Jak stood in the main entrance of the house as Fisher returned with the white guitar slung across his back. The dog stepped forward to greet Fisher. The man plodded toward the animal with a tired word of greeting. All the time he sensed the oppressive mass of The Tower rising above him. It carried the same violent promise as a raised fist.
This is where Blaxton’s friend fell to his death. Fisher’s plodding feet crunched on the driveway gravel. What noise would the impact of a 180 pound body make after plunging six storeys?
Jak fell into step alongside him as they crossed the entrance hallway. Above them the staircase curved upwards into the stone carcass of the tower. This is where Blaxton walked when he came on his ghost hunt. Fifteen years ago a bunch of young people came here with optimistic plans. One by one they had that ‘death dream’. Then they died one by one. This is where I walked when I first entered the house … A couple of hours later I had my death dream, too.
So where is Blaxton now, in his cream-coloured sweat pants and sweater? He’s at the bottom of the swamp. The house brought him back here. His death dream became reality when he saw the man with a white guitar. Then Blaxton heard the chimes. Panicked. Ran into the swamp. Dead. End-of-story for Blaxton. He’ll lie there in his grave of stagnant slime for all eternity. But what about us? What about the living?
A breeze blew outside. It sent draughts whispering through the hallway. Unseen doors creaked. The sound of ancient tomb doors opening. The draughts raised a chorus of sighing through the banister posts. The dog’s ears pointed as he picked up all the noises that Fisher couldn’t hear. He noticed the way Jak looked up the stairs as if he knew something stirred up there.
Fisher sensed the weight of the tower above him. Shadows appeared to creep down the steps. He was sure it was darker up there than a moment ago. Jak gave a tiny bark in the back of his throat. Short black hairs bristled on his back.
‘You know it, too, don’t you, boy?’ Ice slid in Fisher’s veins. ‘This house. It’s only just started to work on us, hasn’t it?’ He shivered.
Jak dog gave that ‘Yip’ sound in the back of his throat again. He held eye-contact with Fisher for a moment before turning his head back to the stairs. Here the lights burned in the hallway, up there the power had been cut by the developer. The big staircase rose in a long curve to the next floor and then the next. Above the second storey was nothing but a realm of shadows. Fisher glanced at Jak. The animal’s amber eyes appeared fixed on an object that no human could divine.
He breathed, ‘There’s something up there, isn’t there?’
Again, Jak made the faint sound in the back of his throat. The amber eyes flicked between the stairs and back to Fisher. There was an expression of expectancy. In fact, Jak’s entire body trembled as his muscles quivered in response to the flood of adrenaline that triggered the ‘fight or flight’ mode. Fisher moved so he had a view of the corridor. No one else about. He hoped he’d catch sight of Marko or Sterling. No doubt Fabian was still conducting his vigil down by the road.
Gently, Fisher stood the guitar in the corner of the hallway, then he raised the flashlight. He would switch on at the last second. If this was an intruder he preferred at least an element of surprise. A dazzling shot of light might catch them off-guard. ‘OK, Jak,’ he whispered. ‘Let’s see what we’ve got here.’
Instinctively, the dog stayed close by him as they climbed the first flight of steps. There were ten or so risers before the curve of the staircase took the next ten out of view. With the dog shadowing him he silently climbed the ten steps. As the staircase turned to the right Fisher saw the risers were concealed in shadow. Cold draughts ghosted down at him. They were strong enough to force tendrils of air through his fringe to crawl across his scalp. He raised the flashlight until he held it like a pistol. His thumb was on the button, ready to switch on the moment he saw a figure. He ascended three more risers then stopped. A black shape squatted there in the centre of the stairs. As Fisher stared at it a pair of glistening eyes flicked open from the shadowed head.
With his heart giving a furious lurch, he crushed the button with his thumb. The dog let out a bark that sounded like a scream. Light dashed from the flashlight to strike the hunched figure on the stair. Fisher saw a stark face; wide eyes; a glint of teeth behind parted lips.
Air exploded from his lips as he made the leap of recognition. ‘Josanne?’
Cantley watched the man at the drive’s gateway. Like a rogue toothache that had no respect for territory, the pain that had started in Cantley’s jaw earlier in the day spread into his cheekbones, then into his eyes before burrowing like a spiny-backed worm into his forehead. When he’d killed the one called Kym the house was pleased. It had quelled the pain in Cantley’s body. Only a brief respite though. The house had an appetite for more sacrifice. It was hungry for another gift. A bloody gift. A bloody, writhing, twisting, screaming gift. Cantley grinned in the darkness.
