Malevolent Hall 1666AD (7 page)

“I am not going to hurt you,”
he added.

“What, oh, no, sorry,” she said, throwing the poker to the ground.  “I’m just a little jittery at the moment.”

“That is understandable, after what happened here,”
he said in a gentle voice.

“You know about my family?” Matilda asked.  He gave a slow nod.

“Do I know you?” she asked, as the feeling of familiarity rippled through to her core.

“Yes, Matilda, you do,”
he confirmed.

“Where from, school?” Matilda asked.  “Are you, local to Selton?”

“Not from school. I am from Selton, but I cannot tell you, you have to remember me,”
he said, mysteriously.

“What, why can’t you tell me?” she asked.  He smiled, and the intensity in his eyes turned her legs to jelly.  “And not being funny, but you’re not exactly dressed for a building site,” she remarked looking at his trousers, white shirt and waistcoat.

“It is the rules of the enchantment,”
he said.

“Enchantment, what the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

“Matilda,” a man’s voice hollered.  She turned to see Mike walking towards her, with Parker bounding by his side.

“Excuse me,” she said to the man, who merely dipped his head with a smile.  “Mike,” she greeted as he approached.

“Sorry to bother you, Matilda,” he said, in a smooth, deep voice.  Parker sat by Mike’s feet and growled.

“Parker, shut up,” he said, looking down at his dog. It was not like him to growl.  Parker ignored him, and he growled staring at the stranger by Matilda’s side.

“Parker,” he said again, this time his voice was firm.  Parker stopped growling, but he did not stop staring.  Matilda eyed the dog, looked back at the stranger and then to Mike.

“That’s okay.  How did you know I was here?” Matilda asked.

“One of the guys putting up the scaffolding saw you go through the gate,” he replied.

She swallowed nervously; he saw her go through the gate, she hoped he had not seen her use her magic to open the door.

“We’ve found something I think you will want to see,” he said mysteriously.

“Really, what is it?” she asked, curiously.

“A chest,” he replied.

“A chest,” she repeated, glancing at him, and then to the man to her side, and she was surprised at how similar in appearance the two men were. In fact, if you ignored the stranger’s weird clothing, they could easily pass as brothers.

Matilda was somewhat concerned however; that Parker could obviously see the man, as he was still staring at him but Mike never acknowledge the man was there.

“Yes, you know like a treasure chest,” he said.

“Oh, okay.  Look I will catch you up if that is okay, I’ve just got to grab something from the summer house,” she lied.

“No problem. I will get the men to get it out of the hole and put it in the kitchen for you.”

“Thanks, Mike,” she said gratefully, and he gave her another one of his heart melting smiles, before heading back towards the garden gate.  Parker stayed, and he growled again.

“Parker,” Mike yelled.  The dog barked one more time, and then took off after him.

“Walk with me,” she asked of the man, and turning she headed back towards the summerhouse.  He did not reply, but he did follow her.

Once inside, she stopped and turned to him.

“Why didn’t he see you, but the dog did?” Matilda asked apprehensively.

“Because I am dead,”
he replied.

“You - are – dead?” she repeated, taking a step back, her eyes wide.

“Yes, I am what you like to call a spirit, or ghost.  The dog could sense my presence, but your friend, he could not see me.”

“But why - why can I see you quite clearly?” she stuttered.

“I honestly do not know,”
he whispered back, and he took a step towards her.  She froze to the spot, too afraid, and too excited to move.

“Are you the one who’s been calling my name?” she said back.

“Calling your name?”
he repeated, a slight hesitation in his voice, and then he gave a gentle nod.
  “Yes, Tilly,”
he said, lifting a hand to her face and gently running the back of his knuckles down her cheek.  She took a sharp intake of air at his touch and took a step back.

“I felt you,”
he said, startled.

“I felt you too,” she whispered, letting out her breath.

Keeping his eyes fixed on hers; he captured her hand, and teased her fingers.

Matilda’s fingers tingled with a surge of energy.  A wind blew from nowhere, lifting her hair, and swirling around them.

He glanced over his shoulder and then back to her, his eyes capturing hers once again.

“I have to go,”
he said.

“Who are you,” she asked.

“You have to remember.”
  He smiled at her.  “
Find the book, Tilly, find the book,
” he whispered, and he disappeared.

“Don’t go,” Matilda cried pointlessly, for he already had.  “Shit,” she muttered, stomping her foot on the ground in frustration and wiping a stray tear running down her cheek.  Who was he?  She was certain she knew him.

Closing the door behind her, Matilda made her way back to the Hall to see what this chest was Mike had found. Maybe the ominous book was inside.

“It’s locked,” Mike said as she stared at the large, black, chest sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

“Yes I can see that,” Matilda replied, her finger edging the keyhole.  She knew she could open it, but not with Mike around.  “Okay, thanks, Mike. I have a bunch of old keys in here somewhere maybe one of them will open it.”

“Right, I will get back to work then,” he said, sounding disappointed that she had dismissed him.

“Yep,” she replied, eager for him to be gone.  She waited another five minutes after he left, just to be certain he was not going to pop his head back around the door to see what she was doing.  Matilda opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out a box of old keys her mother had found, and collected from all over the Hall and gardens.  She selected one in order to pretend to Mike she had found the key that opened the chest.

Pulling on her magic, she enchanted the key and put it into the lock.

“Aperi,”
she ordered, and turning the key, the lock fizzled and clicked open.

