19
My voice squeaked. “Danny?”
He handed over the flashlight, but kept his attention on the mess. “Stay here and shine the light toward the WC. I’ll see if there...” he shuffled through the room, careful not to step on any glass from the shattered vases and lamps.
“Danny...” I fidgeted with unease without him by my side.
He crossed to the bathroom and headed inside. I leaned back to peek into the hall then shifted to the side against the wall, so I had something behind my back. He stepped back out of the bathroom and held up a few items. One of which was the nightgown I’d worn the night before.
“You left this in there. It looks like your only option for tonight. All of my clothes and my mother’s are no more.”
“I don’t think I want to wear them if you didn’t get them for me. Oh! We forgot to ask Bridgette.”
“Well, I don’t know what else to do. I found an unopened toothbrush you can borrow. I doubt we’ll find yours in this mess.” I pointed to the sword in the nice shirt upon the bed. “Danny ... does this mean ... do you think there are ghosts here that can hurt us?”
“Come on. We’ll discuss it downstairs.”
I followed him into the sitting room to start a fire, then around the rest of the house some blankets, linens and a sleeping mat.
Danny dropped the mat and linens on the floor next to the sofa. “This will be our sleeping quarters for the night. I hope you don’t mind.” He started with tucking a sheet into the sofa.
“Um, sure. What about the ghosts? Do you think they’ll tear up the entire castle—I mean, shouldn’t I just leave?”
“Do you want to leave?”
My shoulders dropped and I slumped down onto the sofa Danny had made into my bed. “No, but what would happen if I stayed?”
Danny had already knelt down to tuck a sheet around a mat on the floor next to the sofa so he shuffled closer to me, leaning on his hands at either side of my legs. “I—I didn’t want to worry you about this, but ... my car has mysteriously broken down. I checked it earlier this morning. We’re stuck with no phone or way out.”
“Just like the first time I came.”
He nodded. “It seems like some kind of mysterious force is keeping us from leaving. Or at least you.”
“Great,” I said and let out a shaky breath.
“Hey,” he took my hand and kissed my knuckle. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah, what about you?” I touched his cheek and thought I might die if something were to happen to him.
“This is my home.”
“Oh, yeah? When was the last time you had someone make a dummy of you and run it through with a sword?”
He waved his hand. “It happens all the time.”
I slapped his shoulder. “This is not a time to make jokes.”
He wiped the smile from his face. Like literally wiped it. “My apologizes.” His lips pulled to one side. We both broke out is quiet giggles.
“So, what do we do now? Not that I don’t mind staying here with you, but I don’t think we’ll last long without going to the store—and eventually I’ll need to go home. I have a job waiting.”
His eyes saddened for a moment.
Does he not want me to leave?
He went back to laying out the bedding on the floor. “Well, I think the best way to get out of this mess is to solve the murders.”
“Yeah. But how?”
“We read.” He nodded toward the stack of books we’d started searching through.
“How far do you think that will get us? It’s not like someone’s going to write their confession in their journal for anyone to read.”
“True. But at least we might find a clue.”
I stood and picked up the nightgown and thought over the visions I’d had of two of the deaths. “You know, I think the only way to solve this is to get help from the ghosts.”
“How so? You can’t exactly talk to them—or at least, they can’t talk to you.”
“Of the ghosts we know about, one of them still hasn’t told me her story.”
“Yeah...”
“She’s the freakiest one of the three. What if I could get her to share her story—by way of my dreams?”
“How do you get her to do that?”
“Maybe I should try to talk to her.”
He lowered himself on the sofa and picked up a book and waved it at me. “No. I think we should stick to something that won’t harm you.”
“The dreams didn’t harm me. Nothing really has harmed me.”
“Your leg.” He pointed at the healing wound on my leg.
“That was from my klutziness,” I said and draped the gown over my arm. “I’m going to change.”
“I should come with you.”
“And join me in the bathroom? I’m sure our ghostly babysitters will love that.” I couldn’t help but smile as his cheeks grew red.