Fisher ran up the staircase to where Josanne sat in the shadows just four steps from the next floor. Jak ran part way then stopped short of her. The dog froze into an odd stillness as he stared at the seated woman. Fisher paused just a few steps below her. Josanne sat with her knees forward and her arms limply hanging down at either side of her, so her palms rested flat against the step. Her face was usually an olive brown. Now it appeared bloodless grey in the flashlight. She stared forward with no expression. The glare of the flashlight didn’t appear to intrude on her thoughts at all. The woman appeared to be locked inside a daydream.
‘Josanne?’ Fisher took another step toward her. ‘Are you all right?’
Slowly, she emerged from the dreamy stare. ‘I’m back, aren’t I?’ Her voice was hoarse.
The bare meaning of the words should have seemed like a sarcastic, I’m back, aren’t I? To Fisher’s ears, however, she uttered the words in a dazed way. Like an accident victim realizing something both unexpected and shocking had happened.
‘Yes,’ he said gently. ‘You’re back at the house.’
‘Oh …’
‘Did you find a telephone?’
‘Hmm?’ She gazed up into the shadows above her. Her body language spoke of someone in a state of deep confusion.
‘Josanne. Did you telephone the police?’
She looked back at him. ‘Fisher?’
‘Yes, it’s me … Fisher.’ He shone the flashlight at himself. ‘And here’s Jak … the dog we found,’ he added, when she looked blankly at the animal who still refused to approach her.
She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. This time she appeared a little more focused. ‘Fisher? How did I get here?’
‘What’s wrong, Josanne?’
The words came quickly. ‘I crashed the car into a lake. It wasn’t deep. But I knew I was stuck. I’d have to wait there until morning. I know I tried to sleep.’ A breeze rose. Air currents droned across the window frames. A sharp tapping started as a black rain began to fall. She flinched at the sound, then turned to hold Fisher with a wide-eyed stare. ‘Why aren’t I still in the car?’
A cold prickle ran down his spine. He knew what had happened. For some reason he couldn’t yield to the truth. Not yet. If he could deny it to himself then there was just a remote chance he could hold this curse at bay. ‘Josanne, you must have managed to drive the car out of the lake, then back here.’
Slowly she shook her head. ‘The car was stuck in the water. Fisher?’ A note of panic crept into her voice. ‘Fisher, I sat in the car, I closed my eyes. When I opened them again I was back here.’
‘Oh, God.’ Blaxton’s words came back to him as they’d stood out on the runway: ‘I was at home. I opened my eyes – and that’s when I found myself here. Did you hear that, Fisher! The house brought me back!’
She gave a tiny heartbroken laugh. ‘It’s all right Fisher. You can tell me I’ve gone insane. I can take it. Did they find me gibbering at the roadside? Did you drag me into the van and drive me back here?’
‘No, Josanne,’ he said, as gently as he could. ‘But we’ve got to get everyone together. It’s important we talk.’
‘Kym?’
‘She’s …’ Dead. Realization cut through him, but without missing a beat he said, ‘… not been found yet.’
‘She’ll get wet … Have you seen the rain?’
‘Can you stand? That’s OK, Josanne. Put your weight on my arm.’ Hell, so that’s why Jak keeps his distance from her. The moment he steadied her as she climbed unsteadily to her feet, a penetrating cold slammed through the bones in his hands. They ached so much he had to clamp his teeth together. She’s got the essence of the house in her. It must have infected her when it brought her back here. At that moment he recalled an old phrase a priest would have used to describe her condition. He would have said: She’s become one of the damned. Jak smelt it on her. He backed away with his ears and tail down.
As Fisher guided her down to the hallway, Sterling appeared. First he looked up at the pair descending the stairs. Then he saw his guitar propped in the corner.
‘Fisher, what’s going on here? What are you doing with my guitar? I’ve been looking all over for that.’
‘Fabian found it outside.’
‘Outside?’
‘Look, Sterling, we’ve got to get everyone together.’
‘What the hell was it doing outside?’
‘Sterling, you’ll find Fabian down at the main road. Bring him back here.’
‘What’s wrong with Josanne? Have you seen her face? It’s grey.’
‘Sterling, please, man. Bring Fabian. We’ll be in the kitchen.’
Jak slunk along the edge of the walls to keep his distance from Josanne, then he raced along the corridor to where Marko stood outside the kitchen door. Sterling couldn’t tear his eyes from Josanne’s face. It was as if he’d noticed a disfiguring scar for the first time.
‘Sterling.’
‘OK, I’m moving.’
‘You’d best have this.’ He tossed the flashlight to him. ‘I’ll take the guitar with me. Now hurry! I’ve got something to tell you.’