The Blackwood Curse: A Night Shades Novel, page 7
Leaving the crutches behind, I hobbled along to the bathroom carrying my laptop, night clothes and sponge bag. The bath was at the right depth by the time I got there, so I put my laptop down and clicked play on Linkin Park. Then I turned off the huge taps and sloshed the water around, adding shower gel for bubbles.
I straightened up at the sound of the wind whistling again. The wind always howled around this part of the house, even when it didn’t appear to be windy outside. I undressed, careful not to topple over when I pulled off my socks. Then I hopped over to the sink and looked into the mirror.
I was pale.
Deathly pale.
How did vampire boy know that?
I had dark circles under my eyes that seemed worse lately. With a deep, resigned sigh, I picked up my toothbrush and squeezed out a line across the bristles. I started brushing automatically, spat, and looked back in the mirror. A face was next to mine. Pale with large eyes, in varying shades of sepia like an old photograph.
I screamed and, in shock, tripped over my own plastered foot and fell backwards, landing on my backside. Hard. It took me a full minute to calm my breathing to gather myself to get up. I retrieved my fluff-covered toothbrush from the floor next to me and managed to get up by grabbing the sink.
After swallowing several gulps of air, I risked another look but there was nothing there except my own reflection. I really was going mad. I rinsed my toothbrush with shaking hands and began again. My heart was still beating erratically. Tomorrow I had to make an effort to make friends; too much time on my own was doing me no good.
I turned up the music and hopped into the bath, which was an acrobatic feat in itself. I managed it without getting my cast too wet and sank deep into the soothing warm water. I breathed out on a sigh. It was the best medicine for my nerves. The steam rose all around me against the cold of the room and I began to relax. I must have been overwrought. It had been an exhausting day both physically and emotionally. Lila’s painting was the last thing I saw, and my mind was clearly playing tricks with it.
Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ aptly filled the space and drowned out the howls of the wind trying to get in. Somewhere during the chorus, I must have fallen asleep. I was back in the wonderful dream of this morning. Instead of the warmth of the water, the heavenly weight of his body held me down as his lips came next to mine. I could even smell the faint smell of mint from his breath and the sandalwood soap on his skin. ‘Don’t!’ he whispered. ‘Don’t let’s start this again.’
I felt myself frown, even in my sleep. It was said so angrily I could feel the sharpness of his breath through his teeth. I couldn’t help myself; I nipped at his lips and he kissed me for one incendiary moment. I couldn’t breathe.
No, I really couldn’t breathe.
His weight had pushed me below the water line and no matter how hard I scratched and pushed at his shoulders, I couldn’t get him off. His lips were gone, and I gurgled, choked and spat. Until, as suddenly as it came, the weight lifted off me and I sat up, sloshing water over the sides. ‘Shit!’ I spat, taking huge gulps of air. I must have fallen asleep and had one hell of a nightmare. God! It felt so real.
I wasted no more time and flopped out over the side, landing in an undignified heap. I was just relieved to be out. I barely dried myself before dragging my nightshirt and robe on. Snatching up my laptop, I limped back to my room with my head pounding now the oxygen was rushing into it.
I crawled straight onto the bed and scrambled under the covers. It took me a few minutes to calm down. I pulled over my laptop, turned the volume down and stared at the screen. I willed it to do something. Anything. Instead, all I could see was the screensaver of Pete and me. We looked so happy; both laughing with my arms looped around his neck. He was giving me a piggy-back through the shallows of the ocean, so I didn’t get wet. I missed him so much. In that moment, I was the most alone I’d ever been in my life. I wiped away a solitary tear. I had no one.
* * *
I slept after tears. I always did. It seemed part of my sleep regime these days. My dreams were filled with disturbing visions of Pete laughing at an angry dark-haired boy with blue eyes, shaking his head in disappointment. Every time I got near enough to ask him why, he’d just put his hands up, defensively, to keep me away. All the while, Lila smirked from the shadows.