“No...” he paused with his mouth stuck in a stutter.
I kissed his cheek. “Just turn around and don’t peek.”
One thing I loved about him was his moral integrity, and I appreciated not having to worry about him taking advantage of my vulnerability. I pulled my hair out of the gown once it was on and said, “Okay. You can turn around.”
Without looking at me he patted the spot next to him. “Let’s see how much we can read through before we fall asleep.”
I sat and snuggled up to his side. “It’s too bad you didn’t find this nightgown for me. I like it, but it gives me the creeps to know someone else left it.”
“You look like a movie star in it.”
I laughed. “You know me and my aspirations to become the next Audrey Hepburn,” I said and puckered up dramatically. He took the opportunity to kiss my lips. I took the opportunity to hold him close and not let him go. However, the ghost used the opportunity to let us know we weren’t alone by dropping the book in my lap. The open book in Danny’s hand slammed shut on his finger.
“All right. I get it. Ouch. Right on the cuticle,” he said and shook his finger. “If I didn’t know better, I would say that some of these ghosts have a rapport with you. Or perhaps they feel the need to be your governess.”
My nose scrunched up. “Huh? Really?”
“Think about it, they come from a time when women were never left alone with a man. They always had chaperones. Because of what you’ve done to help them I think they feel the need to fill that role.”
“Well, I hope so. I’m going to need it.” His eyebrows rose.
“I don’t mean you’ll—what I mean is I will need their protection to keep the mean ghosts away from me. That’s all.” I couldn’t help the giggle that climbed from deep in my belly and wiggled its way out. It was all too funny that we’d been thrown together this way and to add to it we had ghost babysitters.
Danny joined in my laughter. Add our tired minds into the mix and we couldn’t stop laughing for several minutes. It felt emotionally refreshing to laugh after all the hocus pocus over the last several hours. It was even better that I could share the laughter with Danny. Once we settled down, we turned our focus on reading.
An hour meandered by and the flames from the fireplace diminished, leaving the glowing embers of the coals to light the room. I slapped the book shut and rubbed my eyes. “I can’t see well enough anymore.”
“Shall I put more wood on the fire?” Danny closed his book and moved to stand.
“No. I’m too tired to continue.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He took the book from me and set both his and mine on the side table beside him. He returned his arm to the back of the chair behind me and I took that as an invitation to snuggle into him. His warm hand slid down my arm and held me to his chest. Oh, I could stay here forever.
It didn’t take long before our magnetic lips fell into temptation again. We kissed longer than we ever had. Any minute I expected to have some paranormal thing happen, but nothing blew up or smacked us over the head. Somehow, I’d ended up sitting sideways on his lap with his hands spread across my back.
I swallowed to help my heart back into rhythm. “We should stop.”
“I think you’re right.” He kissed me once more on my jaw then eased me to the side off his lap. “I guess the ghosts have gone to bed.”
“And so should we.” I tugged the blanket he sat on. Danny took the hint and lowered himself to the floor where he slid under his own blanket. About ten silent minutes passed with both of us shifting, clearing our throats and trying to sleep.
“Since you can’t go to sleep yet and neither can I, we might as well talk,” I said and peeked over the side of the sofa to look at him. He laid with his hands behind his head, flat on his back, looking all sexy and stuff.
We chatted about what we’d read in the journals. It was evident the time period of the late seventeen hundreds was a prosperous time for the family who once graced Wrenthal Castle. A lot of what we read spoke of the remodeling of Wrenthal, giving more rooms to what the old castle had once held. While we spoke, I traced the veins in his arm and into his fingers. Soon he became so relaxed his words slurred. His breathing deepened and soon I couldn’t get him to respond to anything I said—even when I teased him seductively.
I rolled back onto the sofa and punched the feather pillow to fluff it up then stared at the ceiling. I sighed, thinking of his touch and kisses, then remembering the dream of Mirabella kissing her fiancé. Do I have the same feeling toward Danny as she did toward what’s his bucket?Did Monique have a true love story as well?
