the bathtub, I’ll freak.