I woke up sweating more than once. In the end, I sat up more exhausted than before I went to sleep. I dragged my sorry bruised ass out of bed at 7.30 and hopped over to the window. I didn’t know what I’d rather see: the snow gone so I could go to the unfriendly, strange environment of a new school, or a thick blanket of the stuff, forcing me to face my fears and knock on the door of the Waxley-Blacks.
I whipped the curtain back with jingle across the pole, and there it was. My answer: a thick covering of snow, as far as the eye could see.
I jumped at a loud knock at my door. Followed by: ‘Open up, Becks. It’s Tallulah. If I’ve had to get up to come all the way over here, you have to bloody get up too.’
I sagged in relief. Her rudeness was oddly comforting. I went to the door and yanked it open.
‘Ew … you look like shit!’
I ignored the insult and got straight to business. ‘Good! I’m glad you’re here. I want you to take me over to the Waxley-Black place.’
Her eyes immediately glittered with mischief. ‘Oooh, why? What’s happened?’
‘Nothing, just meet me downstairs.’
For once, she had no wisecrack comeback, just nodded animatedly. Then she literally skipped off down the hallway. It was the most enthusiasm I’d seen her show in anything so far.
I dressed warmly, grabbed my hat and gloves and, using my crutches, made my way down to the kitchen after her. The warm smell of toast hit me as soon as I got there. Tallulah was already slathering butter on a slice and taking a huge bite out of it when she saw me. Gerty was stirring a cup of tea and put it down on the table.
I’d never much liked toast, but I sat down and took it gratefully. I was a woman on a mission today and, I had to admit, I was getting used to the taste.
‘You gonna tell me what’s up?’ Tallulah said with her mouth full.
I glared at her and flicked my eyes at Gerty so she understood that I didn’t want it broadcast. ‘I just needed to get out today to be around some people, that’s all,’ I said to smooth over her comment.
Gerty soon excused herself to go and do some dusting, telling us to not get into any trouble before she went.
‘You going to tell me what this is all about?’ Tallulah said, her eyes bright, then looked down at her nails in fake boredom.
I had to think fast and decided to stick as much as I could with the truth. It would get me faster results. ‘Look, I’ve been getting these weird messages on my laptop and I think they’re coming from one of the Waxley-Blacks.’ I straightened my back and put my chin up. ‘And I want to go over there today and confront them.’
Her eyes widened in understanding and she half smiled and looked amazed all at the same time. ‘Why, what on earth did it say?’ she said, conspiratorially. ‘Show me!’
‘That’s just it. I can’t. It wasn’t on any social media, just on the front screen before I’d even logged on. Remember Ollie took it to get it fixed? At the mall? He sent it back saying there was nothing wrong with it. Then I got the messages and then they just disappeared.’
Tallulah stared at me for ages, her expression changing as she ran over everything I’d just told her. ‘I guess it could be Ollie playing tricks. He would do that. Like, what did it say?’
‘That’s the weird part. We were having a real conversation. Like getting to know each other.’ I was shaking my head while I was speaking. ‘I don’t think it was Ollie.’ Then I looked Tallulah dead in the eye. ‘I think it was the other one.’
She blanched and frowned dramatically. ‘Who, Bret?’ Then she shook her head emphatically and laughed derisively. ‘No way. He’s a sod, but it couldn’t be him.’
I didn’t understand why she was so sure and told her about my walk with the dog in the morning. ‘He was rude to me, so I just want to go over there and clear this up.’
Tallulah shrugged. ‘Well, that definitely sounds like him. OK,’ she said, like she had nothing better to do today. ‘It’s your funeral. You really don’t know Bret.’
I’d got her to agree so I didn’t want to argue with her further. I drank the last of my tea and thought about what she’d said: How bad could it be?
Ollie was a friendly enough guy. Surely they couldn’t be so different. The other one was probably just a more anti-social version of him.
We finally left the house at around nine and set off through the forest. My unease grew with the sense of Tallulah’s barely contained excitement all the way there. She was acting like she was anticipating something – and thrilled to have a front row seat.
Chapter 7
The front door was huge and intimidating. I stood partly behind Tallulah so whoever came would see her first. ‘Knock again,’ I said.