“Monique, what’s your story? Come tell me. I’m ready to know and to help you.” I held my breath after I spoke those words, listening for any sign that she’d heard. Not a paper rustled or a creak of a door. Only the soft tick tock of the clock. I closed my eyes and thought of the soft blankets and comfort of having Danny in the room.
Not long after I had started to drift into sleep, my bladder woke me up, demanding I use the restroom. I tried to ignore it. My bladder wouldn’t give up and continued to knock on that fictitious door over and over. With a heavy sigh, I threw the blanket up over the back of the sofa and sat up. Danny’s heavy breathing sounded glorious. How I envied it.
I whispered, “Danny.”
He didn’t move or wake.
I bent down with my hands at either side of him and kissed his lips. He didn’t wake. I guess I don’t hold superpowers of waking Sleeping Handsome.
Guilt of waking him brought me to my feet. Deciding I’d only be a few doors down anyway, I made my way down the dark hallway toward the restroom near the ballroom. I answered that fictitious door then washed my hands. I pulled the bathroom door back open and paused. Cold air brushed back my hair.
In the hall floated a ghost I knew had to be Monique. Her pompadour hair due stood tall and her dress arched out over her hips. The only difference in her from the last time I’d been scared by her was her face. She did not look angry like she once had, but her eyes were black, like they had been removed. Her features were off a touch, making me wonder if I’d mistaken what she’d looked like before. I took a step back at the surprise of seeing her there. I covered my heart with my hand and swallowed hard. Now’s the time to open up and show her I’m here to help.
Pushing my fear aside I said, “Is your name Monique?” Her ghostly head nodded once.
“I’m here to help you. How can I help you?”
Her arm drifted up and she pointed back down the hall.
“Lead the way.”
Her body rippled as if in water as it moved along the hall then up the stairs. I paused for a moment near the sitting room, wondering if I should wake Danny. The ghost beckoned me to follow and I decided to leave Danny alone, thinking that if I took the time to wake him then Monique would disappear and I’d lose my opportunity.
On the second floor, Monique turned toward the twisting stairs of one of the towers. I’d not gone up one of these towers since the first day I came to Wrenthal even though I’d wondered if they would have any significance to the ghost’s death. Apparently, it did. The moonlight shone in through the slits of the windows enough for me to see a few steps at a time. The ghost stayed a few feet ahead as we climbed.
At the top it looked the same as it had before; empty but for one bookshelf at the far side and a window at the left. The ghost continued through the shelf without a pause. I stepped closer and searched for any sign of a hinge for a secret passage. The only thing unusual about it was a notch at the back of the bookshelf. It had to be the access switch, so I pushed it to the side. The bookshelf jerked an inch forward and clicked. I stepped to the side and pulled it toward the inside of the room. An arched wood door with brass handles had sat against the back of the bookshelf. From the drop in temperature and the slight touch of a breeze at my nightgown, I figured this had to lead outside.
Placing my hand on the handle, I paused. Should I continue?
I had to if I wanted to solve this mystery and hopefully proceed with finding out what kind of relationship I could have with Danny. I pushed the door open to find myself at a walkway that stretched from one side of the roof to the other, meeting up with another tower. On either side there stood walls about neck high with the usual up and down height found atop a castle wall. The wind skipped across the rooftop and brushed my hair back from my face.
Floating a few feet away from the other side was Monique. Beside her, on the stone floor next to the door of the next tower was a dark bundle. I walked closer, keeping my eyes on the large mass. Ten steps in I recognized a face, but it was not a face I expected.
“Ron?”
The figure of Monique shifted, starting with her dark eyes and spilling out. Her hair shortened and moved into a ponytail at the back. Her shoulders widened and her curves disappeared until the figure resembled a man. Her entire spirit changed to that of a dark cloud that took on human form, but not complete. The spirit before me was not Monique and I wondered if it ever was. I covered my mouth and watched as the dark blob rushed to Ron then settled into his body.
