Page 41 of The Haunting
A howl screeched through the house, making us all jump. Several more followed it. Somewhere, a woman screamed, and we stiffened.
“Was that Eden?” I demanded in fear.
The screams grew higher-pitched and louder, and I held my hands over my ears. They almost burst our eardrums; they werethat painful. The walls started shuddering as the furniture began shaking.
“Earthquake?” Calamity shouted.
Fearfully, we all looked around.
“I think it’s an attempt to force us to leave the room,” Lucian said finally.
“Does that mean we’re safe in here?” I cried.
“No, it wants to separate us,” Daniel guessed.
The flames in the fireplace roared, and we all leapt away. Above our head, the second chandelier began shuddering, the crystal droplets clinking together. The shaking became more violent, and James yelled for us to move. We’d just got out of the way when it fell and smashed into tiny pieces.
I spun to face the window shutters and was horrified to see that the ectoplasm had covered them completely and had solidified. A ghastly smell began filtering into the room, making us all gag, and I sought its source. From the fireplace, where the flames danced out of control and raged, a smoky, dark substance poured.
“We’ll choke on that,” Rosie cried, moving away. She wasn’t far wrong. The stench was disgusting.
“We can’t open a window,” Inglorious said as he looked around. Already, Maggie and Clio were bent over and gagging despite having their sleeves over their mouths.
“It’s forcing our hand,” I muttered, and those closest to me nodded.
An enormous cloud of black smoke blew back down the chimney and billowed into the room. From behind it, a mass of buzzing flies flew out. Screams and shouts broke out as everything descended into chaos. People flapped their hands above their heads, attempting to clear the flies away, but moments later with eerie screeches, bats entered the affray.
That did it. I fled for the door and yanked it open. We escaped into the hallway as the sitting room door slammed shut behind us.
Terrified, we looked around as loud clanks came from all around us. Several suits of armour appeared from the shadows, all holding weapons.
“Shit! Stay together!” Chance yelled.
The men shoved the women into the centre as they surrounded us for protection. Drake ducked, and I screamed as a mace smashed towards his head.
Drake caught hold of the upraised arm and was swung around and thrown into a wall. His head hit and he slid down it. Nobody could help him as further attacks happened. Inglorious crashed to the ground, knocked unconscious by a sword hilt, and Nanci rushed over to him.
Lucian fought two suits of armour, his and Daniel’s fencing skills evident. Chance was wrestling with another, while Calamity tried to protect the women. James, despite his bad ankle, had launched himself at a suit of armour and was rolling around with it. Vladimir battled a second terrifying suit of armour, which held an executioner’s helmet. Slowly, the men were being whittled down.
A shadow flew down the stairs, making James and Chance fall, and snatched Calamity. It picked Calamity up and howled in triumph.
No, I couldn’t let this happen.
Without thinking, I grabbed a fallen sword, and as the creature solidified for the first time I’d seen, I stabbed it. Calamity was flung away with an outraged howl, and the red eyes turned on me.
Clawed feet scrabbled on the wooden floor, scarring it as it lowered itself and readied to pounce. It leapt, and I closed myeyes, but a burst of wind blew past my face, and I blinked and saw Jacques with his hand around the creature’s throat.
“I have you now, Claudias!” Jacques cried.
Claudias? It had a name? Thatthinghad once been a man?
In a flash, the creature tried to free itself and raced across the room. Jacques stayed with him as they traded blows. A second figure arrived, and Eden seized us and shoved us into a corner. We dragged our wounded away as Eden joined the fight.
It was a blur, and at the back of my mind, I questioned the speed they were using. Jacques and Eden took turns battling Claudias, who roared and thundered, hurting our ears. Jacques grabbed him by the throat once again and slammed him into a wall as Eden ran forward and punched his jaw hard.
In disbelief, I watched as Claudias alternated between solid and mist, but Eden and Jacques knew how to fight him. The three of them zipped around the room using speeds that weren’t humanly possible.
Eden broke one of Claudias’s legs with a crunch and got her cheek raked in return. Blood was spilt as Eden didn’t stop attacking.