Tallulah rolled her eyes at me over her shoulder and whacked the door knocker again, loudly, twice. We waited while I held my breath. Looking around me, I noticed the snow was thick, with ruts in the driveway, proving the older brother’s van had moved and come back since it had last snowed.
It seemed like forever before the clunk of the latch sounded. I was surprised to see it was Ollie – and not looking as happy as I remembered him. He looked anxiously over his shoulder. ‘Now’s not a good time, girls.’
Just as he said it, there was a loud thump as if something had hit a wooden floor from a great height. Then an almighty crash of glass and a roar of rage that sounded like a wild animal.
I jumped behind the shelter of Tallulah’s body in case something ran out. It sounded like an ogre on the rampage in there.
I couldn’t believe my ears when Tallulah said, ‘Is it Wax?’
For a moment I actually forgot my fear and stepped out to look at her. She just tutted. ‘Ollie’s brother Bret …’
She was interrupted again by another crash and something rolling along the wooden floor. A round silver tray whisked past Ollie’s leg, then mine, like a hub cap.
There were other raised voices now, shouting orders as if to corner or trap something. ‘What’s wrong with him?’ I said in horror.
There followed the sound of some doors slamming and Ollie stepped back quickly to look. ‘Quickly, come into the library,’ he said in a loud whisper, ushering us in with his arm.
I hesitated, trying to decide whether I wanted to go or not, but Tallulah yanked me in by the arm, forgetting I was on crutches. I almost toppled over.
The house was even bigger and scarier than my aunt’s. It was darker too, if that were possible. This was the set of a horror movie for sure. All the wood in the large vaulted hallway was intricately carved and black, right up the large staircase. The walls were an ugly dark green. I didn’t have time to take in any more as there was another loud crash from the floor above, and Ollie pulled us into the room on the left.
I watched in alarm as Ollie pulled over a chair to prop up against it. Then he looked at Tallulah for help. They locked eyes and communicated something. ‘It’s OK, we’ll explain,’ She pulled me away from the door to follow Ollie, already flopping into a chair by the fire.
‘Come and sit down. I’ll get you something to drink when they quieten him down,’ he said, waving an arm at the sofa next to him.
I went with Tallulah over to the red velvet Chesterfield, next to Ollie’s chair and cautiously sat down. I was still listening out for violence outside as I lay my crutches on the floor.
I sat and tried to calm down. It was then I realized properly where I was. It was as dark as the hallway. There were black velvet curtains over the windows, but I could see row upon row of black shelves filled with books, even more than were in my aunt’s library. There were hundreds. A black glass chandelier was on above us and several smaller lamps dotted sideboards with black or maroon shades. The only cheery light appeared to come from the fire.
Ollie was chewing the corners of his fingernails, staring into the flames. No one was saying anything – as if they were in shock. In the end I had to break the silence. ‘What’s with the chair? Is he dangerous?’ I looked nervously behind me at the flimsy barrier pushed under the door handle.
‘It’s his brother, Bret,’ Tallulah said. ‘Well, we don’t call him that. His real name is Archie. His parents call him Bret. It’s a middle name. We all call him Wax …’ Tallulah rambled.
Ollie rolled his eyes, clearly having heard enough and cut across her. ‘Let’s just say my brother has issues.’
‘What happened?’ Tallulah asked with her eyebrows drawn together in concern. She sounded the most bothered about anything I’d ever seen her. It confirmed what I first thought, that she definitely more than liked Ollie.
Ollie looked drained when he shrugged. ‘He came home this morning more drunk than usual. He’s been bad all week; just getting worse and worse.’ He put his hand to his forehead.
Tallulah reached over the arm of the chair and held his hand.
‘Who are all those other voices?’ I said.
‘My uncle and the servants,’ Ollie said, but he didn’t look over at me.
I felt my theory of the identity of the mystery hacker quickly dissolving. Even if it was the same name, it sounded like his brother was very ill.