A groan came from Ron. His shoulders shifted as he brought his arms from under him. He bent and moved until he stood erect in front of me. A blotch of dark ooze I assumed was blood dripped down his temple.
“Ron? What are you doing here?”
Ron chuckled. “I am not Ron.”
My breath caught and my heart clenched. “Monique?”
The laughter grew louder. “Monique? Ha! That little chit could never figure out how to occupy a living being.”
I stepped back one step, wanting to put more space between us. My body shivered so violently I feared I’d tumble off the side of the narrow walkway. “Who are you then?”
“Does it matter? They say love is blind, is it not?”
“What does love have to do with this?” A cold breeze whipped my hair into my eyes. I batted at it to keep it away.
“Oh, my beautiful Jessica. I have tried in vain to tell you that we belonged together. I could not make you listen, just as the others did not heed my offer of a lifetime of devotion and adoration.”
“Make me listen? By trying to scare me to death?” I did not know how I had the guts to get sassy with him, but I had to keep him talking and give me more time to think things through.
“No, I’ve only tried to keep you here. Of course, you did make me angry once I found your affection toward the insipid, stuttering man grew. I do not regret what I did to your rooms. As for the other events, they were wasteful attempts from the ladies to get you to leave so they might save you from me. Ignorant females. So blind to the love I could shower you with!”
My throat squeezed. “What?”
“I am not ignorant, my dear, sweet lady. I could feel the love between the two of you. Now that I know I cannot have you as you currently are, you will have to change so you will be mine forever.”
Ron—or whoever this guy was—stepped closer. I held out my hands and stepped backwards. “Now hold on ... uh, Mr. Tilton, I uh—”
A deep laugh echoed around me. “Do you really not know who I am? Mr. Tilton and Mr. Barret were weak fools. Good for only one thing ... a body. Just like Ron.” He took a step forward.
“Wait. Can’t we talk this through?”
“If you were willing to promise yourself to me, I could make it possible for you to continue living, but I know it would be a lie.”
I swung around to face the door and only moved one step before it slammed shut. I jerked and wiggled the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Nowhere to go?” He chuckled, low and deep.
Searching, I found the stone wall wrapped around the tower itself, giving me a ledge to climb out on. I hefted myself up the wall, stepping over the foot wide divot that most castles had. The low chuckle of Ron’s voice whipped past my ears. He was following me.
No! Stay there!I dropped off the other side onto the peak of the roof and paused long enough to catch my balance. Ten, maybe fifteen feet was all I had until the end ahead of me. Behind me I could hear the shuffling of Ron’s feet on stone.
I stomped my foot twice on the shingles. “Hello! Ghost ladies! Now would be a good time to help me out!”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Ron’s arm reaching for me. I shrieked and shuffled forward near the edge. Further out from me a translucent image rippled into view. The gibbet I’d seen once or twice hanging from a post that stretched out from the edge of the castle now appeared, but this time a man with gaunt features stood inside the cage. Upon his head he wore a curled wig with a short ponytail out the back. His coat hung loose on his shoulders. His breeches ended under his knees and met with the long socks.
The ragged man stretched his hand through the bars of the clear gibbet with desperation in his eyes. Was he trying to save me or ask for help?
Ron huffed. “She cannot help you, Alfred. You will hang there forever.”
I threw my arms out to my sides to keep my balance and turned to face Ron. “Stay back.”
“I cannot wait to claim your soul, my dear.”
“Somebody! Anybody! Help!” I took a couple steps back.
For a split second I thought I heard my name, but the cackle coming from Ron made it difficult to know where it came from. Perhaps I could talk him out of it. I opened my mouth to speak at the same time I saw Danny climbing around the edge of the tower.
“Danny,” I whispered, not believing. Before I could think beyond the joy I felt seeing him, the darkened spirit within Ron rushed toward me. A force of air as hard as bricks hit my chest. I screamed as my body tipped back and began to freefall.