Matilda lifted the lid both nervously and with excitement.  She peered inside and saw a beautiful blue, gown made from silk.   It was old fashion, long and flouncy.  She lifted it up and pulled it against her body.

“So you got it open then,” Mike said as he stood at the doorway.  She jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Shit, you scared me!” she complained.

“Sorry,” he said, walking to her.

“That looks pretty, you should try it on,” he suggested.

“No, I don’t think so,” she replied.  She glanced at him as he put a hammer and chisel onto the kitchen table.

“Curiosity was getting the better of me,” he admitted.  “I thought if you couldn’t open it I could bash it open for you.”

“Well, I found a key that worked,” Matilda lied, still holding the dress against her body.

“Put it on, Matilda,” he said.  She looked at him startled by the tone of his voice as it was unexpectedly forceful and deep.  Mike coughed and ran his hand across his throat.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that,” he apologised, his voice returning to his usual pitch.  She still stared at him, as his voice had sent a chill through her whole body.

Putting the dress on the back of the chair, she knelt and reached inside the chest.

“What else is in there?” he asked.

“More clothes, oh, what’s this,” she said.  There was something else, wrapped in cloth.  Matilda un-wrapped it and held it in her hands.  She tried to open it to see the picture inside, but it would not budge.

“What is it?” Mike asked.

“A locket,” she replied, standing and turning it over in her hands.  It was initialled on the front with the letters MAR; she frowned as those were her initials, Matilda Alice Rhiamon.  She turned it over and read the inscription in her mind.  ‘Forever, my one true love.’  “That’s weird,” she said aloud.  “It has my initials on it.” She looked at Mike.

“Were you named after one of your relatives?” he asked.  Matilda gave a shrug.

“No idea, maybe, I guess.”  She unclasped it and put it around her neck.  “It’s pretty though,” she said.  As she patted it against her chest, it knocked against her mother’s pentacle.

Her eyes clouded over; her feet suddenly anchored to the ground, and she was unable to move.  It rushed through her from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head, a cold, harsh, icy chill, and her eyes looked, but she didn’t see Mike.  What she saw sent utter terror reeling through her entire body, the fear of death or violation was unreal.

In front of her was a man and there was such an evil presence surrounding him that it shook her very core.  He launched himself at the woman whom she had become, she screamed, grabbing her stomach as he held a dagger, pushing and turning it into her gut.  It was as if the woman had possessed her body and she was reliving her murder, feeling her fear and her wretched pain.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked startled.  She shook as she cried.

“I’ve got to get out, get me out of here,” Matilda screamed, and she shot out of the back door.

“Matilda, what’s wrong?” Mike called, running out after her.  Stopping only when reaching her van, Matilda leaned against it to steady herself.

“She was murdered,” she wept.

“Matilda, who was murdered, what are you talking about?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Whoever owned that chest and this necklace was murdered here like my parents, my brother, all my family,” she cried hysterically.  Matilda had never felt such fear, such evil since that day eleven years ago.  She was convinced she had just relived that poor woman’s last moments of life.  Feeling her despair, and her fear at knowing she was going to die.

“Hey, it’s okay.”  He reached for her, drawing her fully against him he put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder gently.

“Jesus Christ, I don’t know if I can do this,” she muttered, sinking herself deeper into his arms, and seeking comfort her head rested on his chest.

“Do what?” he asked, lifting her hair from her sodden cheeks as he looked at her.

“This Hall, Mike, I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Look, I know whatever just happened has frightened you, but I’m sure it was just some kind of panic attack or something.”

Matilda frowned, knowing damned well that it was not a panic attack, but Mike was just trying to calm her.  He knew nothing of the history of the Hall, of her ghost, or her magic, - so why would he believe her, after all no one else had.

“I’m sorry, Mike, of course, you’re right.  I guess the stress of it all just overpowered me for a minute,” she agreed, and reluctantly pulled herself away from the comfort of his arms.  She swept back her long hair, and rubbed her eyes.

“Do you want to go back in?” he asked.  She shook her head.

“No, I think I will nip into town.  I need to buy a sofa and a few things for the Hall.”  He kept his gaze with hers.

“Would you like me to come with you?” he asked.  “We could take the van, and I can help you bring whatever you buy back.”

Matilda was about to shake her head and say no, but actually she thought it would be nice not to have to shop alone.

“Okay, if you really want to.  I mean; I didn’t think guys like shopping.”

“Nah, I love it,” he said with a smile.

She laughed and took a breath looking at the front door of the hall.  Knowing she had to go back inside to grab her bag gave her a chill.

“I’ll get it, where is it?” he asked as if reading her mind.

“On the kitchen table, my jacket is on the back of a chair,” Matilda said gratefully.

“Okay, back in a sec...”  He went back in through the front door and emerged a few minutes later.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, taking her jacket and bag from him.

He let Steve know where they were going, and asked him to keep an eye on Parker.  Pulling out the keys to his van, he opened it.  It was a box Luton van, so it had a lot more room in the back than hers.

Mike was an easy person to talk too.   He was friendly and funny and by the time, they got to the town she was falling about with laughter at his appalling jokes and had forgotten about the terrifying vision.

They parked in the outdoor car park and cut through the alleyway into town.  She went straight to a furniture store and approached a salesperson.

“Excuse me,” she said, catching his attention.  The young man smiled at them.

“How may I help you?” he asked.

“What do you have that I can take today?” Matilda asked.   He gave her a little frown.