Then Ollie seemed to drag himself out of his thoughts. ‘What were you even doing here, anyway?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ Tallulah giggled, as if she’d forgotten herself. ‘Becks thinks one of you has been hacking into her computer.’
I went crimson and could have killed Tallulah for saying it like that. I wasn’t accusing anyone, I just wanted to get to the bottom of a mystery.
Ollie’s face brightened. ‘It’s working OK, then?’
I frowned. ‘Well, yeah. Eventually. I had some messages come up even before the password request – well, I had a whole conversation, actually.’
His eyebrows popped and he looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘That is weird. Did it look like code at all?’
I shook my head. ‘No, just a flashing curser and then the words came up.’
He looked surprised. ‘Old school. What did it say?’
Tallulah kicked him in the foot. ‘It wasn’t you, was it?’ She was half laughing as if it was totally something he would do.
He laughed and immediately put his hands up in defence. ‘No, I swear. It’s a great wind-up. I wish I’d thought of it. Did he or she give you a name?’
I took a moment to look at Tallulah before I answered, not sure if I should say it at all. I swallowed, then went ahead. ‘He just said people call him Wax.’
Ollies face dropped and he immediately looked at Tallulah. She looked just as shocked back. ‘Would he have that kind of know-how?’
Ollie flashed his eyes angrily. ‘Of course. It’s all he bloody does. He’s cleverer at it than anyone.’ Then he shook his head as if he just couldn’t believe it was him. ‘What sort of thing did he say?’
I shrugged. ‘What normal people say when you get to know someone online.’
Ollie rolled his eyes and laughed derisively. ‘That couldn’t be him. Tell her, Tallulah,’ he said, nudging her arm.
She laughed. ‘I already told her.’
‘But why?’
‘He doesn’t talk to anyone!’ they both said at exactly the same time.
I found it hard to believe that a person could live their whole life without talking to anyone at all. My thoughts must have been on my face because Ollie’s features softened. ‘He barely talks to me, and he blanks new people completely.’
It made me think of the boy standing on his porch yesterday morning, blatantly ignoring me. It certainly fit the profile. I sank back into the chair. Well, someone had to have done it.
I looked up. Tallulah was giggling and flirting with Ollie. ‘So, is the Halloween party still going ahead with everything … you know?’ she said, tipping her head towards the door to indicate the morning’s events.
‘Yeah, course. He’ll be gone long before you all get here. As soon as it’s dark, he can’t wait to get out of here.’
‘What, you let him out alone?’ I said in horror.
They both looked at me and laughed. ‘It’s pretty hard to stop Wax from doing anything,’ Ollie said with a wry look on his face.
All seemed to have gone quiet for a while outside. Ollie got up and walked towards the door and put his ear to it. Then he took the chair away.
‘Is Wax violent?’ I said, feeling nervous again. ‘Like with people, I mean?’
Tallulah nodded animatedly, as if it was the most exciting thing ever. ‘Sometimes, I think. Everyone in the village is scared of him, but he only ever smashes stuff at home.’
Oh, that’s OK then. That’s made me feel better. I was amazed at how matter of fact she was able to be over all this.
‘Do you want a drink? The coast is clear now.’ Ollie was already opening the door.
‘Yeah, I’ll have a coke,’ Tallulah called.
I nodded. ‘Same … Actually, do you think it would be safe to use your restroom?’
Olly laughed like he was back to his old self. ‘There’s one just down the hall on the left.’
Tallulah took out her phone and started texting. She’d actually stayed off it for a remarkably long time this morning. I picked up my crutches and took the opportunity to slip out of the room.
Ollie had already disappeared off to the kitchen somewhere, so I made my way slowly down the hall. My crutches sank into the huge old fashioned red rug and then conspicuously sounded on the polished floorboards. Whatever mess had been there had already been cleared up.
There were large dark paintings everywhere. A lot of ancient-looking landscapes or pictures of horses and dogs, but as I reached the foot of the staircase portraits went all the way up. What is it with these old houses? I couldn’t help myself, I just had to take a closer look. I quickly checked around me for witnesses and slowly climbed the stairs.
